Report Captain_GARlock's Profile

Oh, damn! Like kids & whatnot? How is that treating you? Side project, like a hobby or? Oh, I think you may have mentioned that before because it does seem somewhat familiar, but I can't say for certain, haha.

Yeah, I have some free time here & there that allows me some time to watch stuff on occasion, but I find myself with little time to myself these days. Mostly just One Piece on Saturday. I have been watching the new season of Vinland Saga as well, however. What games have you been playing lately?

I've been doing pretty well, man! Lots of big changes/life occurrences in 2022. How about you? What have you been up to these days?

Sorry I was so late to this, man! Happy 2023!

You Bosh?

Guess the only thing to note about the two DDS games is that they are 3 character party JRPG's with a few set characters. Lots of customization with the SMT abilities and such though with their skill trees. But SMT3 and the whole main line (I believe) are more about capturing monsters then fusing them to make others and mix/match skills. And they're 4 character parties like DQ.

A third person or MGS styled game in the FM world could certainly be cool. But yeah all those attempts look so low budget and nasty lol. I agree it's a shame the Votoms style is more rare in anime. Another series I'm surprised that never got an anime would be Armored Core. I played and really enjoyed a few of those. They feel like they could probably take place in the same kind of world as FM. The mecha are a bit flashier, but it's some hardcore grounded action usually.

That's cool to hear. It sounds like the GE999 movie was one of the first more serious anime movies for its time and changed some perspectives about the medium then. I love both the first two movies and the Queen Millennia movie is excellent as well. I'm glad the TV version finally got finished subs too, it was pretty fun.

I'll probably land around an 8 myself on UY.

I'm really surprised an HD remaster of DQ8 hasn't happened yet. Even if DQ isn't as big in the West, seems like easy money. I'd double dip too.

I tried playing Persona 4 a bit and couldn't get into it at all. They seem so popular though but I think that turned me away from SMT as well for far too many years haha. Glad I've seen the light now. It's even kind of wild that SMT predates Pokemon, with a similar gimmick...

Yeah I played both campaigns on Front Mission DS. Great stuff. I'm not sure I want to play FM1 again already, but I really do like the look of these remakes. It's nice since FM2 honestly looks pretty ugly lol. So I'm just really glad that's happening for that one. Hopefully you're right, maybe these remasters will do well enough to get a new real game. The modern third person shooter spinoffs always look pretty bad.

I missed out on the metal ammo case, but got those DVD's, then was disappointed to see the quality of them after having watched GP's subs haha. Then it sounds like they even kind of messed up the newer BD release over here. So weird.

That's awesome! I don't have a glass case, but I'd consider it for some artifacts like that. I've only been able to read some interviews with him, but he sounds like a really humble guy that likes teaching now. He always puts over Tomino. But I think Takahashi is the better director for the most part, when Tomino was a good visionary and ideas guy. I wish they could have worked on a series together, the best of both worlds. A shame Layzner got cut short and could have been even better.

The order and versions I've played them in:

DQ5 (DS), DQ4 (DS), DQ1-2 (SNES), DQ3 (SNES), DQ6 (SNES), and DQ8 (PS2).

I liked DQ5, but it was actually DQ4 that really clicked and made me want to play way more. I'm sad DQ4 didn't get an SNES remake in the DQ3/6 engine though, the graphics and music is incredible in those. DQ3 has some of my favorite tunes.

Yeah I got the 3DS version of DQ7 for that reason. I hear it's seriously like 30 hours shorter, but still ~70 hours or longer. I'm sure I'll dig it, but I can see how it's probably "for the fans only" in a way. DQ11 will probably be awesome, but DQ8 set the bar so high. I agree that game is like the traditional JRPG formula to perfection. It blew me away and I couldn't believe something of that scope was on the PS2. I played it just last year and absolutely loved it. Such a jolly feel good game. DQ9 looks mighty iffy... I'm not that optimistic about that one, but I'll try it lol.

