Podcasts about concernedape

About: We did a seasonal set of episodes in the past, but found we had such an abundance of fantastic winter tunes! Time to showcase some more winter themed tracks, as we have so many fantastic snowy tunes to share. Artwork: Xenoblade Chronicles 00:00 - Buried In Snow [Final Fantasy VII] by Nobuo Uematsu > 03:07 - A Freezing Breath [Scarlet Nexus] by Hayata Takeda > 07:36 - The Winterlands [Octopath Traveller II] by Yasunori Nishiki > 11:08 - The Winter Breeze [I Am Setsuna] by Tomoki Miyoshi > 12:47 - Snowden Town [Undertale] by Toby Fox > 14:03 - Frozen Factory - Zone 1 [Sonic Lost World] by Tomoya Ohtanoi, Takahito Eguchi, Naofumi Hataya, Jun Senoue > 17:34 - Shiveria Town [Super Mario Odyssey] by Shiho Fujii > 20:16 - Another Winter [Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game] by Anamanaguchi > 22:47 - Island (Snowflake Mountain) [Diddy Kong Racing] by David Wise, Graeme Norgate > 23:30 - Snowy Mountain…for Icecap [Sonic Adventure] by Jun Senoue > 25:28 - Kamui of the Northern Lands [Okami] by Masami Ueda, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Rei Kondoh, Akari Groves > 29:30 - In A Snow-Bound Land [Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest] by David Wise > 32:33 - Snowy Mt. Valak - Night [Xenoblade Chronicles] by ACE+ > 35:39 - Snowflakes [Persona 4: Golden] by Shoji Meguro > 39:01 - Yuki Floating Down From The Sky [World's End Club] by Jun Fukuda > 42:47 - Winter (Nocturne Of Ice) [Stardew Valley] by ConcernedApe > pixelbeatpod@icloud.com > 

The guys discuss FTC finally dropping appeal against Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Metaphor: ReFantazio coming to Game Pass. The news includes: Larian insists it did not accidentally leak Divinity: Original Sin 3 Bonaparte: A Mechanized Revolution announced ConcernedApe “hopes” to release Haunted Chocolatier within the next five years Elden Ring Nightreign could receive […] The post Episode 753: Nightreign: Original Sin 3 first appeared on .

Stardew Valley’s Eric Barone (ConcernedApe) Joins the Pod! Bobby goes full fanboy as he meets the mastermind behind Stardew Valley. It’s the ultimate crossover—The Slept King meets the Chill King. Cozy chaos, pixel dreams, and one very special BONUS BELLY. Pre-order the new TigerBelly 500 merch and collectibles HERE

In this episode, the Gents talk all things Stardew Valley Catch the stream on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/3v0podcast) Be our Friend on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/3v0Podcast) Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/3v0podcast/) Follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/3v0Podcast) Peep our YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0GSPhszNu0y5_yKMPNxC8w) Send us a message: 3v0PodcastTeam@gmail.com

With the holiday season upon us, Gene and several other friends visited Sacramento Gamers Expo where we met some awesome game developer legends like David Crane, Garry Kitchen and Ed Annunziata. Joining Gene is Michelle (the 'voice' of Sue Kasper), AJ of VGMPorium (also on our Persona show) and last but not least Brian Stewart, one of the biggest VGM fans you'll ever find. Join us as we look back at our experience at SGE playing games, attending panels and looking back at our gaming in 2024 more generally. Tracklist 00:00 (Bedding) Wizard Theme - Warriors of the Eternal Sun (GEN, 1992) - Paul Mudra, Frank Klepacki, Dwight Okahara 06:58 (Excerpt) Azcan Wander - Warriors of the Eternal Sun - Paul Mudra, Frank Klepacki, Dwight Okahara 07:14 (Excerpt) Azcan Wander - arrangement by "Gate House" 07:58 Swamp Combat - Warriors of the Eternal Sun (GEN, 1992) - Paul Mudra, Frank Klepacki, Dwight Okahara 16:15 Penetration - RayForce / Gunlock / Layer Section / Galactic Attack (ARC, 1994) - Tamayo Kawamoto 27:36 Gymhouse - Three Dirty Dwarves (SAT, 1996) - Attila Héger, Attila Dobos 38:49 John Whitgift - Astrologaster Dirty Dwarves (iOS, Switch, 2019) - Andrea Boccadoro Emily Dickens (Soprano) Ruth Kiang (Alto) Benedict Hymas, Robin Bailey (Tenor) Jimmy Holliday, Christopher Webb (Bass) 48:52 (Excerpt) "21 Concepts" from the album The Graduate by MC Lars 50:15 Spring (Wild Horseradish Jam) - Stardew Valley (Various, 2016) - ConcernedApe aka Eric Barone Links to other things mentioned Game developers and designers Audacity Games David Crane Garry Kitchen Ed Annunziata Brian Colin (IG) VGM albums Astrologaster Stardew Valley Artists and performers at Sac Gamers Expo MC Lars The Graduate album Mega Ran Lo(u)ser Scarecrow Scandals Alice Knows Karate Got Item  Websites Game Grooves Warriors of the Eternal Sun - Azcan Warrior by “Gate House” Hildregarde Von Blingen (Youtube)

Logging on to our (impressive!) virtual reality future with Meta Quest 3S, why we've head back to Stardew Valley after the embarrassment of riches included in the Stardew Valley v1.6 update from ConcernedApe, and returning to a classic with Amanita Design's Samorost. All that, and a sheep (or a pariah?), on Ep215. 00:00 - Santa Trauma 05:07 - Meta Quest 3S 30:12 - Stardew Valley v1.6 41:02 - Samorost 45:16 - “Beating” games On this episode were Peter (@XeroXeroXero) and Sam (@MrSamTurner). Our Spotify Playlist brings together lots of great thematic music inspired by the stuff we talk about. Links to where you can find us - StayingInPodcast.com Note: sometimes we'll have been sent a review copy of the thing we're talking about on the podcast. It doesn't skew how we think about that thing, and we don't receive compensation for anything we discuss, but we thought you might like to know this is the case.

About: A new episode featuring hot and fiery themes from various games. Lets get spicy!Artwork: Chrono Cross 00:00 - Another Medium [Undertale] by Toby Fox > 02:21 - Vexin' Volcano [Mega Bomberman] by Jun Chikuma > 03:39 - Fully Furnaced [Shovel Knight Dig] by Jake Kaufman > 07:24 - An Underlying Problem [Shovel Knight] by Jake Kaufman > 11:06 - Volcanic Zone (Battle) [Popful Mail] by Falcom Sound Team JDK > 12:39 - A Searing Struggle [Ys III: Wanderers From Ys] by Falcom Sound Team JDK > 13:59 - Earth Temple [The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword] by Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota, Takeshi Hama, Koji Kondo > 17:19 - Lethal Lava Land [Super Mario 64] by Koji Kondo > 19:59 - Hot Top Volcano [Diddy Kong Racing] by David Wise, Graeme Norgate > 21:44 - Dungeon Of Searing Heat [Skies of Arcadia] by Yutaka Minobe, Tatsuyuki Maeda > 23:41 - Mines (The Lava Dwellers) [Stardew Valley] by ConcernedApe > 26:38 - Cave Exploration [Worlds End Club] by Jun Fukuda > 29:55 - Cavern Of Splendor [Etrian Odyssey III] by Yuzo Koshiro > 34:44 - Gundor Volcano [Dark Chronicle] by Tomohito Nishiura > 36:49 - Mount Pyre [Chrono Cross] by Yasunori Mitsuda > 40:23 - Shattered Lands [Pyre] by Darren Korb > pixelbeatpod@icloud.com > 

The boys share the fourth installment of Christmas adjacent media! Happy Holidays! What do you think? Do these count? If you have played Stardew Valley, what are your favorite things about it? Let us know!Follow Jeff's Letterboxd accountFollow Josh's Letterboxd accountDon't forget to help the Friends Who Like Stuff raise money for the Children's Miracle Network through Extra Life! Please donate if you are able!Instagram: @popschtickEmail: popschtick@gmail.comArtwork by: Josh JacksonMusic appears courtesy of Leo Goes Grr:Intro: The Thief from the ep The ThiefOutro: Sunset, OK from the ep We'll Come Back for You

Eric, Nicky, and special guest: Suzanne Gunning talk about boys, dating, and where they prefer to shop in an episode all about Stardew Valley. Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation role-playing game developed by ConcernedApe. The player character inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in the town of Stardew Valley. Press Any Button hosts Nicky (a new gamer) and Eric (a lifetime gamer) are a married couple who both love video games. For every video game they will discuss its past (history of the game, developers story, and fun facts), present (game play, game review and strategy), and future (will there be a sequel?? A movie?)  BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE… Every game also comes with a challenge presented by the host that chose the game. If the challenge is not completed then whoever failed has to do a video game rap! So if you want to learn more about video games, hear some nerdy video game raps, or just have a good time this is the podcast for you. We try to cover all types of video games including: Retro and New video games Playstation, Nintendo, Xbox, Sega, and PC games Any and all genres including RPG, Simulation, Beat em up, platforming, mystery, first person shooter, sandbox, puzzle, action adventure, etc. Follow us on  Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/pressanybutton_podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Credits: Nicky Smith Eric Luedtke Special Guest: Suzanne Gunning Music by Mark Spurlock and Eric Luedtke References: ⁠https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stardew_Valley⁠ ⁠https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Stardew_Valley_Wiki⁠ ⁠https://www.gamesradar.com/games/fortnite/stardew-valley-creator-eric-barone-has-been-trying-to-make-a-fortnite-crossover-happen-and-already-has-a-few-ideas-i-would-be-open-to-anything/⁠ ⁠https://www.pcgamesn.com/haunted-chocolatier/release-date⁠

Al talks about Living Room, a new VR animal game Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:04:55: What Have We Been Up To? 00:23:28: Game News 00:49:21: New Games 00:52:33: Living Room 01:15:28: Outro Links Disney Dreamlight Valley “The Storybook Vale” Stardew Valley “1.6.9” Update ConcernedApe Interview Webfishing Living Room on Quest Store Living Room Trailer Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:31) Al: Hello farmers, and welcome to another episode of The Harvest Season. My name is Al, (0:00:36) Kev: My name is Kevin, one of us is in the US, the other is not. (0:00:41) Al: and we’re here today to talk about Cottagecore Games! (0:00:45) Kev: Woohoo! Yes! (0:00:49) Al: I feel like we can’t start the episode without kind of referencing what has happened. We are recording on the 10th of November, five days after a certain election in America. (0:00:59) Al: I’m going to go ahead and close the poll. (0:01:01) Al: I don’t want… (0:01:01) Kev: I didn’t get my birthday wish, rather rude of them. (0:01:02) Al: Yeah, I learned that you have the same birthday as my younger son. (0:01:10) Al: Isn’t that weird? (0:01:10) Kev: yeah happy birthday Craig right that’s Craig yeah (0:01:13) Al: How’s it taking… (0:01:14) Al: How’s it taking… (0:01:15) Al: Yeah, Craig. (0:01:16) Al: How’s it taking six years for us to notice this? (0:01:17) Kev: ah I don’t know man like well I mean okay I try to keep mine on the down-low because I’m torn about it cuz you know obviously it’s nice for people to notice but I also feel like narcissists love you know coming out with the little air horn so I know I’m torn in minutes so I generally don’t bring (0:01:19) Al: Weird. (0:01:38) Al: I don’t think it’s narcissistic to have a birthday and celebrate it. (0:01:40) Kev: too much attention to it (0:01:45) Kev: you’re right no you’re absolutely right I’m I am aware I am the issue and I mean oh boy is it so I I was actually so okay I do therapy and I do it on Tuesdays which happened to be my birthday but I was sick that day so I didn’t do therapy either so you (0:01:53) Al: This feels like something to unpack in therapy, just a thought. (0:02:07) Al: Oh no, oh no, yeah, I was going to say this week’s going to have a lot to talk about. (0:02:10) Kev: know there’ll be plenty to unpack this this there this Tuesday Oh boy. (0:02:20) Al: So yeah, I don’t want this to become a politics podcast, we’re not going to spend time talking about the election and I seriously considered it, but we’ll see, we’ll see if you can convince me after this recording. (0:02:26) Kev: That’s what the green house is for! (0:02:37) Al: I thought it was important to at least, you know, reference it so that it’s not like - I always feel weird when there’s something major that happens and we don’t at least reference it because it feels like the entire podcast is just a place that doesn’t exist. So I kind of - I want the podcast to be escapism, so we’re not going to be like talking about it a lot, but I just wanted to mention and remind people that this is a safe place for you. We are inclusive of everyone that [chuckling] (0:03:07) Al: - The upcoming president is not inclusive of. (0:03:12) Al: Yeah, and if you are anti-LGBTQ (0:03:18) Al: or if you are anti any races, (0:03:23) Al: if you are a terrible person of that persuasion, (0:03:28) Al: I don’t care if you listen to the podcast, (0:03:31) Al: you can go away. (0:03:32) Al: Thank you very much. (0:03:33) Al: Only good people here. (0:03:37) Kev: - Okay, so I’ll sign off then. (0:03:39) Kev: Bye everyone. (0:03:41) Al: So that’s all I wanted to talk about. (0:03:44) Al: We’re now gonna go into the escapism and talk about other things, including this episode, (0:03:50) Al: we’re gonna talk about Living Room, (0:03:53) Al: which is an augmented reality game that I have been playing. (0:03:59) Al: And hopefully we can get a good discussion out of that (0:04:02) Kev: All right all right. (0:04:03) Al: because obviously no one else on the team has played it. (0:04:08) Kev: Yeah, well, I mean, OK, I’m jumping the gun here, but like AR games, I think are great, like are they are so much more feasible, plausible than, you know, true VR and I think there’s, there’s a lot you can do with it, so you know I’m down for that. (0:04:20) Al: I agree with that. (0:04:25) Kev: I am very much a proponent of AR, like VR will maybe get there one day, but it’s. (0:04:32) Kev: It’s going to be a minute still till, you know, we’re really, really there. There’s still a lot to figure out, but yeah, we’ll get there. (0:04:36) Al: Yeah definitely. Hopefully we’ll have some good chat about that later on. I think it’s our first AR game that we’re going to talk about so we’ll see about that. Before that obviously we have some news but first of all Kevin what have you been up to? (0:04:58) Kev: Alright, um, so I haven’t talked, it’s been a minute since I’ve been on here, um, you know, sorry Vincent, you know this, you, you heard on Triple R, but I’ve been playing Bellatro. (0:05:08) Kev: I bit the bullet, I’m in there deep. I have clear a run with every one of the base decks, I would call it, um, the, the color decks, if you will, um, there’s all sorts of other decks that unlock later, and you know, there’s difficulty, so there’s still plenty for me to do. (0:05:26) Kev: for me to do, but that just shows. (0:05:28) Kev: How much time I put in and how much I enjoy it, you know. (0:05:32) Al: I mean, to be fair, you completed a run on your first day playing, didn’t you? (0:05:38) Kev: But yeah I mean it is I I’ve said it before like. (0:05:44) Kev: You know for people who don’t know I tutor in math so I am so I’m an engineer so I’m something of a math guy so a name a game centered around numbers and probabilities and and of course strategy I love strategy games like Fire Emblem and such so you know all that is kind of in my wheelhouse so yeah I hit the ground running with that one. (0:06:04) Kev: Yeah, and there’s obviously a lot to unpack. There’s much more so than this. (0:06:08) Kev: There’s a lot to unpack. There’s much more to unpack. There’s much more so than this. (0:06:14) Kev: There’s much more to unpack. There’s much more so than this. (0:06:18) Kev: Other than that, Sonic Frontiers I have been… I am approaching the end of that game. (0:06:26) Kev: I’ve been going back and kind of… Not 100%ing, but at least… (0:06:31) Kev: So, in Sonic Frontiers you have much like, you know, Breath of the Wild or other open world games. (0:06:38) Kev: You unlock parts of the map, right? You find a quote-unquote “tower”. (0:06:42) Kev: In Sonic Frontiers it’s just like a little objective. And you unlock part of the map, make it visible and see. (0:06:48) Kev: Alright, so I’m going back and at least 100%ing the maps, right? (0:06:52) Kev: There’s a lot, so many different like challenges and stuff like that. I will not be 100%ing that game, actually. (0:07:00) Kev: But I’m going back through that and then I’ll be hitting… I’ll be finishing that up soon. (0:07:04) Kev: Um, still, I don’t know, I just, I really like that game, even just- (0:07:08) Kev: They’re running around and using the different grind rails and bumpers and stuff to just fly around, it’s very- (0:07:16) Kev: Almost zen for me, I enjoy it a lot. (0:07:18) Kev: Um, and of course, appropriately, they, uh, gosh, was it last year? I think it’s been a year already. (0:07:24) Kev: Um, they did the Sonic’s birthday update, where you can just deck out the whole island in birthday celebration stuff, so of course I switched that on this week. (0:07:33) Al: Oh yeah. Was that last, was that last (0:07:33) Kev: Um, I think so, it’s been a minute. (0:07:39) Kev: One feature that I don’t think I’ve talked about that, um, I think is a feature I want in every single game, (0:07:44) Kev: Uh, it has a jukebox system, where you can go around, you can find little soundtracks, and then you can just play them whenever you want. (0:07:54) Kev: Of course, certain things like certain battles and, uh, cutscenes or whatever will, you know, obviously won’t play whatever music you want, but- (0:08:00) Kev: I, like, if it’s a game I’m gonna be spending a lot of time in, I like to have different music available, and you know, (0:08:08) Kev: Play something that fits the mood, or just something I want at that moment. (0:08:12) Kev: Uh, Sonic the Hedgehog, of course, has a legacy of fantastic soundtracks, so there’s a lot of good stuff, but- (0:08:18) Kev: Um, just in general, like, I wish I had, uh, that feature was available in more games, looking at you, Pokemon, especially. (0:08:26) Kev: Um, you know, going through how many thousands of hours of Pokemon battles and having to listen to the same sound- song every time. (0:08:34) Kev: But yeah that’s that’s good stuff so prop 2. (0:08:38) Kev: And then aside from that, here’s my plug for Rainbow Road Radio, the Mario podcast I do their mutual friend Alex. (0:08:48) Kev: Next week we are doing an episode on Bowser’s Inside Story, the third Mario and Luigi game, which I have been playing. (0:08:56) Kev: And obviously you hear the full story on that episode, but boy that is a good game. (0:09:02) Kev: Of course as people might see from my handle Koopaprez, I am a big fan of Bowser. (0:09:08) Kev: And a game focused on him. Obviously I am biased, but I think they just did everything fantastic about Bowser. (0:09:16) Kev: Along with a lot of the usual polishes and benefits of the Mario and Luigi game. Like, you know, funny writing in the battle system and all that. (0:09:26) Kev: But yeah, so that’s like I said, tune in next week for more thoughts on that in depth. (0:09:34) Kev: But other than that, yeah I think that’s roughly what I’ve been up to. What about you Alex? (0:09:38) Al: Yeah, um, I have been also playing bilateral. (0:09:44) Al: Not as much as you. (0:09:46) Al: I’m done. (0:09:47) Al: I finished it. (0:09:48) Al: I completed a run. (0:09:49) Al: And that’s enough for me. (0:09:50) Kev: Okay, what deck did you use herself? (0:09:50) Al: A yellow, no, not yellow. (0:09:55) Kev: Okay, all right, you’ll (0:09:56) Al: The one, the one that gives you money, the one not yellow, not yellow. (0:09:59) Al: It was the one. (0:10:00) Al: I can’t remember which one it was, but it was the one that gives you money for the hands and discards you have left. (0:10:05) Kev: Okay that’s green I believe yellow give you like 10 bucks … (0:10:06) Al: Green, right. (0:10:09) Kev: green gives you like more per hand and discard stuff okay … (0:10:09) Al: It does. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It gives you, I find, I find that gives you lots of money really early on. (0:10:12) Kev: yeah that’s a good one obviously. (0:10:18) Kev: Oh gosh it is. (0:10:20) Kev: Alright good stuff good on you did you go past it or did you … (0:10:23) Kev: just like shut the app after you hit the clear screen. (0:10:26) Al: I kept going until I died but that was like one blind later. (0:10:30) Kev: Yeah it gets wild how much it’s scale after like they are brutal. (0:10:35) Kev: They say endless mode but no they want to end you fast. (0:10:39) Al: yeah yeah yeah um so yeah uh i’m sure we’ll talk more about that in the future but yeah I i (0:10:48) Al: I played it and i’m done (0:10:50) Kev: Free, free at last, free at last. (0:10:53) Al: um i’ve also been continuing on snap um the new season started um I did buy the season pass again because um I feel you don’t actually need a humongous amount of time into the game to get get this season pass done. (0:11:10) Al: So I feel like it’s worth it. (0:11:10) Kev: yeah no yeah it is right it’s wild to think like you know I’ve paid I think almost every single pass that’s ten bucks a month which you know when you tally it all up is sizable for a game like one single game maybe but because it’s broken up so far in only ten bucks a month like it doesn’t feel bad and I get my enjoyments (0:11:13) Al: And it’s a good amount of stuff you get. (0:11:38) Al: Well, and the advantages that you’re paying as long as you’re playing it, right? Like, (0:11:42) Kev: That’s true, that’s very true. (0:11:42) Al: as soon as you stop playing it, you no longer give them any money. So yeah, I’m enjoying that. (0:11:50) Al: I’m in the 70s again, struggling in the 70s last season. I think when I talked last episode, (0:11:52) Kev: God it it really is yeah (0:11:56) Al: when I talked last episode, I was almost 80. I ended up finishing at 93, I think so. (0:12:00) Kev: Uh-huh (0:12:04) Al: I’ve mentioned this to you, Kevin, but I don’t think I said on the podcast. (0:12:07) Al: I finally got up to 80. It took me four and a half weeks to get to 80, and then it took me exactly 18 hours to get to 90. (0:12:17) Kev: oh yeah that sounds correct I don’t know what it is I actually have a similar um I hit a certain a similar wall when i’m in the 70s I don’t know what it is it is a like I don’t know if that’s (0:12:17) Al: Which is just so stupid! (0:12:31) Kev: where the largest concentration of players are or you know ones who play regularly because it’s pretty easy to get up there but it’s it’s just so I don’t know what it is it’s hard to (0:12:45) Kev: like two steps back (0:12:47) Kev: we’re two steps forward and two steps back in the 70s, it’s wild (0:12:50) Al: Oh yeah yeah yeah constantly like I’m I’ve been playing you know a good half an hour to an hour every day since it’s since the season started and I’m at 73 so I’m literally exactly the same place as you are when you hit 70 so so yeah I don’t know hopefully I’ll get there eventually but yeah it’s it’s really funny I part of it is my own fault right like I’m snapping when I’m not convinced I’m going to win. (0:13:20) Al: But also, I just feel like in the 70s is when everybody has Shang-Chi, (0:13:25) Al: which is the killer for my deck, right? Like if they have a Shang-Chi, it’s killed. (0:13:31) Al: And no, I’m running the Black Panther symbiote. (0:13:36) Kev: right right right okay oh yeah that’s that’s rough well time to gosh and you you do the obviously you want to do the Arnim Zola strat so you can’t run Cosmo or or armor (0:13:40) Al: It’s, yeah. (0:13:46) Al: Yeah, no, it’s what I have, what I have been doing. (0:13:51) Al: I’ve not been leaning into it as much because it doesn’t give you as much power, (0:13:55) Al: but I’ve been doing a sentinel, sentinel symbiote and the advantage of that is they can’t Shang-Chi you (0:14:06) Al: and you get, because it gives you a 13, (0:14:10) Al: 13 power and then you, Arnim’s all of that and you get four of them, so you get two things of 26. (0:14:17) Kev: Nimrod, you mean Nimrod, I mean he is a sentinel, but yes, nerd talk over here, yes, yes, yes, oh god, Nimrod, yeah yeah yeah, it’s the one that, what is it, 2 cost 3 power, it sends 2 sentinels into the opponent’s hand, or no, sends, no, add, no, yeah, it adds 1 into your hand, mastermhold, yes, yes, that’s the one, yes, backwards, um, yeah (0:14:20) Al: Nimrod, not sentinel. Why did I think sentinel? Yeah, yeah, that’s probably where I got confused. (0:14:26) Al: That’s probably where I got confused. Yeah, Nimrod. Is there a card called sentinel? (0:14:40) Al: Yeah, no, no, it sends one into your hand. Master mold sends two into the opponent’s hand. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Okay, Nimrod. Sorry. So you get 13 power, and then you quadruple that basically. So you get to two locations to get 26. It is good. It’s not as foolproof. Like if you get it off, you can still lose. Whereas if you manage to get the Black Panther symbiote one, you win almost 100. Yeah, you get almost 100%. (0:15:02) Kev: Yeah, ‘cause the numbers don’t get insane. (0:15:07) Al: Like there’s like maybe two, two cases. (0:15:10) Al: But yeah, so it’s it’s good. But yeah, I need to lean into that more, I think, because then obviously they can’t chung chi it and if they do, you just get more of it and then exactly, exactly. (0:15:11) Kev: Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s. (0:15:24) Kev: - Yeah, it just benefits you, that’s great. (0:15:26) Al: But the the one thing they can do, which has killed me a couple of times, is cosmo it. And then it’s really annoying. (0:15:36) Kev: Yeah, yeah, yep always a threat that little Russian pupper (0:15:38) Al: really annoying. (0:15:40) Al: So yeah, they don’t interestingly very few people running armor so that doesn’t tend to be an issue but yeah. (0:15:50) Al: So anyway yeah, still in the 70s or back to the 70s I guess and we’ll see how that goes but yeah I’m still enjoying it enough to keep playing it every day but what I’ve added and this is weird because I normally don’t add to my daily games. (0:16:06) Al: This is not a thing that happens. (0:16:10) Al: I’ve been playing pokemon TCG pocket as well and initially I was just doing the card collecting part of it right. (0:16:19) Al: What I really like is you know going into it, opening up my packs and being done with it but for those who aren’t aware they’ve added a bunch of events that are battle focused and I have actually been kind of enjoying them. (0:16:34) Al: So there’s the solo battle event. (0:16:35) Al: This is what’s really good so they’re running three simultaneous events in the game. (0:16:40) Al: There is a wonder pick event which is just where you’re doing the wonder picks. (0:16:45) Al: Do you know what the wonder pick feature is in pocket? (0:16:46) Kev: No. (0:16:48) Al: No. (0:16:49) Al: So the idea behind this is the game shows you a number of packs that people, other people have opened. (0:16:57) Al: Some of you which are your friends, some of which are random people in the app and it shows you the five cards and you can pay a certain currency which like the packs regenerates it’s over time. (0:17:10) Al: And you so you use that and you get you get one of the cards in the pack picked at random. (0:17:17) Al: So it’s a nice way to get extra ones and you can focus on like oh that pack has two cards that I don’t have yet let me use that one and I’ve you know I might get one of them. It’s quite nice. (0:17:25) Al: So they’ve they’re running a wonder pick event where they had some promo cards that showed up in extra wonder picks. So there’s a chance the enemy house and you would get some that would be like one one of the cards and for (0:17:40) Al: items that are like shop items that allow you to unlock other things. And then sometimes you’d get one that was like four chances and one Meowth. Sometimes you get four Meowths and one chance or whatever. So you’re trying to get the promo cards and also get the other currency to then get other things as well, like accessories and stuff like that. So that was fun. But I mean, I got that done pretty quickly. I’ve got everything in that. That took a couple of days of doing very little, (0:18:07) Kev: Okay, okay (0:18:07) Al: but it was good fun to have an extra thing to do in the game. (0:18:10) Al: And then they’re running a solo battle event which is where there are solo battles in the game where you play against the AI against different decks and so it’s by default in the game I think there’s like I think it’s six different decks that you can do at different levels and do different challenges against them you can just beat them and then there’s like a challenge to to beat it without without the opponent getting a point stuff like that but they’re running a limited time one (0:18:40) Al: Lapras EX event and so you’re it’s the same sort of thing you’re you’re battling against it and trying to beat specific challenges and that was fun and I completed all that after maybe like three days or something that was yeah exactly really really fun and then they added a third event which is the PvP battle event and what I really like about this so in the last episode when I was talking to Johnny about this he was like I really hope they don’t do a ladder and we were we were talking about how I. (0:19:10) Al: think they’re probably going to do a different kind of of battle PVP challenge thing and this I feel like is probably it. (0:19:21) Al: Basically you get a trophy depending on how many wins you get. It’s not based on a win loss ratio. There’s no like climbing the ranks. It’s literally just if you get 45 wins you get this trophy. Which is really nice. I think it’s really fun. (0:19:34) Kev: Okay, okay. Yeah (0:19:37) Al: Like, 45 is obviously a lot of wins, but the… (0:19:40) Al: like three weeks long I think uh it’s the two yeah three weeks long (0:19:42) Kev: Okay, sure and these are these are short games they’re not your 20-minute standard (0:19:47) Al: yeah (0:19:49) Kev: PTCG. Okay. So yeah, that’s that’s within reason (0:19:50) Al: yeah technically technically there is like it’s each player has a timer and (0:19:58) Al: each timer is 20 minutes so theoretically it could take 40 minutes but i’ve never had a battle take longer than five so um so I feel like the timer is pretty pointless (0:20:03) Kev: Ah. (0:20:06) Kev: Okay. (0:20:07) Kev: Yeah. (0:20:10) Al: I think if they’re going to have the timer it needs to be a lot shorter than it is because it (0:20:14) Al: like honestly if you were taking that long someone would have just given up by that point it would not be fun at all so yeah no that’s that’s been really fun as well i’ve been doing i’ve been trying to do five wins a day so that I at least keep it going but I don’t feel you know completely fed up of it. (0:20:22) Kev: Hey, and that’s a strat, you know? (0:20:24) Kev: Just… just let the timer run! (0:20:27) Kev: Yeah (0:20:40) Al: And it means I can still do some snap as well. So that’s been really fun. I’m really liking it. I hope this sort of stuff continues having the different events and having a collection event and a solo battle event and a pvp battle event all running at the same time means that people who want to do everything have a lot they can do and those who are just focused on one thing still have an event right so just just running a battle event means that people who don’t want to battle only just want to collect, we’d have nothing to do. So I think this is a really fun… (0:21:02) Kev: Yeah (0:21:08) Kev: Yeah (0:21:11) Kev: Yeah, I I get yeah that seems like a good idea because obviously we have (0:21:17) Kev: It is very (0:21:20) Kev: Collection focused clearly, but (0:21:23) Kev: You know the game itself is still a big factor. So yeah, that makes sense to have different (0:21:29) Kev: Events going on for the different sides of it. That’s cool (0:21:32) Al: Yeah, it’s good fun (0:21:33) Kev: um yeah, I I (0:21:36) Kev: still have not felt the siren call of pocket like I (0:21:42) Kev: I’ve been trying to think why that is because it’s not like there’s anything I have against it per se. It seems fine (0:21:49) Kev: It’s probably because I like the base or you know the standard version and it’s not like I mean part like the time thing I’m sure pocket that’s very enjoyable But I don’t know like if I want to play it (0:22:02) Kev: the card game I’ll probably just fire up live and play the actual card game like I don’t know how else to describe it it’s just not call it to me like and you know like you’re saying right pocket well actually I mean live is the same way but I have a lot on my plate already with my dailies and whatnot I can’t afford in there I don’t want another one all right now (0:22:22) Al: I think I’m not gonna I’m not gonna try and convince you to do it but what I would say is that just opening the the game for five minutes to do your cards is super easy and super satisfying especially at the beginning like you get cards really quickly to start with and that in and of itself is fun I think and yeah so (0:22:46) Kev: Might you know, maybe I’ll do it just to see what on earth it’s the it feels like we’ll see but (0:22:54) Al: Yeah, well think about it when you unlock a new variant in in Marvel Snap, that’s really fun (0:23:00) Al: Just imagine doing that but it’s a pack of five every day (0:23:00) Kev: yeah yeah yeah I get that you know like yeah yeah that’s that’s good um we’ll see they might add something later that because you have those immersive cards that is cool I do kind of want to see those you know they’ll part maybe they’ll lean (0:23:04) Al: Or two packs of five every day (0:23:25) Al: Yeah, fun times. Well, that’s what we’ve been up to. We’re going to talk about some news. (0:23:32) Al: It’s a good thing that what we’ve been up to is so long because there’s not a lot of news. But the news that we do have is chunky. So first of all, we have Disney Dreamlight Valley have they had a new, what do they call it? Are they calling it showcase I think about upcoming stuff first of all the (0:23:55) Al: yeah I think I think they’re calling it showcase let me double check what they call it I thought it would be quick and easy to figure out what it was called yes showcase they’re calling it the dreamlight valley showcase so this has two things first of all is the uh free update uh they are continuing to do these free updates uh the new one comes out on the 4th of december and that includes sally from the nightmare before christmas which was very clearly hinted that uh a while ago once we figured out. (0:24:22) Kev: Right. (0:24:25) Al: What we were looking at. (0:24:28) Al: But also they have a new feature of floating islands which allows you to expand your valley. (0:24:33) Al: It says large areas accessible through the fast travel menu once they’ve been unlocked with Dreamlight. So this obviously people have been asking for a way to expand the valley quite for quite a while because it gets quite quite yeah. (0:24:45) Kev: Yeah, that seems inevitable with you know them keep adding more then Disney has a lot to add. So yeah (0:24:52) Al: yeah. (0:24:56) Al: » Yeah, yeah, so they decided to go with their floating islands. (0:25:00) Al: So you can unlock them and then fast travel to them. (0:25:04) Al: And it seems like a fun way to be able to add more space while not just making it feel like the village is like smooshed together. (0:25:15) Al: So these obviously will feel a little bit tacked on in so much as it’s just like, here is this biome, but now in the sky as well. (0:25:23) Al: Um, but, but I. (0:25:25) Al: I feel like it’s hard to, like, shove it into the existing map, so it feels like an acceptable kind of compromise there. (0:25:40) Al: They also announced their new expansion pass called The Storybook Vale, so as expected this is a new purchase, the previous expansion pass is done. (0:25:52) Al: This is a brand new expansion pass of two parts. (0:25:56) Al: The first part comes out on the 20th of November and introduces Merida from Brave, Flynn Rider from Tangled, and Hades from Hercules, obviously. (0:26:09) Kev: And that’s a real eclectic, you know, group. (0:26:10) Al: Yeah, so I’m just going to read some of their own wording for this description because I feel like there’s a lot to not quite, not quite to note. (0:26:28) Al: It’s a bit, I’m going to read. (0:26:32) Al: “Bewist our way to the Vale and embark on an enchanting adventure with a cast of new new characters, including the Lorekeeper, a magical boo- (0:26:40) Al: like holding this fantastical land together. However, a happily ever after is a ways off as you discover the discordance between two iconic Disney villains, Maleficent from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty and Hades from Disney’s Hercules, has torn this land apart, causing a mysterious phenomenon across the Vale’s three biomes, The Bind, Ever After and Mythopia. Their conflict has yielded ink seeping out of the very ground and sent the pages of the Lorekeeper near (0:27:11) Al: as enchanted page pieces called snippets. So I think the idea is that it’s a book full of stories that has burst open and you have to go find it to put it back together. And it says you’ll gain the advantage of a new tool, the Royal Net, that will enable you to capture the various snippets that have escaped the Lorekeeper’s pages. So presumably you’re getting story as you collect the page pieces, I’m assuming. (0:27:40) Kev: okay that um huh that this is interesting um yeah and like lore keeper is a very (0:27:48) Kev: maybe not ominous sounding name but uh you know it’s it sounds significant let’s say that right um so i’m curious to see you know what they’re uh how far they’re gonna lean into that what what is the lore keeper gonna look like or who’s it going to be I don’t know um is it gonna be oh it’s a book sorry oh I’m (0:27:53) Al: Hmm. (0:28:06) Al: Well it says it’s a book. A magical book. (0:28:10) Kev: Oh, it’s just a book okay, huh? (0:28:13) Kev: uh (0:28:14) Al: But the pages seem to be, if you have a look on the link, the first link, the pages seem to be like origami creatures? (0:28:23) Kev: Oh, I see all those are actually cute. I like those. Those are nice designs. Oh, that’s cute (0:28:29) Kev: Huh, okay (0:28:30) Al: So you’ve got like a little green, green and yellow bird, and a little blue, well purple and purple fox, I guess? (0:28:33) Kev: Yeah (0:28:38) Kev: Yeah, fox dragon thing, I don’t know it’s a (0:28:39) Al: Something like that? (0:28:41) Kev: I Like looks like a dragon, you know, you don’t see the mouth like then it’s thick and I don’t know It’s looks dragon eat him. It’s you know, it’s the color and the it could it kind of looks (0:28:42) Al: Dragon? What? (0:28:53) Kev: Scales the texture of the page. That’s what it is. I see it now Um (0:28:56) Al: I see what you mean about this, yeah. And there’s a little kind of purple frog with a flower growing out the top of it. (0:29:03) Kev: Yeah, yeah, I see that. Okay. See I didn’t look at these pictures at all. But yeah when you said snippets I thought it was like actually just pages. Okay, that’s much more interesting. Okay, that’s cute. I like that that. Um, huh. (0:29:15) Al: so yeah I guess we’ll see this that’s most of the information we have they’ve announced that the part two of this expansion pass will come out in summer 2025 and that’s the one that will introduce (0:29:27) Al: Maleficent and they’ve also announced their upcoming free content roadmap in early 2025 right this is where we try and figure out what these are is that what’s the what’s the the one the princess and the frog oh no no no no I tell you what it is (0:29:42) Kev: No, that’s Aladdin. That’s Aladdin’s hat and Jasmine. (0:29:45) Al: that’s I was just about to say that’s Aladdin and what’s her name isn’t it (0:29:49) Al: um Jasmine yeah yeah I just I thought it looked like um the princess and the frogs Tiana is that her name I had that in my head but I didn’t want to say it uh I thought that looked like her tiara but no you’re right that’s the wrong color of green and different shape yeah you’re right it’s I saw the fez I saw the fez and was like wait no that’s Aladdin isn’t it (0:29:50) Kev: Tiana. (0:30:05) Kev: no that’s it says explore a new world so that that’s what the yeah yeah yeah yep yep who could that be yeah (0:30:14) Al: So Ali2025. (0:30:15) Al: Explore a new world and revel on a magical adventure. Obviously Aladdin. Spring 2025 we’ve got the Cheshire Cat in his in a ghosty form. Step into a land of wonder and meet new friends along the way. Yeah that’s the most obvious one right? And summer 2025. Solve an ancient mystery and discover who’s waiting inside Skull Rock. And we have an orange feather and wait oh is that the shadow of (0:30:42) Kev: Uh, let’s… (0:30:45) Al: Is that gargoyle? (0:30:46) Kev: Oh, it looks like a winged creature of some sort. (0:30:50) Kev: I’m very confused. Isn’t Skull Rock supposed to be like, Peter Pan? (0:30:53) Al: Yeah, but they mix these things up quite a lot. (0:30:55) Kev: Yeah… I-I don’t- I’m… (0:30:57) Al: Like the Cheshire Cat isn’t in a forest, for example, you know, like, so yeah, they like to mix these things up. (0:31:00) Kev: Sure. (0:31:03) Kev: Wha- I mean- (0:31:04) Kev: Uh… huh. (0:31:07) Kev: Oh, solvent- it’s an ancient mystery! (0:31:12) Kev: It has orange feather, I-I don’t have to- (0:31:15) Kev: Uh, I’m at a loss here, some sort of… (0:31:17) Kev: …winged creature? I have no idea, I’m at a lost home. (0:31:20) Al: go have a look on the disney dreamlight valley reddit because that’s where I found the sally (0:31:24) Kev: What are- what are the conspiracy theorists saying? (0:31:27) Kev: Heh heh! (0:31:28) Kev: You know, I- just- just as an aside, when are they gonna bring in Cherubog? (0:31:31) Kev: When are you gonna help Cherubog out? (0:31:33) Kev: Heh heh heh heh! (0:31:34) Al: You’re gonna have to tell me what that is, I don’t know. (0:31:36) Kev: Oh, you don’t know Cherubog? (0:31:38) Kev: Okay, do you know Fantasia? (0:31:39) Al: No? Uh, yes. (0:31:41) Kev: OK, Cherubov– (0:31:42) Kev: –is the big winged demon guy in that segment. (0:31:46) Kev: You know, like, I think it’s the final segment, yeah. (0:31:48) Kev: He’s the– one of the spookiest guys. (0:31:52) Kev: He’s basically just like a demon guy. (0:31:56) Al: Fair enough (0:31:58) Al: Right. I’m just scrolling through. I’m not I can’t find anything about (0:32:03) Al: I’ve obviously come to the Reddit too late to see people to see the (0:32:08) Kev: I’ll be doing detective work in the background if you want. (0:32:09) Al: The (0:32:15) Al: Give me give me one minute before I give up. Yeah, there are too many people on this subreddit (0:32:22) Kev: Ancient mystery. (0:32:24) Kev: What are– it’s not going to be dinosaur. (0:32:26) Kev: It’s not going to be 20-whatever, 2,000-whatever dinosaur. (0:32:30) Kev: It’s not Aladon. (0:32:30) Al: No, no. (0:32:33) Al: So what I’m thinking, and I have no idea about the feather, but the shadow looks like a winged gargoyle, I think. (0:32:40) Al: And so I wonder if it could be something to do with Quasimodo. (0:32:44) Kev: Guessing or ah (0:32:45) Al: But I don’t know. (0:32:46) Al: That is just a wild guess. (0:32:47) Kev: Here’s the twist it’s live-action (0:32:49) Kev: Maleficent oh (0:32:51) Kev: You know I don’t know I’m not comfortable with how well that would work out actually (0:32:57) Kev: Yeah, because she has the wings in the movies, and I don’t know if you saw the second one But she’s basically becomes a Phoenix, so there’s your orange bed. Oh, no. It’s it’s Angelina Jolie (0:33:14) Al: yeah none of them have well actually does captain hook have a feather in his cap (0:33:18) Kev: He does, yeah no it’s a huge feather, yeah no this is like a little bird feather. (0:33:20) Al: could it be that then no it’s the wrong kind of feather it’s not big enough yeah (0:33:26) Al: I thought that before I actually have my aphantasia means I can’t see in my head (0:33:27) Kev: OH! (0:33:28) Kev: There it is, Peter Pan has an orange feather in his hat, it’s Peter, yeah he does, I just (0:33:32) Al: oh does he (0:33:36) Al: so he does people are probably screaming that at us uh all right cool so what’s the the winged creature then. (0:33:44) Kev: It might just be us looking at it and just multiple shadows next to each other maybe. (0:33:44) Al: Could it be no could it could it be Tinkerbell doing a silly thing like she loved she liked to make weird shadows didn’t she at one point. (0:34:06) Kev: But it’s definitely okay. So yeah, it’s peter pan. I was right the first time cuz gold rock is from pipe (0:34:12) Al: - Yeah, okay, I just like, just because that’s. (0:34:14) Al: The trauma originally doesn’t mean it would be the case still, but anyway. (0:34:19) Al: The final thing to talk about with Disney’s Dreamland Valley is they’ve also announced new editions and early adopter bonuses. (0:34:27) Al: Because they don’t have enough versions of this game, so you still have the base, you can just buy the base game. (0:34:37) Al: That is still a thing you can do. You can buy the enchanted edition which already I think existed and that gives you (0:34:45) Al: both A Rift in Time, the first expansion, and the Storybook Vale, so presumably. (0:34:51) Al: If they do other expansions, that will also give you that. (0:34:54) Al: You can also buy individually just A Rift in Time or just the Storybook Vale. (0:35:00) Al: Obviously you have to have the base game for them. (0:35:03) Al: You can now also buy the Storybook Vale bundle, which is just the base game and the Storybook Vale, but not A Rift in Time. (0:35:07) Kev: Heh! (0:35:11) Kev: Oh my goodness! (0:35:16) Al: Or you can buy, if you already have the base game, you can buy the Storybook Vale Magical Edition, (0:35:23) Al: which gives you the new expansion and basically the pre-order bonuses. (0:35:31) Al: It calls it early adopter bonuses, but it’s basically a pre-order bonus, right? (0:35:34) Al: It’s like, because you got it early, I presume that will only be available for a limited period of time. (0:35:39) Al: You get those if you also bought the Enchanted Edition, you get the early adopter bonuses. (0:35:44) Al: They also have bonuses as well, which are an Autumn Manor house style, a dress and ensemble, (0:35:52) Al: a baby pegasus companion and a Greek Hercules inspired house for baby pegasus, I presume that is. (0:36:05) Al: And more moonstones. (0:36:10) Kev: it was great until I scrolled down to this they are oh just confusing me just overwhelmingly (0:36:18) Kev: with um it’s a it’s a bold strategy a masterful gambit i’ll tell them that make money (0:36:24) Al: It’s wild, the number of different ways you can give them money. (0:36:32) Kev: Heh heh heh. (0:36:34) Al: I have to say though, the enchanted edition is looking a better and better deal as they add more stuff because that is $80 and the base game is $40 and then each expansion is $30 so if you were to buy them all individually, if you were to buy them all, yeah yeah. (0:36:48) Kev: Geez Louise, it’s… (0:36:54) Al: If you were to buy them all individually that would be $100 so you’re getting $20 off but you also get 18,000 moonstones and a bunch of pre-order stuff and presumably if they do any more expansions you’ll get them as well because I don’t think they’re going to stop. (0:37:12) Kev: Yeah no of course not. (0:37:15) Kev: We don’t have Pixar in here yet right no yeah we do what am I doing crazy yes we have Wally. (0:37:18) Al: yeah yeah yeah yeah and brave because merida’s merida’s there now (0:37:20) Kev: We don’t have a lot of Pixar though. (0:37:24) Kev: Oh yeah yeah I’m just thinking when do we get the radiator Springs when you get the cars universe. (0:37:26) Al: um there’s there’s a bunch of stuff I think (0:37:33) Al: let’s have a look at the characters list and see who’s in there (0:37:36) Kev: You know just as an aside like every time they add. (0:37:42) Kev: the Nightmare Before Christmas like of course they do because it’s double holiday themed it’s so obvious but it Nightmare Before Christmas always feels like the red-headed stepchild of Disney because you know it’s it’s him Burton and it’s uh not a you know 2d or 3d animated or whatever I did so like they don’t they don’t really touch it aside from marketing or just selling things but you know I’ve never gotten a sequel a spin-off or whatever (0:37:54) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah agreed (0:38:12) Kev: I always find it fascinating how the kind of dance around (0:38:19) Al: Yeah, yeah it’s quite funny. So as you said you’ve got Wally and Eve, you have Remy from Ratatouille. (0:38:29) Al: Anything else we’ve got? Frozen’s just Disney isn’t it, it’s not Pixar. (0:38:36) Kev: Yeah, it’s just Disney. (0:38:37) Al: Toy Story, Buzz and Woody are in it. They are. And Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc as well. (0:38:40) Kev: Oh, are they in it? I couldn’t remember. Oh, okay. Cool. (0:38:43) Kev: Alright, Buzz and Woody in it. We’re good, ‘cause they’re, you know, books. (0:38:47) Kev: Oh, they’re in it. Gosh, I have not been paying attention, clearly. (0:38:49) Al: So it’s a pretty decent number of Pixar stuff. (0:38:50) Kev: You know… (0:38:51) Kev: Alright, yeah, no, those are heavy hitters. Yeah, that’s fine. (0:38:56) Kev: Um… (0:38:58) Kev: You know what? Here’s the real question, right? Like, this is… (0:39:01) Kev: This is a very, um… (0:39:04) Kev: substantial amount of Disney. (0:39:06) Kev: When do we get to the stinkers? (0:39:10) Kev: When are they going to put in Home on the Range and Chicken Little and Bolt? (0:39:18) Kev: When are we going to get those? (0:39:20) Al: they have a lot of characters to go through before they get there (0:39:22) Kev: I know, but I want to see them do it. (0:39:25) Al: because like as we just as we just mentioned they’ve still got like a majority of the Pixar films even right [laughing] (0:39:30) Kev: Oh, I know, but they’re cowards. (0:39:34) Kev: I wanna see them do it, I wanna see them lean (0:39:36) Kev: into it. They won’t, but… (0:39:38) Al: I don’t know, maybe sometime, but I suspect they’ll just stop the game by the time they get to that point, right? (0:39:46) Al: Alrighty, the next is Stardew Valley So, the never ending game is continuing to be never ending First of all… (0:39:55) Kev: as announced this week by ConcernedApe. (0:40:00) Al: Yeah well, we’ll get to that, that’s on my list to talk about start off with 1.6 is out on console on mobile so if you’ve been waiting for the (0:40:08) Al: switch version which let’s be honest if you were waiting it was probably for the switch version I guess maybe there are some people who play on mobile and are listening but I suspect most of you are waiting for the switch version it’s out now go get it but they’ve also with that added a 1.6.9 patch which has been added to steam and was on all the console and mobile versions as well it doesn’t it does have a bunch of fixes but it also has some features balance changes and (0:40:39) Al: quality of life improvements so first of all there is a lost unique item shop so if you manage to lose one of the items that are just like a special one-off thing you can go and buy it back from the shop in the secret (0:40:58) Al: Next we have you can finally put legendary fish in the ponds and get roe from them. (0:41:02) Kev: Finally! (0:41:04) Al: Finally, you’re limited to one fish per pond, but there you go, if you wanted to do that. (0:41:12) Al: A huge improvement, you can now put beds and sleep in those beds inside any constructed building that allows you to put furniture in. (0:41:22) Kev: Alright, alright, alright (0:41:22) Al: So, go sleep in your shed. (0:41:26) Kev: Finally dreams now that you get in a fight with your spouse you can us (0:41:28) Al: And the real feature though is the items dropped into water will float in the water for a short period of time so that you can pick them up. (0:41:44) Al: The number of times I have like cut a tree down in the wrong direction and lost half the wood because it just goes into the water. (0:41:52) Al: Whereas now it’s just going to suck back up. Love it. (0:41:54) Kev: All right, all right and dig it (0:41:58) Al: There’s a lot of other small things which I don’t think we need to go into. (0:42:04) Al: But I will link the changelog in the show notes if you want to go and have a look. (0:42:10) Al: So, yeah, I just read one which is Clint now refills your watering can when upgrading it, which is such a weirdly tiny feature to give. (0:42:12) Kev: Those are I like those those are all thoughtful (0:42:24) Al: Um, but yeah, that’s funny. (0:42:26) Kev: I said thoughtful (0:42:28) Al: Yeah, but this is the thing, it doesn’t really fit with Clint, right? (0:42:32) Al: Like, why would Clint do that? (0:42:32) Kev: Well, oh, you know what you’re right you’re right (0:42:34) Al: Don’t make me like him. (0:42:36) Kev: Okay, no, no. No, he does that but if you pursue Emily he stops doing it [Laughter] (0:42:42) Al: And as Kevin hinted at, we got another interview from Concerned Ape and this is in Nintendo Life. (0:42:56) Al: He says that he basically just can’t stop working on it. He says “I feel like I could work on it for the rest of my life. I don’t want to see it fizzle out.” So confirmation, as we expected, (0:43:07) Al: that we’re probably going to get Stardew Valley updates until he dies. (0:43:12) Kev: Okay, I’m… I don’t… I have thoughts on this because, like, this really feels like, uh, how should I put this, almost concerning, um, just like, obviously, it makes a lot of sense, just from a pragmatic standpoint, right, because he’s making money off of it, and he’s done all the work on it, um, so, you know, I get it in that sense, (0:43:43) Kev: but, like, clearly, I’m projecting here a little, like, how much of this is also just him, um, you know, not able to get away from it, sort of a prison of his own mind, if you will, um… (0:43:57) Al: I do think that’s a lot of it, so he says the exact wording is “I have so many ideas for Stardew, I feel like I could work on it for the rest of my life and just keep improving it, adding more stuff to it, more content, fleshing out the existing content”. (0:44:10) Al: That’s the main thing I want to do is flesh out the existing content. (0:44:13) Al: So like I don’t, I wouldn’t feel bad for him. (0:44:19) Al: Like in a way I think it is kind of his brain not letting him let it go but also he will probably never make some (0:44:24) Kev: - Right. (0:44:24) Kev: you Bye. (0:44:27) Al: If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to send them to me in the comments below. (0:44:38) Kev: Sure, oh, yeah, of course not. Yeah. No, it’s impossible possible. (0:44:42) Al: And he just like I don’t I think it’s I totally understand when you do something that millions of people enjoy and you’re a good person and you want to give people stuff right like he’s not (0:44:57) Al: he’s not doing this he’s not doing like obviously he’s going to still continue to sell it when he makes updates but realistically he’s not making the money he could be making on that but he knows that he’s made enough money and therefore could continue to do this for the rest of his life and not worry about the money like that must feel really freeing in a way (0:45:18) Kev: Sure there is a gosh I guess you’re right right like I guess as long as he happy it’s fine right the one that really concerns me the quote or the is how he says. (0:45:35) Kev: He doesn’t want to see it fizzle out right like cause that’s that’s that no longer feels like he wants to just keep keep keep it growing he’s just worried. (0:45:48) Kev: He’s not worried about the impermanence or what like whatever it like he wants it to stay relevant that part feels a little concerning. (0:45:57) Al: I mean, we’re reading into this now, but I don’t think he means as in I want to keep selling forever. (0:45:57) Kev: Yeah. (0:46:04) Al: I think it’s more just like it’s just something that he loves so much that he wants to keep it new and fresh all the time. (0:46:12) Kev: I guess like I again like it’s a we’re reading into it this is a lot of deep psychological stuff under the surface like when I hear someone say that I think like they’re just worried about. (0:46:29) Kev: Because I think this would be fair to call it his master work right like his masterpiece you know just you know wanting to that to matter like I can see some people caring about. (0:46:42) Kev: That yeah I don’t know it’s it’s a lot to unpack like I guess the important thing is as long as he’s genuinely happy right like if he’s not doing this out of some sort of stress like. (0:46:54) Kev: That he’s it’s not going to be relevant anymore that’s that’s the main thing but but at the very least he’ll be making money out of it. (0:47:07) Al: yeah yeah exactly um but I mean I think when he announced that 1.5 would be the last update I was like no way will this be the last update and then he announced 1.6 with the last update and I was like I don’t think so uh so you know I i you know I think will we in 10 years still be getting updates maybe not are we gonna get a 1.7 I suspect we’ll get a 1.7 um and remember The one the 1.6 update was meant to be a smaller (0:47:17) Kev: Haha, yep, very true very true (0:47:33) Kev: You know what? (0:47:38) Al: It was not a small update. (0:47:41) Kev: Oh gosh, you know what? There’s also… (0:47:45) Kev: Looking at it from the other side, like, I’m not saying fans are (0:47:49) Kev: Asking for more from from Stardew or from Concerned Ape, but they’re always willing to consume more, right? Like, (0:47:58) Kev: There’s something in this day and in the modern day and age about just the never-ending (0:48:03) Kev: Quote-unquote franchise or game or whatever right like in 10 years. We’re gonna have new Pokemon coming out. I promise you that [laughing] (0:48:12) Al: However, I think there is a huge difference. (0:48:15) Al: I suspect you’ll agree with me on this. (0:48:18) Al: I think there’s a huge difference between that and this though, because the franchise of Pokemon or the franchise of Marvel, yes, there are people in there that they love what it is and they want to create more just for the sake of making more, but the franchise exists because it makes money. (0:48:34) Al: And I still strongly don’t think that he makes updates to make money. (0:48:40) Al: makes updates because he has (0:48:42) Al: these ideas and he can’t get them out of his head and he just wants to put them in the game. (0:48:46) Kev: Yeah, okay, you know what that’s fair. Yeah, I’ll agree with that. Yeah (0:48:53) Al: and I don’t think stardew could keep going could keep being the center of conversation year after year if the updates weren’t good like if he released a bad update people would like sure they would keep playing the game and they’d try the new update but I don’t think we would have got as much talk about 1.6 as we did this year it would not have been as big a conversation (0:49:16) Kev: Yeah, you know what? You’re right about that. I can’t argue it at all. (0:49:22) Al: All right well our last piece of news is a new game that has just come out apparently was a month ago I thought it was last week but no it’s a month ago that was updated last week that’s why I thought it was new but this is a game called web fishing sorry it’s in all caps web fishing a multiplayer chat room focused fishing game relax and fish on the web. (0:49:40) Kev: That’s good, I like it. (0:49:49) Kev: What that’s okay, that’s quite a pitch (0:49:53) Kev: multi the multiplayer is what what throws me off here like (0:49:57) Kev: Just hanging out and fish (0:50:00) Al: “Web fishing is a multiplayer online casual fishing game where you relax, hang out, make friends, and catch fish.” (0:50:07) Al: “Nearly a hundred different creatures to catch.” (0:50:09) Al: “Become the ultimate fisherman. Upgrade your gear with new baits, lures.” (0:50:13) Al: So there’s obviously a good amount of customization. (0:50:15) Al: It looks very… the character models look very Animal Crossing-esque. (0:50:20) Kev: Yup, yup. I see what you mean here. (0:50:22) Al: For some reason there’s a guitar minigame. (0:50:25) Kev: Classic fishing. (0:50:27) Al: This looks interesting. (0:50:30) Al: It’s pretty cheap. It’s like four quid, I presume. Is it five dollars? (0:50:34) Kev: Yeah that’s what an interesting idea like who comes up with this that’s what I want to think of but but they are so Animal Crossing just looking at it now like it’s the shape. (0:50:57) Kev: Oh yeah it is yeah five USD yeah you’re right. (0:50:59) Al: It’s a very low poly (0:51:02) Kev: Like think I’d say Wild World maybe on the DS level of animal crossing. (0:51:09) Kev: That’s how many polygons you can see on that head. (0:51:10) Al: it kind of yeah it kind of reminds me of someone drawing in paint and posting on tumblr (0:51:18) Kev: You know what? It does have a very Tumblr vibe to it, I will say that, absolutely. (0:51:22) Al: do you not think (0:51:29) Kev: One sec. Sorry, one sec, Al. My thing’s dying, hold on. (0:51:33) Kev: Okay, there we are. Um, okay, look, as, you know, as connoisseurs of, uh, fishing games, (0:51:41) Kev: um, I do, like, is it just, it’s probably just gonna be Animal Crossing style fishing, isn’t it? (0:51:47) Kev: it would be nice if they put… (0:51:48) Kev: a little effort into the fishing game. (0:51:50) Kev: Um, but uh, we’ll see. For five bucks, it might be worth it, I guess? (0:51:56) Kev: I don’t know, like, um… (0:51:58) Kev: Is this just a game that’s just the fishing part of Animal Crossing? (0:52:02) Kev: Maybe? (0:52:04) Kev: Is that enough? (0:52:05) Al: Bought multiplayer. (0:52:06) Kev: Oh god, I already, there’s an Among Us in the trailer, oh my goodness. (0:52:12) Kev: Um, oh, uh… (0:52:15) Kev: Multiplayer chatting, I don’t know, okay. (0:52:19) Kev: This really feels like somebody said, “Man, I have so much fun fishing with my friends in Animal Crossing.” (0:52:25) Kev: I’m just gonna make a whole game about that, which is okay, okay. (0:52:28) Al: Yeah (0:52:29) Kev: You know, Sonic Frontiers has great fi- (0:52:32) Al: Moving on so that’s all the news (0:52:35) Al: We’re gonna talk about (0:52:37) Al: Living room, so I’ll pitch this game. I’ll explain to you what it is

