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whitehelm posted:If C-team is lying and voted for Q-team, Q-team's probably already dead no matter what they vote because they passed the note on telling D-team to vote Q also. If C-team is telling the truth, your decision would kill D-team. You presume three things: First, that D Team can be trusted to do their part. Second, that I am not willing to sacrifice the rest of Q Team to be rid of Eric. Third, that I desire anything other than for someone, anyone, to die.
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May 24, 2020 06:55
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To piggyback on OddHaberdasher's comment about Eric's VA, Q is voiced by Jonquil Goode, who has no other roles of note, and Mira is voiced by Rachel Kimsey, who is the same.
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May 24, 2020 07:20
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daermon posted:Sigma is fine before he becomes Zero Sr and Phi is awesome. Unless this is Zero Sr in which case gently caress him. Guess what? He is Zero Sr. in his younger self's body. I'm going to defend Junpei. He didn't fall in love with a psycho, he saved his utterly terrified childhood friend through time and space, then she turned psycho. I guess his participation in the other two nonary games is his virtue's reward, because life clearly isn't fair, but what was he supposed to do, let 8-year old Akane burn to death? Until we get an actual name I'm assuming this is yet another nonary game; we do have nine persons here.
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May 24, 2020 08:10
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12 year old Akane witnessed in real time her own plans to save herself from burning to death in an incinerator, including the grizzly murders (many in the did-not-actually-happen variety, in fairness) of several people including her beloved Junpei, who by the way she basically mind-melded with during her pseudo out of body experience. Oh, and just to reiterate, the stakes were her literally burning to death. I do not fault Akane one bit for going kinda a bit psycho as a result.
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May 24, 2020 08:26
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With all the Akane/Junpei talk I had to double-check and make sure I hadn't accidentally posted the C-Team update early somehow. Poll is a runaway for following the plan so far. I'll check back in the morning and have an update ready soon after.
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May 24, 2020 08:48
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 One vote to execute C-Team. I'll be posting their update soon. It's going to be a big one.
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May 24, 2020 19:13
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OH BOY, it's time to  at some more first time reactions to the third round of Kotaro Uchikoshi's Wild Ride!
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May 24, 2020 19:29
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Part 5: Execution C Before we move on to C-Team, we have to resolve the vote from Q-Team. The thread wants to follow the plan.  So we vote for C-Team to be executed.  Music: Divulgation 2nd Mix  The same female computer voice as before.     Now we wait and see what exactly Carlos and Diana do. If this plan doesn't work, then there are two outcomes that could happen. Or we're the ones executed...  No. There's one more possibility. Yeah? Someone is definitely tricking us...!  The TVs come on, interrupting what I'm sure would've been a great conversation.   Sleep well, as the next game will begin when you awake.  One final thing. You've gone through with the vote exactly as I commanded. You deserve a reward for obeying.    Pleasant dreams...Hmm, maybe that should be the LP title instead.  Another ceiling shot as the bodies hit the floor.   And with that, we're unceremoniously dumped back to the Team Select screen.  Next up is C-Team.   Music: Extreme Extrication 2nd Mix  C-Team also takes a tour of their ward, which also has a Prep Room.  And this room.  This one's different. Some kind of control room for the facility?    C-Team's rooms are a little more mundane than Q-Team's.   So this is the last room... Yes. We've checked everywhere we could...  The map of Ward C, with rooms labeled. I think C-Team has more rooms than Q-Team.  Random suit of armor in the rec room.  It's just as Zero said, huh?  Fifty minutes left until the vote deadline. How can we not?!    Dcom's whole psychological test.This fragment only obliquely mentions the Dcom backstory. Here's why.  What? Why?  Junpei's been through this all before. He knows it's not a joke, or just part of the experiment.  So that means he's actually willing to kill off a whole team? Yeah. But how... So we'll be sleeping and then "BAM!" There's a bunch of different ways. Carlos is back in his thoughtful pose.  Why would you need to reach them?   What do you mean? Remember what Zero said? "The group with two or more votes will lose." Maybe C-Team could vote for D-Team, D-Team for Q-Team,   But how do we make sure they know to do it... I have a good idea where this is going. But there's one key ingredient missing, still. Music: Riddle and Puzzle 2nd Mix  A cut away, and we're back in the lounge.  Hey! Mira! Eric! Diana! Phi? Sigma? Can you hear us? It's not working... Dammit.  That is a hell of a glare.  It's a 999 reference, Carlos, you wouldn't get it.  Junpei is clearly not about to try and explain that one.  