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So the 2012 review contest prizes will be a little delayed from the initial this-year delivery date I stated. There's simply no way I can get Hachi to record dialogue for the reviews and get them edited in time with the holidays looming large.
This is largely due to my schedule being hectic, and good old fashioned procrastination (I lost all motivation to play Spellshard in the desert, but still want to give it a complete shot without forcing myself). I'll see about trying to get them out in early next year, worst case I'll publish everything but Spellshard and just delay that one further.
With that in mind, I cannot in good conscience host a 2013 review contest when I'm still producing prizes for the last one (I also quite seriously do not have enough time to produce prizes or probably even manage the contest). So if anyone wants to take up the mantle and host next year's (or maybe just provide prizes), have at it.
I think it's an important contest for the community to have in the absence of Hamster Speak.
Review Contest Prize Announcement & Future Review Contes
Wed Dec 19, 2012 12:03 am 
Wed Dec 19, 2012 3:03 am
What is this reviews contest, for those of us new to the slim e-salad communities.
dOn'T MiNd mE! i'M jUsT CoNtAgIoUs!!!
Play Orbs CCG: http://orbsccg.com/r/4r6x
dOn'T MiNd mE! i'M jUsT CoNtAgIoUs!!!
Play Orbs CCG: http://orbsccg.com/r/4r6x
Wed Dec 19, 2012 3:59 am
Wed Dec 19, 2012 12:33 pm
Sorry about the Spellshard sewer dungeon ;_;
Like I mentioned in IRC, other people have brought it up too, so it will definitely be an area I look at for revisions (probably going to release a minor patch here soon). If you could be any more specific about what exactly caused you to lose motivation in the sewer, that would be great?
SPELLSHARD: THE BLACK CROWN OF HORGOTH now COMPLETE! Grab it today!
Like I mentioned in IRC, other people have brought it up too, so it will definitely be an area I look at for revisions (probably going to release a minor patch here soon). If you could be any more specific about what exactly caused you to lose motivation in the sewer, that would be great?
SPELLSHARD: THE BLACK CROWN OF HORGOTH now COMPLETE! Grab it today!
Wed Dec 19, 2012 8:25 pm
I can answer that one for you, Harlock, since that's where I stopped playing, and consequently never got around to writing that HamsterSpeak review I had promised you guys and Wobbler so long ago.
After a few battles, I'd be so badly damaged that I would have to go sleep at the inn, which cost me most of my random battle earnings. Eventually I could save up to buy a new piece of equipment and stretch out my times between inn visits, but only after spending at least ten or more minutes running around the sewer grinding, sleeping, grinding, sleeping, grinding, and sleeping again. I'd fight upwards of thirty battles just to afford one piece that made little difference. And I seem to recall that part of the problem was that I had one character (the sorceress) that I could not defend well enough with any equipment upgrades, who would take the worst beating, and would be near death after every battle with piranhas, and eat up most of my resources just to get me back to the surface without wasting any of my rare revives. It just made the area more grind-heavy and tedious than necessary. I think lowering the HP of the random enemies down there, or lowering the cost of desert equipment would make getting through that section a little less annoying. As it stands, I have little motivation to finish off that area, either.
Place Obligatory Signature Here
After a few battles, I'd be so badly damaged that I would have to go sleep at the inn, which cost me most of my random battle earnings. Eventually I could save up to buy a new piece of equipment and stretch out my times between inn visits, but only after spending at least ten or more minutes running around the sewer grinding, sleeping, grinding, sleeping, grinding, and sleeping again. I'd fight upwards of thirty battles just to afford one piece that made little difference. And I seem to recall that part of the problem was that I had one character (the sorceress) that I could not defend well enough with any equipment upgrades, who would take the worst beating, and would be near death after every battle with piranhas, and eat up most of my resources just to get me back to the surface without wasting any of my rare revives. It just made the area more grind-heavy and tedious than necessary. I think lowering the HP of the random enemies down there, or lowering the cost of desert equipment would make getting through that section a little less annoying. As it stands, I have little motivation to finish off that area, either.
Place Obligatory Signature Here
Wed Dec 19, 2012 11:08 pm
Pepsi's complaint is an accurate part of the story, grinding to win is pretty dull in that section.
But to go a little deeper... Every dungeon prior to this one gave quick and easy access to every boss fight, either with a shortcut or a fairy. Maybe less so with the mini-bosses, but the dungeons trended towards compact enough for this to not matter. The sewer dungeon completely breaks these rules since you have to slog back to the bottom left section to lower the bridge again to get to the first boss, since the bridge state isn't saved if you go back to town (I may be misremembering details, apologies if so). This is pretty brutal in a game with fast paced combat that is usually about finding a hole in the boss to exploit.
At this point the player is faced with two choices: take a significant chunk of time to get back to the boss and try again, or spend even more time trying to grind up the new equipment of the area. Both are boring. Most players will pick the second even though it's more boring just because they're assured some increased chance of success, versus a complete waste of time if they try to master the boss and fail. I don't really think you guys were going for a grind heavy game, either.
As an aside, I think this is the first bad dungeon of the game in general. Most every dungeon in the game to this point had a unique theme behind it. The theme of the sewer seems to be "long maze". This can be interesting in the context of a traditional NES RPG since the player has to make tough choices of when to head back to town with their limited resources. With the OHR's broken run away functionality allowing people to run away from nearly every fight unscratched, it instead becomes rather sluggish and dull in a game that had been compact.
But to go a little deeper... Every dungeon prior to this one gave quick and easy access to every boss fight, either with a shortcut or a fairy. Maybe less so with the mini-bosses, but the dungeons trended towards compact enough for this to not matter. The sewer dungeon completely breaks these rules since you have to slog back to the bottom left section to lower the bridge again to get to the first boss, since the bridge state isn't saved if you go back to town (I may be misremembering details, apologies if so). This is pretty brutal in a game with fast paced combat that is usually about finding a hole in the boss to exploit.
At this point the player is faced with two choices: take a significant chunk of time to get back to the boss and try again, or spend even more time trying to grind up the new equipment of the area. Both are boring. Most players will pick the second even though it's more boring just because they're assured some increased chance of success, versus a complete waste of time if they try to master the boss and fail. I don't really think you guys were going for a grind heavy game, either.
As an aside, I think this is the first bad dungeon of the game in general. Most every dungeon in the game to this point had a unique theme behind it. The theme of the sewer seems to be "long maze". This can be interesting in the context of a traditional NES RPG since the player has to make tough choices of when to head back to town with their limited resources. With the OHR's broken run away functionality allowing people to run away from nearly every fight unscratched, it instead becomes rather sluggish and dull in a game that had been compact.
Thu Dec 20, 2012 9:34 pm
Out of curiosity, would there be enough interest/activity to justify adding a Review of the Month to the front page? It wouldn't have to be a review written that month (just like Game of the Month isn't a game released that month), and I would probably skip the poll in favor of something a little more informal. It would be nice to get a little more emphasis on reviews, since SS is the de facto review hub with Hamsterspeak gone.
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks
Mega Tact v1.1
Super Penguin Chef
Wizard Blocks