Aujourd'hui, Alex et Jacno explorent l'iceberg de Stardew Valley

Firewalk Studios can't re-do Concord if Sony shuts them down! Which they did! DFC Intelligence predicts the gaming industry will have a solid comeback when we get new hardware in 2025! ConcernedApe finally beats his own game! Rockstar veterans have splintered off and created their own games studio to make a hyper-realistic Cthulian horror game with blackjack and…Twizzlers. SAG-AFTRA is making a deal with the machines! And will the last segment of this episode be a trick? Or a treat? Sony shuts down Concord developer Firewalk, permanently cancels game - Article by Polygon Tweet from FirewalkStudios Sony is Shutting Down Another Game Studio - Article by GameRant DFC Intelligence Reports Video Game Industry Gets Strong 2025 Rebound - Article by wccftech Stardew Valley Creator Finally Reaches Impressive Milestone in the Game - Article by GameRant Ritual Tides Announced for PC, With Console Versions to Follow - Article by IGN Ritual Tides - Official Announcement Trailer SAG-AFTRA signs agreement with AI-powered voice company Ethovox - Article by Game Developer  

Send Katie a message!Do you let your kids play video games? There are pros and cons to video gaming and a lot of times the negatives have a louder voice. This conversation shines a light on the positives of video gaming and kids, as well as ways to use them to your advantage. Join my coffee chat with Eric Barone, developer of the ever-popular video game, Stardew Valley. You may also know him by his online handle, ConcernedApe! Eric is the perfect example of using your passions to create something meaningful and turn it into your life's work. You will fall in love with him as you hear his journey and the heart behind his cozy game.Bonus! My dear friend and fellow homeschool mama, Brittany Yen, joins me as my cohost for this epic gaming conversation. Her wisdom and insight are both refreshing and beneficial to other parents navigating the world of video games.Eric has graciously donated a SIGNED copy of his new Stardew Valley cookbook! To enter to win, all you have to do is leave a review for the podcast. If you really want to make sure I see it, screenshot your review and send it to me on Instagram @teamkindhumans or through email katie@teamkindhumans.com. Good luck!You can purchase your own copy of the cookbook here or on his website stardewvalley.net.Grab your coffee or tea and let's dive in!Start your KindSchooling journey and join the Team Kind Humans membership. Head to www.teamkindhumans.com or follow me on Instagram @teamkindhumans!

About: A second episode of themes that capture the sounds of both crystals and icicles. Theres a tingly, cold, and often otherworldly feel to these lighter themes. Artwork: MapleStory 00:00 - Crystal Cave [Final Fantasy III] by Nobuo Uematsu > 01:37 - The Ice Cave [The Legend of Xanadu] by Falcom Sound Team JDK > 02:55 - Ice Cavern [Final Fantasy IX] by Nobuo Uematsu > 05:35 - Biting Cold [Tales of Phantasia] by Shinji Tamura > 09:11 - The Lunarians [Final Fantasy IV] by Nobuo Uematsu > 11:25 - Nord Temple [Guardian's Crusade] by Yasuhiro Nakano, Akihi Motoyama, Fumio Tanabe, Luna Umegaki, Mutsumi Ishimura > 14:09 - Crystal Cave [Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky] by Arata Iiyoshi > 17:25 - Elemental Sanctuary [The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap] by Mitsuhiko Takano > 18:43 - Winter (Ancient) [Stardew Valley] by ConcernedApe > 21:41 - Ice Path [Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver] by Junichi Masuda, Hitomi Sato > 24:17 - Town Of Ice [Skies of Arcadia] by Yutaka Minobe, Tatsuyuki Maeda > 26:13 - Labyrinth III - Woodland of Frozen Flowers [Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard] by Yuzo Koshiro > 29:38 - Time Gear Remix [Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky] by Arata Iiyoshi > 31:42 - Crystal Rain [Final Fantasy XIV] by Masayoshi Soken > 32:32 - Winter (Nocturne of Ice) [Stardew Valley] by ConcernedApe > 35:44 - Crystal Cave [MapleStory] by Wizet > pixelbeatpod@icloud.com > 

Al and Micah talk about Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:09: What Have We Been Up To 00:12:01: Game News 00:39:50: New Games 01:15:05: Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home 02:18:35: Outro Links Let’s Build a Zoo “Monstrous Structures” Update Cat Cafe Manager 2 Kickstarter Super Zoo Story Kickstarter Wylde Flowers “Magical Creatures” Update BokuMono: Life and Love Mika and the Witch’s Mountain Boardgame My Time at Evershine Dreamland Farm Danchi Days Amber Isle Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home on Apple Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home on Android Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers, and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. (0:00:33) Al: My name is Al, and we’re here today to talk about Cottagecore Games. (0:00:34) Micah: And I’m Micah (0:00:39) Al: Woo. (0:00:40) Micah: Yay (0:00:40) Al: So excited. (0:00:42) Micah: It’s still as much as I have heard you say cart cottagecore games, it’s still always those (0:00:50) Al: I keep like bouncing between like should it be cottagecore should it be farming (0:00:56) Al: it’s like I was running something over in my head today I was like games that (0:01:01) Al: quite often have a farming component but not always and are sometimes considered (0:01:05) Al: cozy but not always like we’d (0:01:06) Micah: I think it’s I think for me it’s because every time you have me on we are (0:01:15) Micah: talking about farming games specifically like you know the core the core farming (0:01:17) Al: Yeah, you have you have a niche. (0:01:20) Al: Ah. (laughs) (0:01:23) Micah: game groups the harvest moons the story of season (0:01:29) Al: Exactly. I mean, well, the thing is, right, most people don’t want to spend a lot of time (0:01:35) Al: on a lot of those games. I just want to go back to stardew. And this is the cheapest (0:01:37) Micah: understandable. I am more than happy to, uh, to bite the bullet for everybody else to be able to (0:01:46) Micah: experience, uh, you know. (0:01:49) Al: Harvest Moon game we’ve paid for in quite a long time. So, you know. OK, well, we’ll (0:01:52) Micah: Ah! Sure. Yeah, sure. (0:01:55) Al: get to that. So, before we get to that, we have… (0:01:59) Al: News. We’ve got a bunch of news to talk about. (0:02:03) Al: Oh yeah, I didn’t actually say… We’re going to talk about the new Harvest Moon game. (0:02:06) Al: Harvest Moon’s home to be home. (0:02:08) Al: But we’ve got news before that. (0:02:10) Al: First of all, Maika, what have you been up to? (0:02:12) Micah: I have been very busy. I have been (0:02:17) Micah: Very busy doing a few things I have work has been (0:02:22) Micah: Really crazy, and I I love that like I love when I’m busy, so it’s not a complaint. You know I love when I’m my time is (0:02:30) Micah: Caught up and preoccupied so I it’s it’s great, but it has not left me a lot of time for games (0:02:38) Micah: so (0:02:40) Micah: Primarily what I have been playing. (0:02:42) Micah: I have some personal projects that I’ve been working on too that are not work-related, (0:03:12) Micah: taking up a lot of time, which is great, and I’m really happy about that. (0:03:17) Micah: There is one where I have had some time to be able to play some older Pokémon games, (0:03:25) Micah: and I can’t really say why yet, but I have been enjoying that. (0:03:28) Al: I’m intrigued. I wasn’t intrigued until he said you can’t say why. (0:03:34) Micah: It is a big project that I’ve been working on for months now, and it is becoming a… (0:03:42) Micah: It’s one of those projects where you start and you’re like, “This is a really small, (0:03:46) Micah: fun idea,” and then it just grows over time, and you’re like, “This is getting really (0:03:49) Micah: out of hand, and I don’t know how I’m going to be able to get a hold of this.” (0:03:53) Micah: But it’s been really fun, and it has allowed me some time to do work and stay busy, but (0:03:58) Micah: also play games, play some games. (0:04:01) Micah: But primarily it’s been Pokémon, is what I’ve been playing. (0:04:04) Micah: I did download, I bought and downloaded Fields of Mistria. (0:04:09) Micah: I have not played it yet. (0:04:10) Micah: I’m very excited. (0:04:12) Micah: But I haven’t had a chance to touch it yet. (0:04:14) Al: I haven’t bought that one yet, that’s on my list of “I will probably pay this at some point, maybe.” (0:04:18) Micah: Yeah, yeah. (0:04:20) Micah: I just had seen, you know, the the most buzz around a farming (0:04:26) Micah: sim since I think maybe Stardew in like communities that were (0:04:32) Micah: specifically excited about like Stardew and you know that that (0:04:39) Micah: type of farming sim. (0:04:40) Micah: So I that. (0:04:42) Micah: Intrigued enough to be like, okay, if this is if people are like, you know, recognizing (0:04:47) Micah: it as a not a like competitor or anything or like the new Stardew or anything like that. (0:04:52) Micah: But if there’s enough interest there, then maybe it’s something to, to look into. (0:04:56) Micah: So, and I like the art style. (0:04:58) Micah: I like the pixel art and stuff. (0:04:59) Micah: So it’s a little, we’ll see have yet to play it. (0:05:02) Al: So, other than obviously Harvest Moon Home, Sweet Home, I have been trying to get back (0:05:02) Micah: So I can’t really say anything about it. (0:05:05) Micah: What about you? (0:05:06) Micah: What have you been up to? (0:05:13) Al: into Coral Island after their 1.1 update. Sometimes when you go back to a game, it takes (0:05:20) Al: a while to get yourself back into the zone. I spent over a month, I spent 100 hours in (0:05:29) Al: in Carl Island. (0:05:30) Al: So I’m not back at– (0:05:32) Al: at that point yet, but we’ll see. (0:05:34) Al: I mean that in and of itself might– (0:05:36) Al: will be interesting to talk about, you know, (0:05:38) Al: when we get to that, if I– if I don’t end up. (0:05:40) Al: But– (0:05:41) Micah: world’s biggest coral island fan. (0:05:42) Al: because– (0:05:45) Micah: As far as I know, at least he are. (0:05:48) Al: I like it! It’s a really fun game. (0:05:50) Al: But I think it’s interesting because if I– (0:05:52) Al: if I don’t manage to push myself back into it, (0:05:54) Al: that says something. (0:05:56) Al: Because I’ve managed to– I’ve managed to get obsessed (0:05:58) Al: about Stardew every single time I’ve gone back to it. (0:06:00) Al: to it. And (0:06:02) Al: that, you know, so if I can’t that says something, you know, like I started a new (0:06:07) Al: save for 1.6 when it came out and got perfection for the first time on it. So like, you know, (0:06:14) Micah: Oh, nice. That’s awesome. (0:06:15) Al: that’s how obsessed I got over it last time. So we’ll see. We’ll see. (0:06:17) Micah: Yeah. (0:06:19) Micah: I love that, though. I love when you… (0:06:22) Micah: That feeling of, like, finding a game that lets you do that, like, lets you obsess over it in that way. (0:06:28) Al: Yeah. (0:06:30) Al: I don’t know why does it happen though. (0:06:32) Al: Why do I keep coming back to stardew and keep playing it? (0:06:35) Micah: It’s your comfort game you know same reason why probably I’ve watched I don’t know the office (0:06:43) Micah: 18,000 times over not because it’s like incredible really and (0:06:48) Micah: Not because you know the a lot of the jokes are especially early on are not like questionable (0:06:52) Al: Heh. (0:06:54) Al: Yeah. (0:06:54) Micah: Especially today, but just cuz it’s Scott like you know (0:06:59) Micah: I don’t I don’t have to I don’t gotta think too hard about it. I just know what it is (0:07:05) Micah: It’s it becomes a comfort thing (0:07:08) Al: Fair. (0:07:08) Micah: Stardew Stardew Valley is your the office. I don’t let’s let’s let’s not use that let’s better on that comparison (0:07:14) Micah: I’m that I apologize that me. I don’t know why that made me think of it, but (0:07:18) Micah: I have been looking (0:07:21) Micah: looking at getting (0:07:23) Micah: back into (0:07:24) Micah: Pocket camp too recently cuz I kind of want to see it off (0:07:26) Al: Oh, good timing. Are you… are you gonna buy the offline version? (0:07:29) Micah: You know I’d put a lot of time into it (0:07:33) Micah: and money (0:07:36) Micah: I (0:07:37) Micah: Don’t probably here and there. I think part of it is that I just there were so many events that I (0:07:43) Micah: Didn’t feel like I could keep up with it as much. I will say (0:07:49) Micah: My wife Becky has is devastated. She is I (0:07:53) Micah: Think probably the biggest Animal Crossing fan (0:07:56) Micah: I I know like by far and I would have said years ago. I would have said that’s me (0:08:02) Micah: I am the biggest Animal Crossing fan that I know. (0:08:05) Micah: But that has, she has since taken that crown. (0:08:08) Micah: She has never stopped playing New Horizons. (0:08:12) Micah: She, she played New Leaf a ton. (0:08:14) Micah: She played through, you know, all of the, the previous (0:08:16) Micah: Harvest Moon’s, or Harvest Moon’s god. (0:08:19) Micah: I’m already in Harvest Moon Brain. (0:08:21) Micah: Uh, she’s played through the previous Animal Crossings, but (0:08:27) Micah: she has been, uh, nonstop playing New Horizons. (0:08:32) Micah: And I believe she’s literally, it’s, it’s Sunday. (0:08:35) Micah: So, you know, it’s her call, she calls her Goblin Day. (0:08:39) Micah: She’s literally out there playing New Horizons right now. (0:08:42) Micah: But in addition to that, she has never stopped playing Pocket Camp. (0:08:46) Micah: She has like thousands of hours, I would guess, in Pocket Camp. (0:08:53) Micah: And there are people that she knows only through Pocket Camp that (0:09:01) Micah: she’s like sad that it’s closing because she doesn’t know these (0:09:05) Micah: things outside of it. (0:09:05) Micah: Like she’s got, you know, hundreds of like friendship interactions (0:09:10) Micah: where they trade gifts or they trade, you know, items or whatever (0:09:13) Micah: in the game, but she doesn’t know who these people actually are. (0:09:16) Micah: So like when the game shuts down, that’s just going to go away, which (0:09:16) Al: Yeah. Well, and being a Nintendo game, it’s not going to have, like, free text, (0:09:20) Micah: is like an incredibly sad thing. (0:09:21) Micah: But like, how do you resolve that? (0:09:23) Micah: You know, like, what do you, right? (0:09:28) Al: so you wouldn’t have a way to be able to save that. Yeah. (0:09:28) Micah: There’s no social aspect to it. (0:09:31) Micah: Like broader social aspect to it that you can, you know, uh, (0:09:36) Micah: converse with the people outside of outside for good reason, right? (0:09:39) Micah: Like for kids games, but, but also in situations like this, it’s just (0:09:44) Micah: kind of, kind of weird and sad and like an interesting thing, but yeah. (0:09:48) Micah: So I, that has, has like touched me enough that I’m like, I kind of just (0:09:54) Micah: want to go back and see it off and, you know, be there when it shuts down (0:09:58) Micah: and stuff, because I’ve put so much time and unfortunately money into it. (0:10:02) Micah: so… (0:10:02) Al: Yeah, fair enough. Speaking of mobile games, I have gotten back into Marvel Snap quite (0:10:03) Micah: Bye. (0:10:06) Micah: So that’s next on the roster. (0:10:14) Micah: Oh, okay. (0:10:16) Al: a lot as well, like I have put so much time into it the last couple of months that I’m (0:10:26) Al: not quite at the top rank this season, but I’m close, and if I hit it, it’ll… (0:10:32) Al: be the first time I’ve hit it ever. So yeah, big. That’s big. 100. Or, oh, what’s the 100? (0:10:38) Micah: what is the top rank in marvel snap what’s the like the title for oh okay it’s not like a okay (0:10:43) Al: Platinum, I think. I don’t really pay attention to the names, I just pay attention to the number, (0:10:48) Al: right? Big number. Number go big. But I think it’s platinum. Oh no, it’s infinite. Infinite. (0:10:56) Micah: Oh, okay. All right (0:10:57) Al: So yeah, I’m at like 83 just now, so we’re… (0:11:01) Micah: Yeah, well I (0:11:04) Micah: Have heard nothing but good things about Marvel snap from those who play it, but I have never I’ve never (0:11:11) Al: Yeah, I find it really fun. I like its simplicity but also how complicated you can make it if (0:11:20) Micah: Mm-hmm sure (0:11:21) Al: you want to. Like I’ve got a deck that is like if I get the right cards basically unbeatable (0:11:29) Al: but you have to have a different way to win as well because you sometimes don’t get those (0:11:32) Micah: right yeah can I get those multiple win engines (0:11:34) Al: cards so it’s yeah, it’s fun. Exactly, exactly. (0:11:42) Al: It’s fun. I’m really enjoying it. They added a lot of stuff while I wasn’t playing it as well so (0:11:47) Al: trying to get back into that and being like oh they’ve got these alliances and leagues and all (0:11:54) Al: these cards that I don’t have because I hadn’t unlocked them etc etc but it’s good fun. Cool, (0:11:59) Micah: No, awesome (0:12:02) Al: so that’s what we’ve been up to. Now we’re going to talk about some news. First of all, (0:12:06) Al: Let’s build a zoo have announced a new update the (0:12:11) Al: structures update and this I mean it’s like there’s big balloons (0:12:21) Al: it’s interesting they call it a monsters monstrous structures I think it’s basically (0:12:26) Al: just because there are two massive balloons. (0:12:30) Micah: I do see, in the images, a giant warthog thing and a giant bear, but that’s the (0:12:37) Al: Exactly. There’s a lot of quality, well exactly, there’s a lot of quality of life improvements (0:12:40) Micah: extent of what I see. As far as monstrous goes, you know, (0:12:47) Al: as well, but like the name seems to be entirely hinging on those two balloons. Yeah, maybe. (0:12:54) Micah: Or just the concept that there’s a lot of stuff, you know, there’s like it’s a big update. Maybe I don’t know (0:13:01) Al: It’s a lot of little things, I think, right? Like you can now rename animals is the first (0:13:05) Al: thing in the patch notes, right? (0:13:07) Al: Like that’s not a mate, I mean, it’s fine, it’s good. (0:13:10) Al: Like I’m not saying it’s bad, but it’s not like this is a game changer. (0:13:10) Micah: Mm-hmm. (0:13:14) Micah: Right, yeah. (0:13:16) Al: Yeah, it just, there’s lots of quality of life improvements. (0:13:19) Al: So if you’ve been playing, enjoy those updates. (0:13:22) Al: If you haven’t been playing because you couldn’t rename your animals, now you can. (0:13:26) Micah: or because there weren’t giant monster balloons. (0:13:31) Al: Yeah, yeah. (0:13:32) Al: Next we have Cat Cafe Manager 2. (0:13:36) Al: big city bliss. (0:13:37) Al: The Kickstarter is now live. (0:13:39) Al: Micah, have you seen this game yet? (0:13:40) Micah: I have not. (0:13:41) Al: Had you seen the original Kat Kaffee manager? (0:13:44) Al: Kat Kaffee manager. (0:13:44) Micah: I have not. (0:13:46) Micah: I can’t say that. (0:13:47) Micah: I so I should what I should say is I have seen games that feel similar in that, you (0:13:56) Micah: know, I’ve been on the Switch eShop and there’s a lot of games that look similar, I guess. (0:14:03) Micah: But is this the the original? (0:14:06) Micah: Is this the OG cafe manager? (0:14:10) Al: a good question. That I don’t have the answer to. Yeah, it’s quite a big difference to the (0:14:11) Micah: I like the art for this much better than all the other stuff (0:14:21) Al: previous game. So the previous one came out in 2022. It’s not like it looked bad, right? (0:14:28) Al: But it’s different art style. I do prefer the newer one. It’s very, I guess, shiny Paper (0:14:39) Al: from REO. (0:14:40) Micah: Okay. Yeah. (0:14:40) Al: It’s how I would describe it. This one, right? I like the look of it. It’s interesting. So they (0:14:47) Al: seem to… I’ve noticed that they are planning on having like an actual story here in this one, (0:14:56) Al: because I think the previous one didn’t have that. So if you look at one of their updates on (0:15:00) Al: Kickstarter, they say “Cat Caffe Manager 1 had a nice but fairly straightforward storyline (0:15:06) Al: with the sequel, we’re excited to introduce more complex characters, mysteries and even (0:15:10) Al: somewhat of a villain. Well, yeah, there you go. Yeah, it’s in. I’m intrigued to see what (0:15:12) Micah: Oh a villain in my cat cafe? (0:15:18) Micah: I I there are a lot of things that that could mean and that scares me (0:15:24) Micah: We’re talking about like, you know adoptable animals i’m worried about who the villain is but (0:15:28) Al: happens. We’ll see. We’ll see. I’m excited to find out. (0:15:33) Micah: It’s really (0:15:35) Micah: It is a very cute art style though. I like it a lot. I do like that. Um (0:15:40) Micah: kind of flat 2D characters in a 3D space. (0:15:42) Micah: kind of thing. Obviously, you know, things like Snacko and stuff like that. Paper Mario, like you said. (0:15:48) Micah: I like that concept. (0:15:52) Micah: So, yeah, it looks really cool. (0:15:54) Al: it hasn’t hasn’t hit its goal yet but it’s going to let’s be honest it’s it’s (0:15:59) Al: 32,000 of 40,000 so it’s it’s it’s nearly there and it’s try (0:16:06) Micah: I should clarify too, when I had said, you know, I’ve seen games similar to this, I don’t mean art style gameplay, stuff like that, more just like the branding of it feels, you know, like it felt very, obviously cat cafe manager, it’s very straight to the point, you know, like, and I see a lot of like, I don’t know, whatever tycoon, whatever, you know, like, manager, whatever, it’s there’s so many of those that I just, I could have seen this and I wouldn’t (0:16:34) Al: So the first one does have an 84% steam rating, very positive with 1,500 reviews. So it’s (0:16:36) Micah: know, because I kind of, you know, (0:16:44) Micah: - Wow. (0:16:50) Al: obviously some people liked it, so that’s good. And the fact that they’ve successfully (0:16:55) Al: made a game before makes me much more encouraged about backing a Kickstarter. It’s not just (0:17:01) Al: one of these Skinner boxes that they’ve thrown together in a week and throw (0:17:04) Al: on the eShop, which happens so often. Yeah, it’s getting so much worse with that. (0:17:05) Micah: Right, God, the AI art, so much of it on there. (0:17:13) Micah: Yeah, they really gotta get a handle on that. (0:17:15) Micah: You know, nevermind. (0:17:17) Micah: I don’t wanna start to get riled up a little bit. (0:17:23) Micah: I’ll keep it brief. (0:17:24) Micah: Nintendo made a big deal about not having, you know, (0:17:26) Micah: shovelware on their systems like they did with the Wii. (0:17:29) Micah: And then they just instead opened up the eShop (0:17:32) Micah: to literally everything. (0:17:34) Al: Yeah, and it’s a bit of a balance, right? Because I think it’s important that we have (0:17:40) Al: open access to develop and share your games. But… (0:17:41) Micah: oh yeah for sure but like maybe some level of regulation like (0:17:48) Al: Well, this is the thing they do. It’s not like with Steam where it’s like you can literally (0:17:51) Al: just create it and launch it with no, like, oversight. On the Switch, you have to go through (0:17:56) Micah: Mm-hmm. (0:17:57) Al: a process where they approve it. That’s what’s weird is, like, how are they approving all this (0:18:02) Al: nonsense like they’re not they’re clearly not (0:18:04) Al: approving it they’re just clicking the button they’re not actually looking at (0:18:07) Al: it so why do they have the process there why do they bother (0:18:08) Micah: Or they have some like automated process that’s relying on some artificial intelligence to be like it checks these boxes. So it is approved (0:18:17) Al: yeah yeah maybe they’re just going is it a game does it run there you go that’s (0:18:21) Al: fine but I don’t know (0:18:25) Al: next we have super zoo story they have announced that their kickstarter goes (0:18:30) Al: live on the first of October. It’s just another… (0:18:34) Al: It’s another Zoo Tycoon game. Yeah, that’s it. (0:18:41) Micah: It definitely looks like a Z-Teku. (0:18:42) Al: Am I gonna play this game? I don’t know. It’s it. So I will say, I will see. The one (0:18:49) Al: thing that makes me more interested in this is it does appear to be like you… (0:18:54) Al: It’s an RPG style game rather than like a God style management game. And that (0:19:01) Al: interests me, because I am not a huge fan. (0:19:02) Micah: I agree, that- (0:19:04) Al: I am a fan of management games, but I am a fan of RPG management. (0:19:10) Micah: I agree with that. I’m also in that same boat where if it’s if it says tycoon and it’s got a you know (0:19:17) Micah: Like you’re you’re kind of like managing resources and filling a space and then (0:19:23) Micah: Making money. I’m not as interested in it (0:19:26) Micah: But the the RPG the added RPG element sounds more interesting to me (0:19:32) Micah: You know same way that like was a golf story like to be fair like loved Mario golf (0:19:36) Al: Yes, Golf Story is fantastic! (0:19:40) Micah: You know (0:19:41) Micah: Some of the like more goofy golf game games like (0:19:46) Micah: non-traditional golf games big fan of those but (0:19:49) Micah: Things like golf story sports story like that where they add an RPG element to it definitely makes it much more (0:19:55) Micah: You know exciting and more unique of an experience. So (0:20:00) Al: Yeah, yeah. I’m not a huge golf fan. I mean, I don’t even mean in real life, right? Because (0:20:04) Micah: Oh me neither. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about golf (0:20:09) Al: that’s a whole different discussion. I will rant about golf if you want me to, but I don’t think (0:20:13) Al: we want to. But game-wise, I like Mario Golf, and that’s probably about it. But yeah, Golf Story (0:20:24) Al: absolutely adored it. It was fantastic in so many ways. The actual golf was fun, (0:20:29) Al: But also, it was just– (0:20:30) Al: just my kind of humor. (0:20:31) Al: The story was just enough to be interesting, (0:20:35) Al: but not too much that you felt completely overwhelmed. (0:20:38) Al: It was my perfect RPG. (0:20:40) Al: It was just enough. (0:20:41) Al: Just enough RPG in– (0:20:44) Al: just enough RP in my G. Yeah, sports story was good as well. (0:20:49) Al: A little bit rushed, but I still really enjoyed it. (0:20:55) Al: Yeah, so I mean, I’m probably going to play this one purely (0:20:58) Al: because it’s rather than the kind of, you know. (0:21:00) Al: Tycoon style game, it is an RPG style game. (0:21:03) Al: It’ll be interesting to see how they balance that, obviously, (0:21:05) Al: because these things have to be on a much smaller scale (0:21:08) Al: because you’re doing everything every time. (0:21:11) Al: And will there be some level of automation to that? (0:21:13) Al: Like how, you know, Stardew adds that in as you go. (0:21:16) Al: We’ll just, you know, we’ll see what happens. (0:21:20) Al: Next, we have a new update from Wildflowers, (0:21:22) Al: which came out a few days ago. (0:21:23) Al: This is the magical creatures update. (0:21:26) Al: And can you guess what this brings to the game? (0:21:29) Micah: I’m gonna guess some magical creatures. No way (0:21:30) Al: You are correct. I know, imagine that. Go for it. I need to find if there’s a list. (0:21:37) Micah: Can I guess some of the magical creatures unicorn, oh, okay, never mind abort abort (0:21:48) Al: Oh, here we go. I can’t see a unicorn, but no, you’re correct. I think they’re trying to, (0:21:50) Micah: Okay, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not there, you know (0:21:55) Al: you know, not spoil everything, but what I do see is what looks like a cross between (0:21:59) Al: a tiger and an elephant. (0:22:00) Al: This is like tiger legs, elephant head, but also the size of a small dog. (0:22:00) Micah: Mm-hmm (0:22:04) Micah: Don’t don’t know that I’ve I know that one don’t know that I (0:22:09) Micah: Do see that one. It is very cute though. Do you’re like (0:22:14) Micah: Description of it, you know tiger with the head of an elephant just (0:22:19) Micah: Was did not prepare me for what it looks like and it is very cute (0:22:23) Al: that’s what it is though, right? Like you can’t say I’m wrong. Yeah. And then like some sort of (0:22:24) Micah: It is you’re totally right, but it is it’s really cute (0:22:32) Al: lizard gecko type thing with chicken legs. And then a Shiba Inu, of course. (0:22:34) Micah: Yep. (0:22:35) Micah: Chicken Lizard? (0:22:37) Micah: The classic mystical creature? (0:22:40) Micah: Yep. (0:22:42) Al: It’s like, what makes that magical? I don’t know. That’s the main thing. There’s other things as (0:22:49) Al: as well. There’s some more story about the lighthouse. (0:22:51) Al: Um, I don’t know. (0:22:53) Al: So this is the time, I mean, well, when I mentioned it to him, he said, oh, I guess (0:22:58) Micah: Oh, okay. (0:23:01) Micah: Is Kevin going to be okay? (0:23:05) Micah: That this is their final update? (0:23:08) Al: I need to get back into the game then. (0:23:09) Al: Uh, so I think it’s been a while since he’s played, he’s played it. (0:23:12) Al: So we’ll, we’ll see, we’ll see how he feels once he’s actually played it. (0:23:16) Micah: Got it. (0:23:17) Al: The update. (0:23:18) Al: Be interesting to see what the studio do next. (0:23:20) Micah: Yeah, definitely. (0:23:22) Micah: And now that they have got such a, like, you know, well-loved thing under their belt, there’s… (0:23:27) Al: Yeah, the moment you see from the makers of Wild Flowers, you’re like “OK, I’m paying attention”. (0:23:34) Al: So next we have possibly one of the weirdest things I’ve seen in a while, and this is (0:23:40) Al: “Bokumono Life and Love”, which is a G-mode phone game from a long time ago that has been ported (0:23:50) Al: to Steam and Switch. (0:23:52) Micah: I cannot tell you how happy I am about this for a couple reasons just also for (0:24:02) Micah: full clarification it is not in English there is no English for this it is a (0:24:06) Al: Yes, I’m important to point that out. (0:24:09) Micah: straight-up port of the Japanese phone game that’s it they’re not doing (0:24:14) Micah: anything else with it (0:24:16) Al: The good thing is the Steam page does make that very clear, it’s above the buy button, (0:24:18) Micah: yeah (0:24:21) Al: it says “English language not supported” in red letters. (0:24:22) Micah: right (0:24:25) Micah: there is uh it looks like well it says partial controller support but it it (0:24:32) Micah: looks like there are controller controls like you know I see like L&R buttons and (0:24:39) Micah: the screenshots and stuff like that so you know there’s not like you won’t need (0:24:43) Micah: some t9 cell phone flip phone peripheral to control the game or whatever it’s (0:24:47) Al: Yeah. (0:24:52) Micah: it is straight up that port though and I love that there are a couple reasons (0:24:56) Micah: why I love that one really stupid really dumb right like really like unexpected (0:25:02) Micah: weird bizarre decision from marvelous great I love it but also because there (0:25:10) Micah: are so many lost media games that are caught in this like g-mode old Japanese (0:25:19) Micah: phone game that like… maybe this o- (0:25:22) Micah: opens the door for more of those to be able to release- get- be released like this? (0:25:24) Al: Well, that’s an interesting question. Are they going to make this technology that they’ve (0:25:30) Al: clearly built as an emulator or whatever? I don’t know exactly what they’ve done, (0:25:34) Al: but something. Are they going to be able to share that with other people? That would be really cool. (0:25:35) Micah: Mm-hmm (0:25:39) Micah: Right, definitely. Well, the other positive there is that (0:25:44) Micah: even just releasing the game gives way to a lot of (0:25:48) Micah: really brilliant people in the (0:25:51) Micah: homebrew community to be able to dissect it and figure out (0:25:56) Micah: what they did as far as you know emulation goes and (0:26:00) Micah: maybe be able to just find a way to (0:26:04) Micah: to… to… (0:26:05) Micah: you know, port some of that stuff themselves, or you know, I don’t know if there’s a lot (0:26:10) Micah: of opportunities here for some really interesting and really cool, like, lost games to be able (0:26:20) Al: So it looks like they’re not the first people to do this. (0:26:23) Al: So it looks like Gmail themselves (0:26:25) Al: released released a bunch of games on Steam a couple of years ago. (0:26:31) Al: So maybe this is, (0:26:34) Al: you know, because of this, like maybe that technology has then been used in this (0:26:39) Al: situation. (0:26:39) Micah: Mm-hmm. There are also some on the switch as well (0:26:44) Micah: But this I think is the like most (0:26:48) Micah: Popular franchise I could be wrong about this, but I think this is the most popular franchise to be (0:26:52) Al: I don’t think you’re wrong. I think saying a bokumono game on a really niche Japanese (0:27:03) Al: phone brand is possibly the most popular game on that. I believe you. I think probably. (0:27:11) Micah: yeah I I think that that’s possible to at least that’s my impression right is (0:27:17) Micah: that like that’s you know we’re we’re you know in a world now where like being (0:27:23) Micah: able to people people may be more aware of it now as being a thing I know that (0:27:29) Micah: there was a persona game that was like last year (0:27:32) Al: I was just… that is what I was just about to say. I have immediately (0:27:35) Al: changed my opinion on that. When I saw on their list that Persona 3 is one of them. (0:27:40) Micah: Yeah, well it’s so it’s a persona it and it is like a such a like small. I don’t know. Maybe I where is the the (0:27:51) Micah: The like chart that shows the growth between like persona fan base and (0:27:58) Micah: The like harvest moon fam, you know, that’s the story seasons fan base because I (0:27:59) Al: Yeah. (0:28:04) Micah: feel like you know prior to persona 5 that was definitely not like the you know (0:28:11) Micah: Either way (0:28:11) Al: Yeah, but I feel like people are going back to the older games, especially with, you know, (0:28:15) Al: 3 getting its Switch release. I feel like people are going back to the older ones when they started (0:28:18) Micah: oh yeah for sure it is a huge franchise now for sure I just don’t know if like (0:28:28) Micah: you know how big is the heart like how big is the harvest moon name you know (0:28:32) Micah: how big is the story of seasons name you know (0:28:32) Al: Well, and it’s more complicated obviously because like the name in Japan is as big as (0:28:38) Micah: it’s not right (0:28:39) Al: it has ever been, but like what does the main name mean over here? And they don’t use either (0:28:43) Micah: mm-hmm (0:28:47) Al: name because obviously they don’t have an English name for this, right? They obviously (0:28:52) Al: would be calling it Story of Seasons if they had, but then it would be like because it’s (0:28:57) Al: a port. They’ve not done a port, right? So this is the weird thing. They’ve not done (0:29:00) Al: on a port, so actually that’s not true. (0:29:02) Al: I guess they did. They did the original Harvest Moon on Nintendo Switch Online, didn’t (0:29:07) Al: they? And they called that Harvest Moon. They didn’t call that a story of seasons. So maybe (0:29:10) Micah: True. Yeah, you’re right (0:29:12) Al: they would, and maybe they would call this Harvest Moon then if they released it in the (0:29:16) Al: West. What I find interesting is they’re about this game, they have an English description (0:29:16) Micah: Yeah, I don’t know (0:29:20) Al: of this game on Steam. (0:29:23) Micah: Right, like it is it is on the the American Steam store like it is accessible (0:29:29) Al: Even if it’s not just that, it says “enjoy a heartwarming” and this isn’t auto-translated (0:29:34) Al: in Chrome or anything, it just says “enjoy a heartwarming farm life while growing crops (0:29:38) Al: and interacting with animals”. (0:29:39) Al: This title is a port of a title released in 2007 for feature phones in the popular series, (0:29:44) Al: which has been developed for numerous hardware platforms. (0:29:47) Al: It simultaneously includes For Boy, in which a boy is the main character, and For Girl, (0:29:51) Al: in which a girl is the main character. (0:29:52) Micah: No way (0:29:53) Al: Funny that they decided to just add them both and just like smash them together into one (0:29:57) Micah: Yeah (0:29:59) Micah: I’d be curious to like how that plays it like is it just a selection right? (0:29:59) Al: Fair enough. (0:30:03) Micah: Do you just like select which game it is or they kind of just like blood them together? Yeah (0:30:03) Al: I suspect so. (0:30:05) Al: I suspect so, yeah. (0:30:08) Micah: I can’t imagine. There’s a lot of you know (0:30:08) Al: Like, they’re calling it a port. (0:30:10) Al: They’ve not changed it. (0:30:11) Micah: Yeah (0:30:13) Micah: Development going on there. Yeah, so I don’t know I guess between persona and this (0:30:19) Micah: you know, and persona happening with (0:30:22) Micah: in the last within a like, a year, almost a year to date, I (0:30:26) Al: Yeah. (0:30:27) Micah: think. No, September 23, it looks like. But yeah, either (0:30:33) Micah: either way, you know, the fact that bigger games now are (0:30:38) Micah: getting these like G mode ports is kind of exciting. So I don’t (0:30:43) Micah: know, even beyond G mode, there are other mobile games from that (0:30:50) Micah: time period that are just like, you know. (0:30:51) Al: Yeah, I agree. I agree. I look forward to playing Gregory Horror Show, which is another (0:30:52) Micah: Completely lost. That would be great to be able to see some of that stuff. (0:30:58) Micah: Go this route, so. (0:31:04) Al: one, which comes out in October. (0:31:07) Al: All right. Can’t believe we spent that much time talking about a G-mode game. What is (0:31:10) Micah: I mean. (0:31:13) Al: this podcast? Finally, before we get into it, we’ve got a few new games to talk about. (0:31:19) Al: For that, we have. (0:31:21) Al: A board game based on Mika and the Witch’s Mountain that’s coming to Kickstarter. (0:31:28) Micah: Okay, I can’t could not have expected that honestly (0:31:32) Al: No. No. I don’t really know what to say. Yes, yes, I’ll probably buy it. Stop asking. It’s, (0:31:38) Micah: I don’t either. (0:31:43) Al: I mean, it’s very, with the intro, so, okay, I have, my brain’s doing the brain thing. (0:31:50) Al: There’s, it’s called Delivery Witches, right? But it’s not branded Mika on the Witches Mountain (0:31:57) Al: or anything like that, but it’s very definitely Mika, right? Like, it’s the same art. (0:32:02) Al: Chibig shared it on their Twitter, so it’s like very clearly in collaboration with them. And, (0:32:08) Micah: same fonts (0:32:09) Al: and all the characters are the same. They’ve got all their art, etc. Like, it’s very much, (0:32:15) Al: it is the Mika and the Witches Mountain game. They just didn’t call it that. (0:32:20) Micah: Right, right. (0:32:22) Al: Which is fair, I guess. Like, you don’t have to call it the same thing, (0:32:25) Al: But it just I just find it interesting (0:32:27) Al: Um, I. (0:32:28) Micah: yeah it is I i guess I didn’t even think about like you know I i think if I had seen this on its own (0:32:35) Micah: without you telling me um and without drawing that association I probably would have been like (0:32:41) Micah: this looks really familiar but it just seems weird that like they wouldn’t do something to (0:32:42) Al: Yeah (0:32:49) Micah: like further I don’t know maybe that’s enough or I just don’t know if that game is has the uh the (0:32:56) Micah: popularity to be able to. (0:32:58) Micah: to say, like, oh, it is very loosely referential to it, but that’s enough for people to know that it’s based on this game, right? (0:33:07) Micah: Like it’s not, I don’t know, I could see that with other franchises, but maybe not this one. (0:33:13) Al: I think what I find weird is like there’s not a single mention of the game or the game (0:33:19) Al: developer on this Kickstarter page so far. Now granted it’s quite small, like they’ve (0:33:23) Al: not gone live, but they still have like five paragraphs of text and not once does it mention (0:33:29) Al: that it’s based on a game. And the company that’s making it is not the same, right, they’ve (0:33:32) Micah: Yeah, it’s very odd (0:33:36) Al: I’ve obviously been farmed out to another company that makes games. (0:33:40) Micah: But it is the you said it like, how is the developer related? (0:33:47) Al: Well, presumably they own like they are because it is the same characters, right? (0:33:52) Al: They use the same character art that you see in game. (0:33:56) Micah: Yeah, I just meant not not in that way. I meant like how was the other than say the the (0:34:02) Micah: Chibig retweeted it or something, you know, like what what is their relay? (0:34:06) Micah: Is there any other relation to like if they said we’re collaborating with them. I guess I do see (0:34:12) Al: Yeah, I think they made it clear that it was a collaboration. (0:34:15) Micah: Okay, I because it (0:34:18) Al: I guess what I know, I’m not trying to say that it’s as popular as Stardew, (0:34:21) Al: but it would be like if the Stardew Valley board game came out and they called it (0:34:26) Al: “farming game”. Right? Like, it would just feel weird. (0:34:28) Micah: Right, like my immediate my immediate reaction would be like they’re ripping off (0:34:33) Micah: Stardew Valley not like oh, it’s a Stardew Valley game, but they’re but they’re calling it something else (0:34:34) Al: Yes, exactly. Exactly. Exactly. And there’s nothing that makes it clear on this Kickstarter (0:34:41) Al: page. (0:34:42) Al: This is an official collaboration, but it is. (0:34:44) Micah: And that’s why I was asking well, how were they related to this other than like, you know, but obviously they have cosigned on it because they’re (0:34:53) Micah: Sharing it and like the art, you know, like if it weren’t (0:34:57) Micah: Theirs, they would probably be in litigation with them or something. I’m sure so (0:35:02) Al: Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Like it’s not, it’s not even like, you know, close. (0:35:08) Micah: Yeah, it’s really interesting it’s very it’s a very pretty looking board game like every (0:35:14) Micah: Looks cool that some of the like, you know card effects and stuff look neat (0:35:19) Micah: The the character pieces are really really cute. I like almost want to get in on it just for the the little (0:35:29) Micah: What do you call those little guys from the (0:35:30) Al: You can’t call them meeples anymore. (0:35:33) Micah: You can’t call them meeples anymore no, I did not (0:35:35) Al: Oh, did you not hear this news? (0:35:37) Al: All right. Sidebar. (0:35:38) Al: So Carcassonne have trademarked meeples and they’re suing anybody that uses the name now. (0:35:41) Micah: Uh-huh (0:35:44) Micah: Oh (0:35:46) Al: So let me find out what they… (0:35:46) Micah: That’s (0:35:49) Al: It’s very, it’s very stupid. (0:35:52) Al: What is the name that is that people have kind of agreed they should call it instead? (0:35:59) Al: Oh, apparently it’s not. (0:36:00) Al: Not being trademarked in the US, so maybe they’ll continue, people will just continue (0:36:02) Micah: Oh. (0:36:04) Al: to use the word ‘meeple’ and make their games in the US. (0:36:05) Micah: Yet, at least. (0:36:07) Micah: Obviously, they’re trying, so… (0:36:08) Al: Can’t remember, because there was one in particular, so it’s an EU trademark ‘meeple’, because (0:36:16) Al: Carcassonne are German, and what? (0:36:19) Al: Oh yeah, so this was, so a company was making a game called ‘Meeple Inc’, and they were (0:36:26) Al: sued by Carcassonne, so they’re now calling it ‘Table Inc’. (0:36:30) Micah: Leave it to a, you know, a lawsuit to ruin the fun for her. (0:36:35) Al: I know it’s so like seriously nobody is confusing their game with carcass on (0:36:43) Al: just because it says meeple like come on I can’t see anywhere what the (0:36:46) Micah: but uh what do we call these um meekles because it because meika and the you (0:36:54) Al: which which which pole (0:36:55) Micah: know which pool um we’ll just we’ll call them meeples with the asterisk that it (0:37:03) Micah: spelled MI PLE because because meekah and the you know yeah yeah yeah they’re (0:37:06) Al: It’s my poles. (0:37:09) Al: Oh, meekles, meekles, yeah, okay, right, I get you. (0:37:13) Micah: really cute though they’re I that’s probably my favorite part of this whole (0:37:16) Micah: thing like they’re very cute game pieces and I hope that they don’t get (0:37:22) Micah: sued by Carcassonne (0:37:23) Al: Well they’re not using- I don’t see meeple being written anywhere and I don’t think they’re trying (0:37:27) Al: to like trademark the concept of having a meeple, it’s just the name that they’re (0:37:31) Micah: Not yet, at least, you know, it’s opens the doors, you know, the next thing, the next litigation. (0:37:39) Micah: This is, yeah, this is interesting, though, this is such a like strange thing, like a strange decision. (0:37:46) Micah: Maybe part of it is like that they are working with this team and they want to give them because that team is like working as hard as they are in this game and everything they’re giving all of the, you know, like they’re setting it up in a way. (0:38:01) Micah: So that undigital owns the rights to this without having to like, you know, there being any question about who owns the rights to their game that they’re working on because it’s related to something else. (0:38:14) Al: I’m sure they’ve got, I’m sure they have all their legal things in a row, right? (0:38:17) Al: Like it’s not like they, they launched this, they announced it on the same day. (0:38:22) Al: It looks like on Twitter, like it’s very clearly like done together. (0:38:26) Al: So I, I’m sure they know. (0:38:28) Micah: Oh sure, I just mean that, like, that would be a positive thing, you know, if they had given them the, you know, had them just change the name so that in the future there was no potential for any possible, like, you know, legal issues or something, and they could just claim all of the rights to this board game and the profits and whatever without having to, you know, answer to Chibig or whatever, which would be a cool thing for Chibig to do. (0:38:58) Micah: You know, people will say like, hey, just, this is yours. You make all the money from it. But who knows, I don’t, I don’t know what the decision was to do this, but it’s an interesting (0:39:08) Al: I have fallen into a deep dark hole of trademark stuff now. It looks like (0:39:16) Al: the EU trademark doesn’t actually cover toys and games, but there’s a (0:39:21) Micah: All for meeples? (0:39:23) Al: Germany trademark that does cover them. I’m so confused. (0:39:35) Al: What have I done? Why have I started reading this? (0:39:37) Al: Um… (0:39:38) Al: OK, right, no, we’re done with that, right? Anyway, game, uh, the Kickstarter isn’t live yet. (0:39:46) Al: You can go and save it if you want to get notified when it goes live. Link will be in the show notes. (0:39:51) Al: All right, we have a few new games as well. Uh, so a new My Time At game, My Time At Evershine, (0:39:59) Al: um, is coming out. The Kickstarter is launching sometime this month. You want another My Time game? (0:40:06) Micah: Uh, I am. (0:40:09) Micah: Yes, I do. (0:40:10) Micah: I do, because I think that my time at Portia (0:40:14) Micah: was such a like, what do they call it? (0:40:17) Micah: Bottled lightning or whatever. (0:40:20) Micah: For what it was at that time, which was, you know, (0:40:24) Micah: a time shortly after Stardew Valley is like massive success. (0:40:29) Micah: And shortly before the boom in. (0:40:36) Micah: Farm Sim type, like Life Sim type games, you know. (0:40:41) Micah: And I think that there were a lot of really positive things (0:40:43) Micah: about my time at Portia, but I think my time at Sandrock, (0:40:47) Micah: on the other hand, was not what I would have wanted it to be (0:40:52) Micah: or would have expected. (0:40:53) Micah: And just personally, not for me. (0:40:56) Micah: So I’m interested to see. (0:40:58) Al: Did you play it? Did you play Sandra? (0:41:01) Micah: No, I did not. (0:41:02) Micah: I from listening to (0:41:06) Micah: and watching things and seeing how the game played, and especially after my time at Portia Port, (0:41:12) Al: Yep. (0:41:13) Micah: I made the conscious decision not to, but just because I didn’t think that it was really for me, (0:41:20) Micah: you know? But I’m excited to see, like clearly they’re capable, right? That’s what I’m getting (0:41:26) Micah: at, is like they’re a very capable studio, and they have some really great ideas. I think there (0:41:34) Micah: there were a lot of really awesome ideas (0:41:36) Micah: in my time at Portia had that just maybe weren’t as fleshed out as they could have been (0:41:40) Micah: especially now that we have had this boom of, you know, Farm Sims and Life Sims and stuff (0:41:45) Micah: that have, you know, made a lot of differences in how these games are played and stuff like (0:41:53) Micah: that. (0:41:54) Micah: So I’m excited to see what they can do with more games, like, I’m always interested in (0:42:00) Micah: seeing, you know, a talented developer make new stuff. (0:42:05) Al: Yeah. So, I mean, just looking at some numbers on Steam. Yeah, well, that’s the thing. I (0:42:06) Micah: Um… (0:42:07) Micah: This is also- (0:42:12) Al: mean, we’re interested to see what they continue on and what they don’t. I mean, to me, Sandrock (0:42:16) Al: always looked just like the same game, but slightly more. And I was like, I’m not interested (0:42:20) Al: in that. But the, so looking on Steam, so they had, so they both have very, very positive (0:42:28) Al: reviews. So we’re ignoring Switch, right? The Switch debacle, we’re just ignoring that, (0:42:33) Al: Right? These things happen. (0:42:34) Micah: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:42:35) Al: They should just not. (0:42:40) Al: So Portia had 33,000 reviews, and Sandrock had 20,000 reviews. (0:42:48) Al: But Portia’s alt, 33,000 versus 20,000. (0:42:50) Micah: Wait how many did Portia have? (0:42:53) Micah: That’s so close. That’s way closer than I would have thought. (0:42:57) Al: It’s a… Yeah, but interestingly, there are all-time peaks of concurrent players. (0:43:03) Al: Porsche was 13,000. (0:43:05) Al: 1.3, and Sandrock was 21,000. It was higher. (0:43:10) Micah: Wow, yeah, I mean, people, I think people knew that, (0:43:13) Micah: you know, by the time that Sandrock came out, (0:43:16) Micah: people had already known Portia so well (0:43:19) Micah: and have been like preaching it (0:43:20) Micah: that I guess maybe even beyond what Portia was, (0:43:24) Micah: people were more excited about it or interested in it. (0:43:27) Micah: I don’t know, I remember the conversation (0:43:30) Micah: around my time at Sandrock being like, (0:43:32) Micah: people were very excited about it. (0:43:34) Micah: I think a big part of it for me was that (0:43:36) Micah: I I’m not a like humongous fan (0:43:40) Micah: of the Southwestern American motif motif in like games and I get really (0:43:41) Al: Yeah, fair, fair. (0:43:48) Micah: really bummed out when I get to the point in games where it’s like okay now (0:43:52) Micah: you got to do the desert level and I’m like I just don’t wanna I don’t wanna do (0:43:57) Micah: that and it kind of looked like Porsche but in that setting and with the whole (0:43:58) Al: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. (0:44:02) Micah: the whole game is desert level basically is what it felt like so and it looked (0:44:07) Micah: Like a lot of the say I mean obviously a lot (0:44:10) Micah: more but you know it looked like a lot of the same of what Portia had that I (0:44:15) Micah: was kind of like I’ll just play Portia you know that’s more in my setting (0:44:18) Al: Yeah, you’re still, I mean, you’re still essentially a builder, right? Like, it’s the same core (0:44:20) Micah: that’s more me (0:44:23) Al: loop of building things, which, if you like, that’s good. I really didn’t like, so I’m (0:44:30) Al: obviously not gonna like it when it has the same core mechanic that I didn’t like. (0:44:32) Micah: - Right. (0:44:35) Micah: There is also something that about the character design (0:44:39) Micah: that I didn’t really love in Porsche or Sandrock, (0:44:44) Micah: but I was more like forgiving obviously with Porsche (0:44:47) Micah: ‘cause it was such a, like at the time it was, (0:44:51) Micah: you know, kind of like unique and exciting thing (0:44:54) Micah: where now this is a little bit more common of a game, (0:44:57) Micah: like a game style and stuff like that. (0:44:59) Micah: So, but. (0:45:02) Micah: It’s just, I don’t know. There’s something about the character design that I didn’t really love. (0:45:06) Micah: And I think for the new thing, this new thing, what is it my time at Evershine? (0:45:10) Al: Evershine, yeah. (0:45:10) Micah: The character design looks so different and like, more aged up. Right, right. (0:45:12) Al: Well, so we just have one image to go by, right? Just to point there, like this could (0:45:18) Al: - because if you look at, for example, the original image that was released for - what (0:45:24) Al: was that game you were talking about before? Why have I forgotten the name of it? The one (0:45:28) Al: you’ve bought but not played yet. The farming game. Yeah, it feels a mystery. If you look (0:45:30) Micah: Oh, fields of mystery. (0:45:32) Al: at the original image, that does not look anything like the game. So you can’t rely (0:45:36) Micah: Yes, you’re right. Absolutely right. (0:45:40) Al: on that first initial image. But yes, it does look very different to the actual art (0:45:48) Al: style of Porsche and Sandrock. So maybe that’s going to do something different? I don’t know. (0:45:48) Micah: Mm hmm. And I should say. (0:45:54) Micah: Yeah, I should say contextually, the you know, the looking at the (0:45:59) Micah: the key art illustrations they’ve had for Portia and for Sandrock, (0:46:03) Micah: the character design in those has matched what the character design is. (0:46:08) Micah: Roughly, you know, like proportions and facial, (0:46:11) Micah: you know, facial features and stuff like that. (0:46:13) Micah: So again, yeah, we don’t know. (0:46:16) Micah: There’s only one image. (0:46:17) Micah: We don’t know what the game actually looks like. (0:46:18) Micah: Based on that, contextually, this feels like it’s it’s going to be a little bit (0:46:25) Micah: more aged up, a little bit more mature looking, maybe feeling. (0:46:29) Micah: So that at on its own intrigues me that it’s, you know, kind of taking (0:46:35) Micah: like a little bit more serious tone with this key art. (0:46:39) Micah: So we’ll see. Maybe it’s not. (0:46:39)