Akane spots some writing on the wall, just like there was in Ward Q.  [Let the game end where I treat two.]The phrase on the wall is different here. No mention of a virus. What's this supposed to mean? The game'll end...and something about two people? I guess the tough part is figuring out "treat". If it's like "trick or treat" then maybe it means there's a reward or gift or something... But it could also mean "treatment", which would imply being cared for. Either way, it doesn't make sense. Hey, anyone know what this thing could be? A box...? What's inside of it? Maybe some kind of white smoke... A Tamatebako? You've heard of it, Carlos? Urashima Taro, right? Japanese folklore. Something about jumping through time, I think?Gee, how could that be relevant? I'll save you the trip to Google. The Tamatebako is the name of the box. Urashima Taro was a fisherman who was invited to a sea palace, stayed there and partied for awhile, and was then given the box as a parting gift. With instructions to never open it. When he got home, he found his parents are died and he didn't recognize anyone left in the village. He then opened the box, a white puff of smoke came out, and he turned into an old man. Because many years had actually passed, and the box held the fisherman's old age inside. No, I don't get it either.  This label says [Force Quit Box]. What's that? Looks like there's a keyboard. There's probably a password that goes there. Then something ends if you punch it in? But what, though?Have you had enough shots of the box yet?  Wait, wait. It seems like it wouldn't even have to be a box for that. Didn't think it'd work...A series of beeps followed by a longer buzzer right before this animation. I wonder what she tried?   One last look at the box. Music: Sinisterness Phase 1  New scene, relaxing in the lounge again. So... What now? What can we do... Junpei... No. We still have some time.     Akane remains silent. Apparently her best idea was typing random letters on the box.  Junpei is equally stumped.  So now it's Carlos's turn to quiz his team members. Something I only just noticed on this recording - each team has a leader paired up with two others who share a past history from before Dcom. Kind of an interesting dynamic that way. Who is Zero... Then that means there has to have been a first one, right? Yeah, there is. You know him?! Sorta... I brought it up earlier.  It happened last year. Akane and I were trapped somewhere. The person responsible back then was named "Zero".  JUST! Please--! They forgot to make Akane's lips move for this line.    Carlos is not convinced. So why is Akane so insistent? Well, now seems like a good a time as any to talk about 999 in more detail. Junpei is the protagonist in that game. He wakes up locked in a room with a bracelet bearing the number "5". He makes it out of that room and runs into eight other players, each with a different numbered bracelet. One of those players is Akane, Junpei's childhood friend. The group of nine players is forced to play something called the Nonary Game by a masked villain going by the name of Zero. The different numbered bracelets can be combined in various ways to unlock certain doors in the area. The player, through Junpei, has to choose which doors to go through when, creating a series of branching paths through the game. Eventually, Junpei discovers that there was a previous Nonary Game nine years earlier, and that the current Nonary Game was set up as revenge by Zero against those who conducted it. The purpose of the original game was to induce high stress and danger levels that would somehow cause the participants - all young pairs of siblings - to transmit information through something called the morphogenetic field, ideally to their sibling. Basically magically transmitting data through time and space to other receptive individuals. One of the participants became stuck on the final puzzle, and facing imminent death via an incinerator, was able to connect with Junpei nine years in the future instead. This participant subtly guided Junpei through the puzzles of his own Nonary Game. When Junpei reached the end and was able to solve the final puzzle, he was also able to transmit the solution back through the connection to save the earlier participant. The game was originally on the Nintendo DS, and there's a neat trick here where it's revealed that the transmitting child was communicating via the bottom screen the whole time, with Junpei's perspective on the top screen. During the final puzzle, with Junpei becoming the transmitter, the DS is flipped upside-down to reveal the connection. As far as mystery reveals go, this one was one of the best I've experienced. Anyway, the child then set up Junpei's version of the Nonary Game to make sure that everything that had been foreseen would come to pass and avoid a temporal paradox. Became Zero, in other words. Oh, and that child? It was Akane. Sorry if you didn't already know all of that, but I did warn you. Anyway, Akane escapes the second Nonary Game ahead of Junpei, and flees across the desert. Junpei chases after her, but the game ends before we find out more. Both characters have appearances in VLR, that I'll go into more later. In VLR, Junpei is thought to have never found Akane. Yet here they both are, together a year after the events of 999. Back to the current game. Next question: What is Zero's purpose? Why is Zero doing this?  So it's true. Do you know something, Akane? Junpei doesn't know anything about the future that takes place in VLR. Akane, however, was working with Sigma, and has been told about what he's trying to prevent. But more on that when we meet D-Team.  