The Steve-Out: The Brown Bunny is my movie of the year.

[Elin]

Goodnight everyone.

Smell ya later!

[Elin]

It's in an ancient tongue, so I can't quite make it all out, but I think it's some sort of... warning...

Look at the chiseled biceps and steely expressions. Clearly these men were revered as gods in their heyday. What lies within must be some sort of shrine of reverence or temple...

[Milady]

Naturally.

Your lack of skill with Japanese and piano is far outclassed by your abundance of skill at being Milady. I would be thrilled. I went to the pet shop down the road from my brother's house like every second day I was in Japan. I think they started to know me as the weird foreigner who came in, gawked at the pretty animals, and never actually bought anything.

Whatcha buying from the pet shop? :'D

I'm sure there are plenty of much-worse things a foreigner might be seen gawking at in Japan.

Unfortunately, just some furry food for my snake.

[Stark]

Hello Stark! What's up?

(Hugely belated reply. I can't keep up with the hangout these days at all. )

Not much, just been in bed with flu, haven't had it this bad in years so its knocked me for six. Feeling better so I'm back for a while Hope you are doing ok?

[Elin]

I'm sure there are plenty of much-worse things a foreigner might be seen gawking at in Japan.

Unfortunately, just some furry food for my snake.

Akihabara at 6PM. The maids! Oh god the maids! That reminds me, I still have tons of flyers for maid cafes and suchlike to mail to Fer! :'D

Oh dear. That's why I'd struggle to have a snake, as much as I love them. I couldn't get past the fact that the things I was having to feed to my pet were possibly cuter than the pet itself. :'D

[Elin]

Not much, just been in bed with flu, haven't had it this bad in years so its knocked me for six. Feeling better so I'm back for a while Hope you are doing ok?

Gawd, sounds like exactly the same thing that got me. Think it's supposed to be going all around Britain this winter. Glad you're doing better now! I got over it pretty quickly, but the first few days I struggled to even move.

Yep, not doing too badly. Have to start back at class tomorrow, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be. :'D

[Stark]

Goodnight everyone.

Catch you later

[Stark]

Gawd, sounds like exactly the same thing that got me. Think it's supposed to be going all around Britain this winter. Glad you're doing better now! I got over it pretty quickly, but the first few days I struggled to even move.

Yep, not doing too badly. Have to start back at class tomorrow, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be. :'D

Ahh awesome Good luck with that

[Tanthias]

...wait, your name is Wonder Stevie?

Nah, that's Cola.

Also, seems it's time for the final mission.

[Gare]

So, Arc Rise Fantasia. I played for like an hour and a half and got slaughtered by the very first boss in the game.

I refuse to believe that I'm not man enough for this shit.

*tries again*

[Milady]

Akihabara at 6PM. The maids! Oh god the maids! That reminds me, I still have tons of flyers for maid cafes and suchlike to mail to Fer! :'D

Oh dear. That's why I'd struggle to have a snake, as much as I love them. I couldn't get past the fact that the things I was having to feed to my pet were possibly cuter than the pet itself. :'D

It helps to remember that the snake itself cost 200 dollars, not to mention all the money for the set up and such. This three dollar rat is awfully cute (especially since I've kept rats as pets on multiple occasions), but I don't want my snake to starve to death.

Also, rats only live about 2 years maximum. My snake is supposed to live for 20 or so. If he ever gets to be big enough to eat the larger rats, they'll be pretty close to being dead, anyway.

But I am, on occasion, a little disturbed at my ability to kill small animals with hardly a second thought. I refuse to look at them for very long, or else I'll start feeling guilty.

[Zaladane]

welp, let's see if the cops actually show up this time

[Stark]

Does anyone know of any good tools for making layouts? (for rough designs of levels, besides paint) I want to be able to make level layouts so I can flesh out how a level will look in the long run. i.e. I make a level 24 units across and 8 high, paint I think wouldn't cut this, neither would photoshop. I was going to do pen and paper, but anything on the computer would be easier to organise. Thanks.

[Elin]

So, Arc Rise Fantasia. I played for like an hour and a half and got slaughtered by the very first boss in the game.

I refuse to believe that I'm not man enough for this shit.

*tries again*

All I'll say is 'get used to it'. You have a huge range of powerful options at your disposal in battle as the game goes on, and if you play the game well you don't need to level to beat most any boss. But unfortunately playing the game well generally demands that you have prior knowledge of a boss's capabilities. Which means getting curb-stomped at least once. The difficulty level isn't unfair, but it's pretty darn ruthless. I don't know how much harder it gets after the 20-25 hour mark, but I'm pretty sure I picked up more game overs in its first half than in any RPG I've played since like...uh... I don't even remember.

Undub, I take it? Or are you actually enduring that...thing? That being said, I suppose the undub might be disadvantageous if you don't speak Japanese, as the things your characters say at the start of each round give you big clues as to how a boss is going to attack that turn. Can't remember exactly what the line was for a really big attack, but I'm pretty sure it was some variant on 'iya na yokan ga suru' (I've got a bad feeling about this). Listen for that at the start of a round, and when it comes up in later boss fights, prepare for the worst. :'D

Oh, and trying to avoid spoilers, but in the dungeon where your party gets cut in half, get as much earth protection for L'Arc's party as you can. You'll thank me later. The boss isn't that much harder than any of the others, but there's no save point before the boss of that dungeon, meaning that dying forces you to repeat the whole dungeon. And all my characters got petrified on the first round, giving me an instant game over. XD That was the one time the game really crossed into masochistic territory for me.

[Ivolt]

I'm one of those people who listens to bad dubs, and comes to love them.