In the first ever episode without Justin, Holden and Sarah dive deep into ConcernedApe's 2016 farming simulator Stardew Valley.

Al and Jonnie go through all the news while Al was on holiday. Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:10: What Have We Been Up To 00:16:13: Game Releases 00:34:54: Game Updates 01:09:23: Other News 01:15:30: New Games 01:26:09: Outro Links Critter Crops Gourdlets Song of the Prairie Garden Witch Life Reel Fishing: Days of Summer Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid Usagi Shima Echoes of the Plum Grove Outbound Coral Island “1.1” Update Coral Island Humble Games Issue Roots of Pacha “1.2” Update Sun Haven “Teleportation” Update Moonstone Island “Cooking” Update Disney Dreamlight Valley Roadmap Cult of the Lamb “Unholy Alliance” Update Mika and the Witch’s Mountain Roadmap Fields of Mistra Roadmap Ova Magica Roadmap Horticular Roadmap Concerned Ape Promises not to charge for DLC Overthrown Steam Page Hearty Hank Plush Sakuna Anime Marvelous Restructuring Pathless Woods Everbloom Hamster Garden Ritual of Raven Cat Cafe Manager 2: Big City Bliss Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:31) Al: Hello farmers, and welcome to another episode of The Harvest Season. My name is Al, (0:00:36) Jonnie: And my name is Johnny. (0:00:38) Al: and we’re here today to talk about Cottagecore games. (0:00:40) Jonnie: Woo! (0:00:44) Al: What happened to diving, you might say. We’re not… not farmers, we’re divers. No, not this week, (0:00:50) Al: you’re not, because… complicated reasons, but we’re not doing the last episode of the day of the (0:00:56) Al: the day of the month today. We’re doing that probably in two weeks time. But who knows? (0:01:01) Al: You’ll find out why. I’ll explain it in the next episode why this is all changed. But (0:01:06) Al: yeah, I had all this organized and then something happened and now we’re changing things up. (0:01:13) Al: So that will come. Don’t worry, your final episode. Maybe a break might be good. I don’t (0:01:24) Al: know. I’ve still not heard from anyone whether they think it’s too much day of the diver (0:01:27) Al: or not. But don’t worry, we’re not going to go back to that. (0:01:31) Al: For most games, it was just a funny one-off thing. We’ll see what people think of it. (0:01:38) Al: Yes, stuff to come. Watch this space. This episode, I’m back from my month away, so we (0:01:45) Al: are going to talk about news. That’s it. There’s so much news. I didn’t count it the last moment, (0:01:50) Jonnie: There’s so much news. (0:01:52) Al: but there’s like over 20 pieces of news to talk about. It’s quite wild. (0:01:54) Jonnie: Yeah. (0:01:55) Jonnie: There’s a lot of news. (0:01:58) Jonnie: This is what happens when you go away for a month, Al. (0:02:01) Al: Oh, I know. But, you know, it’s fine. It’s good. What’s the worst that can happen? This (0:02:09) Al: is what the worst that can happen. Before that, Johnny, what have you been up to? (0:02:14) Jonnie: What have I been up to? I tried a cute little game called creatures of ever (0:02:21) Jonnie: Which is available (0:02:23) Jonnie: via game parts (0:02:24) Al: I feel like I’ve heard of this. (0:02:27) Jonnie: It’s uh, I I guess it’s kind of like a open world (0:02:34) Jonnie: Creature tamer with a giant asterisk next to it (0:02:41) Jonnie: a sort of an adventure-y style game. (0:02:43) Jonnie: Um… (0:02:44) Jonnie: And it’s kind of set out, it’s a game that’s set out into zones and I was playing through the first zone and I was having a really good time with it and I was like “this game’s like really cool” (0:02:55) Jonnie: So the core concept is… (0:02:57) Jonnie: I mean, there’s a problem that I have with the game and it’s part of the story that they’re telling. (0:03:02) Jonnie: I guess Mars blows for the story, but the concept of the game is that you are there to save the planet that is dying by capturing all of their animals. (0:03:14) Jonnie: And convincing the inhabitants of the planet to leave, which comes with a lot of… (0:03:19) Al: Is that saving a planet or is that saving what’s on a planet? (0:03:23) Jonnie: Well, it’s very much saving what’s on the planet. (0:03:26) Jonnie: And it comes with very strong, I guess, colonial style overtones of “look at me, the outworlder that’s here to tell you the locals what is best” (0:03:37) Jonnie: Which, you know, is… like, they are telling an appropriate story with it, but it doesn’t necessarily make it fun. (0:03:44) Jonnie: To be playing the character with the colonial vibes for a bit. (0:03:48) Jonnie: Anyway, that’s about the… they actually epic handle it in a way that’s likely fine. (0:03:53) Jonnie: The taming mechanic is music, so you have a flute and different creatures will respond to different songs and you form a bond with them (0:04:02) Jonnie: And you take them to the bot that zaps them up so you don’t permanently get any of them (0:04:09) Jonnie: But when you’ve changed something, you can pair with it and use it to explore the world. (0:04:14) Jonnie: And each of the creatures has different abilities, which I thought was a really cool concept. (0:04:19) Jonnie: You tame something and then it can help you access a new area. (0:04:24) Jonnie: And then I got to the second area, and all of the creatures looked slightly different, but they all had the same abilities. (0:04:31) Jonnie: And the game started to feel very copy and paste at that point, kind of like they had… (0:04:38) Jonnie: And there was only five different creatures in the first area, so it wasn’t like there was a massive… (0:04:42) Jonnie: Yeah, it was like I’d explored 20 (0:04:44) Jonnie: different creatures and then they’d run out of ideas and I explored five and (0:04:45) Al: Yeah, so I guess don’t go into it expecting lots of like, you know, if you go into it (0:04:47) Jonnie: then it felt like they ran out of ideas which was a bit of a (0:04:54) Al: because it’s a creature collector, you’re probably going to be disappointed, but… (0:04:58) Jonnie: Yeah, a hundred percent (0:05:00) Al: How’s the exploration and the movement and stuff like that? (0:05:03) Jonnie: It’s fine, it’s neither good nor bad it kind of feels like going back to (0:05:11) Jonnie: the sort of ps2 era of games like where (0:05:15) Jonnie: Exploration was largely just walking around the world and you had a jump and you would do certain things that would break down a wall (0:05:22) Jonnie: But until then that wall was kind of largely just there it fit the feels very (0:05:28) Jonnie: reminiscent of that (0:05:30) Jonnie: Which is yeah, it’s neither good or bad. It’s it’s good in the sense that it feels like intentional, but it’s bad in the sense that (0:05:38) Jonnie: Exploration games have moved well past that (0:05:42) Al: Yeah, you’re you’re not really exploring so much as following up maze. (0:05:48) Jonnie: Correct (0:05:49) Al: OK, it’s interesting. (0:05:51) Al: It looks quite nice. (0:05:52) Jonnie: Yeah, yeah, it does look nice (0:05:55) Jonnie: Also weird thing so I got to the end of the second area and when you finish the story there (0:06:00) Jonnie: The game basically tells you like (0:06:03) Jonnie: Once you leave you can’t come back to this area (0:06:06) Jonnie: So be sure you’ve done everything and I’m like but I’m not sure that I’ve done everything because there’s no (0:06:11) Jonnie: Tracking of whether or not I’ve done all of the things so that was unfortunate and at that point (0:06:12) Al: yeah. And you really can’t go back to the area. (0:06:18) Jonnie: I don’t know because at that point I was kind of like I think I’m I’m (0:06:23) Jonnie: Okay with the time but I had with (0:06:26) Al: Oh, OK, fair enough. That seems weird to have distinct areas, but then say you can never (0:06:34) Jonnie: Yeah, and I think I get why they did it in like I think it’s mild story spoilers (0:06:43) Jonnie: Is there justification for doing it, but I don’t think that’s a good reason for doing it (0:06:46) Al: Oh, are the areas destroyed? (0:06:50) Al: Oh. (0:06:50) Jonnie: No, no, I think it’s more to do with like characters leaving the area and needing to be in another area and (0:06:59) Jonnie: Then kind of just be like well the story doesn’t bring you back to this area. So let’s (0:07:04) Jonnie: not let you go back. (0:07:05) Jonnie: So. (0:07:06) Al: Okay. I mean, I guess maybe that’s why they don’t have a like completion (0:07:11) Al: percentage for that area, right? Because that would be frustrating. (0:07:14) Jonnie: Yeah, but there’s like things in the world that you can come across to find and interact. (0:07:21) Jonnie: They’re not collectibles as such, but they’re collectibles, right? (0:07:26) Jonnie: So that part really broke my brain and was slightly frustrating. (0:07:32) Jonnie: But I will say, I think the idea of playing music to tame animals was like a very cool (0:07:38) Jonnie: idea and I think that was well implemented where like the song. (0:07:44) Jonnie: The songs and the way you did that with the creatures of the world felt really good and (0:07:47) Jonnie: really clever and I kind of just wish that there was, yeah, you know what this game feels (0:07:51) Jonnie: like to me? (0:07:52) Jonnie: It feels like they had a really good idea. (0:07:55) Jonnie: They wanted to make a game much bigger than their budget allowed and so they had to copy (0:08:00) Jonnie: and paste a few things where I’m sure they had more different ideas, but making games (0:08:05) Jonnie: is really expensive. (0:08:07) Jonnie: That’s what this game feels like to me and I wish they had more money to make the game (0:08:07) Al: Yes, yep, yep. Fair enough. (0:08:10) Jonnie: they probably had in their heads. (0:08:12) Jonnie: But that’s what I’ve been up to. (0:08:14) Jonnie: How? What have you been? (0:08:17) Al: Well, so while I’m away for my month in the summer, I don’t have a huge amount of time (0:08:22) Al: for games, but what I did manage to play was Chicken Journey. I don’t know if you remember (0:08:28) Jonnie: Chicken, I’m tired (0:08:28) Al: this game, Johnny. I mean, it’s not Cottagecore. We talked about it on the podcast once because (0:08:36) Al: chicken. (0:08:38) Al: But basically it’s a side scrolling RPG where you play as a chicken with some mild platforming (0:08:48) Al: to it. It’s not particularly challenging, right? Like don’t go into it expecting platforming (0:08:55) Al: challenges. That’s not what there is. It’s more kind of puzzle-y in that you kind of have to (0:09:01) Al: figure out how to get through an area which involves some platforming and involves, you know, (0:09:07) Al: switches and stuff like that and making sure you do things in the right order and finding (0:09:12) Al: your way out of very simple mazes. It’s fun, I think. It’s not a hugely long game, so I (0:09:20) Al: finished it in, I think, 10 hours, which, I mean, for me is a good length of a game (0:09:26) Al: just now. But yeah, it’s not particularly long. And I basically have 100% of it. There’s (0:09:31) Al: one Steve achievement I don’t have and that’s just because… (0:09:37) Al: I need to go to like two different areas and go in the, what they call it, like the temples (0:09:44) Al: that I went into and get to the highest level again because I missed one thing in each of them. (0:09:50) Al: And I’m like, oh, can I really be bothered with that? It’s not like I’m doing something (0:09:54) Al: challenging that I’ve not done before. It’s just doing the same thing again and not missing one (0:09:59) Al: thing. So yeah, we’ll see, but… (0:10:03) Jonnie: then you will do it. It’s not a we’ll see, we know you will do it. Everyone’s been listening to this show. (0:10:07) Al: I don’t know, maybe I’ll forget about it and it won’t niggle at my brain the entire time (0:10:12) Al: I’m playing a different game. I don’t know. (0:10:14) Jonnie: really niggling at your brain now we all know how to sense we could pretend we (0:10:18) Jonnie: don’t if you want to do that like that’s that’s fine (0:10:21) Al: Yeah, so I think the problem is, right? Like, I very rarely 100% games. (0:10:29) Al: I’m trying to remember if there was a game I 100%ed before or not, but I 100%ed the newest (0:10:34) Al: Kirby game in the 3D one. That was the first game of (0:10:37) Al: the game. I’m like, I’m not doing that again two more times or a time and a half more. Like, (0:10:59) Al: that’s not fun, right? And oh, please. (0:11:02) Jonnie: Yeah. Have you ever 106%ed a game? (0:11:07) Al: Please don’t start this conversation with me. I will. If you’re going to disagree with (0:11:12) Jonnie: I just say these things to needle you out. That’s it. That’s it. (0:11:22) Al: me, whether you agree with me or not, Johnny, I know this because you will either disagree (0:11:25) Al: with me or you’ll agree with me, but you’ll find it more fun to disagree with me. But (0:11:29) Al: if you add stuff to your game that takes the completion to more than a hundred percent and (0:11:37) Al: add a second percentage, do not just add on to that. Because the whole point of a hundred (0:11:43) Al: percent is to say you’ve done everything, right? And if I’ve done everything and like say you (0:11:49) Al: play like, let’s take Hollow Knight, right? That’s a good example. I think that’s like (0:11:52) Al: 117% or something now. I can’t remember exactly, but there’s some annoying percent and it’s (0:11:57) Al: just, it might even be a decimal. I honestly think it might be a decimal, but I can’t remember. (0:12:04) Al: do you know when you’re done, right? This is the problem. (0:12:07) Al: Is that the whole point of having a percentage counter is when you get to 100%, you’ve done (0:12:12) Al: everything. Now, if you add more things and you either decrease the percentage for everybody, (0:12:19) Al: so you say, “Oh, you were on 100%?” No, you’re not on 100%, right? That’s one option. Or you (0:12:24) Al: add a second one and say, “This is for the new content that’s been added.” The idea that you (0:12:28) Al: would come in, and because it’s all very well and good if you played it at the beginning, (0:12:32) Al: and then you played the second update, and you played the third update. But me coming to it, (0:12:38) Al: and I hadn’t played it before any of the updates, literally, I have to google what (0:12:42) Al: the correct percentage number is to know when I’ve done everything. That’s weird, and confusing, (0:12:49) Al: and not fun! (0:12:50) Jonnie: Yeah, but like Hollow Knight’s a bad game, so it’s natural that they would have bad design. (0:12:59) Al: Oh, fun. Well, I mean, I don’t really care about that one. (0:13:00) Jonnie: I’m just trying to get you some hate mail here, Al. (0:13:06) Jonnie: But going back to Chicken Journey, whatever it is, I feel like you’re so close, right? (0:13:07) Al: Enjoyed Hollow Knight. (0:13:10) Al: Yes. (0:13:15) Jonnie: Because I’m kind of with you that I don’t really care about 100%ing games, (0:13:21) Jonnie: and then it’s kind of like, well, I might as well. (0:13:23) Al: Yes, you’re correct. That’s the real thing. That’s it. There’s no other reason why I would do it, (0:13:29) Al: is because there’s one achievement left, and I’ve got… I actually think I have two of the three (0:13:34) Al: things, I’m just not sure which of the two I haven’t done. I know which one I’ve definitely done, (0:13:42) Al: and I know there are two others, one of which I’ve done, one of which I’ve not. So it’s possible I (0:13:47) Al: go find the one that I’ve not found, and I find it, and I don’t have to do the second one, and (0:13:51) Al: and that’s me done, so it might only be one thing I’ve got left to do. (0:13:53) Jonnie: Yeah, you’re definitely gonna do this. (0:13:53) Al: Of course I’m going to do it, but not just now, because I’ve picked up another game, (0:13:55) Jonnie: It just makes sense. (0:13:59) Al: a game that Johnny is jealous I have access to now, and that is Mika and the Witches Mountain. (0:14:05) Al: I mean, you could have kick-started it. I kick-started it. Kickstarters got the code a week (0:14:12) Al: before release, so I have been playing that. I’m not going to give away too much just now, (0:14:18) Al: but I will say that I am having fun. That is what I’m going to say just now. (0:14:22) Jonnie: It’s a very ominous way of saying you’re having fun. (0:14:26) Al: Ah, it’s… (0:14:27) Al: OK, let me… I’ll say one other thing. The controls were not what I expected with flying, (0:14:33) Al: but I understood… In a initially bad way, but then I understood why they are doing what they’re (0:14:33) Jonnie: In a good way or a bad way? (0:14:35) Jonnie: Oh. (0:14:40) Al: doing, and it leads to more things to progress in the game. (0:14:47) Jonnie: I feel like my interpretation of what you just said is that flying has a limited (0:14:54) Jonnie: Time and you can add to that capacity over time, which would make sense (0:14:56) Al: Yeah, pretty much. Not quite, but kind of, yeah. It’s one of these things where I was (0:15:04) Al: expecting, and I don’t know why I was expecting this, but I was expecting that the flying (0:15:08) Al: is just like, you get on your broom and you can fly wherever, you can go up and down, (0:15:13) Al: but it’s not that. And so, because my brain was in that mode, I was expecting the controls (0:15:19) Al: to be specific things, but it’s not that, and therefore my brain had to get used to (0:15:23) Al: the fact that the controls are different. (0:15:25) Jonnie: Ah, interesting. I don’t think I had that expectation going in from a lot of the videos. (0:15:26) Al: And that’s fair. Yeah, no, that’s, and that’s fair. That’s probably just a me thing. But (0:15:33) Al: anyway, well, I’ll talk more about it in a future episode, maybe. We’ll see. (0:15:36) Jonnie: And by the time this episode’s out, I believe the game is out. (0:15:42) Al: Yes. Yeah, it comes out on Wednesday, the 24th. So Johnny will be playing it while this (0:15:46) Jonnie: So I hope your friend is enjoying playing Mika. (0:15:50) Al: episode’s out. I mean, I think you’ll enjoy it, Johnny. I really hope you enjoy it. I (0:15:58) Al: don’t think it’s not a bad game. It’s a good game. It just took my brain a bit to get used (0:16:04) Al: to it, but I think now I’m used to it, I’m very much enjoying it. And I will say more (0:16:09) Al: in the future! (0:16:12) Al: That’s what we’ve been up to. (0:16:14) Al: OK, so as I have done in some previous episodes, where we have just an insane amount of news, (0:16:21) Al: I have chunked it into different sections. (0:16:24) Al: So this is going to be the game releases section. (0:16:26) Al: So that’s games that either have released just about to release, or haven’t released (0:16:32) Al: yet, but is news about their release. (0:16:34) Al: It’ll make sense when we get to the next section. (0:16:36) Al: So first of all, we have 1, 2, 3, 4, 4 games. (0:16:42) Al: They’re out now, or given us the release– no, five? (0:16:46) Al: Right, three games. (0:16:47) Al: Why am I doing this? (0:16:48) Al: Right, let’s just go these one by one. (0:16:50) Al: I was trying to make it go quicker. (0:16:52) Al: It’s going to be confusing. (0:16:53) Jonnie: I really like the, like, there’s something about Krita Crops that when I first like watch a video or see something of it, I’m like, does this look good? (0:16:53) Al: Critter crops, right now. (0:16:55) Al: Anything to say on that. (0:17:07) Jonnie: And then the more I watch it, the more I’m like, I actually think I am very into this art style, it just takes a bit to get into and I don’t know, I like the idea of growing critters, what can I say? (0:17:17) Jonnie: This game looks kind of cute and silly and I… (0:17:18) Al: You are a sucker for creature collectors, let’s be honest. (0:17:24) Jonnie: Yeah, I am. 100%. Um, and the only other thing to say is that it’s 10% off. Oh no, that was till the end of July. Don’t worry, I can’t read. Why is it still on your Steam page? (0:17:33) Jonnie: Uh, we’re in August. Oh my god, I was… Okay, anyway. Uh, Krita Crops is out, it looks great. (0:17:33) Al: This is how long it’s been, Johnny! (0:17:40) Al: This game came out, I think, like two days after our last episode or something. (0:17:42) Jonnie: Uh… (0:17:44) Jonnie: Um… (0:17:45) Al: 22nd of July. (0:17:46) Al: Yeah, nearly a month ago this came out. (0:17:48) Jonnie: Yeah, that looks cute, very excited. (0:17:49) Al: Oh, it’s even better. (0:17:53) Al: I think it came out one day after the last episode was recorded. (0:17:57) Jonnie: » [LAUGH] (0:17:57) Al: Not released. (0:17:58) Al: Amazing. (0:17:59) Al: Fine. (0:18:00) Al: Whatever. (0:18:01) Al: Yeah, I agree with the art style. (0:18:03) Al: If you ever see it, you’re like “ugh” and then you go “no, no, this is a very deliberate (0:18:07) Al: and interesting art style” like because initially you just think “oh, it doesn’t look very (0:18:11) Al: good” but then you realize it’s different and I like it. (0:18:14) Jonnie: Yeah, that’s I think that’s exactly it, right? It’s not, um, I think you would like an initial glance, you could look at it and think, yeah, like you said, it’s not a good art style. I actually think it is an intentional art style and they’re just trying something that a lot of games are afraid to try. (0:18:30) Al: I agree. And it’s not pixel art, so. Not that I’m saying the pixel art’s bad, but I like (0:18:35) Al: when not everything is the same. Speaking of pixel art, Gurdlitz announced a release (0:18:42) Al: date and it’s now in the past. So Gurdlitz is now out. “You wrote IDO mode!” exclamation (0:18:50) Al: mark, exclamation mark, exclamation mark. (0:18:54) Jonnie: Yeah, gauntlets has idle mode (0:18:57) Jonnie: So like rusty’s retirement (0:18:58) Jonnie: You can have your gauntlets little island be just like a little banner on the bottom of your screen while you’re doing other stuff (0:19:04) Jonnie: Which is amazing (0:19:08) Jonnie: Gauntlets for those who don’t remember is like the (0:19:11) Jonnie: Chill city builder where you’re building a city for (0:19:15) Jonnie: vegetables (0:19:17) Jonnie: to come and live and (0:19:19) Jonnie: It looks super cute. There’s no real goals (0:19:24) Jonnie: but (0:19:26) Jonnie: What they do say in their release trailer is that (0:19:30) Jonnie: When gauntlets come to your island, they kind of come with a leaf and by interacting in the world (0:19:37) Jonnie: That kind of makes them happy and the more gauntlets you make happy unlocks more stuff for you to build (0:19:43) Jonnie: So there is a there is a little bit of a gameplay loop that they have built into it, which seems amazing (0:19:49) Jonnie: The idea of it having the little idle mode option is (0:19:54) Jonnie: kind of cool. I’m very excited to try this out as a little idle game. (0:19:59) Al: And it is five dollars. (0:20:01) Al: Go buy it like I’m not like with this. (0:20:05) Al: I’m not even I mean, it is on sale just (0:20:07) Al: now for is it minus 20 percent off, which is just wild. (0:20:11) Al: But yeah, I’m not waiting for like, oh, I’m going to wait until it’s 90 percent. (0:20:14) Al: No, go buy it now. (0:20:16) Al: Right. Unless you have real financial issues. (0:20:19) Al: It’s a fiver. Go buy it. (0:20:21) Al: There we go. (0:20:21) Jonnie: Pretty much, that’s what I’ll be doing. (0:20:25) Al: I’m doing it right now. (0:20:28) Al: Right. What is next? (0:20:29) Al: I have Song of the Prairie. (0:20:31) Al: There are one point all (0:20:34) Al: will be out by the time this episode comes out. (0:20:36) Al: But I think it’s oh, no, it’s out now. (0:20:38) Al: It is out now. (0:20:39) Al: This was August 1st. (0:20:41) Al: It’s out now. (0:20:42) Al: Woo! (0:20:44) Jonnie: I don’t know much to say about Song of the Prairie other than it looks like someone thought (0:20:49) Jonnie: what if Harvest Moon was kind of good and then they made the skin. (0:20:53) Al: I think many people have tried, have thought, had that thought process. (0:20:57) Jonnie: Yeah this looks very like Harvest Moony though. (0:21:01) Jonnie: I don’t know why there was something more about this one that kind of linked me to a (0:21:06) Jonnie: Harvest Moon than other games. (0:21:10) Al: Fair. Yeah, I like the look of this game, there’s nothing about it that makes me go (0:21:14) Al: a must play this though I think is the thing. Like if this came out maybe four years ago, (0:21:19) Al: I would probably be right on it, but I’m like okay, that’s fine. (0:21:24) Jonnie: I agree, it seems like it’s reviewing pretty well on Steam though, so that’s that’s good (0:21:30) Al: Oh yeah, that’s good. All reviews is very positive, nearly 80% SteamDB rating. (0:21:38) Al: Garden which life have announced that they? (0:21:40) Al: They’re releasing on the 12th of September, and I think that I believe that’s not early access. That’s just straight into. (0:21:48) Jonnie: Yeah, this, this is like the word salad game of like we, we took the words gardening and (0:21:55) Jonnie: witch and we put them together. (0:21:57) Jonnie: And I’ve said many times on the show that we don’t need any more witchy gardening games. (0:22:04) Jonnie: And unfortunately, that is how I feel about this game. (0:22:07) Jonnie: There is just nothing about this one stands out to me. (0:22:11) Al: Yeah, I hate the name. It’s a terrible name. Get a better name. I think I’m probably similar. (0:22:17) Al: I like the look of it. I feel like a broken record right now, but I like the look of it. (0:22:24) Al: But yeah, nothing is telling me I must have it right now. (0:22:29) Al: Real fishing days of summer have announced that their release date is the 28th of October, (0:22:35) Al: and that will be on Switch and PS5. I mean, I’m not going to buy a real fishing game now. (0:22:38) Jonnie: yep (0:22:41) Al: I’m sorry. (0:22:42) Jonnie: me either bluetooth fishing (0:22:45) Al: I’m not against fishing in general. I mean, we have this conversation time and time again. (0:22:50) Al: We’ve got another game to talk about later that’s adding fishing when it really doesn’t (0:22:53) Al: feel like it needs to. But what I definitely don’t want is realistic fishing. That just (0:23:01) Al: feels like the worst. So yeah, no, please, no. Thank you. Please, I’m thinking. (0:23:01) Jonnie: me either. Yeah. (0:23:08) Al: Harvest Moon, Home Sweet Home, speaking of Natsume. (0:23:11) Al: And no please no. Announced that their game is coming out on Friday, two days after this (0:23:18) Al: episode comes out, the 23rd of August, the day before my birthday. They say that they’ve released (0:23:26) Al: a gameplay trailer, but it’s kind of hard to see what the gameplay is because all they do in this (0:23:32) Al: is have people talking to people and running around. Like they’re not really showing a huge (0:23:37) Al: amount of things. There’s some cut scenes and stuff like that. (0:23:41) Al: I feel like we have different definitions of gameplay trailer but it looks pretty standard (0:23:47) Al: Harvest Moon game and I don’t really want that on a mobile device. We’ll see what happens. (0:23:55) Jonnie: Yep, I found it exactly the same way. I watched the trailer and I thought that sure looks like (0:24:00) Jonnie: some Harvest Moon gameplay but it did not tell me what the gameplay loop of this was at all. (0:24:06) Jonnie: So it feels like they’re basically saying if you like the idea of Harvest Moon and you want that (0:24:12) Jonnie: on your phone then this is the game for you and if you don’t know what any of those words mean then (0:24:17) Jonnie: you can probably give this one a miss. (0:24:20) Al: Yeah, probably. I don’t like to promise things very often, but we’re going to cover this (0:24:25) Al: game because I think this is the sort of game that it’s possible this could be good. I don’t (0:24:32) Al: think it’s going to be good, but it’s possible it could be good. But don’t buy this game (0:24:37) Al: yet. Wait. We’ll play it. We’ll tell you what it’s like. (0:24:39) Jonnie: Well, and it makes sense. It makes sense for us to cover because the Cottagecore game on (0:24:46) Jonnie: mobile, I think we would all love a really good version of that, and I don’t know that (0:24:53) Jonnie: there’s been one yet. So the hunt continues for something that sort of fills that niche in a way (0:24:59) Jonnie: that is very satisfying. (0:25:01) Al: Yeah, the problem is that what most of them are is just the same game but on mobile and (0:25:07) Al: that doesn’t… I mean, Stardew did it fine, but the problem is it’s still the same game, (0:25:14) Al: just different controls for it, and yeah, exactly. And so the problem is you need to (0:25:16) Jonnie: and generally worse controls, right? (0:25:21) Al: rethink what a game should be for mobile, and Stardew wasn’t trying to do that. Stardew (0:25:25) Al: was just “Oh, people want my game on mobile, that’s fine, let’s do that and see how people (0:25:29) Al: we’d interact with it and that’s that’s fine. (0:25:31) Al: That’s, you know, he wasn’t trying to reinvent the wheel for that, but if someone wants to make a good game, a good farming game for mobile, they need to think about the entire thing from scratch and this just looks like it is Harvestment in the Winds of Anthos with a different story and on a smaller screen. (0:25:50) Jonnie: I agree, yeah. We’ve talked a lot more about this game than I thought we would. (0:25:56) Al: Yeah, we’ll see what happens. Natsumon 20th Century Summer Kid, which, fun fact, they (0:26:04) Al: changed the name on the Steam page. So they’ve added the English translation to this game (0:26:09) Al: on Steam and on Switch, so that’s the news. But the funny thing I found is I’m pretty (0:26:14) Al: sure on Steam it used to be called Natsumon 20th Century Summer Vacation, because that’s (0:26:19) Al: the literal translation from Japanese. But then apparently when they’ve localized it, (0:26:24) Al: changed the name. Which is fine. (0:26:27) Al: It’s just weird that they added the name initially as a different translated version, (0:26:32) Al: and then decided that that wasn’t what they were going with for the name. (0:26:35) Jonnie: I mean the name still makes sense I guess so that’s (0:26:38) Al: Yeah, no, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s just, (0:26:42) Al: it’s weird that they had a name in English and changed what that was. (0:26:49) Jonnie: Yeah, I don’t know. I can’t get over the fact that this game is like a million dollars. (0:26:53) Jonnie: It’s so expensive. (0:26:56) Al: Um, yeah, it’s not cheap. (0:26:59) Jonnie: And it looks so bad for like… (0:27:02) Jonnie: And I get that that’s kind of like the style, but like… (0:27:06) Jonnie: Paying what? This game must be like 50 American dollars or something like that and it’s just like… (0:27:14) Jonnie: You could buy pretty much every other game that we’ve talked about (0:27:17) Jonnie: and still not have paid as much (0:27:19) Jonnie: as you could pay for this game (0:27:21) Jonnie: I just don’t (0:27:23) Jonnie: Who’s buying this? (0:27:23) Al: Me, apparently. (0:27:27) Al: Well, yes, we know that. (0:27:28) Jonnie: Well, Al, you have a problem (0:27:33) Al: We know that. (0:27:34) Al: Thankfully, my money is finite, so I can’t buy literally everything. (0:27:39) Al: Speaking of buying literally everything, Usagi Shima is coming to steam. (0:27:45) Al: Now, interestingly, so this was free on mobile, and I had ads and you could pay to get rid (0:27:53) Al: of the ads, but it was like five quid or something, so of course I did that. (0:27:56) Al: Oh, no, did it have ads? (0:27:58) Al: I don’t think it did have ads. (0:27:59) Al: It was just like an in-game purchase to get a bunch of… (0:28:01) Jonnie: think you could just pay to buy the like it was yeah it was just a hey do you (0:28:06) Jonnie: want to support me then you can do this (0:28:08) Al: Yeah, which was a no-brainer for this game. So it’ll be interesting to see whether that (0:28:11) Jonnie: yes (0:28:13) Al: will be the same for Steam or not. I don’t see any information about how much it will (0:28:16) Al: be yet, but the Steam page is up. It looks like it’s going to be on Windows and Mac. (0:28:23) Al: So yeah, it’s a fun game. I mean, if you’ve listened to us talk about Asagashima before, (0:28:29) Al: it’s exactly what you’re expecting, and it’s the exact same game. It’s just got (0:28:34) Jonnie: which is awesome I think that makes total sense and like I would say if it’s ten dollars or less (0:28:41) Jonnie: it’s kind of just an instant buy um if it if it does have a purchase price which I think would (0:28:46) Al: Yep. (0:28:47) Al: It’s different, right? Steam is different from mobile, and I think you can get away (0:28:47) Jonnie: not be a bad thing right to just say like hey give us five bucks for this game (0:28:57) Al: with charging money on Steam where you wouldn’t be able to on mobile, because I think the (0:29:01) Al: thing is that if you go free on mobile with an option to give money, you’re much more (0:29:05) Al: likely to get more people doing it, and therefore, people will go, “Oh, I like this game. Fine, (0:29:10) Al: I’ll put the money in.” Whereas if you don’t try it first, you might not be willing to (0:29:16) Al: pay for it upfront. Whereas on Steam, especially with the game now being popular, and people (0:29:21) Al: know it, and people like it, they’ll be like, “Oh, finally, it’s coming to Steam. I’m excited (0:29:25) Al: about that. Yes, I will buy that.” The smallest piece of news is the Echoes of the Plum Grove (0:29:26) Jonnie: Absolutely (0:29:30) Al: is now on Mac. Done. I still haven’t played this game. I really need to play this game (0:29:32) Jonnie: Cody you go play it (0:29:38) Al: because I love everything that it’s doing in terms of death. (0:29:44) Jonnie: Yeah. I can’t remember. Someone in the Slack, it might have been Cat, was playing it, and (0:29:54) Jonnie: they were saying they were having a really fun time with it, and this game weds me out (0:29:58) Jonnie: every time I kind of remember that it exists, because everything they’re doing around death (0:30:02) Jonnie: seems super cool and super interesting, and not what you expect when you first see the (0:30:06) Jonnie: now available on Mac. Picture is very cute, and you can imagine someone being like, “Ooh, (0:30:10) Jonnie: what’s this?” and looking into it and being like, “Oh my god!” (0:30:10) Al: Yeah, that’s the thing that’s most fun about it, is the art style is so cutesy, but you (0:30:17) Al: die in this game, and it’s hard not to die. It’s proper survival. You die and then you (0:30:24) Al: play as someone else, you know? Yeah, I guess the question is, I don’t know what happens (0:30:26) Jonnie: As your children, I’m pretty sure it’s like a generation. (0:30:33) Al: if you don’t have kids. Is that game over, or do you play as someone else in the village? (0:30:35) Jonnie: Game over. (0:30:36) Jonnie: I don’t actually know. (0:30:37) Al: don’t know. Anyway, yeah. (0:30:41) Al: That was meant to be the shortest piece of news. (0:30:45) Al: Outbound, cozy camper van exploration crafting game. (0:30:50) Al: That’s apparently what they’re listed as on Kickstarter. (0:30:53) Al: Don’t know why. (0:30:54) Al: They’re Kickstarters live now and they have well and truly hit (0:30:59) Jonnie: ah look this is a yeah I know you said I could have backed the me be here in the (0:31:05) Jonnie: witches mountain kickstarter but like how long ago did you have to back this that one because (0:31:09) Jonnie: like their their date for you know beta access is end of 2025 which makes total (0:31:14) Jonnie: sense like i’m not saying like that’s too long or anything like that making games takes a long time (0:31:19) Jonnie: but like and they’ve met the they’ve met the the kickstarter thing like don’t bother just wait for (0:31:26) Al: So I’ll tell you why. I’ll tell you why I kickstart games. I kickstart games because (0:31:34) Al: it’s like a little present to future me. I buy a game and then two, three years later (0:31:42) Al: I get a free game. It’s great. But it is, it is free. I haven’t paid for it at that (0:31:44) Jonnie: One, it’s not free, Al, and I know that you know this, and now you’re just saying… (0:31:52) Al: point in time. (0:31:54) Jonnie: You have paid for it, though, that is in fact how that has worked, (0:31:58) Jonnie: and you might not even get the game. (0:32:01) Jonnie: I would be pretty confident that this one is in fact going to come out, (0:32:05) Jonnie: because everything that I’ve shown looks very good. (0:32:09) Jonnie: Which, you know, there’s some tricky vertical slice stuff that people can do in trailers and stuff, (0:32:15) Jonnie: I would be shocked if this is a game that doesn’t see the light of day, (0:32:21) Jonnie: because it looks pretty good. (0:32:23) Al: Well, and it’s, it’s also, it’s the same developer that did Above Snakes. So they’ve proven that (0:32:28) Al: they can do a Kickstarter for a game and then release a game. Yeah, very different vibe, (0:32:30) Jonnie: Interesting, I don’t think I knew that it was the same developer, but uh, so yeah 100% (0:32:37) Al: which is always good when you’ve got like, get your developer who can do both, right? (0:32:42) Al: Very, very different. And I like that, but this is what I really love about indie game (0:32:48) Al: development, right? Is when they go, I’ve got a weird idea that I want to do for a game (0:32:53) Al: to do it. And then they’re like, and I’ve got this completely different idea for a completely (0:32:57) Al: different style of game. And then they do it. And if you’re successful, the first one, (0:33:02) Al: you will probably be successful at the second one because people like your first game, like (0:33:06) Al: this game funded in two hours. (0:33:08) Jonnie: Yeah, I mean that’s not a surprise like I think everything this game is doing is just really tapping into (0:33:14) Jonnie: Something that people are feeling (0:33:17) Jonnie: right now (0:33:18) Al: Yes this is the game that is for some reason adding fishing I don’t know why (0:33:22) Jonnie: Boo (0:33:23) Al: they’re adding it as a stretch goal away with your fishing don’t make me fish of (0:33:25) Jonnie: Boo (0:33:27) Jonnie: That’s a good reason to not back the Kickstarter (0:33:28) Al: course I’m gonna fish yeah yeah I’m like please stop we’ve no well the problem is (0:33:34) Al: right they’ve got fishing as the next one and then beekeeping after that and (0:33:39) Al: I’m like can we do the beekeeping and without the fishing but (0:33:42) Jonnie: 100%. Yeah. I think what I’m most curious with this game is like, what is the actual game? (0:33:50) Al: I deriving around and building your insane house on top (0:33:57) Jonnie: Right but like I said so in a lot of you know the games that we cover the gameplay loop is (0:34:02) Jonnie: very driven around you’ve got your plot of land and you are using that to produce (0:34:07) Jonnie: money or resources or other stuff that then enables all of those upgrades. (0:34:12) Al: Yeah, I see where you’re pointing. I think the point is exploration, and so you are going (0:34:17) Al: from point A to point B, via a million other points, and everything you do is with the (0:34:23) Al: goal of getting there, I think. It’s not particularly clear, which is fine because maybe they’re (0:34:30) Al: not 100% sure how it’s going to pan out, and they’ve very much been working on the core (0:34:37) Al: concept of the game. We’ll see. I’ve backed it, of course. (0:34:42) Jonnie: Yeah, look, I thought about it, and then I saw, I’m like, if I’m backing it, it would be to play the alpha. (0:34:47) Jonnie: And then I’m like, I don’t, why would I want to play an alpha? I’ll just wait for it to come out. (0:34:51) Al: Fair enough. (0:34:52) Al: Look, we know I have a problem with Kickstarters. (0:34:55) Al: Speaking of having a problem with Kickstarters, we’re now going on to the Game Updates section, (0:35:00) Al: which is about updates to games that are already out. (0:35:05) Al: The first one is Coral Island, the 1.1 is out now. (0:35:09) Al: I think this came out like just after the last episode came out, yet the 23rd of July. (0:35:16) Al: I think that is the day before the last episode where we had news. (0:35:21) Al: But we’d recorded like two days before that or something. (0:35:22) Jonnie: Yeah. (0:35:25) Al: So thanks, Coral Island. (0:35:27) Jonnie: And for those who don’t remember, this is 1.1 in brackets. Actually, it’s 1.0, and we’re now actually finished. (0:35:27) Al: Well, yeah, yes, they’re literally calling it Finale Land and Sea Update. (0:35:40) Al: They’re literally calling it the Finale, right? (0:35:45) Al: This is what the game was meant to be. (0:35:47) Al: They’re adding in stuff that didn’t exist in the first game that should have, like your (0:35:50) Al: town rank system. (0:35:51) Al: Finally added the top rank of it. (0:35:54) Al: They’ve added people in the sea that you can actually talk to. (0:35:58) Jonnie: When one of the headings in the 1.1 update (0:36:00) Jonnie: is storyline completion, we released a game (0:36:04) Jonnie: and the storyline was incomplete. (0:36:06) Al: Uhhh… (0:36:08) Al: Yes. (0:36:09) Al: Well, I- I- (0:36:10) Jonnie: But look, we’ll stop poking fun, (0:36:12) Jonnie: ‘cause I feel like this game has had some challenges (0:36:15) Jonnie: in the background, but there is a lot, I think, (0:36:17) Jonnie: to be excited about for 1.1 update. (0:36:24) Jonnie: Yes, it is finishing the game, (0:36:26) Jonnie: that there is, you know, like, I feel like they’ve– (0:36:28) Jonnie: I’ve also listened to a lot of feedback. (0:36:30) Jonnie: I’m just scrolling through all of the patch notes (0:36:32) Jonnie: because one of my favorite sort of spouse interactions. (0:36:36) Jonnie: For those that don’t recall, I think (0:36:38) Jonnie: when you get married in Coral Island, (0:36:40) Jonnie: your partner becomes a soulless husk (0:36:43) Jonnie: that stands in the house and does nothing. (0:36:46) Jonnie: And they have a bullet point that says you can now (0:36:48) Jonnie: hug and kiss your spouse once daily (0:36:50) Jonnie: to get some point in the relationship with it. (0:36:50) Al: Once, once daily. (laughs) (0:36:58) Jonnie: Uh, and I think it’s meant to reach, to get some points in the relationship, so you can, like, I think the implication is meant to be to feel like that you can continue to build the relationship, but to get some point in the relationship makes it feel like, “So the marriage is not entirely pointless, so…” (0:37:09) Al: Yeah, this is definitely a translation issue because they’re, I think they’re from the (0:37:17) Al: Philippines, the developers. So yeah, let’s not be too harsh on the English, but yes, (0:37:18) Jonnie: Uh, I believe that’s correct. (0:37:25) Al: it does feel a little bit perfect, accidental. (0:37:29) Jonnie: that one was just it was yeah that one was accidentally perfect um and when I was ready (0:37:33) Jonnie: through because it was about halfway through all of all of the updates it would give me a good (0:37:38) Al: like having some point in a relationship. But now we get to talk about the problems and that is that (0:37:46) Al: Coral Island was being published by Humble Games. And if you’ve not heard this already, Humble Games (0:37:52) Al: no longer humbles or games. It basically no longer exists as a thing. Humble Bundle still exists (0:38:02) Al: because Humble Games was separate. It’s like there’s the Humble company and then there’s (0:38:07) Al: this humble bundle and how– (0:38:08) Al: which is a problem for some things, including the fact that humble games were– the other (0:38:35) Al: thing they do as well as publishing is they did porting, so they were (0:38:39) Al: they were working on the switch port for coral island, no more. (0:38:47) Al: Shall I just use their own words? (0:38:51) Al: First of all, oh my word. (0:38:55) Al: I need to say that they were, they didn’t, the first apparently they found out about this was (0:39:00) Al: the same way everybody else found out about it. Nobody contacted them to say that this was happening. (0:39:06) Al: We’d like to say something to you today. (0:39:08) Al: We’ve been given that Humble Games’ recent “restructuring” - the most amazing word you can use for firing everybody - leaves consoles in a place of uncertainty. (0:39:16) Al: However, we see this as an opportunity to share what we can. (0:39:20) Al: To start, we share in your frustrations regarding the lack of an Incentive Switch port of Coral Island. (0:39:24) Al: Over the years, there’s a lot we’ve wanted to say in the spirit of transparency about many different things, but continue to be unable to do so because of the publishing agreement and NDA we have in place. (0:39:34) Al: The impact of Humble Games’ restructuring on Coral Island remains uncertain for all (0:39:38) Al: things related to consoles, whether porting or pushing hotfixes. I believe that they (0:39:44) Al: already have a port on Xbox and PlayStation, it was just Switch that was missing. So that’s (0:39:49) Al: why they’re talking about updates. (0:39:51) Al: As they are responsible for these platforms, we’ve been in communication with our lawyer (0:39:54) Al: since we found out about the restructuring on social media to figure out how to navigate (0:39:59) Al: this new situation. For example, we have an upcoming hotfix for the 1.1 update nearing (0:40:04) Al: release for Steam. We have no idea how to get this update out to other platform players (0:40:08) Al: and have a backend permission on console platforms to push updates out. We only have (0:40:13) Al: access to the Steam backend. Because of this, the only thing we can do for Switch Makers (0:40:18) Al: effective immediately is offer a key exchange to the Steam platform. We will offer key changes (0:40:23) Al: for as long as we are able to. Please email for a key change. Blah. Oh, and then they (0:40:28) Al: go, we will, I missed this last paragraph. We’ll keep you posted on developments once (0:40:33) Al: we have more information. We know it effing sucks, but we hope you understand. And they (0:40:39) Al: say effing, but this is still a family friendly podcast. There’s a lot of subtext and a lot (0:40:47) Al: of text in that update. (0:40:50) Jonnie: There certainly is. It’s just a tough situation for them to be in, right, like it seems like there is very little they can actually do about it. (0:41:06) Al: Yeah, it also sounds like they’re struggling to keep up with the the key exchanges (0:41:11) Al: There’s lots of people complaining in the comments that they haven’t had their key exchange. I (0:41:17) Al: Am very glad that I exchanged my key (0:41:22) Al: Two years ago when I when I got my steam deck and I was like I’m just gonna get this on Steam if I can (0:41:27) Al: And they let me do it. So I’m glad I did all the way back then (0:41:30) Al: I find it very interesting that they are very clearly saying that they (0:41:37) Al: I have not been allowed to say stuff because of NDAs (0:41:39) Al: But they’re saying they’re not allowed to say stuff because of NDAs possibly because they’re like well who’s gonna soon as nobody exists in the company (0:41:47) Jonnie: I feel like the NDA’s thing is normal, and it feels like we’re just seeing a frustration (0:41:54) Jonnie: over the last few years, sort of leaking out a little bit in this statement, which seems (0:41:59) Jonnie: totally understandable, because publishing games is hard, and publishing to multiple (0:42:04) Jonnie: platforms is hard, and sometimes you get in situations where the developers are not the (0:42:10) Jonnie: ones with the power in these relationships, and I think this is unfortunately what has (0:42:16) Al: Yep, and this is the thing you need to remember about Kickstarters. You are paying money (0:42:24) Al: for a promise of something that is not a legally binding contract. You are funding this and (0:42:30) Al: there is a chance that you get nothing out of it. So bear that in mind. Don’t be like (0:42:35) Al: me. Don’t Kickstart everything. I think I’ve only had two things that I just haven’t got (0:42:43) Al: from kickstarters. But it’s not fun when (0:42:46) Al: it happens. And there are a lot of disappointed people in the comments, (0:42:50) Al: because it’s all very well saying we’ll give you a key exchange. (0:42:52) Al: But if the switch is your only. (0:42:56) Jonnie: Anyway, it’s even harder, I don’t know, they said they’ve got a hotfix coming for 1.1 for Steam, obviously. (0:43:04) Jonnie: But if you’re a PlayStation or Xbox player, what does this hotfix fix? (0:43:10) Jonnie: You know, and the fact that there are potentially some significant bugs or glitches in those consolvations (0:43:20) Jonnie: that there’s no real idea of when or if they will even get this hotfix. (0:43:26) Al: Well, yeah, I guess we’ll just have to see what happens. (0:43:31) Al: Next we have the 1.2 update for Roots of Patria is out now. (0:43:36) Al: This is the one, I think we talked about this a few months ago. (0:43:40) Al: This is the one that adds child labour, I mean, isn’t that why we have children? (0:43:42) Jonnie: Hell yeah. (0:43:46) Jonnie: Finally, children will be useful for something. (0:43:51) Al: Not for child labour, but for adult labour in 18 years time, right? (0:43:55) Jonnie: Mmm, I don’t know. I feel like I feel like that’s inefficient get them started young (0:43:57) Al: We also have the sunnable, I mean, you played Roots of Patria? I can’t remember. (0:44:07) Jonnie: I I have played a little bit of roots of patcher. I (0:44:12) Jonnie: liked what it was trying to do but equally I was playing roots of patcher at the same time I was getting into coral island and (0:44:18) Jonnie: Coral island one out in that battle (