So what Sigma said back then, up in Dcom, was... I mean, it seems like an odd way to get someone's attention.  Yes. What Sigma said...is the truth. What causes it is unknown. Sure, let's talk about this, entirely new topic.  Neither the nerves nor the brain have abnormalities, but somehow this disease causes you to stop reacting to a variety of stimuli. Hey, hold up. Shouldn't you know already? Huh? A crisis.     Sounds like the kind of back story we won't get until update 20 or so. Final question: What is your relationship?  Akane Kurashiki. Junpei Tenmyouji. Yes... And you both lived in Japan when you were kids. So you're childhood friends...Carlos seems well-informed. Was he listening to me talk about 999 earlier?   He mentioned it back in Dcom.Oh. Sigma's quite the gossip.  We all lived in close quarters in that facility for five days. Information spreads fast. Huh? You two signed up together, right? No, we didn't... Wait. You're telling me... You guys just happened to bump into each other at Dcom? It was inevitable.Junpei's attitude was more positive in 999. The last year has turned him bitter.  Why did you subject yourself to this circus? I didn't mention it before? I... Well, I kind of really need a lot of cash. Five hundred thousand? Dollars? Yeah I'd sign up for that, too. Or maybe not, given how it's turned out so far.... Huh. Color me surprised.   A really good one... Random shot of the bar for some reason. You've faced off against danger, and saved a whole bunch of people. Sounds like a hero to me.  It doesn't seem to matter where I find myself, That seems like a pretty blatant reference to the kind of morphogenetic field shenanigans I just discussed.  Well, the backstory is finally over. We fade to black, and then more clang noises. And it's 13:07, not much time left to get that vote in. Remember that?  Music: Initiation (Preamble)  I think Akane's still mad about Junpei giving her poo poo about being Zero.   More running, and a door opens. Who's it going to be?  Gab! Where did you come from...Good thing we already had Q-Team's explanation of there being a dog along for the ride on the Mars experiment for some reason, or this scene might be confusing.    Does that mean it's connected to the surface?! Hm, I don't think so. So he came from another ward then? But Ward Q is down that direction, right?So Gab was just hanging out in there the whole time? We already know he didn't start in Ward Q.  Here's the map with the arrow again.     Let's cut off Junpei's arm! Tension is rising, here.  Eric!Carlos ignores the banter and tries to get Q-Team's attention.  No answer, huh. A couple seconds of just petting the dog.    Baloney.  There's Akane's serious-thinking face.  Does it by chance involve a coaster?  This here, this case. It holds medication, doesn't it?  A click off-screen, and now the case is empty. It's empty... Did that bastard Zero take the meds?Way to focus, Junpei. I still think this could work. We can use it. He needs a pen and some cheese.  Running back to the bar.  A beer coaster and a pen? I found them on the counter of the bar.Oh right he needs the coaster, too. There's something written on it. Oh, uh, I did that. "Hello. Carlos here. C-Team is voting for D-Team, so D-Team should vote for Q-Team, and Q-Team for C-Team." Oh! You're going to put it in the case and have Gab go through the vent! Cross your fingers he can get to Q-Team...I've got a good feeling about this plan for some reason.  So we shouldn't?  The note is magically in the case again.  And there's the same cut-away-and-back to close the case.  Same goofy dog-walking animation.  What did you throw? Cheese. Picked it up with the coaster. It was over there on the counter.I confirmed with the thread that dogs do indeed love cheese.  May next time he comes back he'll be a hot dog.Ha. Ha. Ha.  Ok Carlos's silent reaction is better. It was a joke.Music: Mischievousness (Consternation Remix)  Another fade, and this time there's only- Five minutes left...Yes I was getting to that.  Gab's not come back... Let's just vote, Carlos!  They forgot to move Carlos's lips on this animation, too. I like to think it's just him mind-shouting at Junpei to shut the gently caress up.  Let's look up at the ceiling again.  Now everyone's standing!  Hey there's...one thing we can do... What is it? You remember what you wrote on the Gabletter? The what?  "C-Team is voting for D-Team, so D-Team should vote for Q-Team, and Q-Team for C-Team.Just in case you needed a reminder.  So what? Aaanndd Junpei's an rear end in a top hat.    Granted, the whole thing is assuming our initial plan works,  Think about it for a second. Six people have to die or we're never getting out of this bomb shelter. Those are the rules of the Decision Game according to Zero. Balancing the votes won't do us any good. We'll just end up falsely prolonging someone's death.I mean, he's not wrong.  Akane is said, because, well, she did this to him.  Another chime, and the female computer voice speaks again. Or maybe it's the first time, again.    The heartbeat thumps.  It's that time again. Music: Moral Dilemma (Annihilation 3rd Mix)  Follow the plan, or go with Junpei and betray? Choose who to execute. Extras:  The first file is the original Gabletter, before Q-Team's addition.  Of course, there's also the map of Ward C. But there are also two text files now. I may or may not have missed them last time. 'Decision Game Rules (1)' posted:The X-Door in the Lounge is your only means to escape. 'Decision Game Rules (2)' posted:Active times for all teams max out at 90 minutes.
