09-06-2023, 02:38 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-06-2023, 02:41 PM by Lord Windos.)
Alright, to avoid a deadlock and prevent a potentially looooong wait for No One to get online and throw their two cents in, I'm changing my vote to not fighting G-Max Sandaconda. Phantom makes good points I already was thinking myself and somewhat already expressed, and I rather not try to force a long-ass debate to convince anyone else to go against logic and risk assessment just to have a good fight, get some potential loot, and have the added safety net of having Team Raiders on our side. Honestly if it were an option I'd just want the group to wait for Team Raiders to take on and defeat G-Max Sandaconda before moving on with them, but I have a feeling that things will not allow such a craven, time intensive 'solution' .
With me, Phantom, and Mika, that's a 3 way majority to skip the fight, so unless anyone else has anything to add to the following scene we can Move On to the next part of the MD. And if you do please make it quick - not to be rude, but I'm itching to get back to progressing the story and trying out Platina's newly expanded Moveset, and I rather not wait another week to do so.
My final thoughts on this topic (for now): I was looking forward to fighting the G-Max Snek, but the mechanical reveal effectively killed it before it could begin is very frustrating to have to dealt with. Say what you will about it being an optional challenge that was made to be harder than usual to account for our expanded roaster, but the challenge and all its potential for fun/benefits/cost assessment thereof is rendered mute if you don't design it right, as well as all the effort Dragonstrike put into designing it. Or, in other words, a good fight for us all was ruined by a (in my opinion) particular bad combo of a nasty custom mechanic and Primal Panic and screwed me over more than I think was necessary in the process.
It's probably for the best the Group avoid fighting Giga Snek, and it was nice to get a warning at all about how nasty the Snek really was (even if my PC is getting screwed over now because of it), but I wish that our decision to avoid fighting it did not hinge on such a polarizing gimmick. I do hope you take note of this Dragonstrike when designing future Boss Encounters, Optional Challenges, and the like, 'cause a lot of effort to make memorable and fun fights are going to be completely spoiled if you start leaning more heavily on Player Restrictive mechanics (Especially if it has any chance to dovetail into Primal Panic). The prominent use of such BS PDs more or less leaves no choice but to play it safe whenever possible, which frankly sucks for one (me!) that likes to be challenged but not in a way that feels 'cheap' or forces us into OOC debates over what should be done or risked. That, or the Team has to be sufficiently OP and prepared for anything for us to even consider taking such risk or handle BS without it feeling 'unfair', which would be mentally exhausting and boring to do on a constant basis.
I having a tough time trying to put everything into words about how I feel about the merethought of future Encounters having nasty mechanics like Item Lock, Super Plot Armor, more ways to force Primal Points onto us, etc. that would ruin fights, prevent Encounters (wasting them), and be unpleasant rather than interesting to deal with on the whole. To try and sum up my feelings anyway, however......well, their mere existence is already casting a shadow over the campaign and making us Players go against our preferences or take chances for 'the greater good' . That ain't necessarily a bad thing if you can refine your approaches to make harsh restrictions/challenges fun or worthwhile because (or in spite) of said harshness, and it's valuable to not fight some fights, but it's not a good thing either. The last thing I want is Encounters to turn into hassles or be effectively gated off by sheer dint of more players erring on the side of caution and me having to go along with them not to hold up the campaign if I don't want to resort to Solo Strats (which suck in PMD) or trying to make (most likely futile, prohibitive, or simply time intensive) OOC Deals to get what I want.
With me, Phantom, and Mika, that's a 3 way majority to skip the fight, so unless anyone else has anything to add to the following scene we can Move On to the next part of the MD. And if you do please make it quick - not to be rude, but I'm itching to get back to progressing the story and trying out Platina's newly expanded Moveset, and I rather not wait another week to do so.
My final thoughts on this topic (for now): I was looking forward to fighting the G-Max Snek, but the mechanical reveal effectively killed it before it could begin is very frustrating to have to dealt with. Say what you will about it being an optional challenge that was made to be harder than usual to account for our expanded roaster, but the challenge and all its potential for fun/benefits/cost assessment thereof is rendered mute if you don't design it right, as well as all the effort Dragonstrike put into designing it. Or, in other words, a good fight for us all was ruined by a (in my opinion) particular bad combo of a nasty custom mechanic and Primal Panic and screwed me over more than I think was necessary in the process.
It's probably for the best the Group avoid fighting Giga Snek, and it was nice to get a warning at all about how nasty the Snek really was (even if my PC is getting screwed over now because of it), but I wish that our decision to avoid fighting it did not hinge on such a polarizing gimmick. I do hope you take note of this Dragonstrike when designing future Boss Encounters, Optional Challenges, and the like, 'cause a lot of effort to make memorable and fun fights are going to be completely spoiled if you start leaning more heavily on Player Restrictive mechanics (Especially if it has any chance to dovetail into Primal Panic). The prominent use of such BS PDs more or less leaves no choice but to play it safe whenever possible, which frankly sucks for one (me!) that likes to be challenged but not in a way that feels 'cheap' or forces us into OOC debates over what should be done or risked. That, or the Team has to be sufficiently OP and prepared for anything for us to even consider taking such risk or handle BS without it feeling 'unfair', which would be mentally exhausting and boring to do on a constant basis.
I having a tough time trying to put everything into words about how I feel about the merethought of future Encounters having nasty mechanics like Item Lock, Super Plot Armor, more ways to force Primal Points onto us, etc. that would ruin fights, prevent Encounters (wasting them), and be unpleasant rather than interesting to deal with on the whole. To try and sum up my feelings anyway, however......well, their mere existence is already casting a shadow over the campaign and making us Players go against our preferences or take chances for 'the greater good' . That ain't necessarily a bad thing if you can refine your approaches to make harsh restrictions/challenges fun or worthwhile because (or in spite) of said harshness, and it's valuable to not fight some fights, but it's not a good thing either. The last thing I want is Encounters to turn into hassles or be effectively gated off by sheer dint of more players erring on the side of caution and me having to go along with them not to hold up the campaign if I don't want to resort to Solo Strats (which suck in PMD) or trying to make (most likely futile, prohibitive, or simply time intensive) OOC Deals to get what I want.
Like the wind, I come and go as I please... but I am always there to provide a comforting breeze.
Member of Team PUNishment. Pun-pare for Struggle, make it Double Team!
Phantom is my OTP~
Online ID: 000650
Member of Team PUNishment. Pun-pare for Struggle, make it Double Team!
Phantom is my OTP~ Online ID: 000650