What makes Stardew Valley special? Sure, it's the wonderful music - and there's plenty of that to discuss, and we will. Maybe it's the clear passion of its sole creator. The shedding of life's burdens that the game allows us to experience that we might never otherwise. What makes Stardew Valley special must be all of these things and more - but really, it's probably mostly Abigail. ✉️ Send email to bitharmonypod@gmail.com

Mike and Al are in charge and there's a brill new game that we're really loving the look of...Shownotes - Episode 258Forestrike,Splatterbot,Splatoon 3, SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, EVO 2024, Hunter X Hunter: Nen X Impact, Diesel Legacy: The Brazen Age, Rivals of Aether 2, Under Night In-Birth II Sys, Pocket Bravery, Marvel vs. Capcom: Fighting Collection, Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, Stardew Valley, ConcernedApe,Re-Ment Pikmin terrarium collection,Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, The New Denpa Men, Xeno Crisis, Controller Button Collection, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred HeroesThe Gaming BlenderCould you design a video game?Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify The DMG Gaming Podcast Welcome to "Disgruntled Middle-Aged Gamers," where lifelong best friends Grant...Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the Show.

The first game review is Stardew Valley, one of the greatest games ever made! Developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone, and still getting updates, enjoy the review!

Crafting, Swifties (and how great the majority of them are), Thomas the Tank Engine, hot glue, trash pandas, fishing and gemstones. That can mean only one thing: Mo is back, and we're talking about Stardew Valley.Remember that you can always get in touch with us on our Facebook page, on Twitter, or with our Contact page.Content WarningThis episode contains spoilers for Stardew Valley and a few swears.Please listen responsibly.Show NotesMo has returned. You'll remember Mo from our Christmas 2023 episode: "Christmas with Mo - Wrong Side, Flip Me Over". Anyway, Mo joined Squidge to talk about the ultimate comfy game: Stardew Valley.Waffling Taylor's Lite: the pocket size podcast that packs a gaming punch.In this first of two servings of bite sized banter with a side of gaming goodness, we catch up with Mo from The Squank and the Hag podcast to talk about all things Stardew Valley. We cover everything from fish fridges, channelling your inner Flappy Bird, to bard versus Darth Vader.So without further ado, sit back, grab some snacks, and get ready for this episode entitled: "Exploring Stardew Valley: A New Farmer's Tale - Part One"Take it away, guys— SquidgeAnd Mo started us off with a pretty in-depth description of her and her podcast:So I am one of the co-hosts from The Squank and the Hag. You can find us thesquonkandthehag.com. I am a nerd, and that's really all there is, I think....But video games, movies, TV, pretty much anything that can be nerdy, I'm into. I'm also into True Crime, and that's what our podcast is about.And, yeah, I feel like I've been on the show enough that I'm part of the family, so I'm sorry. Yeah, I'm just another Taylor. I am here to adjust your clothing. I'll hem your... Isn't that what it is? Isn't that what you guys are? Like, I can hem your pants for you. I actually can hem your pants for you.— MoStardew What-now?And there's no way to talk about Stardew Valley without talking about how easy it is to pick up and play. Mo hit the nail on the head with:That right there is pretty much what they should make the synopsis of the game:"I picked it up and I haven't put it down since," because there, it is just one of those games that anybody can play. Like it, it's just... so accessible, it's so. Just easy to get into and it's so low stress and relaxing....So, like, different play styles can play it and everybody can enjoy it.And it's also just really nice relaxation because sometimes, at least I know for me; now, I am someone with a diagnosed anxiety disorder. So when I get into, like, those high stress, like, first person shooter games, I'm sitting here and I'm all tense and I'm like, "I'M GONNA DIE!"Whereas with Stardew Valley you don't have that and it's just enjoyable— MoMo then goes on to mention a Stardew Valley-like which is set during a zombie apocalypse. With some post-edit sluthing, we found out that the game Mo was referring to was Zelter.And Squidge brought up a really good point about what makes the game so accessible:I think Stardew Valley, a thing that's got going for it is there's no fail state.Apart from if you're in, if you're like dungeon diving in the mines, if you get knocked out, you wake up at like the little clinic hospital place and they take some money off you for medical expenses. Apart from that, there's absolutely no fail state....So all the pressure's off. Then you don't have to worry about anything and if you miss something, it'll come round the next year. There's no ending state. You can always pick it up again if you miss something.So, yeah, it's very laid back experience.— SquidgeAnd the lack of a fail state is what drew a lot of people to Untitled Goose Game—that, and the whole goose-based-shenanigans.Any conversation about Stardew Valley, it's lasting influence, how accessible it is, and how well crafted it is cannot fail to mention that the entire game (art, engine, music, and all) was created by one person. Eric Barone (aka "ConcernedApe") is used in the book Ultralearning as a case study. Jay really recommends this book, by the way.It's gonna sound weird at first. Just stay with me. It's similar to Photoshop where there are a million different ways to get to the same result. So, like, in Photoshop, you want to crop something out. There's 20 tutorials. They're all different, but you all get the same results.So, like, with Stardew Valley, maybe you hate fishing. You can still succeed and, you know, make money, have a good farm and all that stuff without fishing.— MoFull Show NotesCheck out the full show notes for the full list of Squidge's questions, some extra stuff, and some links to related things.Have you played Stardew Valley? Does your total play time sit closer to Squidge's or Mo's? Which are your favourite in-game events, or do you have them all? Let us know via our Discord, Twitter, Facebook, or try our brand-new contact page!And have you left us a rating or review? We love hearing back from listeners about our show, so check out https://wafflingtaylors.rocks/our-podcast/ for links to services where you can leave us some wonderful feedback.The Waffling Taylors is a proud member of Jay and Jay Media. If you like this episode, please consider supporting our Podcasting Network. One $3 donation provides a week of hosting for all of our shows. You can support this show, and the others like it, at https://ko-fi.com/jayandjaymedia ★ Support this podcast ★

Al and Kev go through their favourite marriage candidates in farming games Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:03:03: What Have We Been Up To 00:17:52: News 00:31:39: Marriage Candidates 01:05:25: Outro Links Tchia on Switch Sunnyside Release Spirittea “Helping Hands” Update Snacko Character Customisation My Time at Sandrock Cross Platform Multiplayer Stardew Valley 1.6.4 Monsterpatch Screenshot Moonstone Island Switch Tease Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. (0:00:34) Al: My name is Al. (0:00:37) Al: And we are here today to talk about cottagecore games. (0:00:43) Al: Transcripts are available as always in the show notes and on the website. (0:00:47) Al: Kevin, welcome back. (0:00:49) Al: How are you doing? (0:00:54) Al: Yes, it has. (0:00:55) Al: You were last on the pixel cross. (0:01:05) Al: Yeah, I’ll be honest, I haven’t played it since that episode. (0:01:11) Al: But I think that’s mainly because I don’t– (0:01:16) Al: well, it’s partly that. (0:01:17) Al: But I also think that the Switch is not the best way for me to play games like that. (0:01:23) Al: I think if I had it on my phone– (0:01:28) Al: no, it’s not even just that it’s like if I had it on my phone, (0:01:30) Al: I would do it a lot more. (0:01:31) Al: The problem is I don’t want to close the game that’s open on my switch to open that up. (0:01:35) Al: Well, yeah, they say that but it doesn’t ever work on the PS5, at least in my experience. (0:02:05) Al: In my experience, I’ve never managed to get it to actually work. (0:02:10) Al: But what do I know? I feel like it would be simple, but I don’t know. I’m not a games console developer. Oh yeah, it’s just software. I do software. It’s just that, right? It’s easy. (0:02:16) Kev: All game dev is simple, don’t you know? (0:02:23) Kev: It’s just copy-paste. (0:02:26) Al: Cool. So we are going to talk this episode about our favorite marriage candidates across different Kojkokou games. (0:02:32) Kev: Oh yeah, time for some deep lore, time for people to learn about us, or tags. (0:02:35) Al: Yeah, yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how many of Kevin’s are from wildflowers. (0:02:45) Kev: the answer just wildflowers (0:02:46) Al: Or will we actually learn some new information? (0:02:51) Al: So we’re going to talk about… (0:02:55) Al: Yeah, it’s just Wesley three times, right? (0:03:01) Al: So we’ve got, before that, we’ve got some news. (0:03:05) Al: What have you been up to? (0:03:06) Kev: Ohhh, what have I been up to? (0:03:10) Kev: Cassette Beasts, Cassette Beasts, you already know this, you listen to Rainbow Road audio. (0:03:14) Kev: Cassette Beasts! (0:03:14) Al: I haven’t listened to this week, still. (0:03:16) Kev: Um… (0:03:18) Kev: Oh, okay. Yeah, oh yeah, that’s true, but, um… (0:03:20) Kev: Uh, so Cassette Beasts, the… (0:03:24) Kev: Poet Monster Catching Not Pokemon Game. (0:03:28) Kev: Uh, I forget the name of the developer, but, uh, I have it on Switch. (0:03:38) Kev: cheap it’s good I don’t even know where to begin it’s just the presentation is immaculate because they put a lot of emphasis on their style a lot of 80s 90s influence you know as the titular presets were popular then right the music is fantastic the mechanics are there’s (0:04:08) Kev: substantial maybe a little confusing or overwhelming at times just because but that’s probably just because Pokemon has so long dominated the market slash my life right it’s hard to readjust but in general the game is pretty snappy and quick it feels a lot more dynamic than say Pokemon or I think most other monster catchers the designs are fun the the (0:04:39) Kev: interesting yeah I like I don’t I could go on into a whole episode about this I might it’s somebody else who’s a fan but I wonder I can hear him screaming from Australia right now but yeah cassette piece is just a plus plus stellar, stellar stuff, um, I uh, (0:04:51) Al: I wonder who that could be. (0:05:08) Kev: I’ll give you what I’m at near the end, I think from where where my quests are and my levels and whatnot (0:05:15) Kev: I’m in the last stretch of the game (0:05:19) Kev: It is (0:05:21) Kev: The Antagonists are interesting. It’s not just the Team Rocket ripoff. It’s a some otherworldly beings actually rather odd (0:05:33) Kev: And one thing about the game right there’s a partner system where you always (0:05:38) Kev: Have two players on the field by default on your side (0:05:42) Kev: And so there’s a handful of different characters you can pick as your partner (0:05:48) Kev: One of the last characters you unlock is named Barkley. They are just a dog who can transform into monsters (0:05:55) Kev: They have headphones, yeah (0:05:57) Kev: So Barkley is great. Um, but yeah, that’s that’s cassette beasts great grain great game (0:06:05) Kev: Aside from that I have been (0:06:08) Kev: flying since I picked up my 3DS for the termination of the online services, just to make sure some stuff was squared away. (0:06:17) Kev: I’ve fired up Weapon Shop Delmase. (0:06:24) Al: as you do. It’s an interesting combination of French and English there. (0:06:32) Kev: It’s made by a Japanese developer, so you know, that’s some good, good stuff. (0:06:36) Kev: Um… (0:06:38) Kev: It is a small, it is part of the what’s called the Guild collection (0:06:44) Kev: Compilation of different small smaller sized video games on the 3ds (0:06:50) Kev: by different developers and (0:06:54) Kev: Game directors and stuff like that (0:06:57) Kev: I’ve heard described as like a game jam But the people making them or you know established studios and developers so they are all (0:07:05) Kev: Polished games and whatnot (0:07:08) Kev: You play a weapon shop as the you know name wouldn’t fly you are in charge of a weapon shop where you have to forge weapons for various characters and heroes from your archetypal (0:07:22) Kev: RPG classic fantasy characters (0:07:25) Kev: there’s a (0:07:28) Kev: French knight who’s over the top and full bravado. There’s a (0:07:32) Kev: samurai Reserve in old-fashioned. There’s a Grand Mahalo swinging axes (0:07:38) Kev: and t. It’s a comedy game. So much to the point that it has an actual sitcom style laugh track. It is it is a fun little game. It’s it’s very laid back in space. The forging part of it is just a little rhythm mini game and the adventures that the characters have. You kind of read about them in the background. There’s like this little social media feed that you follow their updates and stuff like that. (0:08:09) Kev: Very, very cute. Very fun. It’s published by Level 5. The Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch Company. And they’re very good at making things very whimsical and cartoony and fun. And this game very much follows in that way. (0:08:24) Kev: But but yeah, that’s that’s mostly what I’ve been up to those two games. What about you, Al? Let’s go. (0:08:30) Al: Fair enough. Can you guess? Can you guess what I’ve been playing? (0:08:34) Kev: is it a stardew valley how many have you been marrying (0:08:37) Al: It’s Stardew Valley. I’m still, I’m still playing it. (0:08:41) Kev: are you marrying people left and right for this episode (0:08:45) Al: Oh, no. No, no, no. This play through has certainly not changed my opinions on (0:08:51) Kev: Yeah, yeah, uh, what, where are you? (0:08:52) Al: on any particular candidate. (0:08:55) Kev: What have you discovered or what’s how far into. (0:09:00) Al: All right. Well, so I have progressed quite a bit since the last episode, because I think it’s two episodes ago. And when I did that episode, it was like an early episode. And this is like a late recording episode. So it’s been like nearly three weeks. And I haven’t stopped playing that entire time. I keep trying to do other things and then I go, but I could be playing Stardew instead. Yeah. So I think last time I had just finished. (0:09:22) Kev: Exactly, but they’re not stardew, right? So why would you? (0:09:30) Al: I finished the Georgia stuff. So I had just finished buying all the standard Georgia stuff and Kelly shouted at me for that. Since then, I have done all of the other upgrades. So I’ve got the movie theater. I’ve given Palma House. I’ve given the shortcuts. I don’t know if you’ve done the show. (0:09:56) Kev: Uhh, I think I wanted to, I bet. (0:10:02) Al: So I’ve got them, I unlocked and finished Ginger Island. (0:10:06) Al: That’s all done. (0:10:07) Al: So I’m now just using it as a massive ancient fruit farm. (0:10:10) Kev: You finished it, wow. (0:10:12) Al: Yeah, yeah, no, I’ve done all that. (0:10:13) Al: So I’m just using it now as a massive ancient fruit farm. (0:10:17) Al: So I have, I think, 250 ancient fruit plants growing there, (0:10:23) Al: which so, yeah, so like every week I’m making, oh, let’s see. (0:10:30) Al: Uh, yeah, like. (0:10:31) Kev: You’re making JoJo levels of money. (0:10:32) Al: I’m making like 600,000 a week, I think, um, including I have, uh, every four days I make a hundred thousand from honey, uh, because did you know that (0:10:46) Al: fairy rose honey is worth a lot of money? (0:10:50) Al: And so I have a large section of ginger Island devoted entirely to be houses (0:10:55) Al: with fairy roses growing there. (0:10:58) Al: And yeah, every four days I make a hundred thousand from. (0:10:58) Kev: All right. (0:11:02) Kev: Dang, that’s– you got this down to a T. (0:11:02) Al: I have built three of the four obelisks now, so I just got the final one to do, (0:11:10) Al: which I should probably do after my next harvest. (0:11:13) Al: And I’ve bought the return scepter. (0:11:16) Al: So that is the first time I’ve bought the return scepter. (0:11:20) Kev: What is the return set to? (0:11:20) Al: It is very pleasing. (0:11:22) Al: Oh, have you not seen this? (0:11:23) Al: So that’s one that Crobus sells it. (0:11:27) Al: And it’s a tool that, I mean, it’s basically just a totem, right? (0:11:30) Al: So it lets you get home. (0:11:32) Al: But it’s like a portable obelisk or a multi-use totem. (0:11:38) Al: So yeah, you use it wherever you are and you get sent straight to your front door. (0:11:45) Al: So that has changed things significantly. (0:11:49) Al: Yeah, I mean, I’ve done most of the things. (0:11:52) Al: So I’m at now, what is it, 60% of the achievements on Steam. (0:11:59) Al: basically the only things I have left to do are, obviously. (0:12:02) Al: I’ve got one more obelisk to do, I’ve got the golden clock to get, (0:12:05) Al: which will take me quite a while because obviously it’s 10 million. (0:12:08) Al: That’s a lot of money. It’ll take me a couple of years to build up that. (0:12:10) Kev: But the turtle, though, that- (0:12:13) Al: Well, yeah, I could probably get that in a week if I wanted at this point. (0:12:20) Al: And then the only things I’ve got left to do are, there’s a few crafting recipes I haven’t used once. And I have basically not done any cooking. (0:12:30) Al: And I… (0:12:32) Al: I need… I have a lot of villagers that I have almost no hearts with. (0:12:36) Al: So if I want to get to completion, those are the things I need to do. (0:12:42) Al: The cooking and the friendship levels. (0:12:44) Al: Apparently, to get completion, you have to have cooked everything once (0:12:48) Al: and you have to have everyone at max hearts. (0:12:54) Kev: That sounds like you got the hard part stuck. (0:12:57) Al: I don’t know, I feel like that’s the hard bit. (0:13:00) Al: constantly going around and giving people (0:13:02) Al: gifts and just oh I don’t know like I well it’s just it’s so much work and it’s like you can only give them two gifts a week and I have figured out that everybody except Penny and Leia everyone except them like Jade the the gem and I’ve been hoarding a lot of Jade because I don’t know if you know this but in the desert, the desert trader. (0:13:04) Kev: Interacting with people, ugh. (0:13:30) Al: Um… (0:13:32) Al: will trade you a staircase if you give them a jade and so I’ve been I’ve got like a lot of crystalariums creating jade so that I can just take a hundred jade to the desert and get a hundred staircases and just like speed run my way down Skull Cavern to get some iridium. (0:13:51) Al: And they only take two days to do a jade so every two days I get another like 20 jade or something so I have just got like a hundred jade on me at all time to just give to anyone. (0:14:02) Al: Nobody whenever I see them but the problem is I just like doing that consistently is the annoying bit so I don’t know if I will ever if I will try and get to completion or not I haven’t decided because that bit in and of itself that and the cooking in and of itself it’s a lot of work. (0:14:21) Al: Like there’s there’s a few bits and pieces like I haven’t shipped everything yet there’s a few things I haven’t shipped but that’s like maybe 15 things I haven’t shipped right That’s probably pretty easy to do. (0:14:32) Al: That won’t take me long, like, you know, that would take me a season probably at best because you can grow anything on Ginger Island at any point. (0:14:38) Kev: Peasant crops (0:14:50) Al: And I now have the point, and now I can buy anything from Pierre at any point. (0:14:54) Al: So I can just go and buy the stuff and grow it and ship it if I care, but I’ve not decided of a care amount. (0:15:02) Al: you know so I don’t know I’m just going just now I suspect I will fall off before I get to that point like that’s a lot of work to get to that point I’m in year four now yeah I can’t it’s yeah there’s a there’s I’ve done a lot what’s my playtime on Steam let’s see my playtime so bear in mind this is my entire Steam playtime but obviously I only (0:15:32) Al: started playing on Steam when the 1.6 update come out. Is that a month ago now? (0:15:36) Al: Is that a month ago? About a month ago. That’s 124 hours. So, yeah. (0:15:46) Kev: I honestly I thought it would be longer like I was I was making 300 (0:15:49) Al: Wow, thanks. Let me check when the date was. March 19th. It’s not quite been a month. It’s not been a month yet. (0:16:02) Al: Uh. One, two, three, four. It’s not even been four. It’s four weeks on, four weeks on Tuesday. Um, so 124 by four. That’s 30, 30, 31 hours a week. I’m doing a full-time job here. Yeah. Oh man. If you could print, if you could print money from stard yard, (0:16:02) Kev: Well, there you go. See? Plenty of time to do the comp- (0:16:20) Kev: Yeah, but which one’s more pro- well, maybe not profitable. It’s satisfying, at least. (0:16:27) Kev: Which one’s the real job? (0:16:30) Al: be a millionaire. (0:16:32) Al: I have, I’m at, I’m over, what am I at now? I’m over 10 million. Yeah. 10 million total I’ve made. Um, I just. We’ll get to that foreshadowing. So I don’t think, I don’t think when I record the next episode that I’ll still be playing it, I think I’ll be in another break, but yeah, it’s, it’s been fun. I have enjoyed, I’ve enjoyed this play through. I I would highly recommend anybody who’s played… (0:16:40) Kev: That’s what’s in the .64 update. (0:17:02) Al: Stardew before to go over with a Jojo run, I do think it’s fun, a fun way to do things. (0:17:07) Kev: Nothing like crushing the local small businesses always a good time (0:17:07) Al: Yeah. (0:17:08) Al: Look, look, none of the businesses shut down and Jojo gives some jobs, like I don’t see the problem here, you know? (0:17:16) Kev: Yeah, yeah, well you’re not wrong long! (0:17:21) Al: And plus, let’s not pretend like Stardew is an anti-capitalist game, I have sold… (0:17:26) Al: I’ve made 10 million G’s, I am a capitalist. (0:17:28) Kev: Heh heh heh heh. (0:17:32) Al: If anyone is a capitalist, I wouldn’t be surprised if I was making more money than Jojo now. (0:17:36) Kev: I’m the captain of industry. (0:17:38) Al: Plus, if you don’t do the Jojo route, you can’t buy the auto petters, you have to go through Skull Cavern to get them, and that’s not fun. (0:17:47) Al: So. (0:17:49) Al: Great. (0:17:51) Al: That’s what I’ve been playing. (0:17:52) Al: Should we talk about some news? (0:17:56) Al: Alright, Chia, which is the game… (0:18:01) Kev: See ya! (0:18:02) Al: Based on New Caledonia, they have announced that they’re releasing a Switch version on the 27th of June, so if you’re waiting for the Switch version of this game, there you go. (0:18:14) Al: 27th of June. (0:18:19) Kev: Well, I forget, every time I see the trailer for that game, that is a game with a lot of stuff. (0:18:24) Al: Yes, I still haven’t played it but it’s definitely on my ‘maybe play at some point’ list because it does look like it would be good fun. (0:18:36) Al: Yeah, what’s better? (0:18:42) Al: Sunnyside have announced that they’re releasing on the 24th of May on Steam and on PlayStation and Xbox on the 10th of June. (0:18:51) Al: They just said, it’s really annoying, they said, “Steam on the 24th of May and (0:18:54) Al: consoles on 10th of July” and I was like, “What do you mean by consoles?” (0:18:57) Al: And I had to look through their video and pause on the back last thing to see that there is no switch, no switch is coming. (0:19:04) Al: They have confirmed in their replies on Twitter that it is not going to switch but there you go. (0:19:11) Kev: Of course, the Switch isn’t a real console, that’s for babies. (0:19:16) Al: Yeah, there we go. (0:19:30) Al: I don’t know what to say. (0:19:36) Al: I have a pizza planet top. (0:19:37) Al: I’m fat. (0:19:37) Al: I’m thinking, yeah, I’m wearing a pizza planet top right now. (0:19:42) Al: Yeah. (0:19:44) Al: I bought it when we, I bought it when we went to Disney and Los Angeles when I was there in February. (0:19:51) Al: I thought so. (0:19:52) Al: I thought so. (0:19:52) Al: I was like, I’m going to have to buy something. (0:19:54) Al: Let’s see what we’ve got. (0:19:54) Al: And I saw a pizza. (0:19:55) Al: And the best thing about it is it doesn’t say Disney or Toy Story on it at all. (0:20:01) Al: It’s entirely like it’s an in-universe thing. (0:20:02) Al: It’s just pizza planet. (0:20:03) Al: So those who know know and those who don’t know, yeah, I thought so. (0:20:04) Kev: Oh man, that’s the best! (0:20:06) Kev: Yeah. (0:20:08) Kev: That doesn’t have the stench of corporate brand. Just as strong. (0:20:12) Kev: But, uh… (0:20:13) Al: I mean, it is for a pizza place. (0:20:14) Kev: Yeah. (0:20:15) Al: So, you know, real ones know. (0:20:16) Kev: But, real ones. (0:20:25) Al: Spirity have announced that their Helping Hands update is out now. (0:20:31) Al: It looks like the big thing is you get more hints towards how you you’re doing things if you’re stuck so you can ask one young who is the floating cats better on a donut that goes around with you. (0:20:46) Kev: it hints are great. Actually, one of the things about cassette beasts that I really love, (0:20:46) Al: If you’re stuck, you can ask him for hints. (0:20:56) Kev: they call it rumors, where random townspeople will give you information on where to look for (0:21:04) Kev: different objectives, including monsters that you have not captured. (0:21:11) Al: nice. I would like that in Pokemon games because this is the thing the number of times that I just have to go to Serebii to figure out where this Pokemon is is dreadful. (0:21:22) Kev: Yup, I am always fervently of the belief that you should never have to. (0:21:36) Al: Stardew does that well, I mean, like it’s quicker to go to the internet for a lot of things but the secret notes and the lost books tell you literally everything about that game. (0:21:49) Al: Like the number of times I go “oh what about this thing?” and I search and it’s like “well it was in this lost book” and you’re like “oh don’t tell me I need to reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!” (0:21:56) Kev: Alright, that’s a whole different discussion. (0:21:57) Al: Yeah, no kidding, no kidding. (0:22:06) Al: The books they’ve added in the 1.6 update in Stardew as well is quite fun, I don’t know if you’ve seen that but they give you like extra powers and stuff like that, they’re good for you. (0:22:17) Al: Bum-ba-dum-ba-dum, where are we? We are at, yeah, Spirity, you know you’ve not played Spirity have you? It was me and Johnny who did the episode. All right, cool. I don’t think this is dragging me into playing the game again, I will say. (0:22:36) Al: Bunch of extra quality for life improvements as well but I’m not going to go over them just now because they’re pretty specific to if you’ve played the game. I don’t think any of these are going to be like “oh I must play that game now” now that they’ve removed Pooh Bird near the players house that led to nowhere. Like that was the one thing that was stopping me playing that game. All right, what’s next? We’ve got Snacko. Snacko have added in their newest update. (0:23:07) Al: I’m not going to talk about version. (0:23:08) Kev: Yeah, yeah, that, uh, did long time coming and. (0:23:09) Al: In their latest update, they have added character customization, which is good. (0:23:14) Al: And we like character customization. (0:23:16) Al: This is good, good job. (0:23:19) Al: We like it. (0:23:25) Al: So if you want, if you want a pink cat with a neon yellow tail and two differently colored eyes, then you can do that. (0:23:32) Kev: That sounds rad actually oh, yeah now you’re a real gamer (0:23:36) Al: That’s the word I couldn’t remember. (0:23:41) Al: I was like, I knew it was something I couldn’t remember what it was. (0:23:54) Al: They’ve also reaffirmed that they are planning on getting 1.0 out this year. They’ve said late this year, so if I were to bet, I would be betting it’s next year, but I’m not (0:24:06) Kev: Well, I mean, they’re at 0.9.2, so, you know, how many more could there be? (0:24:10) Al: Yeah, but they started at like 0.8.3 or something, right? (0:24:18) Al: Kevin, what are you doing? (0:24:19) Al: I said I wasn’t gonna talk about the version numbers. (0:24:21) Al: Stop it. (0:24:22) Al: My time at Sandrock have announced that they’re bringing cross-platform multiplayer to the game this summer. (0:24:22) Kev: Oh, that’s good. (0:24:31) Kev: Okay, but no general that is good across the platform should be the double for everything right or the a goal for everyone (0:24:44) Al: Yeah, I’m still not playing the game. (0:24:48) Al: But a game I am playing, Stardew Valley, concerned David has announced that there is a 1.6.4 is coming out soon. (0:24:53) Kev: What version number, Al? (0:24:58) Kev: The fourth 1.6 update. (0:25:03) Al: The fifth one actually, I think. (0:25:06) Al: The numbers always start at zero, counting starts at zero, Kevin. (0:25:11) Al: And yes, there’s a new update coming. (0:25:14) Al: Uh, I wouldn’t normally mention this, but it does say there is adding some new, a few goodies as well as bug fixes. (0:25:23) Al: So it’s not just bug fixes. (0:25:24) Al: There is some other stuff coming. (0:25:26) Al: No hints. (0:25:28) Al: Well, no, no hints are hints. (0:25:30) Al: Yes, there are hints, uh, a new fishing thing and some new mining related. (0:25:36) Kev: Oh, a new fishing thing, is it gonna be, is it making it good? (0:25:41) Kev: Is that the update? (0:25:42) Al: I’ve caught all the fish by the way that’s done those legendary fish were quite a quite a struggle but I got them (0:25:45) Kev: Oh, man, oh, man. (0:25:56) Kev: Yeah, but I am curious what it is though, but there you go Just you thought you were out, but he’s concerned. It’s about to reel you back in right away (0:26:08) Al: I thought the point was I wasn’t out yet. (0:26:10) Kev: Well you said you might be out, but you’re you’re definitely not gonna (0:26:16) Al: Speaking of not being out, or being it, Monster Patch, which is the new monster collector from Sean Young, who made Littlewood, he has posted a new screenshot of the playable trainers (0:26:33) Al: for the game. And yet again, for some reason, this screenshot also includes the dead dude. So I really want to know what the deal is with this dead dude, because this is, (0:26:43) Al: I think, the third screenshot we’ve had with this guy just lying on the street dead in a pool of blood. (0:26:50) Al: » Yeah. (0:26:50) Kev: What if it’s not in the game and it’s just in all the promo or screenshots? (0:26:57) Kev: That or my arm (0:26:59) Kev: That and breakfast has this running joke where in all their patch notes. They have some mention of a character named Gus He’s a possum wielding a knife the state of him having the knife or not (0:27:11) Kev: It’s not in the game, but just (0:27:14) Kev: But anyways moons not moon star (0:27:18) Kev: Monster patch (0:27:22) Al: It’s a cool selection of playable characters. It makes it sound like it’s not customization, (0:27:26) Al: which I think I’m fine with. I don’t think every game needs to have character customization. (0:27:30) Kev: - Yeah. (0:27:34) Al: I think you need to make a decision about whether the game should have or not, and it sounds more like that you are playing that specific character rather than playing as yourself. In that sort of situation it makes sense not to have card to customization, right? (0:27:52) Al: It’s weird for RPGs where you’re like, “Oh, hey, here’s this person.” (0:27:56) Al: And it’s like, “Oh, I’m going to make this person me.” (0:27:59) Al: And it’s like, “No, no, the point is, it’s their story, not yours.” (0:28:02) Kev: Right right one interesting thing he says each trainer has a unique passive ability (0:28:10) Kev: drastically influence your playstyle that that is I think that’s actually pretty cool (0:28:14) Kev: um I don’t know what those abilities are exactly the hard mode it’s it’s the the guy with the rainbow mohawk you know the devil or (0:28:16) Al: That just means I’m gonna have to play this game 12 times, right? (0:28:26) Al: Yeah, or the one with the devil horns, maybe. (0:28:32) Al: Yeah, yeah, no, I’m I loved everything I’ve seen about this game, but I look forward to playing it. (0:28:42) Kev: Unlike the guy with the bandana, his eyes are not open. (0:28:46) Al: Or, you know, the guy in the pool of blood. (0:28:55) Al: His eyes are doing nothing. (0:28:57) Al: Finally, Moonstone Island. (0:29:01) Al: Don’t get excited. (0:29:02) Al: This isn’t a huge thing, but Moonstone Island have reminded us that it’s spring. (0:29:07) Al: It is currently spring, and that’s important because they said the Switch version was coming out in spring, 2024. (0:29:12) Kev: “Oh, is that why you’re bringing this up? I was very confused! Hahaha!” (0:29:16) Al: Spring 2024 is when the Switch version comes out, so, the game could come out on Switch anytime between now and they say June 24th. (0:29:17) Kev: “Okay.” (0:29:20) Kev: “Okay.” (0:29:28) Kev: You there you go (0:29:30) Al: Which is the definition of Spring that they use. (0:29:32) Kev: Now there you go until they have to reach for that southern hemisphere spring (0:29:40) Al: Mm. Kevin, your opinion on everything getting fish bow, fish bow. (0:29:45) Kev: Yeah, yeah (0:29:47) Kev: Yeah, oh yeah. Um, it’s pretty good at first and I heard about like a boy then I saw it. No, they look pretty good (0:29:54) Kev: The only one I’m really hoping for I (0:29:57) Kev: Hope they put (0:29:58) Kev: a whole fish bow inside a fish bow if they do that that’s it, that’s the deal it’s genius, you can’t compete (0:30:01) Al: I want them to do so what was that I can’t remember the name of it but the one that was like just a tree trunk and it’s like spinning round I want them to do that but like scale it prop scale it properly so he’s sticking out the fishbowl and spinning around inside the fish ball. (0:30:16) Kev: oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah oh gosh, log something yeah, log something yeah, that’d be a good one [Laughter] (0:30:28) Kev: Whoa, that’s good. That’s strong. I like that. That’s good. That’s good thinking out. Oh, man. I’m down for that (0:30:34) Al: Like there’s so much fun things they could do with this. (0:30:37) Kev: Yes, they could um, oh man, oh (0:30:42) Kev: Gotta give a little diver suits to the fire ones so they don’t die in the water (0:30:46) Al: Oh, I just noted that that one is the the tree trunk one is in the original tweet. (0:30:51) Kev: oh (0:30:51) Al: And it is it’s not it is to scale, but it’s quite small, but he is sticking out the fishbowl. (0:30:54) Kev: Yeah, yep, oh well, you know yeah, I did but gotta make a little (0:30:58) Al: So. (0:31:03) Al: Yeah, it’s still good. (0:31:05) Al: Still sticking out. (0:31:06) Al: Don’t worry. (0:31:07) Al: Cool. (0:31:09) Kev: there’s what now I’m just remembering moon style there’s one that’s just like a teardrop that with the face just just put the fishbowl with just that the like face just have him in there okay news (0:31:09) Al: That’s all the news. (0:31:11) Al: Oh. (0:31:22) Al: Yeah… News is finished. That is it. The news has newsed. (0:31:31) Kev: news ever until next week all right Al (0:31:34) Al: It has newsed. Hmm. Can you tell I’m tired? (0:31:40) Al: We’re going to talk about marriage candidates. So we have played between us a lot of farming games, (0:31:48) Al: of which many of them have romance. (0:31:49) Kev: have yep I’d known complainer of romance let’s see which ones I like (0:31:52) Al: And yeah, well, this is the thing, so like, I think, I mean, just to make it clear, I think we’re probably both on the same page with this, is that I don’t think that either of us dislikes the concept of romance in games full stop, but that a lot of games put it in because they feel like they need to, not because they want to, and then they don’t put in the effort into it and the character. (0:32:10) Kev: of course right right (0:32:22) Al: Characters feel flat, their dialogue feels shallow and you don’t feel like you’re actually a character in this game trying to woo this person, you feel like you’re trying to check. (0:32:35) Kev: Rigs exactly absolutely right looking at you (0:32:39) Kev: What’s what’s the one that’s not Stardew Valley though? No, no the other one the the one the names like it (0:32:42) Al: Fae Farm. Not Fae Farm, the other one. Oh, Sugardew Island. Yes! (0:32:47) Kev: with Sugardew yeah (0:32:52) Kev: Fred those waters carefully sugardew (0:32:56) Kev: But but yeah absolutely oh, you know what surprise cassette piece has romance in it (0:33:02) Kev: You can romance one of the partners if you’d like (0:33:06) Kev: Which caught me by surprise? (0:33:08) Kev: price. (0:33:10) Al: So, we’re gonna talk about what marriage candidates we have liked the most in these games. (0:33:16) Al: I have a list of three. (0:33:17) Al: I don’t know what you have, because I can’t see your list. (0:33:18) Kev: I have… I have four. (0:33:22) Al: You have four. (0:33:23) Al: Okay. (0:33:24) Al: Well, you’ll need to start then, but before we get into that… (0:33:27) Al: I guess… (0:33:28) Al: What? (0:33:28) Kev: Well, well, I was about to say I well I have three and one that you know, that’s a thing (0:33:29) Al: Sorry. (0:33:35) Kev: But we’ll get to that. Okay, let’s this let’s do the stardew one. I assume you have a stardew one (0:33:42) Kev: Okay, so that right. This is our starting point the the OG (0:33:46) Kev: What? (0:33:48) Kev: Who’s your stardew pick out? (0:33:50) Al: Well you’ve got to start because you’ve got four, otherwise you’ll do two in a row. (0:33:51) Kev: Okay, okay fine. All right. I went with Leia Leia I don’t know. (0:33:57) Al: Okay, Lea Lea doesn’t matter, we don’t have voice acting, it can be whatever you want. Lea Lea, (0:33:57) Kev: I never know how to pronounce your name. (0:33:59) Kev: Yeah. (0:34:02) Kev: Yeah. (0:34:03) Al: that’s fine. Was Lea your first marriage candidate and starred you? Okay, what drew you to her? (0:34:03) Kev: All right. (0:34:04) Kev: There you go. (0:34:05) Kev: Um. (0:34:08) Kev: So. (0:34:10) Kev: Yes. (0:34:12) Kev: Yes. (0:34:14) Kev: All right. (0:34:16) Kev: You know, like. (0:34:18) Kev: Wow. (0:34:19) Kev: It’s. (0:34:20) Kev: I feel like this is very illuminating. (0:34:24) Kev: She’s the only nice one it feels like. (0:34:24) Al: Oh no. Oh, interesting. Yeah, no, I guess she is, she is right, because like, (0:34:28) Kev: Right? (0:34:30) Al: you first meet her and she’s like, “Oh, you’re from the city, what’s it like there?” (0:34:34) Al: You know, whereas so many others are not, they’re not interested or downright mean in some cases. (0:34:39) Kev: Yep, yep (0:34:43) Kev: So, okay. Well, all right, let’s be cool. Let’s back up a second My fish pic was gonna be robbing but then the game was it all know she’s married and whatnot. I’m fine (0:34:52) Al: So you find the other the other red head then. (0:34:55) Kev: I can’t remember the second was (0:34:58) Kev: Yeah, yeah, I don’t remember the second one was but there was somebody also married I can’t remember (0:35:07) Kev: But then out of the actual eligible ones (0:35:09) Kev: I was gunning for Hailey, I recall it first But then, not only did she shoot me down at the Spring Dance But she taught me down hard, she was like “Ewwwwww” (0:35:18) Al: she she does that is like that is if if that’s your first example of stardew like 12 days in and hilly just goes oh you’re like oh my wow he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he he (0:35:29) Kev: Yeah, yeah, I’m just I just kind of throw my hands up like well (0:35:40) Kev: People and then I properly met Leia and and it’s like, you know, I’m fine. You’re you’re the only decent tree on treating me decent (0:35:51) Kev: That is by and large the only thing I needed (0:35:57) Kev: That said I do like (0:35:59) Kev: Her whole art thing. I think being an artist is a cool thing. I (0:36:06) Al: I’m not sure what her sculpture is meant to be, though. (0:36:08) Kev: Did nope I don’t either and I’ve been told her that (0:36:13) Al: It’s certainly something. (0:36:15) Kev: It’s abstract Al all right (0:36:19) Al: You’re not wrong. (0:36:20) Al: It is definitely abstract. (0:36:22) Kev: What about you out who won you over you won over (0:36:24) Al: Yeah, okay. (0:36:29) Al: I think I’ve talked about this before, but my first and still favourite marriage candidate… (0:36:29) Kev: » At gunpoint, perhaps. (0:36:30) Kev: » [LAUGH] (0:36:36) Al: that inspired you is Hailey. (0:36:38) Kev: She’ll like it when she said “ew.” (0:36:40) Al: The reason why is the exact reason that you were absolutely… (0:36:46) Al: It’s the exact same reason that you decided to stop trying with her. (0:36:50) Al: I was very insulted when you first meet her, and she goes, “She’s just so dismissed above you, and then she’s mean to you.” (0:36:59) Al: And it’s like, there’s an amazing moment when you walk up to her and she’s like, “Oh, you (0:37:06) Al: got in the latest catalogue of some magazine, because dirty, muddy boots are really in fashion just now.” (0:37:10) Kev: Yeah. (0:37:10) Kev: Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. (0:37:15) Al: And you’re like, “Whoa! (0:37:16) Al: Oh, what! (0:37:17) Al: What was that?” (0:37:21) Al: You’re just like, “I love a challenge, right? (0:37:24) Al: It’s a game. (0:37:25) Al: The whole point of games is to be challenged.” (0:37:28) Al: And so I was like, “Oh, this is a person who really doesn’t like me, doesn’t like (0:37:36) Al: the idea of me, and I know that I can win her around, and I just need to figure out why.” (0:37:43) Al: And actually, I found that her story progression from that to falling in love with you is actually really sweet because she realises that she doesn’t need to care, she starts off so superficial and ends up realizing that. (0:37:48) Kev: - Yeah. (0:38:06) Al: But love is much deeper than that and I thought that was really nice and that’s why I think she has the most progression of any character that I’ve… (0:38:12) Kev: It is. So, I would agree, you know, I’ve read stuff on the Wiki and stuff, and I did see several of her scenes, because I still talk to Hayley Plenty and had friendship events with her and whatnot. And I agree, I think, not even just Stardew, I think in almost any game with romance, that’s probably one of the biggest character arcs/growth of a character I’ve seen, which is pretty (0:38:42) Kev: cool. Um, yeah, no, no, I get it. Um, uh, and like I said, I went for her first, right? (0:38:49) Kev: Blondes, like, yeah, let’s be honest. Um, but, uh, you know, it is interesting to me. (0:38:56) Kev: This is very revealing about how or why we play games in general, right? Like you appreciated the challenge and absolutely I get that, right? Both in terms of a game or, or, you know, (0:39:09) Kev: a thing with relationships. (0:39:12) Kev: I like the fantasy escapism of games, and I get enough failures in the real world! (0:39:14) Al: Yeah, I’m not sure I would want that in real life. Right? Like, you know. (0:39:21) Al: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. (0:39:28) Al: Well, and that’s an interesting thing, right? Like, I wonder how much of that is, and that sounds pretty accurate, right? Because, like, I first played Stardew when I was already married for, like, 2016. I’d been married for three years at that point, you know? So I was, like, I, you know, wasn’t experiencing that in real life. So it’s not like I would be, like, it would be reminding me of experiences in life that I didn’t want to think about, (0:39:32) Kev: Yeah? Sure. (0:39:42) Kev: Okay. (0:39:52) Kev: Yeah, yeah, oh man, oh (0:39:59) Al: it was very different to that. And I certainly, you know, I didn’t have to, it’s not like I didn’t have to work to make Rona fall in love with me. Of course I did, like, these things are always work, but it’s not the same thing. She didn’t, she was always a nice person. She, you know, (0:40:05) Kev: Yeah (0:40:13) Kev: Your drought your dowry was enough (0:40:14) Al: didn’t first… Yeah, exactly, exactly. No, she, no, no, she, you know, she’s always been a nice person. And so it’s not… I think that’s interesting. Yeah. (0:40:29) Kev: It is because You know that I think this is actually really important context because i’m on the (0:40:35) Kev: Polar ops end of the spectrum like for people who haven’t fought on from things I’ve said over these i’m gonna i’m just laying it all out for you people like I (0:40:44) Kev: have never had (0:40:46) Kev: Not only a relationship i’ve never been able to get a date. Let’s i’ll be honest here like (0:40:53) Kev: Look at me people like ugh (0:40:55) Kev: um, so my (0:40:56) Al: You’re not an audio podcast, Kevin! (0:40:57) Kev: experience flesh (0:41:01) Kev: Well, I’m being open here! You wanted a relationship! (0:41:03) Al: Look at me. (0:41:05) Kev: This is it man! This is the heart of it! (0:41:07) Al: I wasn’t expecting a therapy session, but here we go. (0:41:11) Kev: Well, now you guess what! This is why romance is a thing! (0:41:13) Al: Oh, dear. (0:41:17) Kev: Like I said, escapism and fantasy! (0:41:18) Al: Oh, dear. (0:41:20) Kev: Well, let’s get it going today! (0:41:24) Kev: Alright! (0:41:29) Al: » Listeners, if you wanna date Kevin, message in, we’ll get it started. (0:41:35) Kev: So if you do, you gotta compete with some other ones! (0:41:39) Kev: Because, before Leia, (0:41:43) Kev: many moons ago for an even younger Kevin. (0:41:47) Kev: I was in middle school, actually. (0:41:50) Kev: I had interest in girls at that point, but I wasn’t dating, per se. (0:41:54) Kev: I was too young for that, for the family and whatnot. (0:41:58) Kev: But I played a game called Harvest Moon, A Wonderful Life. (0:42:01) Kev: And it is there where I first met my first ever sweetheart of ever! (0:42:05) Kev: Any kind, virtual or not. (0:42:07) Kev: Celia/Cecilia in the remake. (0:42:11) Kev: She was one of three candidates. (0:42:16) Kev: There was… she is… (0:42:19) Kev: So there was the other two that I didn’t select. (0:42:21) Kev: Her name was Nami. (0:42:23) Kev: She’s the kinda tough girl. (0:42:26) Kev: More distant to Luke kinda girl. (0:42:30) Kev: There was Muffy. (0:42:35) Kev: Or Molly in the remake. (0:42:37) Kev: She was the barkeep. (0:42:40) Kev: And Molly was nice enough. (0:42:43) Kev: But again, Celia/Cecilia, she’s very sweet. (0:42:47) Kev: She works on a farm, right? (0:42:49) Kev: So she gets what you’re doing. (0:42:51) Kev: She’s very down-to-earth and sweet. (0:42:54) Kev: And really just a sweetheart. (0:42:56) Kev: And I think that’s what won me over. (0:42:58) Kev: She’s also just mechanically like the easiest to win over. (0:43:02) Kev: Um, because again, she works in a farm so she likes crops and stuff like that her gifts are easiest to get to and you probably encountered her more going to the farm to purchase supplies and whatnot but she obviously has a special place in my heart for being the the very first yeah and in the remake she’s pretty much the same thing still still wonderful person and what’s cool is when you marry her like her helping around the farm and stuff feels very natural right? (0:43:35) Kev: I think that’s a fun little element because you know sometimes your person you marry or whatever they’ll help out but you can tell you know they’re trying they get a gold star for trying right but nah she she knows what she’s doing on the farm and I think that’s pretty cool yeah all right what about you who’s (0:43:51) Al: Fair enough. (0:43:55) Al: So my number two, um, is, uh, uh, study of seasons, tree of towns. (0:44:02) Al: We have Iluca. (0:44:04) Al: Um, Iluca is, uh, one of, uh, the, um, identical twins in, if you’ve, if anybody has played the game, uh, the, um, I can’t remember. (0:44:16) Kev: Oh, oh yeah, okay. (0:44:17) Kev: She’s a winner. (0:44:18) Kev: I just Googled her up. (0:44:19) Kev: I like that. (0:44:20) Kev: All right. (0:44:21) Al: Remember, I can’t remember the name of the town because it’s been a couple of days. (0:44:26) Al: Um, there’s, uh, there’s like three try towns and the one that she’s from is like a kind of Islander style, like Pacific Islander style village. (0:44:36) Kev: Paros, oh wait, carousel. Oh, is that the name? I’m looking at the wiki here (0:44:43) Kev: Sorry, no, that’s a cafe name. Sorry. Oh (0:44:46) Al: Yeah, no, no, it’s Lulu Coco. So the interesting thing about this is so you unlock the three towns as you go. So you start off with one of them, which is like the Western US style one, and then you unlock the one that is like based on a Japanese town. And then you unlock this one, (0:44:48) Kev: Lulu Coco (0:45:00) Kev: Yeah frontier sure (0:45:08) Al: which is more kind of Pacific Islander type thing. And so if you start off this game and you (0:45:16) Al: look for your marriage candidate, you are not going to find Aluka or her sister Saluka. (0:45:21) Al: and you (0:45:22) Kev: That is a cool little (0:45:24) Kev: Little twist right because I think especially storage seasons they they very much trained you like you know You got to start looking right away, but having all these characters locked (0:45:32) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, because you want it, because it’s a lot of work, right? You got to start early. And, you know, it’s not that there was nobody else in that game that I thought would be an interesting marriage candidate, but there was no one that was like, “Oh, this is the person I must woo.” And then you unlock this third town and you’re like, “Oh, no, (0:45:37) Kev: Right yep (0:45:53) Kev: Yeah (0:45:56) Al: this is it. This is the person.” And the interesting thing is they have, obviously they are identical Oh, twins, they look- (0:46:02) Al: Almost identical, the only difference is physically are they wear different coloured clothes and they tend to have different facial expressions, but that’s because their characters are very different, their personalities are very different. (0:46:18) Al: And as you get to know them, you find that out very quickly. (0:46:23) Kev: I I take it she’s a (0:46:32) Al: uh no so it’s it’s more well no not really so it’s more like Seleucah is more um how would I describe it uh she’s kind of more kind of like sleepy I guess kind of like not she just kind of (0:46:46) Kev: Yeah. (0:46:49) Kev: Okay, she goes through life at her own pace and sometimes does nothing, per the wiki. (0:46:49) Al: takes things as she yeah yeah exactly exactly oh does that what the wiki says yeah no I think I think Iluka is much more strong-willed and has a lot more. (0:46:56) Kev: Yeah. [laughs] (0:47:02) Al: I’ll use the same words as the wiki, I guess, if that’s what you’re reading out. (0:47:13) Kev: He’s somewhat strong-willed and also has a cheerful personality. (0:47:22) Al: So yeah, I think that’s a really fun thing to do, is to have identical twins who have quite different personalities. (0:47:30) Kev: Yeah, no that that is pretty cool um that is I like that that’s very good um and also purple hair thumbs up for that (0:47:39) Al: Yeah, it’s funny that they both have purple hair, because that implies that either it is a genetic thing, in which case I’m intrigued there, or they both decided to get their hair dyed the same color. (0:47:52) Kev: Ah, yeah, both are very interesting implications. (0:47:52) Al: That seems odd to me, especially as they’re so similar in lots of other ways. (0:47:59) Al: So, yeah. (0:48:01) Al: So yeah, that’s my second one. (0:48:04) Kev: All right. (0:48:06) Kev: My third one. (0:48:07) Kev: So as much as I was not a fan of the romance in this game, (0:48:14) Kev: being present at all, really. (0:48:16) Kev: And the characters, I think, in general, were a bit flat. (0:48:22) Kev: Sarah from Moonstone Island. (0:48:26) Kev: So she is the town’s blacksmith. (0:48:31) Kev: And I think her personality stands out from a lot of other characters. (0:48:37) Kev: Not in just Moonstone Island, but across the board in these College Corps games as a character, (0:48:44) Kev: especially a female that you can romance and whatnot, right? (0:48:48) Kev: He is very, very like bubbly. (0:48:52) Kev: He is very very like bubbly and cheerful. (0:48:54) Kev: She will not necessarily go after you, she will not ask you out on dates per se, but she will openly flirt with you and what not. (0:49:04) Kev: Yeah, right from the start, yep. (0:49:04) Al: like, right from the start as well. Like, she’s so, so fast into that. You’re like, “Whoa! Calm down!” (0:49:08) Kev: Yup. (0:49:10) Kev: And so, yeah, I do think that stands out, and again, the fact is, yes. (0:49:22) Kev: But, you know, someone who gives you attention like that, I think is pretty cool. (0:49:28) Kev: And she is fun, right, because as a blacksmith, right, like not the traditional role that one might expect, and that’s kind of her story as well, like how she likes working with the medals and being tough and stuff. (0:49:42) Kev: So that is, I don’t know, I think she’s pretty cool. (0:49:44) Al: Yeah (0:49:48) Kev: She’s fun, yeah. (0:49:49) Al: Also pink hair (0:49:52) Kev: And then after… yeah, I mean, yeah, I will not, I will, I could go down a list and all their care could fall under that, but yeah, even aside from that, post, when they did the marriage update, they added more dialogue and stuff like that, so you get to experience more of her life at home and fun it is. (0:49:56) Al: Which apparently is a thing that you like so good to know (0:50:22) Kev: She loves soup, that’s, I don’t know why it’s a running thing, she loves soup. But yeah, again, that is Pharah from Moonstone Island. (0:50:29) Kev: Alright, what is numero tress for you, Al? (0:50:34) Al: My third one is a new one from Coral Island, and that is Lily. And my reason is, I think (0:50:37) Kev: Of course. (0:50:43) Al: I’m not aware of another programmer in a farming game, like a character in a farming game that is a programmer, and therefore, not that I’m aware of. I will talk, I’ll talk. (0:50:52) Kev: Wasn’t somebody in Stardew does…programming? (0:50:58) Kev: It’s–I think it’s–I’m gonna look it up. (0:51:00) Kev: Okay, you talk while I look this up, heh heh heh. (0:51:04) Al: And so, there’s just something really nice. I mean, I felt like, I mean, people are gonna say, (0:51:08) Al: “Oh, you married yourself in that game.” Like, I mean, essentially, yeah, right? Like, it’s nice to see kind of that represented. You found it. See, yeah, okay, fine. I’ve never, and this is actually, (0:51:18) Kev: Sebastian, from Stardew, is a programmer. (0:51:23) Kev: But it’s Sebastian. (0:51:26) Al: I realized like 10 minutes ago that I think we need to do another episode with people who my actually romance male characters. (0:51:34) Al: Because I think we’ve made a very clear preference in this episode. (0:51:34) Kev: Well, he- look. (0:51:38) Al: Well, I know you’ll probably have one coming up, but other than that, (0:51:43) Al: other than that, it’s quite female heavy. (0:51:44) Kev: You’re not wrong. (0:51:46) Kev: Yep, you’re not wrong, you’re not wrong. (0:51:48) Kev: It would be fun to get a reverse of this, right? (0:51:52) Kev: We’ll reach out to some people. (0:51:53) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely, definitely. (0:51:54) Kev: That would be fun. (0:51:57) Al: But I think that it’s fun to see that, right? (0:52:01) Al: and not only is she a programmer. (0:52:04) Al: But she works from home, she has our own home office, so like she spends most of her time in her house, and so that kind of makes it a bit different to track. (0:52:15) Al: Most of the time when these characters are like “oh I need to go find where they are”, (0:52:18) Kev: Yeah, yeah, yeah (0:52:18) Al: literally you’re like “oh she’s at home” of course she’s at home she’s working or when she’s finished she’s relaxing she’s at home, right? (0:52:25) Kev: That’s cool (0:52:25) Al: And I think that I thought that was quite interesting and yeah yeah there we go, that’s (0:52:30) Kev: Right, yeah because So many of these characters are like or not even just the romance balloons Right, like everyone goes to the town bar because that’s the gathering point or whatever, right? (0:52:41) Kev: And then one goes to the festival. So having someone who’s much more (0:52:42) Al: Yeah. Intraverse. (0:52:48) Kev: Traverted yeah, that would be the word, right? (0:52:50) Kev: Yeah, I think that is pretty cool representation like you can kind of see that in some characters, but they don’t really act it out (0:52:58) Al: No, and they tend to be, they tend to be say like Clint, for example, in Stardew, who’s like more introverted, but you dislike him because of how he actually deals with that. (0:53:05) Kev: Yes! (0:53:08) Al: Whereas with Lily, it’s like she’s introverted and doesn’t tend to spend time with other people, but it’s not because she’s a terrible person and doesn’t know how to deal with people. (0:53:16) Al: She just prefers not to, you know, there’s a massive difference. (0:53:20) Kev: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Oh man, we should do the the anti the hate list (0:53:25) Al: I will say this, my one problem with Lily is that as with most characters in Carl Island, (0:53:25) Kev: episode at some point just thinking of clint there. Um, all right. Oh that oh (0:53:38) Al: when you marry them, they lose all their personality and they do nothing. And I really hope they’re going to fix that at some point, because it’s just such a depressing thing to remove everything from that person. You know, in Stardew, they go and still have a life after you’ve married them and they have their own little area in your head. (0:53:52) Kev: Yeah… (0:53:55) Al: And then, you know, like I was finding this because I married Emily in this one. (0:53:56) Kev: Yep. (0:54:00) Kev: Yep. (0:54:05) Al: And you, you wake up, you go talk to her and she says what she’s going to do for the day. (0:54:08) Al: Or she’s outside telling you what she’s just done, you know? (0:54:12) Al: Whereas you go up, you wake up in Coral Island, I go talk to Lily and she’s like, good morning. (0:54:17) Al: And then that’s it literally says nothing else and just stands in the bedroom the entire day.<