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May 24, 2020 20:17
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I'll never not enjoy Junpei being the awkward rear end in a top hat he is I also notice that your Junpei portrait has kinda sorta the same "hand behind head" pose that his VLR incarnation did all the time.
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May 24, 2020 21:32
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Junpei's gone through some poo poo in the year after 999  Out of curiosity, is it possible to let the lights on the time to decide screen run all the way down, not make a choice, and get a hilarious bad ending here?
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May 24, 2020 21:35
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Come on guys, at this rate we're not gonna murder anybody. That's no fun.
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May 24, 2020 21:56
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Bruceski posted:Come on guys, at this rate we're not gonna murder anybody. That's no fun.
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May 24, 2020 22:21
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 Jesus gently caress Junpei.What happened to you man, you weren't like this in 999. Or in VLR. Then again, he could be a total monster when Quark's life was in danger, so I guess he's going all out for Akane. Bruceski posted:Come on guys, at this rate we're not gonna murder anybody. That's no fun. Let's make Zero II actually do his own work for his bodycount, yes? No point killing people until he starts holding plot locks hostage behind the murder paths.
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May 24, 2020 22:32
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The real moral atrocity here is people (like me) who actually like the hot dog joke.
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May 24, 2020 22:34
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Omobono posted:
Junpei didn't have much of a personality in 999 outside of "Durr, protect Kanny!" If he could have guaranteed that by killing six people he would have been the one with the axe. And as you said, he was totally like this in VLR. Truthkeeper fucked around with this message at 23:26 on May 24, 2020 |
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May 24, 2020 23:23
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Mecca-Benghazi posted:Junpei's gone through some poo poo in the year after 999 No.
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May 24, 2020 23:26
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What did I do?  /jk
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May 24, 2020 23:33
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Junpei was absolutely like this in VLR. He had more of an incentive to play Good Cop given the structure of the game but he was already jaded to hell and singularly focused on saving Quark at the expense of everyone else if needed.
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May 24, 2020 23:33
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Junpei was mostly a gigantic dork in 999 but that's a personality 
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May 25, 2020 00:05
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Can we trade Junpei for Q? Because he and Eric need to die.
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May 25, 2020 00:35
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Junpei didn't care about letting others die when he forced his (and Akane's) way into the shower room (door 3) in 999.
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May 25, 2020 01:06
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Mecca-Benghazi posted:Junpei's gone through some poo poo in the year after 999 Nope. I'll probably make it clear when doing nothing is an option. Edit: The poll is another runaway, I'll close it out now and have a another update tonight. You all are too nice. 
DKII fucked around with this message at 01:53 on May 25, 2020 |
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May 25, 2020 01:48
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It's too late to betray Q team. But there is still hope! When we get to D Team, we must betray C Team! It's a bit sad that Carlos would have to die, he doesn't seem so bad, but this is the price that must be paid. In terms of voice acting: Junpei is voiced by Evan Smith, who also did work on SMT 4: Apocalypse as Maitreya and Tyranny as one of the Male PC voices. Akane is voiced by Rena Strober. Other roles she's had include the English dub of Esmaraude/Emerald in Sailor Moon and Azura in the Fire Emblem series. Carlos is voiced by Andrew Bowen. Other character's he's played include Josh Birk from Saint's Row and Johnny Cage from Mortal Kombat X/XI.
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May 25, 2020 01:55
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IIRC letting the timer run down just picks the choice on the left for you. It's been a really long time so someone correct me if I'm wrong, though.
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May 25, 2020 02:39
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Ibblebibble posted:IIRC letting the timer run down just picks the choice on the left for you. It's been a really long time so someone correct me if I'm wrong, though. I just left it sitting there for an hour and it's still sitting there. The presence of a timer is usually one of the ways you can tell that "doing nothing" is a legitimate choice. Update coming up.