Now I'm getting into SMT. So while I near the end of my DQ journey, I have another series to dig into now. I played SMT3 last year and in ways I might even like it more than DQ8. And I don't often care for monster capturing systems much but I got addicted there. I bought all the DS games recently before the eshop closed and SMT5 looks cool. I beat Digital Devil Saga 1-2 this year. They were neat but I kind of had some issues with them and would say they're like 8/10's or so. But SMT3 was an easy 10/10. Went out of my way to sink 80 hours into that one. Same with DQ8, I did the post-game dungeon and got some of the best gear, but I didn't bother grinding to beat those super dragons. Ah well.

Honestly last year in general was a crazy year for me and old games and JRPG's. These were my favorites I jotted down.

1. SMT3
2. Dragon Quest 8
3. Phantasy Star 4
4. Front Mission 4
5. Dragon Quest 6
6. Tomb Raider II
7. Parasite Eve
8. King's Field II (I beat 1, 3, and both Shadow Tower's too)

Front Mission is another series I got into in recent years. I beat Gun Hazard, FM1 (DS), FM3 (Alisa's route), and FM4 so far. I was going to attempt FM2's fan translation earlier this year but it's a mess... then like a month or two after that, they announced the cool remakes for 1-2, what a miracle heh. FM5 looks playable emulated though, and freaking awesome. I'll get back to FM3 for Emma's path someday. Overall easy to say it's my new favorite SRPG series for sure. I'm kind of surprised Sunrise or someone never made an anime in the 90's. lol

Good timing now that Discotek picked up CH. Has to be one of the best productions ever in that perfect spot in the late 80's early 90's heh. Dang I'm surprised I've only seen Votoms twice, keep thinking that was three times on that one... but that's just how much I love it. It's one of the rare animes always on my mind. The BD "remasters" of that one don't seem very special to me, with the old GP release still being the best option probably.

Did you dodge FB in general or deactivate your account? I wish I never signed up for it back in the day lol.

I will say, even as someone constantly playing old games, I can also put nostalgia aside in some cases and I think game vs game wise FF7R is a better game than the original. It's a weird comparison content wise, but yeah. FF7 has its weird pacing issues after Midgar and feels like they were throwing everything on the wall just because of the tech and money Square had, lol. FF7R is a more concise package for the most part and just amazing from start to finish to me. Glad they finally came out and said it'll be a trilogy, so there's some end game here. Square's been so hit or miss to me in the modern era and I personally hated FF15, beat it out of spite lol. So I think that's doubly why I was blown away by FF7R. Goes to show what a completely different dev team can do within the same company and it's a cool a lot of the original key staff were involved. I'm hopeful FF16 will be cool too, seems promising.

I got into DQ in recent years finally too. I'm still more of an FF guy all around, but DQ is pretty dang consistent and great at what it is. I'd say DQ3 (SNES), DQ4 (DS), and DQ8 (PS2) are my favorites so far. I'm hoping to play 11 this year. 7, 9, and 11 are the last main ones I need to play.

Now I really see your updates on GE999, yeah shouldn't take too much longer to finish haha. Nice.

That's cool to hear about GE999. I remember Cat's Eye was like that for me. Felt like a 7/10 for the early going, but I liked it more and more the further I got. I love how City Hunter would keep throwing in more two parters in the further you get as well. I think you'd like CH a lot. But yeah you still got plenty of GE999 to watch and me UY, haha. Loving this rewatch of BGC2040 again though. I like how so much of it is familiar even a decade later from my last viewing.

The Oculus / FB thing is still so weird to me. Hopefully that's as far as their overreach into gaming goes. I want Amazon and Google to keep away from it too. Still cracks me up how badly Stadia flopped... but any real gamer saw that coming miles away. lol, I'm hoping the alternatives like the Index and HTC Vibe Pro 2 do well. The Steamdeck seems pretty cool too, but I almost kind of hope it just maybe pushes SteamOS further into something more mainstream and user friendly. I haven't messed with Linux at all yet but I'm interested. Windows 11 sounds horrible for privacy and all.

Level 99 was so overkill, I think I just got in some possessed zone doing that haha. I guess it's a pro/con at the same time with how easy and broken you can make FF6-FF8.

Speaking of that and retranslations, I did enjoy FF7 even more when I replayed it the same year FF7R came out, thanks to the Reunion mod. That script definitely needed work. I was even kind of shocked how it felt like it made the characters line up more with how well they're depicted in the remake. Think that was like the 3rd or 4th time I've beaten FF7 over the ages haha. I used a lot of Enemy Skills this time which was fun. I LOVE the Materia system, but man it's so easy to break. FF4, FF6, and FF7 are the ones I've replayed the most.

