New Map Coming Dec 15th for Call of the Wild: The Angler

 

Call of the Wild: The Angler has a new reserve (map) releasing Dec 15th and it's FREE until Jan 5th.  

Trollsporet: A Gorgeous New Setting

The Norway Reserve, or Trollsporet as the locals call it, is 37 square miles (96 square kilometers) and features three distinct biomes: Nøkkensjøen, Huldraskogen, and Fossegrimfjorden. Full of opportunities for exploration, You’ll find idyllic villages, hidden paths to secret fishing spots, and astonishing views from the tops of its towering mountains. As a perk of the region, you’ll also get to enjoy the midnight sun and the Northern Lights as you explore the wilderness.

 Most importantly the new Reserve will feature 14 fish (13 new species and Northern Pike from the original map).  This is not the hundreds of species that can be found in other fishing games such as Russian Fishing 4, but its a step forward.  With that said some early comments based on the teaser trailer cast worry that the "new" species are just slightly modified versions of existing (for example: European Perch indistinguishable from Yellow Perch that exist on the current map).  I am hopeful there is some behavior and other changes that will separate the new species out.

 Also with the new map comes a bunch of open world quests and places to explore.  I am still not convinced this is a selling point for the game.  Before launch I thought it would be but having played a good bit of the first reserve, Golden Ridge, the open world aspects sort of fall flat.  They have zero hook into fishing and are very basic "find this thing".  I'd prefer the development effort going into the open world go into some form of progression system for fishing (perk, skill, don't care - something more than what is there today).

 I will give the new map a try on the 15th as it's been a bit since I went digital fishing.  Hope you enjoyed my cleverly hidden puns in the post.  Leave a comment if you found them.

Boring Final Fantasy 16 Trailer

 The Final Fantasy XVI (16) trailer has hit the web and I have some thoughts on it.  First go ahead and watch it and then read on for my commentary.

 

Sunday 12/11/2022 Post

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40% chance to make the play offs if we win out!

Interesting Vampire Tank Build (New World)

Busy day so just going to share this interesting New World Vampire Tank build I saw on Reddit.  Enjoy!

I was surprised by my Reddit Recap for 2022!

 Reddit has posted it's 2022 Recap for users and I wanted to share some of my cards.  It's funny and a bit freaky how much a site like Reddit gets to know about you simply be keeping track of what you do.

 The neatest part is the card they put together for you.  I cracked up at mine and my special +0 power.  Also surprised by my karma performance this year.  I had not realized I had gained so much! 

 So to recap:

• In Top 1% of karma farmers earners
• I live in the New World sub reddit
• I like my memes (of course the entire Green Bay Packers season is a meme!)
• Also 2022 a year for politics and world events
  

Go me!

And I was entertained!

tuck frump and puck futin

 

An Issue With Skins

 I was thinking about skins in games and wanted to talk about one of the things that annoys me.

TF2 Silhouettes

 First I want to get nostalgic about Team Fortress 2.  One of the things that I felt the game got perfect (at least at launch, not sure about current state) was the visual feedback about what class a player was playing.  The heavy was very distinct compared to the scout who was distinct compared to the sniper/medic/etc.  Every class was visibly identifiable the moment you came across them unlike other FPS games of the time where it was very difficult to get a sense of your opponents capabilities at a glance.

 Fast forward to the modern age and the explosion of skins as a key revenue stream for online games and the one thing that annoys me about skins: skins obfuscate a characters role in the game.  For example I will use my current game of choice, New World, and how it uses skins.  

 Skins are available and can then be applied to any equipment slot for a player.  The problem is skins are not visually tied to armor weights so a heavy armor user can apply a skin that looks like light armor and vice versa a light armor user can dress up in heavy plate armor skins.  Most annoying is shield skins where players can use the skin for a small round shield while using a big ole' tower shield.  

 This means I lose out visually on clues about my opponent.  A character running around with a small round shield should be indicative of a light armor load.  If I jump in to attack them thinking that and end up hitting a wall because the player is actually a heavy armor tank with a tower shield (more damage reduction) it is a "feel bad" moment. And I will admit I've used to this my benefit by being that heavy tank with a round shield skin baiting in attackers thinking I was a light weight.

 Even though I've benefited from this skins situation it still annoys me.  Skins in games should not change the visual distinction needed for the game to give good feedback to the user.  In New World's case it is as simple as making skins require specific armor weight to apply (i.e. can't apply a round shield skin to a tower shield, can't apply a light armor skin to a heavy armor piece).

 So I plead with game developers: please don't sacrifice visual feedback to players during game play in the favor of giving more skins to players.  Please make skins as minimally impacting on playing the game as possible. 

 Thank you for listening to my rant.  Agree?  Disagree?  Leave some comments.