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May 25, 2020 04:26
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Part 6: Execution: D Looks like we're sticking with the plan again.  This time D-Team gets a vote.  I hope you all know what you're doing. Music: Sinisterness Phase 2  The computer once again recognized our vote.  You'll see, Akane...  Hell, we don't even know if our note reached the other teams or not. And even if it did, there's no guarantee they did what we asked.Well, we at least know that Q-Team got the note and followed it.    We know Q-Team voted for C-Team, so the latter option is in play here.  The TVs turn on again.  The text here is the same as with Q-Team, just different reaction shots. Sleep well, as the next game will begin when you awake. Unfortunately, the team who receives two votes will be unable to participate... One final thing. You've gone through with the vote exactly as I commanded. You deserve a reward for obeying. When next you wake, those who survived will be able to regret the decision they made. As all members of a single team will perish as a result of the vote you entered.Once again, we are "rewarded" with not losing our memory after this fragment.  Pleasant dreams... You know the drill by now.   Back to the Team Select screen. Time to meet D-Team.   Just one more of these to go!  Music: Portentousness 2nd Mix  D-Team starts off in their Lounge.   [When a curious hate oozes calamity.]Another message on the wall.  Hmm... So a moment when hate becomes calamity, huh... I wonder what that means? Beats me. Maybe it's not supposed to have a meaning? Huh? You reorganize the letters into another sentence.  In another place...The similar messages that adorned the warehouse walls in VLR were anagrams.  Diana is understandably confused by that statement.   Instead of going on a tour of their ward, D-Team finds the mystery box right away.  Sigma is trying to figure it out.     Sigma stands up - on-screen this time - to give Phi some snark.   It looks like something's written on it... [Force Quit Box]. That's interesting... I see a keyboard on it, too. "Use this keyboard to input a password and force something to stop." Is that what this means?She sounds like she's reading something. Were there instructions on this one? What does it stop?   Diana leans forward while we look up and listen to several beeps followed by a longer, negative-sounding beep.  What did she put in?    Some banging noises while we stare at the ceiling again.  Won't budge. Heavy doesn't even begin to cover it. I doubt it's made out of anything from Earth.That's a hell of a leap. I guess their box is super-heavy or bolted down or something for some reason. Or Sigma's messing with us.   My body's still got it!This exchange will make more sense when I explain VLR in a little bit. And if you thought the plot of 999 was a little out there, you just wait.  Diana doesn't understand what's going on, either.   More clanging noises off-screen.   I wouldn't put it past them to both lie to us, but let's move on.  Diana reaches for the map...  Looks like it. And it's added to our files.   Yes. That's what Zero said.Let's go explore! Music: Riddle and Puzzle 2nd Mix   Ward D also has its own rooms for prep and decontamination.  A rather odd-looking room, for...healing?  Uhh....  Are those robots?   And that's Ward D. All right. We've checked all the rooms from top to bottom, but... No, Diana, no easy exits here.  We are in a bomb shelter, after all.Phi has no patience for Diana.  If there were several exits, it'd defeat the purpose it was built for.  A lot of players lose patience with this part of the game. Hearing all this stuff for the third time gets a little tired.  Phi nods, and we get another fade.  Back in the Lounge. Mira! Eric! Can you hear me? Carlos! Akane! Tenmyouji!! There's no point. We wouldn't hear a drunk toga party at full volume on the other side. I think we need six passwords to get this door to open, right? Yeah. That X-Pass thing. For every one person who dies, one password will be revealed... Is that true, though...?    Diana still can't make sense of the banter between Sigma and Phi.  And another fade. We're getting there! Music: Placidity 2nd Mix  Um, may I ask you guys something? Q&A time.   Phi and Sigma glance at each other. Probably thinking about how much to actually tell Diana. Do you guys know who Zero is?  But they called themselves "Zero". At the very least, they know about what happened a year ago.We went over what happened a year ago already. Sigma and Phi weren't there but probably learned about it from Akane.  There's one more thing for sure. Think about it. Why was Zero's speech to us pre-recorded? There's got to be a very big reason why things can't be in real time. There are two possibilities.  Not sure why this speech takes place against the backdrop of the different TVs in the ward, but whatever. They've already bit the bullet or...  