I exploited the games Speed stat a bit back in the day myself on actual hardware. I grinded on the dinosaur island a bit getting a few characters to level 99, while constantly switching in Odin when they leveled up to permanently boost their speed. Topped off with Running Shoes/Haste/Quick and whatever, yeah it was beyond overkill... when you split up your team in the final dungeon I probably could have just had three solo 99 characters haha. I can't remember who all I power leveled, but it was like Edgar, Shadow, maybe Sabin or Cyan, and maybe Terra or Celes. Personally I've always been a bigger fan of Celes for the ladies of FF6. But Terra rules too.

I should maybe try to use some of the characters I barely touch next time too. Like Strago, Realm, and Setzer. But man... FF6 just has too many S rank characters. lol

Yeah, early PSVR with RE7 was asking for danger lol. I don't even really ever get motion sickness otherwise. But that was a bad experience. I think I played with a control scheme where you warp your movement around, but can also move manually. Just thinking about it makes me feel kind of dizzy... lol. I was at a friends and had to lay down for like an hour in his basement in the dark. lol

Oh that sounds awesome. I know sometimes other retranslations can be too literal and lose some personality. Even the official ones, like I didn't enjoy Chrono Trigger as much last time I replayed it with the DS version. After awhile I just knew something was off and it was more dry. I think Woosley worked on the original SNES version alongside FF6 and must have injected some charm into as well. I know he took liberties and was on crazy time crunches apparently, but it worked out with him haha.

Did you hear about this hack? https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/6339/ - sounds awesome. Either way the next time I replay FF6, I think I plan to make a ban on teaching all the characters magic and limit myself. So only the magic characters can use summons perhaps. That might make it a little more challenging I think. But the abilities are so good either way lol. Always loved Edgar and his tools.

My favorite way to put it...

FF7 Midgar arc = OVA
FF7R = The full TV adaptation. lol, I think the Midgar stuff is some of the best parts of FF7, so the remake really blowing it out was a plus to me.

Good to know with the Treasure Trove.

Half-Life Alyx sounds damn good. I played some of RE7 at a friends but got dizzy from one of the control schemes haha. Super Hot was pretty cool though. Those were both via PSVR, so I bet the Index is smoother. If they can get these things down to like small goggles that'll be awesome.

One of the best! Which version did you play by chance? I'm never too big on some of Square's remasters when the sprites and graphics look worse, but I think I'd like to play the Pixel Remasters someday for the new OST's. I'm glad FF3 got this treatment at least. I beat the NES original (it was brutal) but the 3D DS games of 3 and 4 didn't look very appealing to me visually.

Did you play FF7 Remake? I'd say that's one of my favorite games in the modern era, next to Nier Automata, and all the From Software games. I'm still kind of on the Elden Ring high, but I really do want to say it's my second favorite. Demon's Souls is still my favorite even if I try to put the nostalgia aside haha, just have a real soft spot for how quirky that game is. I love them all though, including Sekiro.

I actually I have the Treasure Trove on Steam, so I think that should include everything? I originally played it on the WiiU. So I'm just waiting for the mood to strike for a replay, then I can hit up the DLC's.

Still rocking a 2060 myself. Don't have a lot of fun money right now with this economy, but it's cool that GPU's and hardware are getting easier to come by again from what I've seen.

Makes me think of modules for Python a bit. Anything to simplify and organize code better is good stuff.

I seriously need to play the Shovel Knight DLC's, always hear great things about them. I've got everything you listed on my wishlist haha. I'd like to get to Blaster Master Zero 3 and the new TMNT sometime soon perhaps. For now I've playing some random stuff here and there via emulation, some old PCE games. I'm pretty excited for Xenoblade 3 later this month though. Elden Ring is my GOTY... or more like Game of the Decade.

I was leaning towards AWS myself. I'll definitely look into it sometime.

Is React like bootstrap? I haven't used either but see them name dropped a lot thesedays. I was able to build out my own CV site using this over the weekend. I got rid of the "Skill Bars" since I hear iffy things about those. Kind of tweaked it more to my liking. Now I have something I can put up when I feel the need to get a domain and tweak as I go, but I'll work on some more projects until then.