Another nod from Phi. So, Sigma and Phi obviously have some kind of experience with this kind of setting. Let's talk about VLR. Once again, there are nine main characters who have been kidnapped by a villain referred to as Zero. Sigma is the protagonist, and is initially paired up with Phi. The games the players are forced to go through are based on the prisoner's dilemma problem, having to vote to either Ally or Betray over and over. The players gain or lose a certain number of points depending on the results. The players each started with three points, and had to get to nine points to win. Falling to or below zero points was a death sentence. These games were called the Ambidex Game, in contrast to the Nonary Game of 999. Sigma and Phi have been kidnapped in 2028 and wake up in the middle of the game. Alice and Clover return from 999, also kidnapped in 2028 while trying to infiltrate a group called Free the Soul, for reasons. Not much is revealed about the other characters at first. Like in 999, VLR has the player choosing which doors to enter using a combination of the players' bracelets, which are combined via color instead of number this time. The different choices and the Ally/Betray (AB) Game lead to even more branching paths than in 999. Of course, the plot wasn't nearly that straightforward in practice. We can kind of guess it wasn't 2028 in VLR, since it's 2028 now. But eventually Sigma discovers that the year is actually 2074. And also they're on the moon for some reason. And a virus called Radical 6 had been released in 2028 which killed six billion people and nearly wiped out humanity. And all of the players had been infected with Radical 6 to raise the stakes. And a symptom of Radical 6 was slowed cognition which supposedly caused all of the players to not realize they were on the moon with reduced gravity. The whole point of the game was to induce Sigma and Phi in particular into shifting their consciousnesses across the branching timeline, gathering information from multiple branches in order to not only win the game, but prevent a murder and stop a terrorist from bombing the whole facility into tiny pieces. Even that purpose was really just training in order to send the pair back to the real 2028, to prevent the release of Radical 6 in the first place. But wait, there's more. Phi, Clover, and Alice were transported to 2074 via cryogenic pods. However it had been established that there were only three such pods used. Sigma's story is even more complicated. After having mastered the consciousness shifting, young Sigma is somehow transferred from 2028 to 2074, where he experiences the events of VLR as a young mind in an old man's body. The player never notices because 2074 Sigma is never shown (the game takes place in a first-person view, like 999). Sigma himself never notices because he has bionic arms that not only provide the strength of a young man, but fool his sense of touch into thinking his features are still that of a young man. Yeah, some of these reveals are a bit of a stretch. But the quantity and surprise-level kept players hooked until the end, anyway. At the end of the game, young Sigma is returned to his own body after Radical 6 has already been released - missing an eye and his two arms. No one knows what went wrong in 2028. He teams up with Akane to create the technology and facilities needed to run the Ambidex Game. Yes, the player is actually Zero this time. In 2074, now-old Sigma gets booted from his body by the incoming young Sigma, and takes off for 2028 and the events of ZTD, to try and prevent Radical 6 from ever being released. Phi's consciousness mirrors the same complicated jumps that Sigma went through. But since she spent all of the time between 2028 and 2074 in a cryogenic sleep, from her perspective she experiences the events of ZTD immediately after she goes through VLR. Unlike Sigma, who's doing it 45+ years later. Akane shows up in VLR as Zero's hidden assistant. Two of the three main branches have her getting murdered before the game begins. The third branch has her initially missing while Phi and Sigma somehow travel back to before the start of the game to prevent her murder (which somehow only affects the one of the three branches where she wasn't observed as already dead). Near the end of the game, she shows up in a hologram to talk to Sigma and one of the other characters, Tenmyouji. This character is an old man who forced his way into the game. He's eventually revealed to be Junpei, the protagonist from the first game, who's been chasing after Akane all these years. They reunite during the final ending, but consdering all of VLR is a timeline that we're trying to avoid this time around, that's not exactly a happy ending. Sorry if that recap went a little long. There was a lot going on in VLR. But now you understand why Sigma and Phi have a bit of an odd history with each other. Though at least it didn't go as badly as it did for Junpei and Akane after 999.... Next question: Will help come?   This time Sigma is bit by the missing-moving-lip-animation. To be fair I probably wouldn't notice if I weren't intentionally trying to grab a frame where the speaking character's mouth is open each time. Maybe the Dcom experiment staff...?  Remember? The staff stationed in Dcom can't communicate with us right now. The simulation is attempting to stay true to an actual Mars mission. It's at least six months between Earth and Mars. In that time period, Earth will have rotated halfway around the Sun. Which means--  I don't think this explanation holds together, since Mars would also move through a bit over one-quarter of its own orbit during this time. It depends on their relative positions at the start of the journey. But you wouldn't typically launch a mission with Mars one-quarter orbit behind Earth and falling further behind - you want them to pass each other during the transfer time. In fact, an ideal (minimum-energy) transfer orbit between Earth and Mars would take nine months - here are some images courtesy of JPL:  Mars is actually about 1/8 ahead of Earth at the start of the transfer.  At the end, Earth has gone through 3/4 of its orbit, while Mars is at about halfway. The sun isn't between them, and won't be until about six months later. What's interesting is that Mars is on the opposite side of the sun from when the Earth was at the start of the transfer. But Earth moves during that time. Of course maybe the ZTD world isn't all that concerned about minimizing energy, and can burn some extra fuel to shave off three months of travel time. But I couldn't let that one go.  That's the lead up... We've been doing experiments for the past five days. Transmissions will re-establish on December 31 at 23:30. Which leaves us with more than 10 hours.Orbital mechanics issues aside, I do like how they provide an explanation for why no one notices that the group has been kidnapped.    You're totally in-sync...She says this while almost giggling.  Another shared glance. Final question: The way Sigma talks.   Well, he's an old man in a young man's body who grew old in a future that we're trying to make sure doesn't happen. Not exactly the same historical background as the others in the group.  Forgive him. The age of his mind and his body are completely different.   Diana's now ready to accept this crazy story as truth now, I guess.  Missing Lip Animations: 5 That's why I know what will happen in the future. If nothing changes, mankind will be destroyed...Subtlety is not really Sigma's thing. Akane, Phi, and I infiltrated Dcom to stop all of that from happening...    I'm not sure if Diana's starting to believe them here or just trying to pick apart their story.  Sigma interrupts a little heatedly here. Getting defensive.   Ok, the last Q&A session is over. Let's do another fade.      That might come in handy later. If we have any incidents that aren't immediately fatal, anyway.     Diana is interrupted by a loud metal banging noise.    Music: Initiation (Preamble)  Gab! Why is Gab here...Gab made it through!  See anything? No, it's too dark... Missing Lip Animations: 6  It's clearly impossible. You sure? I won't repeat myself. My boobs are...Ds.   It's been forty-five years.  I didn't get this gag when they did it in VLR and I don't get it now.  Thank you, Diana.  What is this? Is that a coaster? Quick fade and the coaster is now in Diana's hands. I wonder what it's going to say?  No tricks here, it's the same coaster that Q-Team sent on. "Hello. Carlos here. C-Team is voting for D-Team, so D-Team should vote for Q-Team, and Q-Team for C-Team." And someone else wrote-- "Q-Team - Got it"  Seems so.  Here's the map with Gab's route again. I guess Gab passed through Ward C to Ward Q, and ended up here... Missing Lip Animations: 7 Now none of the teams will have to die!   We're interrupted again, this time by the computer lady.  drat. We don't have much time. We need to head over to the voting device.Music: Consternation 2nd Mix  What exactly did you mean earlier, Phi? I'm saying it could be a lie. Do you mean that Q-Team is planning to betray us? No, I doubt it. If that's what they intended, they didn't have to send Gab. They'd only have to decide to vote for D-Team. Then you mean... There's a chance that C-Team will betray us... Maybe they're saying they'll vote for D-Team, but actually vote Q-Team...All this speculation wears a little thin once you realize that we're the ones controlling all the votes.  To make us choose Q-Team. If you think it's a good idea to spread out the votes, then your choice is easy, right?  D-Team gets a final reminder.    So we have no choice but to choose Q-Team. Otherwise...  Diana's not reassured. The heartbeat thumps.  It's the final execution vote! Music: Ambidexterity 2nd Mix  We have the benefit of knowing how the other teams have voted already. They both followed the plan laid out in the note. We can go for a tie by voting Q-Team. Or we can turn things on their head and have C-Team killed. Choose who to execute. Extras:  Just the map of Ward D this time. The Gabletter hasn't changed.  Here's the list of all the files so far. The Quest ones come from the puzzle rooms. We'll get to those someday. DKII fucked around with this message at 05:26 on Jul 21, 2020 |
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May 25, 2020 04:26
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Ibblebibble posted:IIRC letting the timer run down just picks the choice on the left for you. It's been a really long time so someone correct me if I'm wrong, though. There are some points at which you can let the timer run down, but usually it's when you have a timer and a text input.
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May 25, 2020 04:29
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DKII posted:I just left it sitting there for an hour and it's still sitting there. bewilderment posted:There are some points at which you can let the timer run down, but usually it's when you have a timer and a text input. Ah yes, now I remember what I was thinking of. Looking forward to when the LP gets to that.