Okay yeah, I couldn't catch the trick to get to the multiplayer game. This is pretty rad haha. Even the platforming here feels good. So I'll definitely look forward to your full game. You weren't kidding, doing all that... a passion project for sure!

I've been keeping a list of my favorite "NeoRetro" games (my own nickname for the the indie throwbacks I like lol) so far over the years. I'm kind of picky about them and prefer they look and feel like the 8/16bit eras of the old, like your game too heh. Maybe you've played some of these that inspired you too?

Definitely sounds like everything neatly fell into place there with your first big job doing this. Cool to hear you confirm what I've heard about it being easier to land jobs or get recruited down the road once you get in. I also agree the few times I've gone through an agency, I like some kind of end goal and know I can land on my feet at the place they want me at permanently after a point. Seems to be just hitting X amount of hours in a few cases to me. I'm hoping for a little pay bump this month once this job takes me on. Last time I took a pay cut when my former job hired me, but the benefits and all were nice. Guess I'll find out soon for this case.

SQLite, NoSQL, and MongoDB are all familiar to me heh. It seems like the same deal with software too. I've been looking into Tableau mostly so far, but I imagine those skills could carry over to Power BI if some job used that instead. I used GoormIDE online for some of my classes/books so far, then I checked out SQL Server on my own and wish I was using that from the beginning. I haven't tried MySQL yet, but yeah like you're saying, the foundational knowledge should hopefully carry over from program/language to another. It was kind of amusing I did a Python course and book first, then SQL. That made SQL so much easier just kind of knowing the logic and order of things, I didn't feel like I was stumped until like 70-80% into that course when it got into multiple JOIN's and stuff.

AWS kind of interests me too. I don't know anything... but Cloud and automation seem to go hand in hand with data analytics at some point. A database administrator sounds so cool on paper too, lol. I can't envision myself being a data scientist, but yeah. Ideally I think I'd like to be the guy working a bit more behind the scenes. But if I have to present data/etc and talk to stakeholders or whatever, that could maybe get me out of my shell sometimes.

Yoooo, this is awesome! I love throwback indie games, so I'd definitely check this out when it drops heh. I did 3D Animation myself for a few years back in high school. I was lucky to go to a high tech new school. I got an endorsement and all for going the extra mile, but I decided I just wanted to play games and not make it a job haha. I did do a Galaga styled PyGame project from my book, but yeah. I respect the hustle though. If this is a fun little project on the side for you, that's awesome.

Sigh... GoDaddy and SSL stuff is pretty annoying with my company somedays haha.

"Good thing the 70s and 80s have no shortage of good mecha."

Indeed. I'm waiting for Daimos to get better subs now, or maybe I'll just grab the Discotek release eventually myself. Been waiting for awhile... lol.

So did you kind of luck out and have someone take you under their wing? Sounds like that was maybe the case with sitting next to the lead FE developer. That sounds so ideal. From what I've heard, getting your foot into the door sounds like the hardest part. But once you're in IT or whatnot, it's easier from there. And I guess nowadays people job hop more for pay raises and such. Kind of good to know that ahead of time.

I'm not against agencies though and talking to recruiters. That's how I got my current job as well. Right now I do some data entry when needed, but the main thing is helping format and build surveys for companies, the government, etc. We use Lime software. Then I got trained on tinkering with the landing pages, so I'm digging into some basic HTML/CSS again which is fun. I think the fact that I can edit the company portal and purchase domains is a huge trust factor too. So yeah I've been updating my resume along the way with all this heh. But yeah once I'm feeling more confident with my own portfolio and projects to show off, I could reach out to others then. That's what one IT recruiter told me earlier this year. I've learned a lot, but I don't want to spread myself too thin, so I should double down on what I know and get some projects up.

It seems like a little bit of Python can go a long way for data. Kind of like you're saying, if I could maybe cook up a small script template for something or automate some process, that could probably be a huge help for anyone if they need it. Even just a few lines worth of code with the matplotlib library for Python was doing a lot of data visualization. So I guess I'm banking on that for down the road haha. Python or R could maybe put me above entry DA's at some point.