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May 25, 2020 04:54
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Phi and Sigma's snarking at each other never gets old. For all that this game stumbles, at least it's nice to spend time with these idiots again.
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May 25, 2020 05:27
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I’ll snatch the voice acting trivia post this time. Diana is voiced by Eden Riegel here. Her other roles include Estelle from Tales of Vesperia, Devola and Popola in NieR: Automata (under a pseudonym, Claudia Lenz), and Isabeau in Shin Megami Tensei IV. Phi is the only one of these three to have their voice actress reprise the role from VLR. She is voiced by Karen Strassman, who also voiced Aigis in Persona 3 (and spinoffs), Kallen in Code Geass, Rouge the Bat in the Sonic franchise starting with Colo(u)rs, and all the Annas in Fire Emblem. Sigma is voiced by Matt Mercer in this game. In VLR he was unvoiced to not spoil the plot twists, but there was an OVA in which he was voiced by Troy Baker instead. Mercer’s other roles include
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May 25, 2020 05:57
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At this point, I think I'm the only person who's voted for C Team to die. Rest assured, I'm shaking my head at the rest of you. In voice actor news: Sigma is voiced by Matthew Mercer. It'd almost be easier to list what he hasn't been involved in....though it is amusing (given his prior/future interactions with a character called Dio) that he voiced the English Dub of Jotaro Kujo from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series. Phi is voiced by Karen Strassman. Strassman has a long career, but two of her most recurring roles are Rouge the Bat from the Sonic series and Aigis from the Persona series. Diana is voiced by Eden Riegal. Among many others, she's voiced Marie from the Persona series and Devola/Popola from the NieR series. EDIT: Ninja'd. Not that I mind, given that their post was better.
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May 25, 2020 06:13
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OddHaberdasher posted:At this point, I think I'm the only person who's voted for C Team to die. Rest assured, I'm shaking my head at the rest of you. The thread is filled with a bunch of softies and I love it. Much more traumatic later on this way.
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May 25, 2020 06:16
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I only got into it around the three-quarter mark, but the VLR thread was exactly like this. No matter how many times basically every character (who wasn't named Luna) betrayed, they just kept choosing to 'Ally' first.
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May 25, 2020 06:24
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The VLR anagram was a spoiler for the plot, so if anyone has a go at cracking the ones we've seen here it might be best to keep it to yourself. Then again, VLR's solution was "the man in the moon rules the infinite time" and if you haven't already started getting some reveals there's no way that would register as the right answer.
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May 25, 2020 06:38
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Bruceski posted:The VLR anagram was a spoiler for the plot, so if anyone has a go at cracking the ones we've seen here it might be best to keep it to yourself. That was VLR's second anagram. The first one was solved by Phi right away and was "Welcome to my kingdom!" which wasn't a spoiler at all.
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May 25, 2020 06:53
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So Diana, a nurse in the DCOM experiment with Sigma, is the inspiration for Luna. The face of the maniac who killed six billion people, everyone.
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May 25, 2020 06:55
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wologar posted:The face of the maniac who killed six billion people, everyone. Your post obscures her face a little. Here, let me fix that: This is the face of the woman who kills not just these six, but six billion people.
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May 25, 2020 07:31
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To make it even more obvious: Diana was the Roman godess of the Moon. AKA Luna.
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May 25, 2020 07:46
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Sigma might just be my favourite character in the whole trilogy. I just love how in VLR he was the secret Zero mastermind all along but now that he shows up here, he has no subtlety whatsoever and was apparently raving at everyone before the game all "I'M FROM THE FUTURE SIX BILLION PEOPLE WILL DIE" sounding like some crazy hobo. They do seem to capture the different feel of his old-man-in-young-body character pretty well too, while still feeling like it's the same guy we played in VLR when the situation was reversed. And the banter with Phi is still really fun. Thanks for the interesting look into how dodgy the Mars mission justification is! It's always fun to pick at how wacky the plot gets in these games. In the end, I straight up don't care and forgive all of it, since everything in this reality ultimately follows the rule of what would make the most outrageous plot twists. I will drink whatever koolaid I have to to enjoy these rides.
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May 25, 2020 08:54
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| # ? May 5, 2024 13:00 |
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Hey DKII, you're playing the Steam version, right? Because despite you pointing out the cheap animation savers and goofs, I jsut keep thinking to myself how much better this looks than the 3DS version, where Phi looked like the shadow of her glasses was tattooed on her face. I dunno, I guess it could just be the screencaps vs. seeing it animated.
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May 25, 2020 10:00
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