Get in the robot, listener, it's time for another Gay for Play! This week we're joined by bestie of the pod and G4P alum, Sara Brown! We get deep and philosophical about the re-release (and first North American release) of The End of Evangelion in theaters and discuss why this film and its anime is still one of the most beloved and mind-boggling series ever made, as well as a show and film rich with queer under(and over)tones. We also get into the new Stardew Valley 1.6 update, chat all about the new features that continue being added to this modern perennial classic, and why we just can't stop returning to the farm. Before all that, we have to do a dive on the new Beyoncé album Cowboy Carter, as well as our stance on country as a genre and what comes next for Queen Bey and country music as a whole. All that plus more movies, games and culture on this week's episode! It's a real life boogie AND a real life hoedown, so join us, won't you?What Else We're Gay For:Eric: Quiet On Set and I'm Glad My Mom DiedSara: Baldur's Gate 3 Laurence: Problemista================Get in touch with us!EMAIL US at gayforplaypodcast@gmail.comFOLLOW G4P (& Message us on any of our socials for a link to our Discord!)Twitter: @GayForPlayPodInstagram: @GayForPlayPodTwitch: twitch.tv/gayforplaypodSupport the Show & Unlock Bonus Episodes on our PATREON========CREDITSIntro and outro music by Connor Marsh (@connorjmarshmallow)Show art by Benny Kessler (@retro.spectacle.studio)Special thanks to our patrons: Blueberri Mary,  Elijah Punzal,  Trevor McTavish,

Al and Kelly talk about what they think could still be added to Stardew Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:27: What Have We Been Up To 00:07:40: News 00:22:53: Stardew 1.6 00:56:47: What Is Still Missing In Stardew 01:21:22: Outro Links Echoes of the Plum Grove Release Date Bunny Haven Mika and the Witch’s Mountain Dev Update Potion Permit Update Len’s Island Roadmap Chill Roadmap Stardew 1.6.3 Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. (0:00:34) Al: My name is Al and we are here today to talk about Cottagecore Games. (0:00:36) Kelly: and I’m Kelly. (0:00:41) Al: Ah welcome back Kelly, it’s been a while. (0:00:46) Al: What was your last episode? (0:00:47) Kelly: Um, was it the pumpkin heart? (0:00:47) Al: It was. (0:00:49) Al: Oh no pumpkin panic! (0:00:52) Kelly: Yeah. (0:00:53) Al: No! (0:00:54) Al: Oh I talked to, was it Bev I talked about that? (0:00:56) Kelly: Ahhh. (laughs) (0:01:00) Al: There was a couple of weeks ago and they had not listened to that episode and eventually went and watched like one of the speedruns and I was like just be warned and they were like yeah it’s terrifying. (0:01:08) Kelly: Mm-hmm. (0:01:13) Kelly: Yeah, that is absolutely the least cottagecore game that I think we’ve discussed. (0:01:15) Al: Yeah. (0:01:18) Al: Oh yeah don’t yeah. (0:01:21) Kelly: And listen, I have some anxiety attacks playing Stardew in the mines, but that’s nothing. (0:01:30) Al: We’ll talk about it later but I’m in the volcano just now on Ginger Island so I’m having fun there. (0:01:31) Kelly: Yes. (0:01:39) Al: Cottagecore and not Cottagecore there is an overlap there anyway. (0:01:43) Al: So yeah welcome back it’s been six months good to have you back. (0:01:48) Kelly: It’s good to be back, I’m always happy to come back. (0:01:50) Al: We are going to talk more about Stardew 1.6 because we are going to eke out all the content we can from this update I guess that’s the fun of me and Johnny covering. (0:02:01) Al: It’s going to be less than a week after it comes out is there’s always going to be stuff that we miss and so fun to come back and chat especially with with with you Kelly who obviously you weren’t on the last episode so you’ve got probably different thoughts probably some similar thoughts but anyway before we get into that transcripts are available in the show notes and on the website the there’s a bunch of news to talk about but first of All Kelly, what have you been? (0:02:30) Kelly: Besides playing Stardew, you know, I had five days off last week, and I spent three of them playing Stardew until four in the morning. (0:02:42) Kelly: So that was really rough to go back to work the next week. So now I’ve been trying to roll it in at about one o’clock in the morning. (0:02:48) Kelly: But, you know, that never works, because it’s always just one more day. (0:02:52) Kelly: So it’s like 1.30 I’ve been going to bed playing Stardew. So, you know, it’s been going. (0:03:00) Al: I mean is the original solitaire not a roguelike? (0:03:02) Kelly: But besides that, I’ve been playing Solitaire Battle. It’s like a roguelike RPG solitaire game where you battle other things. (0:03:18) Kelly: We had this discussion in Slack. I said it as a joke, but it 100% is. (0:03:23) Al: It is! (0:03:24) Al: There’s nothing like it’s just it’s a single run and then once it’s done nothing matters and you can start again. (0:03:28) Kelly: Yep, you got what you got in that run and then you don’t get that same thing ever again (0:03:34) Kelly: and you know what, it made me realize, maybe that’s just the games that I like (0:03:40) Al: Yeah. Each to their own. So what makes this different? Is it an RPG? Did you say an RPG? (0:03:40) Kelly: to my core (0:03:54) Kelly: Sort of so like you get you you you go against a different like character each round and you (0:04:03) Kelly: Obviously want to try to get more matches and more cards in them, but you also (0:04:07) Kelly: Have power-up cards, so you have like a tack move (0:04:10) Kelly: You have like some Stat boosters and stuff like that you can get like extra draws (0:04:16) Kelly: so you’re kind of just like looking to kill their health bar before your health bar goes down and (0:04:21) Al: Oh, interesting. (0:04:24) Kelly: Three three levels with three levels in each it’s it’s a unique little take on (0:04:29) Kelly: Solidary Dallin and introduce me to it (0:04:32) Al: is there a story? No. Okay. Well, let’s not get into the discussion of what an RPG is. (0:04:34) Kelly: No (0:04:36) Kelly: So maybe not RPG maybe I’m just saying letters and words (0:04:41) Kelly: No (0:04:44) Al: People complain about me talking about that all the time. Okay. Do you gain cards for winning and stuff like that? Is that how you get the power up? Okay. And then you buy the power-ups with the money. (0:04:46) Kelly: My hands are up I am done (0:04:55) Kelly: Uh, no, you actually gain money. (0:04:58) Kelly: So, like, yeah, yeah, you buy the cards. (0:05:00) Kelly: So it’s like, oh, you linked seven different cards at once, you get more money. (0:05:06) Al: sounds like a rogue light to me rather than a rogue like every time every time I talk about this I think I know the difference and then I say something and someone’s like oh maybe not (0:05:09) Kelly: I don’t know the difference. (0:05:18) Kelly: Yeah, I’ve given up. I’ve decided it’s funnier this way. (0:05:23) Al: see I’m I’m my current understanding is that a rogue like is where everything resets between runs and the only thing that improves is your skill and a rogue (0:05:36) Al: light is where you gain things between runs to improve the runs in other ways (0:05:42) Kelly: So I think it would be more of the first but you do gain characters (0:05:48) Kelly: to play as (0:05:49) Al: Yeah, but you’re also gaining money, right? Which gives you paradox and stuff like that so that (0:05:52) Kelly: Oh, yeah But so it’s like that’s one run and then I’d go back and like, you know do a different run So I guess it would be the second one because you’re keeping the cards through the nine levels that you’re playing I don’t know man. I don’t know (0:06:04) Al: Who cares? Whatever. I wouldn’t like it either way. There’s still only one that I’ve actually enjoyed as a whole game, so. Oh, what have I been up to? I mean, Stardew, like, is there is that enough? I mean, basically, I’m now at 60 hours played of Stardew 1.6. (0:06:07) Kelly: Who cares whatever (0:06:10) Kelly: Yeah, no you wouldn’t like it. I just think it’s fun (0:06:12) Kelly: I need to make fun of this conversation every time it gets brought up. (0:06:28) Kelly: Oh, nice. (0:06:35) Al: And we are currently recording on Thursday, so it’s quite an early episode for nearly a week before it’ll come out, but yeah, so it’s a week and two days since it came out, (0:06:49) Al: almost exactly. So, 60 hours. (0:06:54) Kelly: Too bad, I’ve put 30 hours in, (0:06:55) Kelly: but I did not start playing until Saturday night. (0:06:58) Al: Ah, yeah. Yeah, I was ready for it. The whole of Tuesday I was like, “Right, it’s going to be late. It’s going to be late today because I know that Concerned Ape is in Pacific time, (0:07:09) Al: but I’m going to keep paying attention anyway.” And then it came out at like 9pm my time and I was like, “Ugh, great.” Yeah, well, exactly. Exactly. So I am tired. I don’t think I’ve be doing anything else, sadly not games wise. (0:07:18) Kelly: Dangerous time to start. (0:07:29) Al: I keep trying to start Princess Peach show time, but I’ve got stuff to do in Stardew. (0:07:35) Kelly: It’s hard starting with such a commitment. (0:07:38) Al: Yeah, but we’ll talk more about that soon. (0:07:40) Al: Let’s talk about some news. (0:07:42) Al: First off, we have Echoes of the Plum Grove have announced that they are releasing on the 29th of April this year. (0:07:48) Al: Kelly, I suspect you haven’t heard of that yet. (0:07:52) Kelly: I have not, um, I like the title. (0:07:56) Al: So, I mean, the summary of this is it is a life sim where you can kill people. (0:08:04) Kelly: Oh. (0:08:08) Kelly: It’s such a cute artwork, I did not suspect that. (0:08:12) Al: Yes, yes. It’s very Paper Mario-esque. I’m trying to find the wording because it’s quite a… I can’t find the wording, but I’m pretty sure this is the one where you can kill people. (0:08:14) Kelly: Yeah. (0:08:23) Kelly: I like that. I think that’s a nice way to stand out. (0:08:25) Al: Yes, I’m all for different things. You also have to survive winter. I think you can die because of the season. I don’t know if I like that or not, but I’m certainly willing to try it. I mean, I’ve backed it on Kickstarter. (0:08:33) Kelly: Oh, I like that too (0:08:44) Kelly: Yeah, I mean, also I’m saying I like that, but I’m sure also if I played it and put like 40 hours into the game and then I died, I’d be pissed. (0:08:50) Al: So I believe that if I, okay, so you you have children and then you grow old and I believe… (0:09:00) Kelly: Oh, I think I have heard of this. (0:09:04) Al: I’m not sure I need to double check but I’m not sure if it says for certain but I think you can then continue as your child when you die. We’ll find out because it comes out soon, (0:09:13) Al: comes out in one month. Was this on Switch or was it just on Steam? Not that it matters anyway because even if it comes out on Steam, it will… (0:09:21) Al: Even if it comes out on Switch, it will come out on Steam first, (0:09:23) Al: so I’ll probably just play it on my Steam deck. (0:09:26) Al: I’m not seeing Switch. (0:09:27) Al: Anyway, so yeah. (0:09:28) Al: Next we have Bunny Haven. (0:09:30) Al: Bunny Haven is out now. (0:09:33) Al: I don’t think there’s much to say about this game. (0:09:35) Al: There’s bunnies. (0:09:36) Al: Adopt rescue bunnies, (0:09:38) Al: care for them, and transform your garden into the haven in this cozy cafe sim. (0:09:42) Kelly: Okay, cute (0:09:43) Al: Yeah, out now. (0:09:45) Al: Will you play this? (0:09:47) Kelly: Maybe I’m I’m like is that a phone game or is it like a yeah, I’m like weird about phone games I’ll like the idea of something but in the long run. I just go back to playing dungeon cards (0:09:58) Al: Oh, what is dungeon cards? (0:09:59) Kelly: so (0:10:02) Kelly: It’s a roguelite card game (0:10:06) Kelly: So yeah, it’s just like a silly little card game (0:10:14) Al: Mika and the witch’s mountain. (0:10:18) Al: This is your witch delivering packages. (0:10:24) Kelly: okay what is this like the poly art style is that what that is (0:10:29) Al: Oh, yeah, there’s a I know what you’re trying to I know what you’re trying to say, but it’s not that, and I can’t remember. (0:10:39) Al: Shaded, is it shaded? (0:10:42) Kelly: Oh, Cell… (0:10:43) Al: Cell shaded, yes, that’s it. (0:10:44) Kelly: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think a lot of games can be really fun in the start style. (0:10:49) Al: I agree, I think this works really well. (0:10:52) Al: They have not announced their release date, but they have released that they’re planning to release they have announced. (0:10:59) Al: They’re planning to release before summer. (0:11:02) Kelly: Okay (0:11:03) Al: I don’t know if this is a translation thing because the team is Italian. (0:11:05) Al: So they’re, you know, there’s a, there’s an aspect of that, that they’re not kind of native English speakers, but that feels like before summer. (0:11:15) Al: I mean, I always have issues of using seasons, right? (0:11:17) Al: Because as we have discussed many, many times, there is no one universal definition of the seasons. (0:11:25) Al: Not everywhere has four seasons, some places have two, some places have three, some places have five, and even the places that do have four, they don’t all have them the same. (0:11:35) Al: So it always annoys me when the people do this, but like what is I don’t know whether they actually mean before summer or whether they mean before the end of summer, so it could either be like any time between now and what June, or it could be any time between now and September. There we go. (0:11:52) Kelly: Yeah, it could be anything. (0:11:56) Kelly: I think they intentionally did that just to be vague for their own benefit. (0:11:59) Al: Yeah, yeah, we are putting all the team’s efforts to have Mika and the Witches Mountain out before summer this year. Yes, we will see. I want to play that game, although not right now, (0:12:08) Kelly: I mean, it’s better than nothing. (0:12:14) Al: I’m playing Stardew, so you know maybe they can wait. (0:12:15) Kelly: The tarot cards look cool. (0:12:17) Kelly: I like the art for them. (0:12:19) Al: I haven’t actually seen that. Is that in this update? (0:12:20) Kelly: They’re collectibles. (0:12:24) Kelly: Uh, I’m on the page you sent me, but I don’t think it’s from this update. (0:12:28) Al: Oh yes, no, it is the update, yeah, yeah, well I know I do, that’s my thing. (0:12:30) Kelly: Oh, okay. (0:12:31) Kelly: Who doesn’t love collecting things? (0:12:38) Al: Potion Pyramid, did you play Potion Pyramid? (0:12:40) Kelly: Yeah, I did a podcast with Bev and Maddie. (0:12:43) Al: You did one on it, yeah. (0:12:45) Al: So there’s an update out now with new romanceable characters, I wasn’t even aware they had romance in that, I don’t remember you discussing that on the podcast, were you aware they had romance in this game? (0:12:49) Kelly: Mm. (0:12:57) Kelly: We were, um, I think it was kind of (0:12:58) Al: Hehe. Surprise, surprise. (0:13:00) Kelly: lackluster compared to some other (0:13:03) Kelly: romance-able games, so that’s probably why you don’t remember us talking about it. (0:13:08) Al: Yeah, probably, probably. They’ve also added some extra languages and a cinematic opening (0:13:17) Al: animation to the game. Is this in? Is it still in early access? Was it in early access? I can’t. (0:13:24) Al: It is not in early access. (0:13:26) Kelly: I was gonna say, I think he was out. (0:13:27) Kelly: They definitely seem to have been fixing a lot of bugs, (0:13:31) Kelly: ‘cause there definitely were a lot of bugs, (0:13:33) Kelly: I know, when we talked about it. (0:13:35) Al: Yeah, I feel like adding an opening animation, it doesn’t feel like an after 1.0 thing to do. (0:13:44) Kelly: No, also kind of feels weird when there’s like other things that I probably would have (0:13:50) Kelly: Spent the time on fixing (0:13:51) Al: Yeah, I will say that it won’t be the same people doing those two things, (0:13:55) Kelly: Mmm, yeah (0:13:55) Al: right? Like the developers would have gone, oh great, here’s the animation, right? That’s it in, (0:13:59) Al: right? There’s not much work for them to do after this is made. (0:14:02) Kelly: Yeah, but that’s still budget money, right, you know? (0:14:06) Al: » Sure, that doesn’t mean that if they hadn’t done it, (0:14:09) Al: they would have spent money on fixing. (0:14:10) Kelly: That’s true, that’s that’s very true. (0:14:12) Al: You can’t just throw more developers at a team and get quicker, faster bug fixes. (0:14:19) Al: It’s not how it works. (0:14:20) Kelly: Listen, I played Software Inc., it is how it works. (0:14:25) Al: Please never run a development team. (0:14:29) Kelly: My company was so successful. (0:14:32) Al: There’s a fun– I can’t remember the name of it, (0:14:34) Al: but there’s a fun. (0:14:35) Al: Principle in companies that says that people get promoted until they are no longer doing the job well and then instead of getting demoted back down to where they were doing a good job they continue to be in the job that they weren’t doing well and that’s why it always feels like management are terrible what they’re doing because they are. (0:14:55) Kelly: Mm-hmm. Yes, I’ve heard the same exact thing about managers and (0:14:56) Al: So. (0:15:01) Kelly: It definitely applied to my past manager. Now I have a good manager. So (0:15:06) Al: Ah, well, I’m sure you won’t have them for long because they’ll get promoted into something that they’re not good at. (0:15:14) Kelly: That’s the fingers crossed (0:15:17) Kelly: On a side note, I don’t know if you you’re interested in playing a work game after work, but software ink was fun (0:15:24) Al: Ah, maybe, maybe when I’ve had like a long holiday or something, (0:15:25) Kelly: Mm-hm, yeah, there you go. (0:15:29) Al: we’ll see. Certainly not right now. Maybe when I’m in a new job, maybe when I’ve got a new job. (0:15:34) Kelly: When you’re filled with hope and, you know, a new will to survive. (0:15:39) Al: Lens Island have updated their roadmap again. They now have six updates coming, (0:15:48) Al: no four updates coming over the next three months, which I’m sure will go great. (0:15:54) Al: They have the end of March, which is now. They have the community update. At the end of April, (0:16:01) Al: they have two different updates coming. They both say end of April. That’s very weird. (0:16:08) Al: One of which is the camp. Yeah. Yeah. So realistically, that’s one update, isn’t it? (0:16:08) Kelly: But they’re tied together. (0:16:15) Kelly: Mm-hmm. They wanted to showcase both. (0:16:15) Al: I don’t know why they’re calling it two different updates. That’s fair, but like don’t say it’s four different updates. That’s not how it works. (0:16:24) Al: Oh, that is totally something that someone would do. That’s the camera orbiting update, (0:16:24) Kelly: They’re going to be on two separate dates. (0:16:39) Al: which is such an overly complicated name for. I mean, it’s a very good and impressive feature to implement, right? Like you have a freeform camera in a game that never had a freeform camera before. That’s good. But my word, I do hate. (0:16:54) Al: that name. Freeform camera, yeah. Camera. Like what is the camera orbiting? And camera orbiting implies that it’s like always moving, right? Because like an orbiting thing isn’t moving at will, it is moving at a general constant orbital speed. So I. And as always happens in these games when you’ve got moveable cameras. (0:16:54) Kelly: Is that what you would say though instead free-form camera? Yeah, I think that sounds better than camera orbiting update (0:17:08) Kelly: Yeah (0:17:13) Kelly: You’re just trying to play the game and like hope that you can see the right way while you’re doing (0:17:24) Al: The controls change when you’re moving the camera, so you’re just running around in circle. (0:17:24) Kelly: mhm, mhm (0:17:32) Al: Oh, that sounds terrible. (0:17:34) Kelly: That’d be a fun, like, challenge form. (0:17:38) Al: Yeah, yeah. (0:17:41) Al: Anyway, and the other update at the end of April is the completionist update. (0:17:49) Al: New starter guide, collections page, and quest objectives will be added. (0:17:54) Al: Then at the end of May, they have the frozen lands update, (0:17:58) Al: which is a new Arctic world, new weapons, enemies, and animals, new major boss. (0:18:03) Al: Major boss. (0:18:04) Al: Is that not just a boss? (0:18:06) Kelly: They really want to spice things up, Al. Let them be. (0:18:11) Al: a new vehicle and more. And then it looks like the full release has been pushed a little bit because it was originally scheduled for July, but it’s now coming out in Q3. Technically July is in Q3, but in fact they’re now saying Q3 rather than July. I suspect that means September. But thank you for saying Q3 and not saying summer. I appreciate that. Although you do get into the question of like, well, what are we talking? (0:18:30) Kelly: Yeah, I would also think that. (0:18:41) Al: Or are we talking financial calendar? In which case, which financial year? (0:18:47) Al: There is here. Yeah, it’s April to March. Technically, it’s the, I think the fifth of April to the fourth of April the next year. Don’t ask me why, it just is. Yeah, so if you talk about the financial year here that’s what (0:18:49) Kelly: Is there even a standardized fiscal year? (0:19:11) Al: people need. And that will include multiplayer and the I don’t know what they mean by the act 5 major update that sounds like it’s the final bit of the story possibly but I’m not sure. And a new hardcore mode. (0:19:26) Kelly: Are the stories called acts because like also technically this would be the fifth update (0:19:31) Al: It would be the fifth update this year but there have already been lots of updates to this game. (0:19:41) Al: It came out in 2020-2021, so yeah, I don’t know why I started saying 2000, right? (0:19:44) Kelly: I thought you were going to say 2012 for a second. (0:19:49) Al: I’ve not, I’ve not said 2000 and something for years, 2021, I don’t, I think even back in 2012, I was still calling it 20, I think it was back in 2009. (0:20:04) Kelly: That’s fair. I think I switched back and forth until like- (0:20:06) Al: Yeah, I find it funny because, like, I would never say… (0:20:10) Al: You would always say, like, 1901, 1905, 1922, you wouldn’t say 1905, yeah. (0:20:16) Kelly: Because that sounds ridiculous. (0:20:20) Al: But we knew that saying 2000 dand would sound ridiculous at some point as well, so why did we ever start saying, uh, it doesn’t matter, don’t matter, doesn’t matter. (0:20:29) Al: We don’t have time to get distracted by this pointless stuff. (0:20:32) Al: It is quarter to 11. (0:20:34) Al: Milltown have released their roadmap as well. (0:20:36) Al: They just came into Early Access last week, I wanna say. (0:20:42) Al: The day before or the day after Stardew 1.6, so I haven’t played it yet. (0:20:50) Al: So their first update will come out apparently this month, which presumably means like tomorrow. (0:20:58) Al: Because I don’t think they’re gonna be doing it all at the weekend. (0:21:02) Al: So it should be out by the time you’re listening to this episode. (0:21:04) Al: And that will have some bug fixes. (0:21:06) Al: Performance fixes etc etc and full controller support. (0:21:11) Al: Look, if you’re gonna release controller support like less than two weeks after your early access, (0:21:16) Al: just wait the two weeks. (0:21:23) Al: Boy oh boy. (0:21:24) Al: And then they’ve listed the other updates that are coming out, (0:21:27) Al: or some of the other updates that are coming out with no dates on them, (0:21:30) Al: which is probably a sensible thing to do. (0:21:32) Al: do. (0:21:32) Kelly: Yeah, I feel like that doesn’t set the expectations badly seems like some pretty good updates along the lot like down (0:21:37) Al: Yeah, I do need to play this game, it is on my list. (0:21:44) Al: I do own it, cuz of course I backed on Kickstarter. (0:21:51) Kelly: Some people are hoarders, some people, you know, (0:21:53) Kelly: back everything on Kickstarter. (0:21:55) Al: I feel like we’re about to come into a really busy period for games coming out, I just have that feeling. It was three days, it was three days after Stardew 1.6 came out that it came out. (0:22:00) Kelly: Yeah, I trust- (0:22:05) Al: In fact, in that case, it was last Friday that this game first came out, less than a week. (0:22:13) Al: And the final piece of information, which will be a lovely segue into our main topic, (0:22:18) Al: is that Stardew 1.6.3 is now out, which includes the most important update, Kelly. (0:22:24) Al: you can access clinche (0:22:25) Al: shop while your tool is being upgraded. (0:22:28) Al: That was three updates ago, come on get with it! (0:22:28) Kelly: I thought you were gonna say, “You could drink mayonnaise.” (0:22:37) Kelly: No, uh, when I saw the Clint update, I was so ecstatic. (0:22:41) Al: the Clint update. (0:22:43) Kelly: I hate him. I never want to see him. (0:22:46) Kelly: But this is the best update that could have been applied to him besides he turns into nothingness and you can become your own, uh, blacksmith. (0:22:54) Al: Well, let me tell you so I have so listeners will have heard this is when I segwaying into this is the this is The main main point of the episode now. We’re just gonna talk some more about stardew (0:23:05) Al: Kelly’s gonna talk about some of their feelings on the 1.6 update and (0:23:11) Al: I will probably talk about some of the 1.5 stuff that I’ve now accessed in the last few days because I haven’t stopped playing and (0:23:19) Al: then we might talk about some things that we think are still missing from the game. (0:23:24) Al: With the massive caveat that we obviously don’t expect anything else, (0:23:28) Al: and if this game never gets another update that will be completely acceptable, (0:23:34) Al: we’ve had six massive updates for this game. (0:23:35) Kelly: We love you, Concerned Dave. We don’t expect anything from you. Please just be nice. (0:23:42) Kelly: You’re so nice. (0:23:42) Al: Um, but yeah, Clint, I have an update. So people will know that I was, uh, I’m romancing Emily in this game. Um, and yeah, well, exactly. So, um, Johnny said that I’m running the full evil run in this version. Cause obviously I’m doing Junimo Kelly. You were the first person to find that out. Literally two hours before we recorded the last podcast, I got A message from Kelly going. (0:23:50) Kelly: Oh no, so arch rival Clint. (0:24:04) Kelly: It was the first person to shame you on it too. (0:24:13) Al: What have you done? (0:24:15) Al: As I had just finished completing the Georgia Community Center equivalent. (0:24:23) Al: I don’t even know what it’s called. (0:24:26) Kelly: I don’t either, but I open Steam and what do I see? (0:24:30) Kelly: But Al has completed the Jojo, Jojo Mart, whatever thing. (0:24:36) Kelly: I don’t think I know anybody who’s done that. (0:24:38) Al: Well, now you do. (0:24:41) Al: Let me see what it was actually called. (0:24:42) Kelly: This is the genocide run of Stardew. (0:24:46) Al: genocide. Wow. (0:24:50) Kelly: It’s an Undertale reference. (0:24:52) Al: All right, I did not. (0:24:54) Al: I played Undertale. (0:24:58) Al: I didn’t enjoy it. (0:25:01) Al: We don’t need to talk about that. (0:25:04) Al: So the actual the actual achievement is Georgia Co-member of the year. (0:25:08) Al: Look, it’s my rarest achievement, 4.3% of players of this achievement. (0:25:14) Kelly: There you go. Well, I saw that on Steam, and how could I not publicly shame Al for this? I mean… (0:25:26) Kelly: Oh, I will say, so I– to the listeners, I’ve only played Stardew on the Switch before this, (0:25:33) Kelly: and it is so nice to have the achievements. (0:25:36) Al: Yeah. You do get them in the Switch version, but they’re only in-game. It’s really nice to be able to go and see them. I don’t know why Nintendo insists on not doing achievements. (0:25:40) Kelly: Yeah, it’s not the same. (0:25:48) Kelly: It makes me so mad! (0:25:49) Al: It feels like something they could do with… It’s not like it’s no work, but the majority of the work is on the developers’ sides. They need to build an API that allows people to put in some information, and then they need a UI that shows you it. That’s really all you need to do. (0:26:07) Al: I’m not saying it’s very, very easy, (0:26:09) Al: but I am saying it’s not the hardest thing they’ve ever done. (0:26:09) Kelly: It’s such a small thing that’s like completely unnecessary, but it just feels so nice. (0:26:12) Al: And I think it would make playing the switch much more fun. (0:26:22) Al: Yeah I’m wrong actually it’s not it’s not my rarest achievement anymore. I got the unforgettable soup today. Yeah only 0.7% what did you put in to get that? Oh wow yeah love me an easy soup I put in I put in a gold truffle yeah I oh nice wow impressive that’s pretty good (0:26:22) Kelly: I will say. (0:26:28) Kelly: I got that a few days ago. (0:26:40) Kelly: Oh, fancy. I’m early in the game still. This was my first spring, or summer, or whatever. (0:26:52) Al: no I put it I put in the gold truffle purely because I accidentally walked into the beach and went oh no it’s soup time do I have anything in my bag I had one food item and it was a gold truffle look because I had the gold truffle it was fine right I was I was like this is a perfect thing for a soup this will be great (0:27:04) Kelly: Oh, you are so lucky. (0:27:06) Kelly: You are, I would have savescombed. (0:27:08) Kelly: I would have absolutely just shut the game down and restarted the day. (0:27:14) Kelly: Yeah, no, yeah. (0:27:16) Kelly: Yeah, you got luck, you lucked out. (0:27:18) Kelly: That’s awesome. (0:27:19) Kelly: No, I would have absolutely just shut the game down and like close my eyes for a second and then restarted everything. (0:27:26) Al: Oh dear, it was funny because I was going over, I was actually planning to go to Ginger Island. (0:27:31) Kelly: Oh, man. (0:27:32) Al: So I was going to the beach to go to the boat, and then I was like, (0:27:36) Al: “Oh, guess I’m not going to Ginger Island today.” (0:27:36) Kelly: Good thing you didn’t just, like, use a totem or whatever. (0:27:43) Kelly: Can you use a totem for Ginger Island? (0:27:44) Al: You can, but I had never, this was my first time going to Ginger Island, so I didn’t, (0:27:44) Kelly: I can’t… (0:27:45) Kelly: You can, right? (0:27:46) Kelly: Oh! (0:27:47) Kelly: Also, “Plans Interrupted” by the Lueo. (0:27:50) Al: I didn’t, I didn’t have any to- (0:27:52) Al: Oh, sorry, I interrupted you. (0:27:57) Kelly: That’s pretty lucky. (0:27:59) Kelly: I don’t know what I was saying. (0:28:01) Al: “Achievements”. (0:28:02) Kelly: Oh, I was going to say that was my best achievement. (0:28:06) Al: Oh, so I interrupted, I interrupted you, telling me about an unforgettable soup, (0:28:07) Kelly: That’s what I was about to say. (0:28:10) Kelly: I was going to brag about the fact that, yeah, I was going to say I have you beat. (0:28:13) Al: by telling you about my unforgettable soup. (0:28:19) Al: Apparently, so I’ve also, the Ginger Island one, which… (0:28:22) Al: just get to Ginger Island, only has 1.2% of players. (0:28:24) Kelly: Well that’s even with the soup one, I’m not doing great in the summer, I’m doing well, (0:28:26) Al: Yeah, that is really, that’s so much smaller than I was expecting. (0:28:29) Al: The soup one as well. You just need a gold and anything. (0:28:38) Kelly: you know, like I’m having a good run through, but I’m not doing anything crazy and yeah I started with the new meadow thing so I have chickens and eggs, that’s like a step up. (0:28:48) Al: - Yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:28:50) Kelly: Which is great, I love them. (0:28:51) Al: Yeah, so you did the new farm then. (0:28:52) Kelly: Yes. (0:28:54) Al: So tell me what you think about that then just in general. (0:28:55) Kelly: I think it’s really cute. I think it is kind of you kind of give yourself a little boost by getting the chickens for sure, because it doesn’t take long for you to get like a mayo maker and then that’s like, even without the mayo maker, you’re still like dedicated getting a few hundred dollars a day at the beginning, which is like such a big thing. Yes, it is. (0:28:57) Al: ‘Cause me and Johnny had to chat about that as well, (0:28:59) Al: ‘cause we both went for that, absolutely. (0:29:04) Kelly: It’s kind of you kind of give yourself a little boost by getting the chickens for sure, because it doesn’t take long for you to get like a mayo maker and then that’s like, even without the mayo maker, you’re still like dedicated getting a few hundred dollars a day at the beginning, which is like such a big thing. Yes. (0:29:20) Al: Yeah, which is huge to start with. (0:29:26) Kelly: I’m not selling my foraged goods and then trying to save some so I have something to eat. (0:29:30) Al: Yeah, selling wood and stone. (0:29:32) Kelly: Yeah, exactly. (0:29:36) Kelly: Like, yes, of course, I am a fisherman through and through when it comes to stardew, so that is always my go-to for money. (0:29:43) Al: interesting. Let me tell you, I am not a fishing person so much so that I am at level ten for everything in in this save except fishing of which I am far. (0:29:58) Kelly: Oh wow, no, I got like Iridium Fish by day 10 of spring. (0:30:05) Kelly: And I was like, oh, is this gonna be harder on like computer? (0:30:08) Kelly: Because like, you know, I’m using the mouse instead. (0:30:11) Kelly: But no, I think it might even be easier. (0:30:14) Kelly: I love fishing, I think it’s so much fun. (0:30:16) Kelly: But you make so much money. (0:30:16) Al: I dislike it less once I’ve gone up the levels, right, (0:30:23) Al: because it becomes easier as you go up. (0:30:24) Kelly: Yeah, yeah, it definitely does. (0:30:26) Al: And you do get a lot of money early game, (0:30:29) Al: but then by the time I actually have bothered to try it, (0:30:32) Al: I’m already making lots. (0:30:34) Al: Like I’m now trying to push up the levels because I’m like, I wanna get to level 10 on fishing by the end of year two. (0:30:34) Kelly: Yeah (0:30:40) Kelly: Yeah, yeah cuz otherwise you can’t get the legendaries right (0:30:40) Al: I’m currently midway through summer year two. (0:30:46) Al: You get them the next year. (0:30:48) Al: But no, I want to get it for the granddad’s evaluation. (0:30:53) Al: Although I think I just hit my last thing that I needed to do for my granddad’s evaluation. (0:30:54) Kelly: Well, yeah, that’s part of it too. (0:31:01) Al: But that last point that I needed to get was having your pet at full happiness. (0:31:09) Al: And the problem with that one is I don’t need to keep him at full happiness, (0:31:13) Al: which isn’t hard normally, (0:31:15) Al: but I’m trying to do a lot of stuff in general. (0:31:16) Al: look, Emily’s at home, I’ve already married Emily, she can be looking… yeah. I don’t (0:31:20) Kelly: Yeah, and then not come home. (0:31:36) Kelly: Because you committed animal neglect? (0:31:42) Kelly: You’re married already?! (0:31:46) Al: know how much I’ve played this game in the last week, Kelly. (0:31:49) Kelly: No, I just I truly don’t care about marrying people and so I think that’s always the last thing that I focus on (0:31:55) Al: I oh yes so that’s what I was going to talk about so my yes I was going to talk about Clint because I was talking about Clint. So last episode I had mentioned that I was romancing Emily and I had previously romanced Hailey. Hailey was my my first instard you and let me but we’re not in the same save file. So come on I’m not that and not that terrible although that would be interesting. (0:32:00) Kelly: Yeah, so we got so sidetracked, oh my god (0:32:14) Kelly: The sisters? (0:32:18) Kelly: Oh, okay. (0:32:25) Al: No, I I I romanced Hailey in my first Stardew game and the reason why I did that is I suspect the same reason everybody does Hailey is she’s mean to you when you first talk to her and you’re like “oh well I’m gonna have to I’m gonna have to change that”. Feels like a challenge. (0:32:38) Kelly: Umm, yeah, that’s what I did with Alex, cause he’s just mean to you. (0:32:49) Al: Yeah, yeah same thing. (0:32:50) Kelly: Yeah, I mean it makes sense cause there are each other’s, you know, counterparts or whatever. (0:32:55) Al: Yeah, yeah exactly, exactly. So that was my first one and then my second one I did (0:32:59) Kelly: Okay. Mm-hmm. (0:33:00) Al: Leah just as something a bit different. I thought she was quite a different character so I thought I’d go for her and then this one I don’t know why I decided with Emily. I just I just did and then the whole Clint stuff and I was like well this sounds fun and then so when I recorded the last episode, I was just kind of in the middle of romancing Emily. (0:33:23) Al: and… (0:33:25) Al: Johnny had mentioned how that was obviously because I was doing that and the Georgia stuff I was doing the full evil run (0:33:31) Al: Um, and I was like, ah, you know clint’s a wimp. Um, he doesn’t even try (0:33:34) Kelly: No, wait, wait, wait, what do you mean, what do you mean the evil run, you are, this is negating the horrors of your Jojo Mart because you are saving Emily from Clint. (0:33:44) Al: Well, because it’s… I don’t think she needs saved from Clint, I’ll be honest with you. (0:33:52) Kelly: No, but I mean, I hate him, so… (0:33:55) Al: Yeah, well, exactly. This was my point, is that I didn’t think it was that bad, because I think that Clint is just pathetic, and he doesn’t even bother trying, he just kind of mopes around. And then, so, I am now married to her, so I have officially broken his heart, (0:34:04) Kelly: Mmhmm. (0:34:08) Kelly: Yeah. (0:34:15) Al: but the best bit was it was amazing. There’s one of the heart, I think it’s… I’m assuming it’s a heart event for Emily. You turn up at Mayor Lewis’s house, and Emily is doing some clothes related, try out some new clothes thing with a bunch of people. And so, you do this and like a bunch of different people. (0:34:38) Kelly: Oh, I think I know what you’re talking about, yeah. (0:34:44) Al: It’s just you and Emily left and you have a moment with Emily and it’s all lovely. (0:34:57) Al: And then Clint walks back in and he sees you both and he’s like, “Oh, I guess I interrupted something.” (0:35:04) Al: And just before he leaves, he says, “Well, you win,” and walks away. (0:35:08) Kelly: Oh god, but see that’s why he’s such a sad sack little loser no he’s just like he’s the mopey kid in the corner (0:35:10) Al: And you’re just like, “Wow! (0:35:14) Al: Way to do it.” (0:35:16) Al: Like, “Oh, my word! (0:35:17) Al: So pathetic!” (0:35:18) Al: I’m just like, “You didn’t even try! (0:35:26) Al: What are you doing?” (0:35:28) Al: And he’s like, “Oh, can you give this thing to Emily?” (0:35:32) Al: It’s like, “Give it to yourself! (0:35:33) Al: You want me to give Emily a rock? (0:35:36) Al: You’re the rock guy! (0:35:37) Al: That’s your thing!” (0:35:38) Al: This is the thing, he is literally - all of Emily’s favourite things, except Cloth and and will are rocks. (0:35:44) Al: Basically, right? She likes all the things you get that he gives you. (0:35:45) Kelly: Mhmm. (0:35:49) Kelly: Mhmm. (0:35:50) Al: You just- he- he could eat- (0:35:53) Kelly: No, I fully support this because he is… (0:35:57) Kelly: He’s the little loser kid in the corner who thinks that for some reason, he is getting ignored. (0:36:05) Kelly: But he’s not doing anything. All he has to do is take a step forward. (0:36:06) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah, give her a rock. (0:36:09) Kelly: Just be normal. Go talk to her like a person. (0:36:14) Kelly: Like, it’s so simple. (0:36:15) Al: Weird isn’t necessarily bad though, that’s the thing, you just need to actually try. (0:36:15) Kelly: Just… just talk to her like you talked to me, Clint, but maybe not ‘cause you’re still weird. (0:36:23) Kelly: No, I don’t mean weird in that way. I mean, he’s… I don’t like his mentality. (0:36:27) Al: I agree. (0:36:30) Al: He feels like he is the victim despite never even trying in it. (0:36:32) Kelly: He’s the victim. (0:36:36) Kelly: Yeah. (0:36:36) Al: Agreed. (0:36:37) Kelly: He’s the victim who put himself in a hole. (0:36:40) Kelly: Yeah, well… (0:36:42) Al: So, yeah, I have defeated him and broken his heart and now I’m married to Emily and all is good with the work. (0:36:49) Kelly: Yeah, that’s good. (0:36:51) Kelly: I’m happy for you. (0:36:52) Al: Anyway, sorry, I interrupted you. So, yeah, the new farm, you have enjoyed having chickens and getting mayo. (0:37:00) Al: I love also, I don’t know what you think about this, but I love how you can drink mayo now, not because I’ve ever done it, (0:37:06) Al: just because like in terms of the game, it’s a really good energy source really early on for this farm. (0:37:12) Kelly: Oh, I actually did not try it. (0:37:15) Kelly: Um, but I do know that it upsets the people around you if you do drink it around people. (0:37:20) Al: Yes. I mean, most of the time you’re not eating in front of people, right? Like, most of the time you’re downing something as you’re halfway down the mine. Let’s not pretend like, you know, (0:37:26) Kelly: Yeah, yeah. (0:37:29) Al: the people who are finding out that people don’t like seeing you drink mayo, they’re doing it just to see what happens. You’re not– Yeah, sure, but you– Sure, but you don’t go into Mayor Lewis’s house to drink some mayo, right? Like, that’s just not a thing you do. (0:37:35) Kelly: I mean, listen, sometimes I get caught opening trash cans when people are around. (0:37:39) Kelly: Sometimes I don’t think about stuff. (0:37:43) Kelly: No. (0:37:44) Kelly: No. (0:37:47) Kelly: Um, but no, I thought that was a funny little update. (0:37:50) Kelly: Just like a silly little thing. (0:37:52) Kelly: Who doesn’t love silly little things? (0:37:54) Al: how is your farm so far then you’ve you’re at your at the end of summer is that (0:37:58) Kelly: Um, I am, I think, day 18 of summer? (0:38:04) Al: the 18th of summer year one (0:38:06) Kelly: Yeah, so, good so far, I do need to get more into the mines because I need a sprinkler, (0:38:14) Kelly: so I need, I miss them. (0:38:16) Kelly: It’s just like, I want to grow everything, but then I don’t want to have to water everything, (0:38:19) Kelly: and yeah, it’s really nice to have your watering can updated, but it’s still not enough. (0:38:23) Kelly: And it takes so much time and so much energy, but it’s going good so far, I moved everything, (0:38:29) Kelly: I like the setup of the farm so far, I think I have a good idea of where I want to put my barn and stuff. (0:38:35) Kelly: Um, but I did move all of my crops down to the, is everybody’s farm different, and it’s just like similar concepts, or are they, the same, right? (0:38:41) Al: No, it’s the same layout, yeah. (0:38:44) Kelly: So I moved it down to, by that lake at the bottom left. (0:38:48) Al: OK, I’m still using the top, the stuff just underneath your farm because I have the greenhouse. (0:38:52) Kelly: That’s what I was using at first, I got fed up with the, the watering can. (0:38:57) Al: Yeah, fair. (0:38:59) Al: Yeah, that is one big disadvantage is that you are quite far away from water up there, but everything’s sprinkled for me now. (0:39:04) Kelly: Yeah. (0:39:07) Kelly: Yeah, see, once I get to that stage, (0:39:08) Kelly: it’s like, okay, I can pick and choose how I wanna do it. (0:39:11) Kelly: Although last time I used that area for fish, (0:39:17) Kelly: whatchamacallit, (0:39:20) Al: Oh, fish buns. (0:39:20) Kelly: yes, the roe, the roe pons. (0:39:21) Al: Right, I was like, you just have fish lying on the ground? (0:39:27) Kelly: So I used that area in my last different farm for that. (0:39:33) Kelly: But I like missing room with the layout. (0:39:34) Kelly: I like literally draw them out in notebooks and like figure everything out. (0:39:37) Al: Yeah, I don’t. (0:39:38) Kelly: Yeah, no, I mean I write out (0:39:41) Kelly: the information on like how much each fruit costs, how long it takes to grow, (0:39:46) Al: I see I’m definitely, I’m just at the point now where I’m just like well I’m just growing. (0:39:47) Kelly: how much it costs to pickle. (0:39:53) Kelly: Yeah, now you’re having fun. Yeah. (0:39:54) Al: Ancient fruit, ancient fruit in my greenhouse and whatever one specific crop is the best one to do outside, which is summer just now so it’s star fruit. (0:39:57) Kelly: Yeah, exactly. (0:40:01) Kelly: Yeah. (0:40:04) Kelly: Yeah, but no, I like the aspect of making my little lists. (0:40:10) Kelly: I like making lists. (0:40:14) Kelly: I got green rain the other day. (0:40:16) Al: The green rain is great. I got that for the second time today. (0:40:18) Kelly: I’ve never had it, my God, it was so cool. (0:40:22) Kelly: Cuz it’s only in summer, right? (0:40:24) Al: It is. I’m pretty sure it’s the seventh of summer it happens on, because I’m sure that was the same both years for me, but it might. (0:40:30) Kelly: Oh, see, I heard it could be different. I heard it’s rare and it doesn’t- (0:40:34) Al: Well, I’ve had it both summers, so I don’t think it’s that rare. (0:40:39) Kelly: okay but oh my god what a cool little event it made the insides of the houses so dark and eerie (0:40:43) Al: Yeah. (0:40:46) Al: I really like it. I especially the second time around, I noticed that it also makes all your trees suddenly grow to full height, which is cool. (0:40:49) Kelly: I got so much moss (0:40:55) Kelly: yes because I got a lot of my trees back in my yard um (0:40:59) Al: Yeah. Which was especially good for me because I was growing the hardwood trees at that point, (0:41:04) Al: and so I suddenly had 10 hardwood trees, and I was like, “Yes! All the hardwood! Fantastic!” (0:41:05) Kelly: oh that’s nice. That is so nice. (0:41:10) Kelly: I really liked that they had those fiddlehead fern trees in the forest area, down below your house, because I don’t have access to secret woods yet. (0:41:16) Al: - Yeah. (0:41:21) Al: - Yes. (0:41:27) Al: - Yeah, I think that’s also what I mentioned in the last episode. (0:41:30) Al: That’s another really good thing about this farm is it has both hardwood logs on it. (0:41:34) Kelly: Mm-hmm (0:41:36) Al: And the big hardwood log, you have to have a gold ax for, (0:41:40) Kelly: Mm-hmm, which I’m not up to yet (0:41:40) Al: but the, no, but the smaller one, (0:41:43) Al: you just have to have an iron axe for. (0:41:45) Kelly: Yes, which I am very close to (0:41:46) Al: And so you can get hard with much quicker. (0:41:49) Kelly: Yeah, which is so nice cuz there’s so many things that for crafting you need to you need the hardwood (0:41:55) Al: Yeah. Yeah. I think, do you not even need that for, I think, is it cheese maker you need that for? (0:42:00) Kelly: Yeah, because I was gonna go make one and I was like ah hardwood, and I have some hardwood, but I don’t have enough hardwood (0:42:03) Al: Yeah. Frustrating. (0:42:08) Kelly: What else I really like that now when your menu it like (0:42:13) Kelly: Blips the community bundle button (0:42:18) Al: I will say it has done that since 1.4, it’s just it seems to be something that people just keep (0:42:20) Kelly: Has it okay, well (0:42:23) Kelly: You know what? (0:42:27) Al: realizing every time they play it again. It’s like oh this is cool that it’s something a bunch of new people learn because I’ve seen because I’ve seen concerned a tweet about it three different times over the last five years and everyone’s like oh wow that’s a great new feature and is like no no I’m just reminding people because I yeah because I (0:42:32) Kelly: You know what? (0:42:32) Kelly: Maybe it’s just the best feature. (0:42:40) Kelly: Well, I just learned about it. (0:42:48) Al: because I’ll tell you how I know that it was definitely 1.4 is because I didn’t do community center this time. I didn’t play 1.5 but I used that feature quite a lot so there you go. (0:42:59) Kelly: Uh, okay. (0:43:02) Kelly: The sea jellies and the river jellies are very interesting. I don’t know what they’re for yet, but they’re cool-looking. (0:43:06) Al: You can eat them, but also there’s a specific one crafting that I know of that uses it. (0:43:10) Kelly: Yeah. (0:43:15) Kelly: Yeah, I figured there would, I figured there would be something. I’m very much in the… (0:43:19) Al: It’s something you’re going to like, personally. (0:43:21) Kelly: Okay, okay, but I’m, no, I’ll wait. I’m very much in the… (0:43:23) Al: Do you want to know what it is or not? (0:43:25) Al: No. (0:43:26) Al: OK. (0:43:27) Al: I need you to tell me what you think of it when you get it, because I think you’ll like this new item. (0:43:29) Kelly: » Okay, I’m excited. (0:43:34) Kelly: But I’m very much in the mentality of hoard things first and then later I don’t have to deal with it as much. (0:43:38) Al: Oh, for sure. Absolutely. Yeah, like it took me three months to figure out what the Moss was for. Yeah. (0:43:46) Kelly: Yeah, I’m still waiting on that one, I don’t know yet. (0:43:49) Kelly: I got so much moss though from that rain. (0:43:51) Kelly: I was like, my God, we’re going ham. (0:43:53) Kelly: And then I love how after a whole bunch of trees are still covered in moss. (0:43:58) Al: Yes Not just on your farm as well (0:44:00) Kelly: It’s like, this is the residue. (0:44:03) Kelly: Mm-hm, but also great for just fiber in general, (0:44:06) Kelly: because fiber can kind of be hard to come by sometimes. (0:44:10) Al: Yeah, especially if you want to grow tea saplings, (0:44:13) Kelly: Mm-hm, so that was really cool. (0:44:15) Al: which is a good source of early game money. (0:44:16) Kelly: I think overall, I just really liked that event. (0:44:18) Kelly: and I looked at the camera and I thought, “Oh, I’m gonna do it.” (0:44:20) Al: I agree. My first time on it, I didn’t do very much on it because I didn’t have a lot of energy and obviously it runs out early, but I literally got my second one today and I cut down every single tree that I found and I cut up all of the moss on the ground. I think I had like like 200 moss or something by the end of it. (0:44:40) Kelly: Yeah, I think that’s- I think that’s about what I got. I was like, I’m just gonna take food with me and empty my pockets and go. (0:44:46) Al: It’s definitely worth it. Did you talk to anyone during the event? (0:44:49) Kelly: Yeah, I went to the salon, which I was actually kind of pissed about because I wanted… (0:44:51) Al: Oh yeah, saloon, not salon, different things. (0:44:54) Kelly: Whatever. Yeah, I know. (0:44:56) Kelly: Listen, I know what the word is and what I’m gonna call it in my head are two entirely different things. (0:45:01) Al: It’s all right, I call it a pub anyway because saloon is a very American word. (0:45:06) Kelly: Yeah, yeah. (0:45:07) Kelly: Um… (0:45:10) Kelly: But I went there because I was like, “Oh, I’ll buy some more salads so that I have a ton of energy today, and then tomorrow if I want to go in the mines or something, I have a salad or something with me.” (0:45:22) Kelly: And then I went in there and you couldn’t even buy anything because everybody was just in panic mode. (0:45:27) Al: Yeah, yeah, did you find Demetrius? (0:45:30) Kelly: No, I did not because I was like, “You know what? I don’t care. I’m gonna go cut the trees down.” (0:45:34) Al: He’s so funny, he’s up by his house, (0:45:37) Al: dressed up in a hazmat suit. (0:45:40) Kelly: No, I did see a tweet about that, actually. Damn. (0:45:42) Al: He’s so funny. (0:45:42) Kelly: I wish I wanted to see that. I forgot that those were the connected events. (0:45:47) Al: Everybody else goes to the pub. (0:45:49) Al: He’s out in a hazmat suit. (0:45:52) Kelly: He’s an interesting little man, you know? (0:45:54) Al: Yes, yes he is. (0:45:56) Kelly: But no, I was like, “You know what? I gotta find these fiddlehead ferns, so I need to get out of here.” (0:46:02) Kelly: I was like, “Back to cutting down trees. This is too much interaction.” (0:46:08) Kelly: What else there was (0:46:10) Kelly: There was other things and now I can’t think of them (0:46:12) Al: So, this game is a lot about kind of the small quality of life updates, how have you found, (0:46:20) Al: obviously we talked about the new farm, are there other kind of day-to-day things you’ve been doing that you found different in the game? (0:46:31) Kelly: And that’s what I’m trying to think. I feel like there was, and now I cannot think, um… (0:46:36) Al: Feel free to get the patch notes up for on the stardew website. (0:46:40) Kelly: That’s what I’m literally… (0:46:42) Al: I presume you haven’t been to the desert festival? (0:46:44) Kelly: No, no, no, no, not yet, um… (0:46:46) Al: It’s very hard to get that in the in the first year but I’ve just been to it and I I very much enjoyed that. It’s good fun. It ties together a bunch of different things in the desert (0:46:48) Kelly: Yeah. (0:46:56) Kelly: Oh, I’m excited for the the fishing derbies tomorrow. Today. Today! (0:46:57) Al: which is good fun. (0:47:03) Al: Yes. (0:47:05) Al: T-t-today. (0:47:06) Kelly: Um, I like that that um, I haven’t really experienced it yet but I saw something about the mastery system which I think is very interesting and I am excited to see how that plays out. (0:47:15) Al: I’m so close I just need to get my fishing up to 10 and then I can do it. (0:47:17) Kelly: Ah. Um, what else? Oh, the prize machine! (0:47:23) Al: Yes have you done that? (0:47:24) Kelly: Yes, I got two tickets so far. (0:47:26) Kelly: And I got an apricot tree. (0:

Al and Bev talk about Spells and Secrets. Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:03:22: What Have We Been Up To 00:24:23: News 01:01:28: Spells And Secrets 01:39:16: Outro Links Everafter Falls Info Update Moonglow Bay PS/NS Release Fae Farm 2.2.0 Update Sun Haven Upcoming Updates ConcernedApe on Twitter Everdream Valley “Multiplayer” Update Roots of Pacha Upcoming Updates Spirittea 1.6.5 Update Sugardew Island FAQs Creatures of Ava Wholesome Direct Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers, and welcome to another episode of The Harvest Season. My name is Al, (0:00:37) Bev: And my name is Bev. (0:00:39) Al: and we are here today to talk about cottagecore games. Well, okay, well, we are going to talk about cottagecore games, but there’s also going to be one game, which is not a cottagecore game, (0:00:49) Al: that we’re going to talk about. I’m not really sure why we’re covering this game, but we’re going to cover spells and secrets. We’re not going to talk about it just now, because… (0:00:51) Bev: Uh-huh. (0:00:58) Bev: Whoo! (0:01:00) Al: I’m going to leave the fun review for the end. But yeah, we’re going to talk about that game, (0:01:03) Bev: Uh-huh. (0:01:07) Bev: Yes. (0:01:07) Al: the non-transphobic wizard game. (0:01:09) Bev: Indeed. (0:01:11) Bev: It’s not that hard. (0:01:14) Al: Also, apparently, the non-holocaust denial one as well. (0:01:17) Bev: Oh my goodness. (0:01:19) Bev: Don’t even get me. (0:01:21) Bev: It just truly, it’s unfathomable how it could possibly get worse, (0:01:21) Al: It just gets worse and worse. (0:01:25) Bev: but here we are. (0:01:27) Bev: She just continues to die on this hill. (0:01:29) Bev: The hill just gets higher and higher. (0:01:31) Al: All right, excellent. Well, transcripts for this podcast are available in the show notes and on the website. As I said, we’re going to talk about spells and secrets. Before that, (0:01:33) Bev: and higher. (0:01:47) Al: we have quite a lot of news this week. I feel like we’ve entered a period of news, because last week there was a lot of news, and then this week there’s a lot of news. So I guess we’ll see whether that that continues or not, but I’m not complaining. (0:01:59) Bev: Well, it is March, so I feel like this is, (0:02:03) Bev: like it’s cottagecore season. (0:02:06) Bev: So I think it’s just spring, it’s just that time. (0:02:08) Al: Sure. (0:02:13) Al: Well, here’s a question for you. (0:02:15) Al: Maybe this explains it. (0:02:17) Al: GDC is next week. (0:02:21) Bev: Wait, what did you see? (0:02:21) Al: So the Game Developer Conference is a big, big indie games conference. (0:02:26) Bev: Oh, is that supposed to be E3 or something else? (0:02:30) Al: No, no, no, no, no, it’s a big– (0:02:32) Al: It’s mostly, it’s more indie than E3. (0:02:35) Bev: Interesting. (0:02:35) Al: Although E3 is dead, but yeah, it’s a bit, it’s a big thing, like I think it kind of got big when (0:02:42) Al: like Minecraft was around, like there was a lot of stuff around GDC with Minecraft and yeah, it tends to be more, (0:02:51) Al: more indie games than, than big ones. (0:02:55) Bev: Okay, and we know cottagecore is very indie mm-hmm [laughing] (0:02:58) Al: Oh yes. (0:03:02) Al: So yeah, I suspect that might be why it’s so busy just now because everyone’s getting all the news out just before GDZ. (0:03:13) Al: Yeah, cool. So maybe there’ll be lots of news for next week as well. We’ll see. (0:03:19) Al: So before the news, however, Bev, what have you been up to? (0:03:26) Bev: I have been, I mean, I’ve been spells and secrets, I’ve been playing Pokemon Emerald because I am, I am trying to do a ribbon challenge through Colosseum, which is fun and has its challenges. (0:03:46) Bev: I have, I mean, fun, I would, I would say fun. (0:03:48) Al: Yeah, do you mean actual fun or like fun? (0:03:56) Bev: I’ve been playing Pokemon Emerald for a while since I’ve played these games so it’s, it’s enjoyable to get back into them. (0:04:01) Bev: I also have a fancy new Game Boy Advance that has a like lit up screen and like little buttons and stuff. (0:04:08) Bev: So I spent more than I would like to share, getting a custom like upgraded or a custom like modern one. (0:04:17) Bev: So playing on that’s very, what’s, what’s the word? (0:04:23) Bev: Words are hard today. (0:04:23) Al: Nice. (0:04:24) Bev: Very nice. (0:04:25) Bev: There you go. (0:04:26) Bev: That’s okay. (0:04:26) Al: It’s not a word that works for many things. (0:04:27) Bev: Uh huh. (0:04:28) Bev: It is. (0:04:28) Al: It tends to not be a great word to use, (0:04:29) Bev: Mm hmm. (0:04:30) Bev: Mm hmm. (0:04:31) Al: but I think it’s a nice experience. (0:04:31) Bev: And I’m traveling for work starting tomorrow and traveling with a Game Boy Advance is so much nicer because it’s so much smaller than the seam neck or in this one. (0:04:33) Al: I think that’s a good way to use that word is when you’re talking about it. (0:04:51) Bev: So looking forward to shaving off some weight for my. (0:04:56) Bev: travels tomorrow. (0:04:56) Al: Fair enough. Cool. (0:04:59) Bev: Oh, and Twisted One New Land as, as well, which we’ve discussed last time. (0:05:02) Al: Oh, that was that weird, that weird, like an anime Disney, not really Disney, kind of Disney. (0:05:10) Bev: It’s so good anime pretty boy villains. (0:05:14) Bev: Yes. (0:05:15) Bev: That’s uh huh. (0:05:17) Al: Yeah, I know. Okay. I say kind of Disney. I don’t mean like not official. I mean, like It’s Disney, but (0:05:17) Bev: It is Disney. (0:05:18) Bev: It’s Disney Japan. (0:05:19) Bev: Uh huh. (0:05:27) Al: not really Disney characters. (0:05:29) Bev: » Not mainstreamed. (0:05:30) Al: Although I guess technically they are Disney characters, because it’s a Disney game. (0:05:32) Bev: » They are, exactly. (0:05:33) Al: But it’s just like, it’s all, look, it’s weird, right? (0:05:36) Al: I’m not sure which is weirder, right? (0:05:38) Al: But I can tell you that the two weirdest things that Disney have ever done are this and Kingdom Hearts. (0:05:45) Al: And I don’t know which is weirder. (0:05:47) Bev: I think that’s up to for debate. I yeah, but yeah, they’re based off of real characters and it’s like descendants. So there’s I some of them are and some of them are just modeled after them with like their ideals. Because in the game they are their story is twisted to make them (0:05:51) Al: Yeah. (0:05:57) Al: Sure. (0:05:58) Al: Although they’re meant to be descendants of the characters. (0:06:13) Al: Whoa. (0:06:17) Bev: as the protagonist instead of the antagonist. So the main character like gets to see like flashbacks to like a different like a you like alternate universe where it’s the villains we know. And this like main character like you as a player is like what’s happening here? This is not how the story goes if London goes. So I don’t know there’s there’s some there’s some lore in there which I appreciate, it’s fun. (0:06:44) Al: I’ll be totally honest with you. I wasn’t expecting no lore in this game, right? Like if, if there’s anything I was expecting, it was lower. I will say however, that every time you talk to me about this game, it seems weirder, but I’m never any closer to trying (0:06:53) Bev: Uh-huh. (0:07:02) Bev: That’s valid. (0:07:04) Bev: I will say, I wouldn’t necessarily, like, (0:07:08) Bev: be unsurprised that there’s lore, (0:07:10) Bev: because Disney Lorkana, the trading card game, (0:07:12) Bev: has, like, very little lore in comparison for a trading card game, (0:07:17) Bev: and I’m a bit upset about that, (0:07:19) Bev: considering there’s so much they could be doing with that, (0:07:22) Bev: because it’s essentially like a multiverse of characters that they’re introducing with the trading card game. (0:07:27) Bev: But I digress. (0:07:28) Al: I don’t know if I want to touch this so (0:07:32) Bev: Lorkana. (0:07:34) Bev: Because it’s dangerous. (0:07:36) Al: Well, I just, I’ve like, oh goodness, here we go. (0:07:40) Al: I haven’t, haven’t heard of it. (0:07:41) Al: It sounds like more nonsense. (0:07:45) Bev: Oh, you haven’t heard of it. (0:07:46) Al: No, a Disney treat. (0:07:47) Bev: GG. (0:07:48) Bev: So Disney has its own. (0:07:49) Bev: Yes. (0:07:50) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:07:51) Bev: And actually, this is this. (0:07:53) Bev: They just launched a new one with Star Wars, as well. (0:07:56) Al: Yeah, I heard about that. (0:07:56) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:07:57) Al: I heard about the the Star Wars one and went. (0:07:58) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:08:00) Al: Yeah, I’m not getting into that. (0:08:01) Bev: Yeah, I’m not getting into that one, but… (0:08:04) Bev: Lorkana is… (0:08:06) Bev: I’ve really enjoyed it. (0:08:08) Bev: If you’re a Disney fan, I think it’s pretty easy to get into the arts really good, unsurprisingly, (0:08:15) Bev: and they’re having a lot of fun. (0:08:17) Bev: This is a game that I’ve worked with, creating “dream born” characters, so you can have, like, a “Belly Inventor” or “Cinderella of the Night” dressed up as a night. (0:08:26) Bev: So they’re introducing characters you know, but in different storylines, or different arcs that they could be theoretically experiencing. (0:08:37) Bev: And it’s meant to be very approachable, like Pokémon is the Pokémon TCG. (0:08:47) Bev: I’ve gotten my partner to play with it to get into it, and I will not complain if I can get them into a TCG, so I’m having a lot of fun roping them into those. (0:09:00) Al: Okay. I just, I mean, I definitely do not need more trading card games. (0:09:01) Bev: Uh-huh. But… (0:09:05) Bev: You don’t, it’s expensive, it’s dangerous, I don’t, it’s fine, don’t. I’ll do you, and then we can play. Eventually, whenever I see you. (0:09:14) Al: I… well, this is the thing. I think, I think… yeah, well, I presume there’s no app for this. It’s just… well, for sure. For sure they will have one, though. (0:09:17) Bev: Not yet. I’m assuming they will be, but there isn’t, and they’re now announcing they haven’t announced that they will have one, but we’ll see. (0:09:27) Bev: I know, it’s just a matter of time. (0:09:29) Al: Whether it’s like recreating everything, or whether it’s, you know, like a Marvel Snap type thing, a more streamlined version or whatever, but… (0:09:33) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:09:35) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:09:38) Al: See, this is the problem is I’m more likely to buy these things when (0:09:44) Al: people… like, when I… the one thing I miss about working in an office was that we had a magic tournament in one of the offices, and it was good fun, especially as we had, like, we did a… (0:09:57) Al: what’s the word? Where you have, like, a certain number of packs, and you pass the packs around. (0:10:03) Bev: Oh draft? Ah so good. (0:10:04) Al: What’s that called? A draft. We had a draft, and you couldn’t buy more cards, so it was, like, (0:10:10) Al: basically a fixed cost buy-in for each season. (0:10:14) Al: Yeah, exactly, exactly. It was just a new set. We did a draft all at the same time and, you know, the tournament that we had basically lasted as long as that set lasted and it was good fun. (0:10:16) Bev: Yeah those were always my favorite events because it was very straightforward and you didn’t really need to come in with anything prior to that. (0:10:34) Bev: Mm-hmm (0:10:36) Al: I mean, it wasn’t fun enough to mean that I would go back and work in an office. I’m not doing that again, but it was good fun. (0:10:36) Bev: Mm-hmm (0:10:44) Al: Whereas now I’m just like, “Oh, yeah, I’ll buy 100 pounds worth of Pokémon cards.” And then I’m like, “Great, I got my Pokémon cards. Look at how shiny they are.” (0:10:52) Bev: uh-huh (0:10:55) Al: So I go on and off. I just bought a whole bunch of the 151 expansion, which there’s a lot of nice cards there, but I spent way too much money on that. (0:11:02) Bev: Okay, I know I’m (0:11:07) Al: And now I’m like, “Okay, I’ve spent enough money. I’m going to stop now and then probably in 18 months I’ll do the same again.” (0:11:11) Bev: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes, I’m trying very hard not to buy any Pokemon cards because I don’t need to collect any more. And with Lorkana, I decided I will collect the first two sets and that’s it. And then Ursula cards and maybe like Ursula adjacent cards. Yeah. (0:11:14) Al: And for another set. (0:11:26) Al: Yeah, I think I would be more likely to complete sets if they were smaller, like the 25th anniversary set for Pokémon, I completed that one, and the two Halloween ones, I’ve done both of them, because they’re all reasonably small. (0:11:42) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:11:43) Bev: Right. (0:11:44) Bev: And then like 50 of them are secret rares or something ridiculous like that. (0:11:49) Al: But this one is like 270 cards. (0:11:52) Al: Yeah, exactly! (0:11:56) Al: Exactly, and it’s like if you don’t get them, they cost like 100 quid each, it’s not worth it. (0:11:57) Bev: Yeah. (0:11:58) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:11:59) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:11:59) Bev: - Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. (0:12:02) Al: I think I had a look, I think the trading card app I have is quite nice in that you click on a set and it tells you the market value of the whole set if you were just to buy them all as singles, and I’m just loading it up because it is ridiculous, it’s always ridiculous. So the market value for… (0:12:14) Bev: Oh wow, okay. (0:12:17) Bev: And it’s ridiculous. (0:12:18) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:12:26) Al: And I don’t want to tell you how much money I spent on it, but it’s more than that. Let’s put it that way. So yeah, basically I’ve got all the cheap cards and I don’t have the expensive cards, and it’s like that’s not fun. (0:12:42) Bev: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. (0:12:51) Bev: Yeah, that’s why I stopped collecting it. (0:12:54) Bev: ‘Cause I think middle, or a couple sets in Descent of Moon, (0:12:58) Bev: and they just kept increasing the number of secret rare, (0:13:00) Bev: so I was just like, this is not sustainable. (0:13:03) Bev: It’s just no longer fun trying to actually collect a set, (0:13:07) Bev: and that’s one of my biggest grapes with the new Star Wars one. (0:13:11) Al: Uh-huh (0:13:12) Bev: They’ve done it even worse, unfortunately. (0:13:14) Al: Yeah (0:13:17) Bev: Have you looked into that at all, or? (0:13:20) Bev: So they have secret rares of each and every card, (0:13:28) Bev: and the likelihood of pulling one of those cards, (0:13:31) Bev: I think it’s like one out of 20 booster boxes. (0:13:36) Al: that what whatever it is whatever it is like as soon as as soon as the chance is like more than one in five booster boxes like that there’s just no point at that point right like (0:13:37) Bev: Or something crazy, it might be 12, I don’t know. (0:13:40) Bev: It’s like a really high number of boxes. (0:13:42) Bev: It’s ridiculous. (0:13:46) Bev: Yeah. (0:13:49) Bev: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yep. (0:13:52) Bev: And I was happy with Lorkana, ‘cause the first two sets, (0:13:54) Bev: it only had 12 secret rares, (0:13:56) Bev: and I was like, this is reasonable. (0:13:59) Bev: And I’m not gonna try to collect it, (0:14:01) Bev: ‘cause Elsa, I think currently is like 800 for your market, (0:14:06) Bev: but that’s the most expensive card right now. (0:14:09) Bev: But then with the third set that they released this month, (0:14:12) Bev: they doubled the number of secret rares. (0:14:14) Bev: I’m like, please stop. (0:14:16) Al: I just want, yeah, I just, I just want, I only want the full art cards, right? (0:14:16) Bev: I don’t like this trend. (0:14:19) Bev: I was happy with 12. (laughs) (0:14:26) Al: Cause they’re the best ones, right? (0:14:27) Bev: Yeah. (0:14:28) Al: So how about we just get rid of all the other cards and we just do the secret rares, right? (0:14:34) Al: Like, cause this is the thing, like I’m not doing it to have rare cards. (0:14:38) Al: I’m not doing it to sell cards. (0:14:38) Bev: Mm-hm. (0:14:39) Al: I’m doing it to have the cards. (0:14:41) Al: Cause I love how they look and I love going, look at my lovely cards. (0:14:42) Bev: Mm-hm. (0:14:44) Bev: Mm-hm, they’re pretty. (0:14:45) Al: And now I’m like, I got. (0:14:46) Al: How many have I got? (0:14:47) Al: I have. (0:14:50) Al: I have four secret rares of. (0:14:52) Bev: nice. Okay. Like, it’s like 20. It’s like at least 25. (0:14:54) Al: Of how many? (0:14:57) Al: It’s it’s no one always is way more than that for this set. (0:15:01) Al: So 207 minus 165, 42. (0:15:07) Al: So I have four of 42 secret rares. (0:15:09) Bev: My goodness (0:15:12) Bev: And then you have Star Wars that’s like 200 (0:15:15) Al: And you’re just like, it’s just not even worth it. (0:15:16) Bev: It’s not it’s not it doesn’t make it enjoyable (0:15:17) Al: It’s not worth it. (0:15:18) Al: Nope. (0:15:20) Bev: So at this point, they’re just marketing your people to play the actual TCG, which maybe is where they’re getting all their money (0:15:26) Bev: but you could easily keep the collectors in if you didn’t make it so unreasonable to collect [laughs] (0:15:32) Al: Yeah, well this is the thing right if I could spend like so there’s what like three sets a year something like that (0:15:40) Bev: uh for pokemon yeah because it’s every three months or so well that’s about four um depending on how they line at least the last time I looked into it was both (0:15:49) Al: Yeah, so (0:15:52) Al: So if I mean if I if I could legitimately spend like 100 to 150 pounds each set and get the entire collection I would probably do that. I would feel bad about myself because that’s a lot of money on random bits of paper, right? (0:15:57) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:16:00) Bev: Yeah. (0:16:03) Al: I’m not trying to say it’s not but but 600 pounds (0:16:03) Bev: But it’s better. (0:16:04) Bev: It’s reasonable. (0:16:07) Bev: No. (0:16:07) Al: It’s it’s not even possible to do one set a year. Never mind all of them (0:16:09) Bev: Yeah. (0:16:10) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:16:12) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:16:14) Al: Anyway, right that’s enough complaining about trading card games. I love and hate them (0:16:19) Bev: Same. (0:16:19) Al: And that is how it is (0:16:22) Bev: Yes, indeed. (0:16:24) Al: I I have been oh, is that you don’t? (0:16:24) Bev: But, uh. (0:16:28) Bev: » I, yes, I was just about to ask you what you’ve been playing. (0:16:31) Bev: Around the same wavelength. (0:16:32) Al: I have also been playing Spells and Secrets, but other than that, I have played and finished the new Mario vs Donkey Kong game, which was very fun. I hadn’t played the original, but this was very fun. I 100%ed it, and it definitely was worth the money. It was good fun. Lots of fun challenges. The physics is a little bit weird when you’ve just been playing a normal Mario 2D platformer, but after a while you get used to it, and it’s fine. (0:16:35) Bev: Mm-hm. (0:16:58) Bev: Aha. (0:17:01) Bev: Okay, okay. (0:17:02) Al: It’s not that it’s bad physics, it’s just different, and you’re like, “This isn’t how Mario moves. Why are you doing this?” But it was okay. I got used to that, and I had good fun. There was only one level that I actively hated, and it was just the worst level. I hated it so much. The rest were good. And yeah, completed that. (0:17:05) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:17:18) Bev: Hmm (0:17:21) Bev: That’s pretty good only one level I feel like it’s pretty good for like a platformer [laughs] (0:17:24) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah. There were a few that, you know, made me put my switch down for a couple (0:17:32) Al: hours and come back to it in the evening sort of thing, but there was only one that I was like, “This is just a bad level, and I hate it.” So yeah, I finished that, and then I got back into playing Luigi’s Mansion 3, because I’d started that last year, and I hadn’t really got very far and put it down. And I was like, “You know what? I’m going to try it again. If I don’t get into it this time, I’m done. I’m going to sell it. Move on.” And I did get back into it. So I have an interesting relationship with this game. (0:17:34) Bev: Mm-hmm (0:18:01) Al: I don’t dislike it. (0:18:02) Al: But I don’t love it. (0:18:05) Al: I like the puzzles. (0:18:07) Al: I think the puzzles are fun. (0:18:09) Al: I think the setting is obviously very fun and there’s lots of kind of very, very good creativity in the designs of a lot of the bosses and that sort of stuff and all the levels are very fun. (0:18:20) Al: I hate the controls. (0:18:23) Al: It is just really confusing 3D controls because the whole point of it is you’re in a 3D world and you’re aiming in (0:18:28) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:18:32) Al: two dimensions but like two axes. And I just feel like the controls are very confusing in some cases. It’s like you press one button to aim, and then suddenly you have to use a different stick to finish the aiming. And it’s like one of the buttons that you press to aim is on the same side as the stick. There’s not another way you can use that. I’m trying to, like, contort my hand into a way (0:19:03) Al: that I can actually do this. So that’s not great. I don’t feel like the controls are great. (0:19:05) Bev: Uh-huh (0:19:08) Al: Some of it I don’t think is possible to fix. Like, some of it is just, “Oh, (0:19:13) Al: it’s just going to be awkward trying to aim in a 3D environment full stop.” Right? That’s life. (0:19:20) Al: But some of it I feel, like, could be fixed. And yeah, it’s not great. But it’s not enough (0:19:26) Bev: I could see that. (0:19:28) Al: to make me not want to play the game. So that… (0:19:31) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:19:34) Bev: Okay, I can understand that. (0:19:36) Bev: I, that’s, that is one of my games that I have to, (0:19:39) Bev: that’s in my backlog to finish. (0:19:41) Bev: I think I have it on, it’s on Switch, right? (0:19:45) Bev: Okay, I think I, I might have it on Switch. (0:19:49) Bev: I originally had it on GameCube, but as a child, (0:19:53) Bev: I was too scared of the ghost. (0:19:56) Bev: I never finished it for that reason and then when I came to switch I think the same thing like when I am playing it I am enjoying it but it’s like hard to get into if I’m not if it’s not already like on my screen. (0:20:13) Al: Yeah, so I hope I get it finished before Stardew 1.6 comes out on Tuesday, (0:20:17) Al: because otherwise it’ll probably be another couple of months before I get back into it, (0:20:20) Al: because I’ll be playing Stardew, and then Princess Peach comes out on Friday. (0:20:25) Al: Too many games. But that’s fine. (0:20:26) Bev: Mm, always too many. (0:20:30) Al: Yeah. Lastly, I have been doing some Animal Crossing LEGO. So I bought all of the Animal crossing lego sets and for the podcast, obviously, you know. (0:20:44) Al: We’ll talk about them in a future episode, probably, but I guess so far I’ve built two of them and I’ve started a third one. And I mean, I will say I’m not sure they are the best value for money in terms of pieces. They are quite small sets for the amount of money that they cost. I suspect that’s, you (0:21:10) Bev: it sounds about right (0:21:13) Al: know, the general tax, right? Yeah, I mean, it’s not, I mean, (0:21:15) Bev: and it could also be like geared towards like a younger age group (0:21:23) Bev: I mean that’s what it looks like to me like the style looks very simplistic (0:21:23) Al: it would be Duplo if they were doing that, you know. I think the style is fun. I think, I think they’re nice well put together sets and I am enjoying building them. I just feel like (0:21:39) Bev: Yeah. (0:21:41) Bev: Yeah. (0:21:42) Bev: Oh my goodness $75 for 535 Legos. (0:21:45) Bev: Yeah, that’s Mm-hmm. (0:21:45) Al: - Exactly, like they’re not cheap, but. (0:21:48) Bev: No like 75 like, you know 10 20 years ago would have bought me the full Hogwarts castle. (0:21:58) Bev: So yeah, this is it’s a different time I guess but still that’s that’s a lot. (0:22:01) Al: Well, I need I do know there’s some like there’s someone has like a list of all of them and their price per piece. So I need to I need to check compared to the other sets. (0:22:08) Bev: Oh, wow. Okay. (0:22:09) Bev: Oh. (0:22:14) Al: But oh, this one’s just a calculator that’s I can do a count. I can do a divide by I’m not. (0:22:23) Al: So apparently. Did it. (0:22:24) Bev: But have someone else do it for you, though. (0:22:26) Bev: Like. (0:22:31) Al: So I was that I was 80 right for 500. (0:22:36) Al: Which is so it’s 16 cents per piece. And it looks like the so someone posted two years ago, (0:22:45) Al: average price per piece for various themes. Star Wars is at 10. Minecraft is at nine. (0:22:51) Al: Marvel’s at 10. Harry Potter’s at nine. Classic is at six. City is at 12. So it is expensive. (0:22:58) Bev: Mm-hmm it’s more niche not that the others aren’t niche but it doesn’t yeah especially after 2020 [coughing] (0:23:01) Al: It is more niche. It doesn’t need to be nice, right? Like I think Animal Crossing is is big. (0:23:09) Al: Like it’s not as. Yeah, it’s not as big as the four those four that I mentioned, right? Obviously. (0:23:16) Al: But I still feel like like 16 cents per piece. That’s nearly double. (0:23:22) Al: Minecraft, right? It’s not. I just it feels not great. So I would. (0:23:31) Al: Not recommend necessarily people buy it unless you have a lot of money to buy on these things. (0:23:38) Al: Like it was perfect timing for me because I had saved up enough for the new switch. (0:23:42) Bev: Ooh… (0:23:43) Al: And then the rumors are, oh, the new switch is delayed till next year. And I went, oh, (0:23:47) Al: what am I going to do with this money then? Because I can I can definitely save in a year in a year’s time. I can save up again for that switch. Right. That’s not difficult. (0:23:50) Bev: Uh-huh. (0:23:52) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:23:55) Al: So I was like, well, let’s buy this animal crossing Lego that’s just coming out then. (0:24:00) Bev: Mm-hmm. That’s how they get you, Al. Uh-huh. Yep. Mm-hmm. They knew. They knew people were saving and they would be upset about the delay and would spend the money. Yes. (0:24:01) Al: That is how they get you. That’s exactly why they did it. They were like, we cannot release a switch and Animal Crossing Lego at the same time. So we will. Yeah. So there we go. (0:24:19) Al: You got my money both times. Congratulations, Nintendo. Shall we talk about some news? (0:24:27) Al: Ever After Falls have announced that they know when the game is releasing. (0:24:31) Al: I will quote “We have finally settled on the release date, which will be later this year. (0:24:40) Al: The additional console versions have pushed back the release date (0:24:44) Al: another couple of months. We are planning a simultaneous launch across all platforms.” (0:24:52) Al: I do apologize for yet again to any backers disappointed by this further delay. (0:24:57) Al: The additional time does allow me the time I need to work on some additional content for the game. (0:25:02) Al: Ever After Falls will be launching this summer on all Steam platforms, (0:25:07) Al: Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Xbox, (0:25:12) Bev: this is not really well written later this year and then this summer like say it’s this summer (0:25:16) Al: It’s not. So yeah, so probably September. That’s my current assumption. (0:25:26) Bev: also an announcement about a maybe announcement um it’s not even an announcement an announcement it’s some announcement that we’ve made a decision but we’re not sharing so it’s (0:25:36) Al: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We’ve made a decision, but we’re not telling you, but it’s this year, (0:25:42) Al: but also it’s summer. It’s like just slowly narrowing it down. I was expecting, if they had another paragraph, they would accidentally tell us the date. (0:25:49) Bev: Right, right. (0:25:51) Bev: Like I could see, I could see the need for this, (0:25:54) Bev: but why is this on Steam and not on, (0:25:57) Bev: was this a Kickstarter? (0:25:58) Al: It was a Kickstarter. (0:26:00) Bev: So this, like I reckon, like, (0:26:02) Bev: especially after discovering spells and secrets behind a Kickstarter wall, (0:26:07) Bev: like a project update after the last time we talked, (0:26:13) Bev: but I appreciate them. (0:26:15) Bev: Being transparent and sharing it publicly, but it’s also just not any information, really. (0:26:22) Al: Yeah. Yeah, that’s fair. I do. It is a good question, though. Like, why have they not put it up on the Kickstarter as well? Because that does certainly feel like, well, this is me just checking because I don’t because I did back them. Of course I did. I back them all because I am a sucker. I don’t remember seeing it on Kickstarter. No, they did not. (0:26:32) Bev: Oh, they didn’t! (0:26:38) Bev: Okay. (0:26:40) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:26:42) Bev: You gotta do it. (0:26:45) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:26:46) Bev: It sounds like they didn’t. (0:26:49) Al: they haven’t posted on Kickstarter. (0:26:49) Bev: Like, this is their backer update, but they decided to just post it on Steam instead. (0:26:56) Al: Yeah, I mean, maybe they just forgot, and they’ll do it next week when they remember. (0:26:59) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:27:00) Al: I don’t know, but… (0:27:00) Bev: Or have a separate one with more info (0:27:02) Bev: For the backers, who knows ‘Cause summer’s not that far away now Like, we’re middle of March (0:27:08) Al: Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, it was meant to come out two years ago. So we’ll see what happens. (0:27:14) Bev: Okay Mmhmm (0:27:16) Al: March 2022 was their initial date on the Kickstarter. So, you know, two and a half years wouldn’t be ridiculous for some of these. I’m pretty sure this is just one person working on it other than the porting the porting. (0:27:31) Bev: mm-hmm yeah and that’s fine like well it you and I I think agree we’ll wait as long as we need to to make it good um and I don’t know I just an update about a maybe about a decision (0:27:48) Al: Yeah, an announcement about an announcement, but not an announcement. An announcement about a theoretical announcement. At some point in the future, maybe. (0:27:54) Bev: uh-huh yes there we go a theoretical and maybe someday (0:28:02) Al: Why are GTA VI and Tears of the Kingdom both trending on Twitter? Who knows. I can’t see (0:28:02) Bev: mm-hmm (0:28:05) Bev: uh-oh why have they I can’t I mean would it be like DLC or anything like that (0:28:16) Al: No, it’s not DLC. I can’t see anything. (0:28:18) Bev: okay okay (0:28:22) Al: Moonglow Bay have announced that their PlayStation and Switch versions will be releasing on the 11th of April alongside the Picture Perfect update. This update will include new content and features such as decorating your home garden, a new story quest line to solve an ancient mystery, (0:28:44) Al: Camera mode and (0:28:44) Bev: I love how just sitting on benches always ends up into an update or sitting on chairs. (0:28:57) Bev: It’s just a thing that people want apparently. (0:28:59) Bev: I don’t quite understand it, but yes. (0:28:59) Al: for some reason. Who knows? (0:29:04) Al: Fafarm 2.2, their spring update, which is the next of their free updates. It’s not the next of their paid updates. This is going to be releasing on the tomorrow, if you’re listening to this on release day, Thursday the 21st of March. We don’t have much information about that. They say that patch notes (0:29:24) Bev: Okay. Oh. Oh, bye. Yes. I got excited. I wanted to read about it. (0:29:29) Al: early next week, so they’ll be probably out by now. By the time you’re listening. Not by now, (0:29:36) Al: Bev, not you, everyone else. That’s fine, we need some news for next episode as well. (0:29:47) Al: Speaking of updates, Sunhaven has two upcoming updates. We can’t wait to show you what’s coming in our two biggest updates planned for this year, they said. The 1.4 includes some new. (0:29:59) Al: And they have been posting about them on Twitter. (0:30:00) Bev: Mm-hmm, one of them looks like um what’s that one character from Breath of the Wild? (0:30:11) Al: Oh yeah, what’s the the thing? Yeah, I know. (0:30:15) Bev: Uh-huh, what I do like that’s my favorite I think um (0:30:21) Bev: race, race in Breath of the Wild so I’m I guess I’m here for it. (0:30:28) Bev: Oh, goodness, I like how the topped. (0:30:29) Al: the Zora, the Zora and prints, prints, prints something. (0:30:30) Bev: Yes, there we go. The top comment is this is my type, Godspeed. (0:30:39) Bev: Is it starts with an N or is it an A? (0:30:46) Al: Side on, there we go. (0:30:46) Bev: Sidon! (0:30:50) Bev: I do like Sidon. (0:30:50) Al: Googling a fish person’s name from a random game that’s not a game we cover on the podcast, excellent. (0:30:56) Al: Prince side on, yeah, you’re right, (0:30:58) Bev: It does! (0:31:00) Bev: I forget if I have something or not. I might be on my wishlist but (0:31:04) Bev: um… (0:31:06) Bev: I don’t know if this will bring me into the game necessarily but (0:31:08) Al: You don’t want to date fake prince item. (0:31:12) Bev: I mean I would love to date [laughing] (0:31:13) Al: Carish, the adventurous shark amare who has a heart of gold and a love for many different kinds of sushi. (0:31:21) Al: That’s weird. (0:31:22) Bev: Oh my goodness, another, this is gonna make you look to us in Wonderland so much. (0:31:22) Al: That’s weird. (0:31:23) Al: Why make your fish person eat fish? (0:31:30) Bev: So the character that’s based off of Ursula has two sidekicks that are the eels. (0:31:36) Bev: The eels whose favorite food is takoyaki. (0:31:42) Bev: [Crying] Uh huh. (0:31:52) Al: So I just checked. I do have Sunhaven. I have not played it. But I do have it. This is the problem with backing everything that shows up on Kickstarter, is that I never have the (0:31:52) Bev: Okay. (0:32:00) Bev: Indeed. (0:32:02) Bev: This is why I’ve tried to slow down my Kickstarter backing. (0:32:08) Bev: I was like a super backer for a couple years. (0:32:10) Bev: I was like I need to stop this. (0:32:10) Al: Yeah. I don’t think I’ve done many this year. I think I’ve only done one this year, so far. (0:32:18) Bev: Okay. (0:32:19) Al: And for some reason, that one was Sugardew Valley. No, Sugardew Island. (0:32:26) Bev: Well, there’s Everdream Valley and… (0:32:33) Al: And Stardew Valley. Speaking of Stardew Valley, Stardew 1.6 comes out in the past, when you’re (0:32:40) Bev: Wait, is it the 16th? Is it today? That work work hard? Okay, okay. I’m not ready. I’m gonna be on travel. I don’t know. If it’s residual stress, I guess. Well, good luck. (0:32:41) Al: the episode. The update will be out. (0:32:46) Al: No, it’s the 19th. It’s Tuesday. It’s Tuesday. Don’t worry. Don’t worry. We’ve still got a couple days. (0:32:54) Al: I’m not ready either. You’re not even doing the episode on it. Why are you stressed? (0:33:00) Al: I have four days to play this game before I have an opinion on it. (0:33:10) Al: Each day before the update, ConcernedApe has been posting one non-spoilery patch note. (0:33:16) Al: For example, “Fixed bug where it was faster to harvest left to right than right to left.” (0:33:24) Al: And he clarifies the update will make them both equally fast, not equally slow. (0:33:29) Al: “Extended the area of effect of downward facing melee attacks.” (0:33:34) Al: That’s very specific. (0:33:36) Al: reduced the amount of time you need to push against the… (0:33:40) Al: pet before they start shaking and then let you pass through them… (0:33:44) Al: down from 1.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds. (0:33:47) Bev: That’s a 50% decrease. (0:33:48) Al: I know, but it’s one and a half seconds. It’s not exactly long. (0:33:49) Bev: It’s needed. (0:33:51) Bev: It’s needed. (0:33:54) Al: Spouses now have a seven-day honeymoon period after marriage, (0:33:56) Al: which prevents them from laying in bed all day due to being upset. (0:34:02) Al: And jellies, pickles, wines and juices are now coloured based on the ingredient item. (0:34:08) Bev: I will say that’s a nice quality. Yes, because… (0:34:10) Al: And that feels like something that probably didn’t take him a lot of time to do. (0:34:14) Bev: No, no, probably not. (0:34:16) Al: It’s like, yep, we’re gonna change the colour of… (0:34:18) Al: I mean, probably the biggest thing was making all of the sprites, you know. (0:34:22) Bev: right mm-hmm mm-hmm I do like the little banners that he’s created for each of these little updates it’s very cute uh-huh uh-huh (0:34:24) Al: But anyway… (0:34:30) Al: They’re getting more and more intense, right? (0:34:32) Al: The first one, the first one was really just a screenshot of a text in his editor. (0:34:36) Al: editor and then by this one we’ve got like (0:34:40) Al: a gradient background, we’ve got the images of the actual differences, we’ve got some foliage poking in on the corners and some dramatic lines at the top and bottom of the- (0:34:51) Bev: That our fading is different from the previous one, so yeah, more and more elaborately. (0:34:51) Al: yeah. (0:34:52) Al: Well, yeah, I was going to say it’s the procrastination. (0:34:55) Bev: This is just like the descent into madness or procrastination. (0:35:01) Al: The game is done, he’s just writing up the release notes and boy, he does not want to I’ll be relating up the release notes. (0:35:07) Bev: Uh-huh. (0:35:10) Al: Amazing. (0:35:10) Bev: Uh-huh. (0:35:11) Bev: - So good. (0:35:12) Al: Anyway. (0:35:13) Bev: Everything about this game, (0:35:14) Bev: which is why you have Ever Dream Valley and Chigudu Island. (0:35:16) Al: Why? (0:35:18) Al: Speaking of Everdream Valley! (0:35:20) Al: The multiplayer update is out now. (0:35:21) Bev: Oh my goodness. (0:35:24) Al: That’s all I’m saying. I don’t… (0:35:26) Al: I don’t… (0:35:26) Bev: Even the font, the font, I can’t. (0:35:30) Al: Roots of Patcha! (0:35:32) Al: I’ve given us some information on there. (0:35:34) Al: Upcoming 1.2 and 1.3 updates. (0:35:40) Al: 1.2 update brings the Xbox release plus kids. (0:35:46) Al: Patcheons love their kids and so do we, (0:35:48) Al: so we wanted to make sure having them felt like a meaningful addition to the experience. (0:35:52) Al: As before, you’ll be able to have two children. (0:35:56) Al: All right, Chyna. (0:35:56) Bev: As before as before to what? (0:35:58) Al: But… (0:35:58) Al: I don’t know. (0:36:00) Al: But once you build a school… (0:36:00) Bev: Are they referring to something? (0:36:02) Al: But once you build a school, (0:36:04) Al: you can send your toddler to school and they’ll grow into a child. (0:36:06) Bev: Oh, they got a school! (0:36:10) Al: You’ll have a set of dialogues and schedules to interact with you and the clan. (0:36:14) Al: With your gentle guidance, they’ll start to have their own interests. (0:36:20) Bev: I think I see a little child play with a pet and that is rather cute, I will say. (0:36:24) Al: Speaking of pets, that is another thing they’re adding into this. (0:36:26) Bev: Oh, sorry. (0:36:29) Al: Animals have helped humanity throughout - don’t say sorry, it was perfect. (0:36:33) Al: Animals have helped humanity throughout time and soon our pets will as well. (0:36:36) Al: You’ll be able to assign them to gather things for you. (0:36:38) Al: A cave lion might bring back meat, while a bunny might bring back produce. (0:36:44) Al: I love the idea of like a lion just going out and just killing an animal for you and dragging the corpse to you. (0:36:50) Al: And then a bunny’s gone out and like grabbed some eggs. (0:36:56) Bev: And then you just have the child just watching this awful terrifying lion come back with this bloody morsel. (0:37:03) Bev: Yes, just so cute. (0:37:05) Bev: Such a good bonding experience. (0:37:07) Al: Dragging the corpse along the ground. (0:37:08) Bev: Uh-huh. (0:37:10) Bev: I love it. (0:37:11) Bev: I’m here for it. (0:37:13) Al: They’ve also added some more locations for your unions that you can choose between. (0:37:20) Al: With so many beautiful places near the land, (0:37:22) Al: you’ll be able to select a location that powerfully fits you and your new partner. (0:37:26) Bev: Oh, that’s nice. I like that. (0:37:28) Al: Plus a bunch of other stuff. (0:37:29) Al: They’ve updated the phishing UI they’ve done a new early watering system before you do the (0:37:40) Bev: I think I’m seeing a trend here where a lot of the Stardew spin-offs, if you want to call them that, are updating frantically in this time period and I wonder why. (0:37:56) Al: because they’re all going to be playing Stardew, so they don’t want to be, they want to have their updates out before that. They’re 1.3 update, obviously the information is much less in this, (0:38:01) Bev: Well, they want to cash in on the hype, but that’s one. (0:38:10) Al: there’s lots of things to come there, including some more romanceable characters, some non-romanceable characters, new biomes, a new cave system, tent sleeping, new festivals, animals, plants, (0:38:25) Al: a new line. (0:38:26) Al: fishing minigame hangout spots new cut scenes quests and minigame so I feel like we’re getting close to when I actually play this game (0:38:41) Bev: I have it and I think I picked it up to play for the Game of the Year episode I did not sit in on and then immediately put it down. So I will get back into it because it was one of the ones that I enjoyed playing for the very very short while that I was lying in. (0:39:00) Al: There we go, Bev, I put us down for the second time. (0:39:02) Bev: Oh beautiful. Good. Now I have now I have to go back into it. (0:39:10) Al: Spirity 1.6.5 update is out now. (0:39:16) Bev: Oh well, 1.6.5, okay. (0:39:16) Al: My word up, get better. (0:39:21) Al: Normally I would ignore updates like this, (0:39:22) Al: ‘cause it’s like, oh, that’s just bugs, right? (0:39:24) Al: No, it’s not. (0:39:25) Al: It adds ducks. (0:39:26) Al: Ducks are now in the game. (0:39:30) Al: You’ll now be able to have cute algae eating ducks in your bath house. (0:39:35) Al: That’s ducks that eat algae, not algae that eats ducks. (0:39:38) Bev: I want Alte eating ducks now that you say it. (0:39:44) Al: that would be a very different game. Honestly, it sounds like something out of Elden Ring. (0:39:46) Bev: It would be. (0:39:46) Bev: I mean, it is spirity like they could. (0:39:52) Bev: It does. It truly does. (0:39:54) Al: Like just this amorphous algae that creeps along the ground and over walls and then finds you in the dark. (0:40:00) Bev: mm-hmm I feel like ducks deserve a 1.7 update but this the fact that they’re going into three digits and means I think they’re gonna have a 2.0 and it’s gonna be big I guess (0:40:14) Al: No, it’s obviously not going to be. (0:40:16) Bev: then why go to point five I don’t get it (0:40:18) Al: I just, I don’t know, I don’t know, because the last update that they talked about was 1.5.8. (0:40:25) Bev: Oh, goodness. What? (0:40:26) Al: What happened to all the, what happened to 1.6.0, 1.6.1, 1.6.2, 1.6.3 and 1.6.4? (0:40:30) Bev: » Those are bugs. (0:40:33) Al: What happened to them and why? There’s no information about them whatsoever. Nothing. (0:40:36) Bev: » They were bugs, bugs. (0:40:43) Al: Not at all. This is a major update listed in Steam. It was a major update, why is it 1.6.5? (0:40:51) Al: The one before 1.5.8, by the way, 1.5.3. But then the one before that was 1.5.2. (0:40:58) Bev: explain the first okay interesting I want this naming mechanism explained (0:41:00) Al: Also, the first version of the game, 1.3 point something, I can’t even remember what it was. (0:41:14) Al: This version also adds a new vendor and new seasonal mechanics in the bath house. (0:41:20) Al: Not just bath, in the bath house. Just in a bath. (0:41:20) Bev: beautiful Ooh, ooh-hoo. (0:41:24) Al: Woo! (0:41:27) Al: Sugar Dew Island, right? Let’s get back into this game. (0:41:31) Bev: Yes. (0:41:32) Al: So, they have published a bunch of FAQs. (0:41:35) Al: I don’t know if you were able to see these FAQs, because is it backers only? (0:41:39) Al: It doesn’t say backers only, so it looks like you should be able to read it. (0:41:43) Al: So, there’s a number of… (0:41:44) Al: Q’s and A’s that I want to highlight. (0:41:50) Al: So, first of all, they said, “Is the launch schedule realistic? (0:41:55) Al: It seems a little ambitious for an expected release later this year, (0:41:58) Al: after just over a year of production.” (0:42:00) Al: And their answer is, “Yes, it is realistic.” (0:42:03) Al: Okay, great. Thank you. (0:42:05) Al: I’m now convinced. (0:42:07) Al: I mean, the long answer is not any better than that. (0:42:09) Al: It says, “Yes, it is realistic as we’ve already made good progress in development.” (0:42:14) Al: Okay, fine. (0:42:16) Al: They then say, “Depending on how many more stretch goals are reached, (0:42:18) Al: the plan/release date could still change.” (0:42:20) Al: Which I feel like is an interesting way of doing this. (0:42:24) Al: It’s like, “Hey, if more of you buy the game, it will take longer to release.” (0:42:30) Al: That doesn’t feel like what you want to say to people. (0:42:30) Bev: - Yeah. (0:42:33) Bev: No, ‘cause I would argue that, excuse me, (0:42:36) Bev: stretch goals are part of the launch schedule. (0:42:39) Bev: So I would almost do it the opposite way if like, if you don’t get as many stretch goals then launch it earlier, but. (0:42:45) Al: Either that or make them as like post 1.0 right like your your base goal should be a fully featured game that gives you everything that makes sense as a game and if you don’t get any of the stretch goals it still feels like a complete game. The stretch goals should then be updates released after that if you can’t get it in the original timeline. Exactly, exactly, exactly. It’s the same issue I have with carl island in there 1.0 like (0:42:56) Bev: Mm-hmm (0:43:00) Bev: Right (0:43:05) Bev: Mm-hmm like there’s they’re stretching you don’t have to have it right now [laughs] (0:43:15) Al: you got to decide like your game can’t feel incomplete stardew valley never felt incomplete it felt like a complete game with its 1.0 and everything else after that has felt like extra content that we’re excited for not oh yes now it actually feels like a game which is what i’m going to feel like with 1.1 in carl island (0:43:18) Bev: Mm-hmm (0:43:35) Bev: yeah I guess so maybe oh I still haven’t come back into it fully we need to do a competition and that will bring me into it (0:43:42) Al: we do we do we do the other one I want to highlight is so question what about romance answer the feature is not currently planned yay success we finally might get a game of romance except except literally yesterday they posted on the Twitter asking how important is romance in a game to you they’re almost We’re certainly going to add romance. (0:43:54) Bev: You’re fine. (0:44:12) Al: So, we will see what happens, but I’m not excited about it. (0:44:19) Al: I’m going to add romance. (0:44:20) Al: I think it’s going to be really bad because it’s going to be bad because it is not… (0:44:23) Al: So, the way that they are forming this game is not as a character-based, story-driven game, (0:44:30) Al: I don’t think, and therefore I don’t think that romance will work well. (0:44:32) Bev: Hmm (0:44:35) Bev: No (0:44:37) Al: So we will see what happens, but I’m not excited about it. (0:44:39) Bev: Mm-hmm. I like how your comment essentially with this this (0:44:44) Bev: Comment is the top one and I just liked it. So there you go. Now you have the most likes in this post [laughter] (0:44:53) Al: However, one thing I am excited about, how will the time work in the game and how will save work? (0:45:00) Al: Our game is turn-based. (0:45:02) Al: You have as much time as you want per day as there is no timer in the game. (0:45:06) Al: The only rule is that you can only open the store once a day. (0:45:09) Al: There are three sections of the day. (0:45:11) Al: When you start the day, it’s in the morning. (0:45:13) Al: When you open the store, it’s noon, and when you close the store, it’s in the evening. (0:45:17) Al: You can save your game manually in the house, but when you end the day, we also save automatically. (0:45:21) Al: So there’s two things here. (0:45:22) Al: the save. Let’s get the save. (0:45:24) Al: I know that these things don’t like to be, allow you to save whatever you want, so you can like, save, scam a bunch of stuff, fine, whatever. I like however that is giving you the option to save in the house, so you can at least you don’t have to do that thing of “oh well I need to finish the day” and then you get to the end of the day and like “oh I’ll just do a little bit more” and you end up in that non-sleeping cycle. (0:45:45) Al: So, fine, good enough. (0:45:49) Al: But this idea of not having (0:45:53) Al: a timer on your day and you can spend as much time in the day as you want. (0:45:58) Al: I am very intrigued by this and now I have gone from I’m not excited about this game (0:46:03) Bev: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Dude, I feel like we talked about this last time. It was about Sugadu, (0:46:04) Al: to I will I need to play this game and see how this works. (0:46:13) Bev: right? It wasn’t the nukazan. Okay, I’m having like deja vu and I’m wondering like, (0:46:14) Al: Well, they only announced this information this week, so I don’t think we have. (0:46:21) Bev: what did we talk about? Okay, maybe that’s it. Okay, um, yes, I am very interested in a turn base because that I feel like feels even more cozy and that you don’t (0:46:21) Al: We did talk about it in the Slack. (0:46:33) Bev: have that that stress that’s associated with the time of like needing to run back to your house before you drop dead um well not drop dead but you know whatever um uh-huh truly um I appreciate the games where they don’t um they’ll like slap your wrist for for running out of time uh because it’s just no one no one enjoys that no one likes being in the middle (0:46:44) Al: I know what you mean. (0:46:46) Al: It may as well be dead. (0:47:03) Bev: of a task. And then like, all of a sudden realized like, oh, (0:47:06) Bev: it’s past like 1am. And now I’m, I can’t finish my task because I ran out of time. (0:47:12) Al: Yeah. So I’m going to assume that it still has an energy mechanic, because they have to have some way of you not just infinitely doing something, right? Well, except that Animal Crossing still isn’t infinite, because your timer is just your real-life timer. It has a timer for your day. (0:47:22) Bev: Mm-hmm (0:47:28) Bev: Mm-hmm or just do it infinitely like Animal Crossing you do that a polya for the most part you do that (0:47:42) Bev: Well, Al, like, then that- that every game has a real-life Tiber. (0:47:47) Al: OK, sure. I think it’s different, but that’s fine. We’ll move on from that. But I suspect it will have an energy mechanic and that will be the limiting factor on each day, which I think is fine. And I think it’s good because I guess the problem, and I hadn’t really thought about this until this was brought up, but I think it’s very… (0:47:56) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:48:01) Bev: Mm. (0:48:03) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:48:17) Al: very odd to have two limitations on you for one thing, which is essentially how long you’re going to spend in the day. And that problem of, “Oh, no, it’s the end of the day. I wasn’t paying attention to the time.” That’s because you’ve got two things to pay attention to. (0:48:22) Bev: Mm-hmm. (0:48:32) Bev: Mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm. (0:48:35) Al: You’re paying attention to the time and you’re also paying attention to your energy, your stamina. And it’s hard to keep a track of those things as well as play the game at the the same time, right? (0:48:45) Al: Thank you. (0:48:47) Al:

Colin and Chris did a late-night recording to give their thoughts on the first few episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix. In the news; ConcernedApe gives an update on Stardew Valley, Borderlands got a trailer, Kang is out of the MCU, Sony is laying off A LOT of employees, and more!Reach us via email: simplywhelmedmailbag@gmail.comTwitter: @whelmed_simplyInstagram: simplywhelmedpodcastFacebook: The Simply Whelmed PodcastTwitch: SimplyWhelmedPodColin

Al and Kev talk about Moonstone Island Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:05: What Have We Been Up To 00:14:27: News 00:54:26: Moonstone Island 01:47:58: Outro Links Spells and Secrest Update One Lonely Outpost New UI Sneak Peek Orange Season 0.11 Wylde Flowers Eury’s Salon Update Re:Legend News My Time at Sandrock Plushies Paleo Pines Plushie Tchia Soul Meter Update Spirittea News Stardew 1.6 News Southfield Sugardew Island Sugardew Island Kickstarter Sunkissed City Abyss: New Dawn Abyss: New Dawn Kickstarter Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. (0:00:34) Al: My name is Al. (0:00:36) Kevin: I’m, well it says “blank” in the show now. (0:00:40) Kevin: That just reminds me of Pokemon Gold and Silver. (0:00:43) Kevin: I was one of those guys who named my rival question my question word question word. (0:00:47) Kevin: Hello everyone, my name is Kevin. (0:00:49) Al: And we’re here today to talk about cottagecore games. (0:00:53) Kevin: Whoo! (0:00:54) Al: So the behind the scenes on that is, was it last episode? (0:00:59) Al: Neither Johnny nor Bev knew how I traditionally introduce. (0:01:02) Kevin: Yeah, there you go, yeah, you know me, I’m going to. (0:01:03) Al: So I wrote it down. (0:01:05) Al: I wrote it down in the show notes so that people always have it now. (0:01:10) Al: And the first episode we have it in, Kevin comments on it. (0:01:14) Al: So, great. (0:01:19) Al: Well, as usual, transcripts for the podcast are available in the show notes and on the website. (0:01:26) Al: This podcast, this episode, this episode, we are going to talk about Moonstone Island, (0:01:33) Al: the creature collection farming, like there’s only one, one of the creature collecting farming games. (0:01:36) Kevin: Yeah… (0:01:42) Kevin: You don’t talk about religion? (0:01:44) Kevin: Is religion one of them? I don’t remember. (0:01:46) Al: I can’t even remember if that’s one other thing. (0:01:48) Kevin: I don’t know. I still- I don’t think religion exists. (0:01:52) Al: That game smashed together so many buzzwords. (0:01:57) Kevin: Yep. (0:01:58) Al: Before that, we’re going to cover news. It has been a busy news week, (0:02:03) Al: so we’re going to cover all of that. But first of all, Kevin, what have you been up to? (0:02:08) Kevin: Alright, so, uh, first of all, Tears of the Kingdom, I’m still- I’ve- (0:02:14) Kevin: I don’t remember the last time I talked about it here, but I’ve played it in the background kind of… (0:02:20) Kevin: …uh, on and off, um, I’m not a- I’m not going for completion, but I am trying to hit every shrine. (0:02:29) Kevin: Every light route, and all that stuff. (0:02:32) Kevin: Um, I’ve already finished the deaths, I finished all the main story beats except for beating Ganon, (0:02:37) Kevin: and I’m over 100, uh… (0:02:38) Kevin: Shrines at this point, so I’m nearing the finish line. I might finish by next week. (0:02:43) Al: You’re doing the sensible completionist, not the full completionist. (0:02:44) Kevin: You know… (0:02:48) Kevin: Exactly. That’s correct! (0:02:51) Kevin: And that game is a blast. You know, of course, needless to say. (0:02:58) Kevin: Small stories, spoilers for people who don’t want to listen. The Fifth Sage (0:03:03) Kevin: was a real surprise. I think that’s a giant robot, and (0:03:07) Kevin: Monero is a fun to- (0:03:08) Kevin: to- a blast to run around with, um, and I’m so glad I got her early on, her relative. (0:03:15) Al: Yeah, my fun fact about her is that I got her before any of the other sages, because I just happened across her and did it. (0:03:22) Kevin: Yeah. (0:03:24) Kevin: That’s… (0:03:26) Kevin: That’s so wild, that’s so cool. (0:03:29) Kevin: Um, my brother Calvin, he didn’t do her until like after he beat all the shrines, so… (0:03:35) Kevin: He just like, “Well, I got this cool run and I don’t have anything to do with it!” (0:03:40) Kevin: Um… (0:03:42) Kevin: But yeah, no, uh, Tears of the Kingdom, great game, needless to say. (0:03:45) Kevin: Um, I’m just, haven’t been having a blast at that. (0:03:47) Kevin: Um, I’ve picked up Smash again this week, uh, (0:03:50) Kevin: They are releasing some new spirit. (0:03:52) Kevin: It’s like the fifth anniversary, something like that. (0:03:55) Kevin: Sakurai refuses, cannot be stopped from working on that game. (0:04:01) Kevin: But a good reason to pick up again and smash a smash, always fun. (0:04:06) Kevin: Aside from that, the Rainbow Road obligatory shout out here. (0:04:13) Kevin: Rainbow Road Radio, some of the stuff I’ve been talking about on that show recently. (0:04:18) Kevin: Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga the game (0:04:22) Kevin: Boy Advance RPG. We did an episode on that and boy that game is amazing! I played it when I was younger, it was amazing back then and I’m glad that it is still fantastic now. (0:04:38) Kevin: Have you played any of the Mario and Luigi games? Al? (0:04:40) Al: I have not. That was the one you covered last week, in the last episode, right? Yeah. I enjoyed listening to that. It was good fun, but it did confirm to me that I probably don’t want to play it. So I’ve played a couple of the Paper Mario games, and I’ve played what was the Mario RPG last year, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t think I like turn-based battles anymore. And that’s fine. (0:04:41) Kevin: Yes. (0:04:52) Kevin: Yes. Mmhmm. Yep. Mmhmm. Sure. (0:05:10) Al: For that reason, I suspect I wouldn’t like this game, because that’s a huge part of the game, right? (0:05:16) Kevin: It is. Right, but like one of the joys in my opinion where it succeeds is it’s very dynamic even for turn based game because of the (0:05:28) Kevin: The counters and the the timing and jumping these it’s still repetitive (0:05:34) Kevin: actions (0:05:34) Al: So I understand that, but actually I think that makes it worse for me because it’s not turn-based battling then, right? (0:05:40) Al: Like it’s turn-based with a little bit of real time. (0:05:44) Kevin: - Yeah. (0:05:45) Al: So because I had that in Mario RPG as well, they did that. (0:05:46) Kevin: - Yeah? (0:05:47) Al: It’s like, oh, if you, if you, if you press the button at the right time, it increases your attack, or if you press it at the right time, you get, you take zero damage. (0:05:48) Kevin: They did that? (0:05:56) Al: And it’s like, okay, well, I need to do that then. (0:05:58) Al: And there are so many battles where you basically can’t win it unless you do, or you obviously (0:06:04) Al: have a ridiculous degree, unless you do those things. (0:06:07) Al: And to me, it just turns for, it just makes it annoying because it’s like, I can’t just do a turn-based battle. (0:06:13) Al: It’s turn-based battle, but I also have to have the right timing, which to me takes away the advantage of the turn-based battles. (0:06:14) Kevin: Yeah. (0:06:18) Kevin: Mm-hmm. (0:06:20) Al: So I understand why people would like that, but for me, it doesn’t, it actually makes (0:06:21) Kevin: Okay. (0:06:25) Kevin: Yeah. (0:06:25) Kevin: I- I get that, right? (0:06:27) Kevin: Because, yeah, one of the advantages of turn-based battles is definitely turn your brain off, sort of thing. (0:06:32) Kevin: Um. (0:06:33) Kevin: Yeah, no, I- I- I can see that. (0:06:35) Kevin: Um. (0:06:36) Kevin: But, uh, regardless, the game’s fantastic. (0:06:38) Kevin: It’s hilarious. (0:06:38) Kevin: It’s amazing. (0:06:39) Kevin: Uh. (0:06:40) Kevin: Go listen to that episode of Rainbow Road Radio if you guys haven’t heard it. (0:06:44) Kevin: And check out that game if you guys haven’t played it, it’s still a- or 20, whatever, however many years it’s been. (0:06:47) Al: It’s 20, 21. (0:06:49) Kevin: Um. (0:06:50) Kevin: No, I know. (0:06:51) Kevin: I don’t- I don’t know what it should be. (0:06:52) Al: No, it was definitely a fun listen to hear you two talk about it, even if I know I’m not going to play. (0:06:54) Kevin: Um. (0:06:57) Kevin: Yep. (0:06:58) Kevin: Thank you. (0:06:59) Kevin: I appreciate it. (0:06:59) Kevin: Um. (0:07:00) Kevin: And, uh, well, now talking about the episode that will be released out at the- when this episode is- of Harvest Season’s out. (0:07:08) Kevin: Um, I watched something called The King of Kong. (0:07:11) Kevin: Have you heard of this at all, Al? (0:07:12) Al: No, I thought you were just saying King Kong in a funny way. This is like an actual “I have not, what is this?” (0:07:18) Kevin: Nope. (0:07:19) Kevin: Yep. (0:07:20) Kevin: Okay. (0:07:20) Kevin: So, The King of Kong is a documentary from like, 2007, I believe it is. (0:07:26) Kevin: Um. (0:07:27) Kevin: It was- it’s- it- it’s not super high production. (0:07:32) Kevin: It’s not like a big m- Hollywood movie release. (0:07:35) Kevin: It was directed by, uh, Seth Gordon, who ended up becoming a successful big Hollywood director because of this documentary, actually. (0:07:44) Kevin: Um, but it is a smaller, uh, project, it is a documentary about, uh, a- I should describe this- a competition of sorts between- a rivalry, let’s say, between a man named Billy Mitchell and a man named Steve We- Weebie, uh, over getting the world record in Donkey Kong, the arca- original arcade game, um, right? (0:08:11) Kevin: And so the way– (0:08:14) Kevin: The way this documentary is filmed and presented, it’s a very underdog story because Billy Mitchell is a world champ and record holder in like 10 different games like Pac-Man, Mrs. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong Jr., etc., etc., right? (0:08:28) Kevin: And then Steve Weebie’s just like this teacher with just a dad and all of a sudden he comes and gets this record and there’s a lot of drama involved because Billy Mitchell is closely associated with the– (0:08:44) Kevin: It’s called Twin Galaxies, the group that essentially is the authority on the records at that time of these types of arcade games. (0:08:54) Kevin: So like, for instance, one of Weebie’s early record attempts, he sent in a tape and they didn’t accept it because they said they needed to see it in person, yada yada. (0:09:06) Kevin: And so he goes in person and creates a new record, but then Billy Mitchell sends in a different tape and that one gets accepted because– (0:09:14) Kevin: And so there’s a lot of back and forth and drama. (0:09:18) Kevin: And it’s a good watch. I recommend it to people who haven’t seen it. (0:09:22) Kevin: But it’s interesting because the story does not end there. (0:09:28) Kevin: We watched some follow-up documentary and actually there’s been some court cases in the news. That’s why we kind of brought it up now. (0:09:36) Kevin: So I won’t go too much into detail of whether you guys can listen to the episode over at Rainbow Road Radio if you want to hear it. (0:09:44) Kevin: But long story short, Billy Mitchell is an awful, awful person who wants to be number one and will stop at nothing and step on everyone and backstab and control the narrative to do so. (0:09:49) Al: Oh. (0:10:00) Kevin: That much you can easily see in the original King of Kong documentary, so that’s not a shocker. But seeing the extent of how that goes, it’s a wild story. (0:10:14) Kevin: So again, that is called King of Kong. That’s the original documentary, but there is even follow-up documentaries made by more amateurs and stuff investigating more about the story. (0:10:26) Kevin: So it is a wild tale over several decades. (0:10:30) Kevin: But yeah, that’s what I’ve been up to. What about you? What’s going on with you? (0:10:30) Al: interesting. Yeah just before that I noticed that the Seth Gordon the director he did he did the 2017 Baywatch film as well this is like yes yeah so like yeah when you say he’s done Hollywood stuff he’s at he’s done proper big Hollywood stuff as well (0:10:44) Kevin: Yeah, and he did Horrible Bosses, that comedy with, I don’t know what it’s called, but yeah. (0:10:52) Kevin: Yeah, yep, yep. And King of Kong was kind of his breakthrough. Everyone took notice. (0:10:59) Al: Well, what have I been up to? I have obviously been playing Moonstone Island quite a bit for the last couple of weeks. Yeah, the behind-the-scenes stuff is we were meant to do this episode two weeks ago and I messaged Kevin on this Friday and said, “Can we delay the episode because I’ve played like 10 minutes of the game?” I just had not… We’ll get into that with stuff but I just had not. (0:11:06) Kevin: Yeah, I played a good bit too. I didn’t play it the last week. (0:11:29) Al: Managed to push myself to properly play the game. (0:11:31) Al: So I have now played a decent chunk of the game. (0:11:34) Al: So, um, yeah, we’ll, we’ll actually talk about it. (0:11:37) Kevin: Now we can talk about it, yay! (0:11:39) Al: Um, I’ve also been, uh, trying to finish up Hollow Knight as well. (0:11:44) Al: So I managed to get back into it and I’ve defeated a big chunk of the bosses. (0:11:49) Al: And I think I’ve got two bosses left to go. (0:11:52) Al: Um, so I’m, I’m getting there, but, uh, yeah, we’re getting, we’re getting pretty difficult, getting pretty difficult. (0:11:57) Kevin: Okay, oh, I bet oh my gosh. I’ve seen some of those later bosses Jesus wheez that’s some nutty stuff That’s off to you Hollow Knight people (0:12:06) Al: Yeah, it’s interesting because the one I’m currently on is like, it’s not the actual individual boss isn’t difficult, but the difficulty of it is there are six of them. And you have to defeat like all of them before, yeah. And they’re all, and they can do up to two at a time. So like doing one of them at a time would probably be reasonably easy. I probably would have done it by now. But the problem is then they suddenly go, “Oh, and here’s There’s a second one you have to deal with at the same time. (0:12:18) Kevin: Oh! It’s a gauntlet. (0:12:36) Al: You’re like dodging one, but as you dodge one, the other one gets you. (0:12:39) Al: You’re like, no, so it’s like there’s so many times where it’s like, I would have definitely beaten it if it weren’t for the fact that I had two at a time and stuff (0:12:46) Al: like that. So, yeah, it’s it’s pretty it’s it’s interesting how you can have that. (0:12:51) Al: Right. Like it’s not it’s not a very difficult. (0:12:52) Kevin: Oh my gosh, yeah that sounds gnarly. (0:12:53) Al: They’re not difficult bosses, but putting them all together like that makes it very (0:12:58) Al: difficult. (0:13:00) Al: So, yeah, but it’s been good fun. (0:13:02) Al: I think I’ve managed to get, uh, like four of. (0:13:06) Al: Um, so I got pretty close that time, frustratingly close, but we’ll get, we’ll get there soon, we’ll get there soon. (0:13:11) Kevin: Dang oh my god (0:13:15) Al: Um, so yeah, no, that’s really, it’s really good fun. (0:13:17) Al: Um, I’m definitely at the point in that game though, where I do not want to explore anymore, I do not want to backtrack anymore. (0:13:23) Al: Like I have done all of that. (0:13:25) Al: I just want to get to the last boss and kill him and be done with it and get onto the next game when it comes out. (0:13:30) Al: Right. (0:13:30) Al: I, the becomes a point with those games where you’re like, I’m done exploring. (0:13:34) Al: Thanks. And the problem is… (0:13:36) Al: Obviously, Medtrivenia is the whole point of them is exploring and backtracking. (0:13:39) Al: So they don’t have a lot of fast travel. (0:13:42) Al: There is some, but it’s not a lot of it. (0:13:44) Al: So you still have to do a lot of traversal of the map to get from boss to boss. (0:13:48) Kevin: Yeah, yeah, I get that. And Hollow Knight’s a special case because the DLC is just stuck in there, like, you can’t tell where the DLC is at a glance, right? (0:14:00) Kevin: There’s no DLC menu option, like, you’re doing over a hundred percent. (0:14:06) Al: Yeah, I haven’t, I haven’t even paid attention to what I’m doing there. (0:14:10) Al: I suspect at this point, I’m just, I’m going for the like final main boss. (0:14:15) Al: And if I’ve done any of the DLC stuff, then fine. (0:14:19) Al: But I don’t think I’m going to like focus on any of that. (0:14:22) Kevin: Yeah, no, no, yeah, that makes sense, it’s a wide one, it’s a big game. (0:14:26) Al: Super fun. (0:14:28) Al: All right. (0:14:28) Al: Awesome. (0:14:29) Al: Well, that’s what we’ve been up to. (0:14:30) Al: Let’s talk about some news. (0:14:32) Al: So first of all, we have just a couple of small things about spells and secrets. (0:14:36) Al: So their Xbox version is out now, and they have also said that they are not happy with the Switch version and they’ve fired their porting team and they’ve got a new porting team for the Switch version. (0:14:46) Kevin: Oh snap! (0:14:48) Al: The actual wording is we ourselves are incredibly unhappy with the Nintendo Switch (0:14:52) Al: version. This situation is incredibly frustrating for us to achieve the best possible results. (0:14:57) Al: We’ve decided to bring a new porting team on board. (0:15:01) Al: We would like to reevaluate the source code and are currently waiting for feedback on the current status of the source code. (0:15:06) Al: Well, we can’t make any current problems concrete promises at this moment. (0:15:09) Al: We remain optimistic about making positive progress. (0:15:13) Kevin: Well, I mean, hey, I salute them for wanting to improve the quality of the Switch ports aren’t always the best, so you know [laughs] (0:15:20) Al: One lonely outposts have posted a… post. They have updated us on what they’re working on and they have teased a UI overhaul. So the whole UI is getting an overhaul. (0:15:40) Kevin: That’s a big one. Probably respectable. (0:15:43) Kevin: And played it obviously. (0:15:44) Kevin: UI is a very critical… (0:15:46) Al: Yeah, yeah, I mean, I’ve not played the game. So looking at the two, I’m like, I don’t have an opinion on which I prefer because I’ve not experienced them properly. But they definitely it feels like it’s of the same style. So it doesn’t feel completely different, but it looks like they’re exactly it’s all functional stuff. Yeah. So they’re making it look I suspect it’s like UX based stuff and and things like their newest update. They’ve got the patch as far there as well. (0:16:02) Kevin: Right, it’s not like visually aesthetically. It’s more functional. (0:16:16) Al: It’s all bug fixes and small changes. (0:16:19) Al: So the link to that will be in the show notes as well. (0:16:23) Al: Orange season. (0:16:25) Al: Now, this is an incredible patch note. (0:16:28) Al: So this is version 0.11, 0.11. (0:16:32) Al: And the patch note starts off with narrative, (0:16:36) Al: added a main story. (0:16:42) Al: And I am absolutely fascinated by this. (0:16:42) Kevin: Uhh… (0:16:44) Al: Like, does this mean there was no main story? (0:16:46) Al: Or is this additional main story? (0:16:50) Al: I mean, it says, “After settling in Orange Town, your new life seems to be going fine. (0:16:55) Al: However, the previous owner of your farm returns, and he wants it back on this journey to guarantee your future. (0:17:00) Al: Your new life will mingle with a cast of strange, friendly, and conflicting personalities. (0:17:05) Al: What kind of people will you and them be at the end?” (0:17:09) Al: So this sounds to me like the game up till this point was like the daily farming aspect of things, (0:17:15) Al: but without like an overall. (0:17:16) Al: Marking story, which is an interesting way to go about it. (0:17:19) Kevin: Umm… yeah. (0:17:22) Kevin: Umm… (0:17:24) Kevin: Spoilers, Moonstone Island could use an update like this! (0:17:26) Al: Yeah, it’s interesting. Neither of us have played it, so I don’t think we have, but there you go. If you’ve been playing the game and you’re like, “This game could do with story.” (0:17:28) Kevin: That’s all I wanted to say. (0:17:32) Kevin: But it is funny to read, just added a story. (0:17:48) Al: Well, have I got good news for you? (0:17:52) Al: Speaking of having good news for you, specifically Kevin, I’ve got good news for you. (0:17:53) Kevin: Oh! (0:17:56) Kevin: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHH! (0:17:57) Kevin: I just saw the news! (0:17:58) Al: Wildflowers, the Yuri’s Salon, I think it’s Yuri, we just think it’s Yuri. (0:17:58) Kevin: AHHHHHH! (0:18:07) Kevin: Yep, I think so. Hold on, I’m listening right now. It’s in the trailer. (0:18:11) Kevin: Yeah, it’s Yuri. Okay. (0:18:12) Al: Yuri’s Salon update is out today, if you’re listening to this on the release date, so 31st of January. (0:18:20) Al: And it brings a whole new, romanceable character, and the salon that she… (0:18:30) Al: I haven’t seen anything about pronouns, but I’m assuming she… (0:18:30) Kevin: Yeah, I don’t think so (0:18:35) Kevin: Yeah (0:18:38) Kevin: So that’s (0:18:40) Kevin: RAVERS! (0:18:40) Al: This is how you do updates, right? You go, “Hey, by the way, there was a tease, right? (0:18:47) Al: So they showed a tease of the outline of the character and said someone new is moving to Fairhaven, and then posted that yes, they are romanceable. And then the next day they were like, “Oh yeah, so the release is coming next Wednesday. Cheers.” (0:19:05) Al: Yep, good, good, good, good release in full. (0:19:06) Kevin: Umm… (0:19:10) Kevin: Yep, good reveal. (0:19:12) Al: Reveal, that’s the word I’m looking for. (0:19:12) Kevin: Like, it’s… (0:19:14) Kevin: First of all, adding a new character, that’s a big deal in any farming game. (0:19:18) Al: Yeah, especially Wildflowers, because it’s very character-based. (0:19:20) Kevin: Umm… Right… (0:19:26) Kevin: Yep, very character driven, right? (0:19:28) Kevin: Like, the setting is pretty small, so they compensated that by doing a lot of interactions with the characters. (0:19:34) Kevin: Um, so that’s… (0:19:36) Kevin: That is interesting to see, also like interesting to see added at this point, right? (0:19:44) Kevin: Because like it might say if I’m already married to Ray, I’m not gonna end that for Yuri. (0:19:46) Al: Yeah, I love how you’re not even saying Wesley, you’re just saying Ray. (0:19:48) Kevin: Sorry Yuri, I’m sure you’re fine, but you know. (0:19:50) Kevin: But that said, it will be interesting to see… (0:19:56) Kevin: It’s the reason I played the game! I’ll be honest! (0:20:04) Kevin: But… (0:20:06) Kevin: But yeah, I don’t know. I mean, I’m hopeful there will be other stuff sneaked in. I can’t wait to play it. (0:20:13) Kevin: I’ll fire up wildflowers again. Great, good excuse to do that again. (0:20:18) Kevin: One thing… Oh gosh, so it’s a salon, right? So you can redo… (0:20:26) Kevin: Yeah, Terry. Her name is Terry. Terry’s hair. It’s about to say Valerie. I’m mixing those two up now. (0:20:28) Al: Yeah. (0:20:32) Al: Quite a large selection of hairstyles, it looks like, and hair colors. (0:20:33) Kevin: But it’s I feel almost uncomfortable (0:20:36) Kevin: I feel so almost uncomfortable because I’m so used to that hairstyle it’s so iconic for the character whatever like you know it’s the look (0:20:44) Al: Yeah. (0:20:45) Al: Yes. (0:20:45) Al: It’s not like, it’s not like a game where you have a character customizer. (0:20:49) Al: Cause the whole point is it’s Tara’s story and you’re playing as Tara. (0:20:53) Kevin: Right. (0:20:54) Al: So like, this is the, I mean, can you change clothes? (0:20:55) Kevin: Yup. (0:20:57) Kevin: You can? Yes. (0:20:58) Al: Right. (0:20:58) Al: So there is at least some level of customization there. (0:21:00) Al: So, and it’s not like it doesn’t make sense to be able to change your hair. (0:21:01) Kevin: Yeah. (0:21:01) Kevin: Yeah. (0:21:05) Al: Like people change their hair. (0:21:06) Kevin: Yeah! (0:21:06) Al: That’s a thing that happens. (0:21:07) Kevin: Yeah! (0:21:08) Al: Uh, but I understand, I understand your concern. (0:21:08) Kevin: Yeah, you know, I… (0:21:11) Kevin: Yeah, I… (0:21:12) Kevin: Yeah, no, it makes sense. (0:21:13) Kevin: I… (0:21:14) Kevin: It’s… (0:21:15) Kevin: There’s nothing inherently wrong with it. (0:21:16) Kevin: I’m just uncomfortable with the change! (0:21:20) Kevin: I tear his blood, I don’t like it! (0:21:23) Kevin: But that said, hey, wildflowers in the news again, I’m very happy, happy day. (0:21:26) Kevin: Um, and boy, that r- that’s dropping soon, I like shadow drop like that. Good stuff, wildflowers. (0:21:32) Al: Yeah, good thing we’re doing this episode before it comes out. (0:21:37) Al: Awesome detail, we don’t have any like more details, but if we get them, we’ll put them in if there’s anything else coming in and it does, I actually didn’t check does it say, (0:21:47) Kevin: Heh heh. (0:21:48) Al: I think it’s a free update. I haven’t seen anything but it being DLC. Yeah, they’re called. (0:21:51) Kevin: I would assume so. They have not done anything paid as- (0:21:54) Al: Yeah, and they’re calling it an update. They’re saying the Wildflowers fourth update Yuri salon is coming next. I think that implies that it’s free. (0:22:02) Al: Hey, look, Re-legend. This is just a really small thing to say that they have said that they’re going to do more updates. That’s it. They’ve said that, oh, they got some money to work on the game more, so they’re going to do that. That’s it. That’s literally it. (0:22:09) Kevin: They’re going to add more buzzwords into the game. (0:22:28) Al: There was a bug fix update recently as well. (0:22:31) Kevin: I guess. (0:22:32) Al: I love some of these, I love some of these bugs in games. (0:22:36) Al: “Ensure the player’s character does not pass through the map when jumping off their magnus near the chest in the goblins resort in the desert biome.” (0:22:46) Al: That is so specific. (0:22:49) Kevin: Yeah. (0:22:50) Kevin: Oh my gosh, that’s funny. (0:22:53) Kevin: Okay, what a, what a re-legend. (0:23:00) Al: The interesting thing is, I looked at the comments on Steam and they’re all positive. (0:23:08) Al: It’s like unexpected but not unwelcomed. (0:23:08) Kevin: Well, look, hold on. (0:23:10) Al: Surprising but fantastic news. (0:23:12) Al: Great news! (0:23:13) Kevin: Now hold on. (0:23:14) Al: Like there’s loads of like actual- and this is the first time I’ve seen like positive comments on anything for League of Legends for like five years! (0:23:24) Kevin: Well, I mean, you know, coming out was a good first step, right, in making positive comments, finally. (0:23:24) Al: Yes, that’s true. (0:23:32) Kevin: But, like, uh, look, alright, this is anecdotal, this is just my experience, I don’t know who anyone who’s played the game, so, you know, is it all just, uh, uh, uh, you know, fake town, and, uh, just the fake comment section by, populated by the devs, I don’t know, it’s possible, I’m just putting it out there. (0:23:40) Al: Does anyone? (0:23:54) Kevin: Did the game come out? I don’t have confirmation yet. (0:23:59) Al: And they do, there is one comment on it, which is just give them guns. (0:24:05) Al: So I think I know where that person’s, I think I know where that person’s mind is (0:24:08) Kevin: I wonder where… (0:24:10) Kevin: You know, did I tell you, or do you know why they added guns in Power World? (0:24:16) Al: That was that they’d said that they’d added it because they wanted it to be big in America basically, right? (0:24:22) Kevin: Yep, yep (0:24:23) Al: Which is like one of those things where it’s like, oh no, but also yeah (0:24:30) Kevin: They’re not wrong great like that’s the reaction like oh, but they’re not wrong (0:24:36) Al: Yeah My time at Sandrock They’ve got some plushies. So if you are really if you really love them my time at Sandrock characters (0:24:39) Kevin: Boy (0:24:46) Al: They have (0:24:46) Kevin: Wait that the characters they’re not creatures or animals (0:24:49) Al: They’re they’re the characters Logan and Fang just of course you don’t you’ve not played the game (0:24:57) Al: They’ve also got some figurines (0:25:02) Kevin: Terrawiobush, where’s that? (0:25:04) Al: Not on the my time at Sandrock page (0:25:09) Al: Speaking of plushies paleopines (0:25:12) Al: teasing some plushies Not out yet, but they teased our little foot (0:25:12) Kevin: What? What? (0:25:16) Al: of a plushie, a little foot and a back covered in spikes. (0:25:25) Kevin: I’m so excited. I wonder what dinos can’t tell based based off. Oh, I’m excited The dinosaurs are very well very likely get one (0:25:34) Al: Apparently, if you go on the on their link tree, they’ve already leaked what it is. (0:25:40) Al: It’s a carrot Anki. (0:25:42) Kevin: WHAT?! (0:25:42) Al: Anki, is it an Ankiosaurus? (0:25:44) Al: Sorry, Ankiosaurus. (0:25:45) Kevin: Oh yeah, probably ink. (0:25:46) Al: Anki-lo-saurus. (0:25:48) Kevin: Yeah, okay, yeah, oh, that’s a- (0:25:48) Al: Coming soon. (0:25:50) Al: I love that. (0:25:52) Al: It’s like they’ve got the link basically with the image, not the image of the actual plush, but the image of the what it is. (0:25:52) Kevin: Let’s make ship. (0:25:58) Al: And you click through it and it’s like, oh, campaign launches in four days and 19 hours. (0:26:10) Al: Thursday. Chia the game based on New Caledonia have released a cool new update or are going to release a cool new update in March which gives you well I guess let’s go let’s go the context of this game so this game is an explorationy type game but one of the big features of the game is you can jump into nature items so animals. (0:26:40) Al: animals and plants and stuff like that you can it’s called soul jumping and you have like a certain as you play the game you like build up your soul meter and you can use that to jump into animals and stuff like that. (0:26:53) Al: They are adding in the infinite soul meter so they say this comfort setting allows you to soul jump to your heart’s content without worrying about your meter depleting be a bird forever or a coconut or anything for that matter we’re happy. (0:27:07) Al: or if you like, it feels like a great. (0:27:10) Al: I mean, they say it’s not suggested for your first playthrough of the game, but. (0:27:16) Al: Do what you want. (0:27:17) Al: They’ve not stopped it. (0:27:18) Al: Like you can do it straight away. (0:27:19) Al: And if you just want to grab the jump in a bird and fly around this map forever, (0:27:24) Al: you can do that. (0:27:24) Al: And I think it’s pretty cool. (0:27:27) Al: Yeah, yeah. (0:27:30) Al: Spirit tea, spirit tea, spirit tea have added item stacking. (0:27:36) Kevin: That feels like that should have been addressed a while ago. (0:27:42) Kevin: Don’t have that at the feet. (0:27:44) Al: really wanted to like this. And it’s good in some ways, but yeah, like there’s a lot of quality of life things that it doesn’t have that a lot of games have that makes me struggle, struggle to enjoy it as much. This was one of them, so they have removed it now, but I don’t know if I’m going to go back to it or not. They’ve also listed a bunch of stuff that they’re going to add. If you are enjoying the game. There you go. You can go. (0:28:05) Kevin: Whatever that means. (0:28:14) Al: Oh, look at the list of things they’re adding. (0:28:16) Al: Oh (0:28:16) Kevin: Speaking of enjoying games, uh, you know, Bev and, uh, Johnny enjoyed Stardew in last week’s episode. (0:28:25) Kevin: It was a great listen, good episode. (0:28:27) Kevin: And you know, I think some guy out there named Concerned Date saw that, I was like, “Oh, (0:28:33) Kevin: well if they harvest season reach 1.5, we can’t have them staying current!” (0:28:38) Kevin: So he drops the news! (0:28:40) Kevin: 1.6 is on its way, baby! (0:28:43) Al: Yeah, I mean, so like there’s not actually much news in this because we already knew it was coming. (0:28:48) Al: We already knew there was stuff in it. But he says 1.6 ended up being a little larger in scope than originally planned. Yeah, who knows what earth is happening here? He says this is the key bit here. (0:28:55) Kevin: little larger with concern to (0:29:05) Al: I’m done adding major new content to it now and it’s in a bug fixing and polishing phase until is ready for release. Thanks for your patience. (0:29:13) Al: It’ll be fun to see everyone play. He does say in the comments that it should come out, (0:29:18) Al: he says absolutely will come out in 2024. It will come to PC first. There shouldn’t be a big delay between PC and console/mobile. I think with the 1.5 update, it was a two-month delay between Steam and Switch, which is not too bad. The mobile one was the one that I think it was like three years to get for it to come to mobile. So hopefully that will be faster. (0:29:43) Al: He does say it will be fine to play this on an old save, but I’d probably recommend a new save just to experience everything in context, otherwise you’ll unlock a bunch of stuff right away when you load up your save. And I read that and went, great, that’s much quicker to cover all the new content for the episode! [LAUGHTER] (0:30:02) Kevin: Yeah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (0:30:05) Al: So there has been a bunch of things that he listed on, where is it? A new festival. (0:30:13) Al: Which I think we’re pretty convinced now that’s the New Year festival. Two new mini festivals. (0:30:19) Al: New late game content which expands on each of the skill areas. New items and crafting recipes. There’s a totem there, so presumably another warp totem of some kind or something like that. And what looks like a quiver, as in for archery. Georgia alternatives to some of the end game quests. 100 plus new lines of dialogue. Winter outfits for the villagers. (0:30:43) Al: New type of reward for completing billboard requests. Support for eight player multiplayer on PC. And I love right at the end he puts new farm type. Just casually adding that at the end of this massive list. Oh yeah, there’s going to be a new farm as well. I wouldn’t be concerned about him. He’s fine. He’s got a lot of money. (0:31:08) Kevin: I mean… (0:31:10) Kevin: No, I know he’s fine. I’m just concerned what he’s doing to him. Geez. (0:31:15) Kevin: Um, I can’t uh… (0:31:17) Kevin: But hey, 8-player farm. We can get all- we can finally have the all the harvest season hosts on one episode. (0:31:20) Al: Oh dear, yeah, so anyway, it’s coming this year and it’s feature complete, so hopefully it’s going to end up coming, releasing like when, during the month and the summer when I’m away, isn’t it? (0:31:24) Kevin: Live commentary as he started far. (0:31:43) Al: All right, so you might think that’s all the news. (0:31:46) Al: That’s not all the news. (0:31:47) Al: four new games as well to talk about. (0:31:51) Al: Oh yes! So, first of all we have Southfield. The little blurb for this one is ‘Weird farming meets silly physics in Southfield. Combine chaotic crops with unpredictable effects, (0:32:07) Al: build your dream farmstead and experiment with playful machinery. Wobble your way around an ever-changing island solo or with up to three friends and unearth its secrets.’ Now, we quite (0:32:21) Al: too many farming games and they don’t do interesting things. (0:32:24) Kevin: That’s true. Southfield said, “What if we do the exact opposite?” (0:32:25) Al: This game here does say that. So, this is this I love. I need to play this game. (0:32:33) Kevin: Alright, I do too. Okay, I’m gonna start with the big hook, and that’s the main character. It’s a (0:32:40) Kevin: big blue (0:32:43) Kevin: gumdrop head looking blob man with big eyes, and that’s kind of it. (0:32:49) Kevin: He’s humanoid he has arms and legs (0:32:51) Kevin: and a head with eyes and a little (0:32:54) Kevin: Pikmin type leaf on top just a little one little sprout (0:32:58) Al: Pretty generic. (0:32:58) Kevin: and he’s big (0:33:00) Kevin: Yeah, but he’s big and cartoony and the way he runs around his dynamic proportions and style fitting very much with the quote-unquote Weird there’s silly physics. It’s great. He does like big bounces spins, or he does like full-on tornado (0:33:16) Kevin: He rolls around in a ball at one- (0:33:19) Al: Yep, he rides on a quad bike you got quad bikes in this game (0:33:19) Kevin: Armadillo style. (0:33:21) Kevin: He does. (0:33:23) Kevin: Yep, he’s chopping down trees. (0:33:25) Kevin: The trees are actually falling. (0:33:27) Kevin: Not just poof, here’s your logs. (0:33:29) Kevin: They’re timbering over. (0:33:31) Kevin: Um… (0:33:32) Al: There’s an electric chicken that you’re carrying, you’re chasing and you get electrocuted by. (0:33:33) Kevin: logs you there they’re timbering over (0:33:40) Al: You can throw an axe to cut down fruit. (0:33:42) Kevin: You can get frozen into ice cubes. (0:33:45) Kevin: You can throw one of your fellow blob people full on hurricane spins rocks. (0:33:51) Kevin: There’s a fruit growing to gigantic proportions. (0:33:54) Kevin: I don’t know why. (0:33:56) Al: The machinery looks fun. (0:33:58) Kevin: So this is interesting because there’s conveyor belts and things presumably for automatizing things and whatnot. (0:34:05) Kevin: But because of the weird effects, they’re just this physics that like fruits and crops are just bouncing on the conveyors. (0:34:12) Al: And it’s a bunch of the machinery that seems to be like cannons as well So it’s like leaning into I just I love everything about this. This is fantastic. I need this game (0:34:12) Kevin: so, are you… (0:34:16) Kevin: yup (0:34:20) Kevin: it’s so good right and and like even and there’s crafting there’s you can build a house and other stuff um there’s you know your plots and your farms but like every crop I don’t think i’ve (0:34:40) Kevin: It’s big, it’s cartoony, it’s colorful, it’s fun. (0:34:44) Kevin: Southfield looks amazing! (0:34:46) Kevin: Um… (0:34:47) Al: There’s also some some buildings so you can like kind of, I guess, Fortnite-esque type building, right. You’ve got your your your wall, you put up your wall and you put up your roof properly designing your house how you want. (0:35:05) Al: Yep, this one is coming soon. And as of now, I only see information about it coming to Steam on Windows. (0:35:13) Al: Yep, this one’s going on the list, I’m definitely, I’m definitely playing this one. (0:35:17) Al: Next, we have, Sugar Dew Island, now, so, before, yeah, so the name, the name is terrible, (0:35:19) Kevin: Yup. (0:35:24) Kevin: Oh boy, oh boy, just they’re coming out swinging with that name. Oh boy. (0:35:32) Al: right? (0:35:33) Al: Let’s just get out of the way. (0:35:35) Al: It’s Stardew Valley versus Coral Island, right? (0:35:38) Al: Like it’s just, like where is all they, what’s, what’s with the name? (0:35:40) Kevin: No… (0:35:41) Al: It’s bad. (0:35:43) Kevin: I- (0:35:44) Kevin: Island’s overdone, but at least it’s an actual thing, right? (0:35:48) Kevin: I’m gonna put my foot down, draw the line in the sand. (0:35:51) Kevin: I don’t think any farming game should ever have the “do” in its name. Ever. Again. (0:35:54) Al: Whatever it is, is a bad name, right? Just whatever. One of the comments on YouTube is, (0:35:57) Kevin: Just… (0:35:58) Kevin: Just don’t try. (0:36:06) Al: “One might consider there’s a copy of Stardew, shut up.” So, one interesting thing just before we actually talk about the game is, I feel like this has been shared, it’s been advertised on every single Kickstarter game update. (0:36:24) Al: I have seen in the last one exactly every single one of them they seem to be talking about this. (0:36:26) Kevin: I saw it on a link on one of the earlier news article links I put and clicked on. (0:36:33) Al: I am fascinated about by this like what is the deal behind this game? (0:36:38) Kevin: Raid Shadow Legends. (0:36:39) Al: So let’s do the usual blurb in this cozy farming game you have to run your own farm shop take care of your animals and your farm sell your goods to the cute forest folk (0:36:51) Al: upgrade the island and fulfill smart. (0:36:54) Al: No, fulfill small orders from the Harmony Tree to fill the island with life again. (0:37:00) Al: Nothing about this seems unique. (0:37:03) Al: Comparing to the previous one, this just looks like it’s a farming game. (0:37:04) Kevin: nope I yep the the one oh gosh even the four quote-unquote force folk just look like harvest sprites the one thing I will say I I have one thing I’ve wanted is to run the shop the shipping bin that’s it I don’t know if (0:37:08) Al: Hey look, it’s a harvest moon. (0:37:30) Al: Yeah, this is the thing about those is, so Ooblets had a way to do that, and there’s been a couple of other games where there’s been a little bit of it, and it always just feels to me like it’s just a really inefficient way of selling things, right? Because you have to go in and you put a few things out in the shop, and then you have to like, you either, they either implement like a haggling thing, in which case I always feel like I’m not getting as much as I could, or it just ends up being why can’t I just throw these in the shipping box, right? (0:38:00) Al: I don’t feel like any of them have ever done it well, (0:38:04) Al: and I’m not sure I trust this. (0:38:06) Kevin: I I don’t think not off not what I’m looking because like you know thinking farms like you’re growing (0:38:13) Kevin: Huge amounts of crops rolling bulk and so like I don’t know but (0:38:16) Kevin: Yeah, the shop doesn’t need that’s the add more to that because otherwise boy This much like its name takes after a lot of other games a boy am I look (0:38:28) Kevin: Studio Ghibli has amazing art stuff, but boy. I’m I tired of seeing that (0:38:34) Kevin: aesthetic in these games. (0:38:36) Al: Yeah, it’s not like it looks bad or anything, but it’s not and and the game doesn’t actually look like the trailer Right the trailer is completely like just random animated stuff (0:38:36) Kevin: Um… (0:38:38) Kevin: No! (0:38:46) Al: Well, I know it does have some of the gameplay, but like it starts off with that style (0:38:48) Kevin: Well, presumably we’re not 100% sure, but (0:38:51) Al: It’s a completely different style than the I suspect actually (0:38:54) Kevin: Yeah, true true (0:38:56) Al: It looks fine. It’s not like it looks bad (0:38:59) Kevin: Yeah, it just (0:38:59) Al: But nothing about it can especially comparing it to what we just talked about nothing about this excites (0:39:05) Kevin: Yeah, no, it’s it’s it looks fine, but not bringing anything new to the table. It’s a tough market (0:39:13) Kevin: Gotta do a bit more to (0:39:14) Al: Anyway, the Kickstarter is launching soon. (0:39:19) Al: Apparently, Steam says its planned release is Q2 this year, presumably that’s Early Access, (0:39:26) Al: but it doesn’t say on Steam that it’s going to be Early Access. (0:39:29) Al: I’m assuming they aren’t doing a Kickstarter to then release the full version in a matter of months. (0:39:37) Al: You would think not, but who knows. (0:39:41) Al: I noticed is Roca play. (0:39:43) Al: Uh, they. (0:39:44) Al: Are they a publisher or are they a developer? (0:39:48) Al: I’m not actually sure. (0:39:49) Al: They look to be both, but they did spells and secrets. (0:39:54) Al: They’ve done solar punk and they did, um, Oh, what was that one? (0:40:01) Al: There was another one that was like a, an island based one where you were like a pirate and you crashed into the island. (0:40:08) Al: And no, I don’t mean, and I realized that sounds exactly like the start of Dragon Quest Builders 2. (0:40:17) Kevin: Yeah, I don’t, um… (0:40:19) Kevin: Lose Lagoon? (0:40:21) Kevin: Castaway Paradise? (0:40:22) Al: Castaway Paradise. No, that’s not the one I was meaning, but that is another one that they’ve done. (0:40:25) Kevin: Stranded Sales. (0:40:27) Al: Stranded Sales. Yes, there we go. They did Strand- (0:40:29) Kevin: Oh my gosh, they… (0:40:31) Kevin: They actually have a game called Harvest Life. (0:40:34) Kevin: Oh my goodness. (0:40:36) Al: So, yeah, they did Beasties as well, which was the one that went on Kickstarter and then they cancelled the Kickstarter. (0:40:43) Al: And I don’t know, it’s a weird company. (0:40:46) Al: They have such an interesting mix of things that become really popular and things that are just really weird. (0:40:52) Al: Like Spells and Secrets has very positive reviews. (0:40:54) Al: It’s like 80% positive reviews on. (0:40:57) Al: And then Beasties has 50% rating. (0:41:00) Al: And she’s just like, that is such a big difference. (0:41:03) Al: They also have Super Dungeon Maker, which is like a… (0:41:06) Al: Zelda-style dungeon Mario Maker type thing, which has very positive reviews, it’s 84% positive. (0:41:17) Al: And Stranded Sales was… (0:41:19) Al: It was a game. (0:41:24) Kevin: That was a game. That feels like a few of these you could- (0:41:27) Al: Yeah, so like, you never quite know what you’re getting at Rokka Play. (0:41:31) Al: So, yeah, I guess we’ll see what happens. (0:41:36) Al: The punk hasn’t even come out yet, although it looks like they’re just publishing it, they aren’t… (0:41:40) Al: So I don’t… Yeah. (0:41:42) Al: There’s a lot of stuff. I’m not particularly excited about this one. (0:41:47) Al: But it is coming to Steam on Windows, Switch, PlayStation, and maybe Xbox. (0:41:53) Al: I don’t know whether that will be as a stretch goal, but it says Xbox question mark. (0:42:00) Al: So… (0:42:02) Al: Next, we have Sunkist City. (0:42:06) Al: life sim set in an upbeat sun-kissed seaside metropolis full of funky vibes and quirky characters. Stake out your new life in the city, tending to DIY gardens, learning new skills and making lifelong friends and help bring life back to its once vibrant streets.” (0:42:26) Kevin: I don’t know. (0:42:28) Kevin: I can’t tell if this game looks good or bad. (0:42:31) Al: So, well, let’s just put it, it is almost exactly this. (0:42:36) Al: Stardew style. Imagine Stardew, it’s that. It looks like that, but it’s based in a city, (0:42:47) Al: not a small village. Every single thing I see, it just looks, you could tell me this was a Stardew and I’d go, “Oh, they changed the UI at some point.” That’s what I would do. The keg looks almost identical and the cheese press looks very similar and like these things (0:43:06) Al: and that’s not necessarily a bad thing right like stardew did very well uh but I feel like (0:43:14) Al: what is this doing that would make me play it rather than stardew and i (0:43:19) Kevin: quirky character whatever they don’t seem particular one has blue hair they (0:43:22) Al: look characters are hard to do well and I the problem is that I i don’t think you can do i don’t think I don’t think many people could do stardew and I think many people could make stardew (0:43:36) Al: but not as well and that’s what this strikes me at it doesn’t look bad but I i’m really fascinated as to why I would want to play this rather than stardew is the story really good are the characters really good that’s what i’d probably be looking for (0:43:40) Kevin: Yeah, that’s a very good way. (0:43:49) Kevin: Yeah. (0:43:54) Kevin: Mmm. (0:43:54) Kevin: Yeah, because you’re right, like, I… (0:43:57) Kevin: I see absolutely nothing… (0:44:06) Kevin: Asphalt in this setting like there’s (0:44:06) Al: Yeah, yeah. And some buildings that look run down. There’s a ramen place. Okay. (0:44:11) Kevin: Yep, it’s (0:44:13) Kevin: Yep, that’s that’s kind of it. I don’t mechanically. I don’t see anything. I see fishing There’s no some type of gardening slash farming you even carry the items over your head all a stardew [laughs] (0:44:26) Al: Yeah, like the last game someone said it looks like a copy of Stardew, now this looks like a copy of Stardew, right? I don’t, again, I don’t want to like harp on it too much because like I’m sure it would be fun to play and I don’t want to put people down and I hope that, (0:44:42) Kevin: Yeah, again, it doesn’t look bad, but just… (0:44:43) Al: I hope that they’re successful but I just, (0:44:47) Kevin: It’s not standing out, right? (0:44:48) Kevin: And again, this is very… (0:44:50) Kevin: The cottagecore farming space, getting all buzzwordy here. (0:44:54) Kevin: Like it’s, it’s flooded with starting. (0:44:56) Kevin: It’s bad. (0:44:58) Kevin: So you’re going to put one out. (0:44:59) Kevin: You really need roots of Pacha. (0:45:01) Kevin: Do it in the Stone Age. (0:45:02) Kevin: Okay. (0:45:02) Kevin: And that’s something different. (0:45:04) Kevin: And it mechanically affects it, right? (0:45:07) Kevin: You have mam and stuff like it’s appropriate, but here in the city, (0:45:12) Kevin: you’re really just not seeing anything, uh, and again, this is just based off a handful of, uh, screenshots. (0:45:18) Kevin: So, you know, I could be speaking a bit too early, but I’m just not… (0:45:23) Al: So the interesting thing is, this is this developer’s second game, their first game came out in 2016, with its last update coming out in 2018. (0:45:32) Al: So I feel like they finished off that game, they saw Stardew Valley, and they’ve been working on that since then. (0:45:38) Al: Because Stardew got really popular in 2017, so just as they were finishing off. (0:45:44) Kevin: yeah that looks that’s exactly what it looks like ‘cause this is and their first game is wildly different called wasted it’s a post-apocalyptic pub crawler it’s in 3d and it’s a very wild looking game it does absolutely one thousand percent not cottagecore at all but uh… (0:45:58) Al: That looks more interesting to me. (0:46:05) Kevin: different game [laughter] (0:46:08) Al: Yeah, I don’t. Anyway, it’s there. It’s coming to Steam on all the platforms. So we’ll see, (0:46:18) Al: I guess. And the final one is Abyss New Dawn. Names, really? Names again, right? Like, is this a… Abyss New… It’s just games in general. But this is the thing. Why is it abyss new dawn. This makes it sound like it’s a second (0:46:28) Kevin: Why did it have to be so bad in this space? Why? (0:46:38) Al: abyss game, right? But also secondly, this describes i

In which we pass through Stardew Valley (2016), and do everything but put in an honest day's work. Pippin is the monster inside the walls. David gives it all away. These, and other GAMETHINGS. Stardew Valley was developed and published by ConcernedApe.

Al and Codey talk about Coral Island Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:24: What Have We Been Up To 00:12:15: News 00:40:54: Coral Island 01:22:03: Outro Links Previous Coral Island Episode Research Story 0.7 Update Len’s Island Companions and Languages Update Song of the Prairie 0.7 Update Snacko Accessibility Settings Update Sancko Roadmap Paleo Pines 1.2.28 Update To Pixelia Alpha Update Ova Magica End of year Update Super Raft Boy Together x Turnip Boy Stadew Valley New Year Screenshot Piczel Cross: Story of Seasons Tales of Seikyu on Steam Tales of Seikyu on Kickstarter Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. My name is Al (0:00:36) Codey: And my name is Cody! (0:00:38) Al: and we’re here today to talk about farming games. (0:00:42) Codey: Woo! (0:00:43) Al: Ah, hey Cody, we’re we’re gonna talk about… (0:00:51) Al: I don’t know whether it’s just Discord is is really out of sync or not, (0:00:54) Codey: Get it (0:00:54) Al: but I feel like you’re as delayed as Johnny is just now. (0:00:57) Al: Okay. (0:00:57) Codey: No, I I definitely am responding right after you say it (0:01:00) Al: Fair enough, well, we’re experimenting with new ways of doing things, listeners. (0:01:03) Codey: So there’s just a delay (0:01:07) Al: So we’ll see how that goes, but it appears that the current way we’re doing it is very delayed. (0:01:19) Al: So this is going to be the second harvest of Coral Island. (0:01:24) Al: So we did an episode, I think, quite early on in the early access. (0:01:28) Codey: Mm-hmm, you had Bev on. (0:01:29) Al: I can’t even remember who that was. (0:01:33) Al: Okay, it was me and Bev, that’s fine. (0:01:37) Al: So obviously now it is in 1.0, so we wanted to revisit it. (0:01:44) Al: And obviously, I have some different thoughts on it. (0:01:49) Al: Obviously, people know my overall thoughts if they listen to the Game of the Year episode. (0:01:55) Al: But we wanted to get in a bit more detail about some of the specific things. (0:01:59) Al: and Cordy has no play to do as well. (0:02:00) Al: Not as much as me, but I suspect that’s most people haven’t played it as much as me. (0:02:05) Codey: Mm-hmm (0:02:06) Al: So we’ll see how that goes. (0:02:09) Codey: Mm-hmm, I I feel like it it was robbed like it should have been (0:02:13) Al: Oh, interesting. (0:02:16) Al: Well, I agree, but what can you do? (0:02:22) Al: Before that, we have some news, quite a bit of news. (0:02:25) Al: But first of all, Cordy, what have you been up to? (0:02:28) Codey: Um, I have been up to the holiday break from my PhD, but I’ve actually been doing a lot of work during the holiday break, um, because I’m going to Oregon, which is where I’m from. (0:02:43) Codey: I’m going there for two weeks, um, here in about a week. (0:02:48) Codey: So I was just trying to get a lot of work done so that I can go home and just relax, (0:02:52) Codey: which is nice. (0:02:53) Codey: Um, but I have been playing Coral Island, surprise, surprise. (0:02:58) Codey: Um, and Palia, which I’m really enjoying, uh, the initial thoughts are good and, uh, (0:03:02) Al: Hmm. Do you want to share any initial thoughts on Palia or do you want to general? (0:03:10) Codey: I’m excited to possibly, I don’t know, may have talk about it sometime soon. (0:03:15) Al: What? I don’t know what you’re talking about. (0:03:21) Codey: Yeah. (0:03:21) Codey: What, what about you? (0:03:22) Codey: I’ll, what have you been up to? (0:03:23) Al: Yeah, I have also been up to, you know, Christmas and stuff, but now back at work and kids are back at school. It feels weird because I’ve not podcasted in quite a while, despite there being episodes every week. It was before Christmas that we did the last episode recording. That was the one that I slept through. (0:03:39) Codey: Which you didn’t mention in the podcast itself. (0:03:45) Al: Of course, I didn’t mention that. I wasn’t going to mention that. I was already, I was still grumpy about it. We were meant to be recording for the listeners. We were meant to be recording at 5am my time and I set an alarm for 4.45 and I was like, “Do I need multiple?” I normally set multiple alarms and then I always wake up with the first alarm. So, I’m not going to set multiple alarms this time because it’s just pointless. And then I woke up without an alarm and went, “Uh-oh, (0:04:15) Al: I’ve woken up naturally. There is no way I haven’t missed this podcast recording if I’m waking up naturally.” And I looked at the time and it was, of course, 7am. So, I had missed entirely the time that we were meant to be recording. So, I got back on and, of course, Cody had gone to bed because it was 2am Cody time. So, of course, you had gone to bed. Johnny was still up, though, because he is on the other side of the world. And then I was like, “Oh, do we try and rearrange?” Because this This was what the 23rd 22nd? (0:04:21) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:04:45) Al: 22nd of December? (0:04:47) Al: Like it was basically our last chance to record before Christmas. (0:04:50) Al: And then after Christmas, Johnny was going away on holiday. (0:04:53) Al: And like, obviously it’s the time between Christmas and New Year is not a good time to be recording a podcast. (0:04:59) Al: So I was like, well, let’s just do it, Johnny. (0:05:01) Al: Let’s just record. (0:05:02) Al: So I recorded that episode just before work and it was very much time boxed because I had my morning meeting, which we had to get done, obviously. (0:05:12) Al: So I think we had like an hour and a half at the absolute most. (0:05:15) Al: For both the main and greenhouse recording. (0:05:18) Codey: Well, you got it done. Yeah, I tried to stay up. It was almost one o’clock here. And I was so tired. And Johnny was trying to ask me questions about Palia because we were talking about Palia at that time. But my brain was just so like it just kept stuttering. And like I couldn’t form words. (0:05:38) Codey: And I was like, even if Al were to show up right now, I don’t think I could do this. So I was like, (0:05:46) Codey: Either you guys just record or Al can read. (0:05:48) Codey: I’m gonna go bed. I woke up and saw that y’all had recorded it. But… I mean the… (0:06:01) Al: So, apologies listeners for the lack of a Cody episode, but we’re making up for it (0:06:08) Codey: Well the games that I was excited about were mostly Palia and then also Tales of the Shire which I’m doing a second harvest on. I’m putting it here first. I’m back! (0:06:16) Al: Hmm. (0:06:18) Codey: I gave it a second harvest. So… whoever else wants to do the second harvest with me can fight for it because… (0:06:28) Al: I think we know it’s Bev, right? Bev’s already bagged that one as well. I don’t think we have had a game where we’ve had four people fighting over the episode for that game. (0:06:31) Codey: Yeah. (0:06:35) Codey: Oh okay cool. Yeah. (0:06:43) Codey: So I was doing dishes when I was listening to the episode and like I heard… (0:06:48) Codey: you say like “I’m doing it” and then clearly Johnny’s doing it because he’s like from New Zealand. He’s friends with the developer etc etc and I like heard you say that you’re bagging it and I like was like “No!” and I like started washing my hand like drying my hands off furiously so I could text furiously on the slack and then like as I’m like washing my hands and grabbing my phone you’re like “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know other people are probably really excited to do that game (0:07:16) Codey: but I’m calling it and I was just like… (0:07:18) Codey: so grumpy. It was so fun though. (0:07:21) Codey: I’m excited to play that game and hear about it. (0:07:24) Al: I mean, maybe we should try and do our first four-person episode, what do you think? (0:07:31) Codey: That would be a thing, wouldn’t it? (0:07:38) Al: Yeah. (0:07:38) Codey: Or just have two simultaneous episodes. (0:07:42) Al: Mm-hmm. (0:07:42) Codey: Have the greenhouse be other two people. (0:07:46) Codey: Anyway, yeah. (0:07:48) Al: Just record two separate middle sections and stick them together. (0:07:49) Codey: Anyway, I’ll… what have you been up to? (0:07:54) Al: That sounds like it would either be an amazing idea or an absolutely dreadful idea. (0:08:00) Al: Did we not do something a while ago which was just like everybody recorded like a 10 minute thing on something and I smooshed them all together? (0:08:06) Codey: Yeah, wasn’t that… (0:08:08) Al: It kind of worked but it was also so much work. (0:08:10) Codey: Yeah, I was gonna say wasn’t that not fun to record? (0:08:13) Al: I think it was fine to record because everybody was doing it individually. (0:08:16) Codey: Right, sorry edit. I mean edit. Wasn’t it not fun to edit? (0:08:18) Al: Yeah. (0:08:21) Al: It was definitely the longest, the most amount of time I’ve spent editing an episode and considering the episode was less than an hour long and I’ve edited three hour long episodes, (0:08:33) Al: That’s, you know, that’s a lot, that’s impressive. (0:08:34) Codey: Yeah. (0:08:37) Codey: Yikes. (0:08:38) Al: All right, anyway, we’re gonna talk about some news. (0:08:40) Codey: Wonder what, yeah, what, yeah. (0:08:40) Al: Wait, I didn’t actually say what I’ve been playing. (0:08:42) Al: I’ve been playing Super Mario RPG, which turns out I don’t like. (0:08:49) Al: I think I figured out that I’m not a fan of games anymore where combat, (0:08:55) Al: like you go from the overworld to another place to battle. (0:09:00) Al: Because I don’t even like that in Pokémon anymore. (0:09:02) Al: It just annoys me, like just taking you out of the… (0:09:05) Al: It feels like - I know it’s not, because it’s - (0:09:08) Al: It’s still the game, but it feels like it’s taking me out of the game into another game at that point. (0:09:12) Al: And it just - I feel like I’m just at the point where I’m like, I don’t like that anymore, and I don’t want that. (0:09:18) Al: And therefore, I don’t think I like turn-based games anymore, because I don’t think it’s possible to do a turn-based game without doing that. (0:09:26) Codey: Yeah, I don’t think I’d like that either. (0:09:30) Codey: I also don’t really like turn-based games. (0:09:33) Al: Well, I used to say I only like turn-based games, right? Because like Pokemon was my thing and that was all it was. But I think at this point, I just, I don’t, I don’t want to like, I don’t want battles like that, right? And I like action adventure games where your battle is like joined into the overworld experience and you can just run away if you want. You don’t have to like get into this separate (0:10:03) Al: weird world that exists. Yeah, I don’t have to add whatever. I feel like I’ve explained that enough. I’m not a huge fan of it. So I’m not going to finish that. But I also playing Luigi’s Mansion 3, which I am enjoying. That is a very good game. (0:10:06) Codey: Yeah. Yep. (0:10:17) Codey: I couldn’t, so I tried to play the first Luigi’s Mansion and I did not get very far because I remember getting stuck on something and just being really grumpy about it. (0:10:26) Al: Hmm. Hmm. I’ve gotten to the point where with games, because I mean it’s essentially a puzzle game, right? I’ve gotten to the point where with puzzle games, if I’m annoyed with something, (0:10:27) Codey: But I could see how it could be a good game. (0:10:30) Codey: Right. (0:10:31) Codey: Yeah. (0:10:32) Codey: I’m sorry. (0:10:39) Al: just just just Google it. Right? Like I’m I’m if I’m enjoying the game in general, (0:10:45) Al: and there’s a specific thing that I’m stuck on, and I’m annoyed by it. What’s the point in continuing like the three options one continue to be annoyed to quit the game three Google it. (0:10:56) Al: And continue enjoying the game that you’re actually enjoying like it’s a no brainer to me now. (0:11:02) Codey: Yeah, I try. (0:11:04) Codey: So like there are some people though. (0:11:06) Codey: So there are some people that do that play games and they Google it immediately. (0:11:10) Codey: They like just, they’re like, (0:11:11) Codey: I don’t know where to find this. (0:11:12) Codey: And I’m like, you’re not even trying. (0:11:14) Codey: Like you’re not even trying to explore the world. (0:11:17) Codey: You’re not, you don’t look at the quest log where the quest log says exactly where the thing is. (0:11:22) Codey: This is something I’ve seen in Palia, (0:11:24) Codey: that people like on the, (0:11:24) Al: - Wow, just goodness me. (0:11:27) Codey: yeah, some people like on the MMO, like chat will be like, (0:11:31) Codey: where is this thing? (0:11:32) Codey: And I’m like, it’s literally in the quest log. (0:11:34) Codey: It tells you where to go. (0:11:36) Codey: So, but I agree. (0:11:37) Codey: Like I, if I can’t figure something out, (0:11:38) Al: Just say my name next time, Cody. (0:11:44) Codey: if I, if I like, (0:11:47) Codey: cannot, genuinely cannot figure it out, (0:11:49) Codey: that’s when I’ll Google it. (0:11:51) Codey: But other than that, (0:11:52) Codey: I’m not just gonna Google it immediately. (0:11:54) Al: Yeah, I think there’s different kind of tolerance levels, I would say, for these things, and do what you will. (0:12:04) Al: Whatever. (0:12:05) Al: Right. (0:12:06) Al: We’re on the same page. (0:12:08) Al: All great. (0:12:09) Al: Fantastic. (0:12:09) Codey: Yay! (0:12:10) Al: Lovely. (0:12:10) Codey: Woo! (0:12:11) Al: Right. (0:12:11) Codey: Woo! (0:12:12) Al: That’s what we’ve been up to. (0:12:13) Al: Shall we talk about some news? (0:12:13) Codey: Woo! (0:12:14) Codey: Woo! (0:12:17) Al: This is the first one’s Yours Cody research story. (0:12:21) Al: The 0.7 creatures and caves update. (0:12:23) Al: Have you looked into this? (0:12:24) Codey: Uh, other than this click, like clicking this link, no. (0:12:30) Codey: So the big issue that I have with some of these games when they’re, when they’re on steam or whatever is if they’re windows only, like in order to play them, I have to come into this very specific room of my house, which is the podcast recording room as well, which is fine, but it’s a room that I don’t cut, like it’s because of my ADHD, it’s like out of sight, out of mind. (0:12:51) Codey: Like I pass it every day, but I never go into it. (0:12:53) Codey: It has a lot of specimens. (0:12:54) Codey: It’s a lot of stuff that I’m trying to avoid, so I don’t come here very often. (0:12:59) Codey: I haven’t really been playing any games that require Windows specific on Steam, unfortunately. (0:13:06) Codey: This is really cute. This update looks really cute. (0:13:10) Codey: It has new things that you can research. (0:13:13) Codey: I think it was four creatures and some plants and some fish. (0:13:17) Codey: A new festival and they said that there’s a new creature behavior. (0:13:24) Codey: I blurbed this part that says, “During certain behaviors such as foraging and hiding, creatures will not be interested in players’ feed bowls. (0:13:35) Codey: Wait for the creature to start wandering again before attempting to tame them.” (0:13:38) Codey: That makes sense. If they’re foraging or if they’re scared and they’re hiding, they’re not going to be interested in what you’re trying to bait them with. (0:13:49) Codey: I think that’s really cool because it’s true to life as well. (0:13:56) Codey: I literally have a paper coming out about this, about how if you put out an attractive trap when there’s a lot of flowers, you’re not going to catch very much. (0:14:07) Codey: They don’t give a crap about your trap. There’s flowers everywhere. They’re not coming to you. (0:14:11) Codey: This is about bees. I like that. I like that a lot. (0:14:17) Al: Isn’t everything? (0:14:18) Codey: What about you? Have you done anything with research stories? (0:14:23) Al: No, no, I don’t. I don’t own it. I was going to say, Cody, there is a solution to your problem with needing to go on to your Windows computer. (0:14:31) Al: It is a solution that costs money, but that is by a steam debt. (0:14:34) Codey: Well, if the podcast wants to send me a Steam Deck, I will, I will, if a, if a listener wants to buy me a Steam Deck, then I will play these on the couch forever and I will cover anything people want me to cover. (0:14:42) Al: The podcast can’t even afford to buy me a steam deck. I had to buy that myself. You’re waiting quite a while. (0:15:01) Codey: Yeah, so I mean. (0:15:04) Codey: Research story cool. It’s cool to see that they’re continuing. (0:15:06) Al: Feels like a dangerous thing to say, Cody. (0:15:07) Codey: I know it’s cool that they’re like continuing to develop it and it’s continues to be something that we talk about. (0:15:15) Codey: I really like that. (0:15:16) Codey: There are some games that I was excited about or have covered before that just kind of drop off the radar, but this is cool to see. (0:15:22) Codey: Bye. (0:15:22) Al: Yep, awesome sauce. So if you’re enjoying that go, go play it. Go download the update. (0:15:28) Codey: Do it. (0:15:30) Al: Speaking of games that you have played, Cody, that have updates, here’s Lens Island as well with the companions and languages update. We did know about this update before. We knew there was adding a bunch of languages, but we had absolutely no idea what the companions part of that was. But we now know that you can have pet companions, including dogs, cats, (0:15:38) Codey: Mhm. (0:15:48) Al: wolves and tigers. (0:15:50) Codey: Mm-hmm. I also still am continuously wanting clarity on Simplified Chinese. (0:15:58) Codey: Um, because of what you discussed last time, like I don’t really know what they mean by that, (0:16:05) Codey: but it’s whatever. Uh, the companions are really cool. I’m really excited to play this again. This is a game that I have on my, uh, Mac. And since I’m going on holiday for two weeks, (0:16:15) Codey: this is something that is on our, this and Palia are the two things that are on my radar to (0:16:20) Codey: pick up again and get caught back up with. Um, the pet companions are really cool. So yeah, (0:16:25) Codey: dog, cat, wolf, and tiger. And, um, each of them are findable or tame-able during different times of the game. So like, for example, they mentioned that the dog is, uh, unlocked after you defeat the first dungeon, which is really cool. And they also have purposes. So it’s not just, um, (0:16:43) Codey: aesthetic. Uh, they’ll actually do things. So like dogs and cats can retrieve items for you. (0:16:48) Codey: Um, thank you. (0:16:50) Codey: They mentioned that the wolf and the tiger will like fight with you. (0:16:52) Codey: Like they’ll just be a part of your attack team. (0:16:56) Codey: Um, so yeah, I, I liked that a lot. (0:16:59) Codey: Uh, I am curious to know if you can customize the skin of the dog or the cat, because I do want to make my dog in every game. (0:17:09) Codey: So yeah. (0:17:12) Codey: Have you played lens Island at all? (0:17:13) Al: Fair enough. I played Lens Island for about 10 minutes, right when it first released, (0:17:13) Codey: Yeah. (0:17:14) Codey: Yeah. (0:17:14) Codey: Yeah. (0:17:20) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:17:20) Al: when it had no controller support, and I tried to use like a mapping to the mouse and keyboard sort of stuff, and it did not work really well. And I went, “I will come back to this when they add controller support.” And they now have controller support, but I’ve still not gone back yet. So I do plan to play it again at some point. I feel like it’s forever in the list of games. (0:17:43) Al: Is that we want to cover a– (0:17:45) Al: did we cover it eventually, or did we not? (0:17:46) Codey: We covered it once, so Bev and I talked about it once, (0:17:51) Codey: like right when it came out, (0:17:52) Codey: and it had the bare minimum at that point. (0:17:55) Codey: So it has come so far since then. (0:17:58) Codey: There’s so much more to it. (0:17:59) Codey: I haven’t played since all of that stuff changed, (0:18:01) Codey: so I’m really excited to rejoin the game and see all of the different things that they’ve added to it, (0:18:07) Codey: because I think when I did it, (0:18:09) Codey: there was only like three or four different crops that you could plant, and it was really simple, (0:18:13) Codey: And there was just the one dungeon. (0:18:16) Codey: And I mean, I was pretty far in it, but I hadn’t even fully explored that yet. (0:18:22) Codey: Um, there, it was just so simple and now it’s a lot more built out. (0:18:28) Codey: So I’m really excited to play it again. (0:18:31) Codey: So we should cover it again. (0:18:32) Al: Yeah, so it looks like it’s start… Yeah, definitely. It looks like it came out in early access in 2021. So it’s over two years now since it went into early access. Now, to be fair, their early access stuff, which they had to put up at the beginning, does say it will come out of early access between late 2023 and early 2024. So they aren’t late based on their own schedule. But I haven’t seen anything about whether that’s still the schedule or not, because that would assume it’s happening in the next few months. (0:18:52) Codey: Mm-hmm, yeah. (0:19:02) Al: And I haven’t seen anything about that. (0:19:02) Codey: I mean they’re still putting stuff out. (0:19:04) Al: Oh wait, no, no, no, I did. I did. (0:19:07) Al: They put the roadmap up. (0:19:09) Al: We talked about this last year. (0:19:11) Al: The roadmap says the final release will come out in July. (0:19:14) Codey: There you go, that’s that’s probably when we’ll cover it then cool (0:19:18) Al: Yeah. (0:19:19) Al: I can’t recover too much stuff that I just forget about these things. (0:19:23) Codey: Yeah (0:19:24) Al: Also, no, don’t say that, Cody. (0:19:25) Al: That’s not… (0:19:26) Al: We’re not saying that’s when we’ll cover it. (0:19:27) Al: I’m not promising that. (0:19:29) Codey: We’ll cover it sometime after July (0:19:32) Al: This is a dangerous time. (0:19:33) Codey: After July, I’m sure we’ll cover it at some point (0:19:35) Al: Maybe. (0:19:37) Al: Maybe. (0:19:40) Al: So I have Googled and some Chinese people have said that generally when people say Chinese, (0:19:47) Al: they’re referring to Mandarin, not Cantonese. (0:19:48) Codey: Okay. Okay. (0:19:50) Codey: Okay. (0:19:50) Al: So when they say simplified Chinese, what they’re meaning is Mandarin in simplified character. (0:19:56) Al: But I just, I feel like stop saying Chinese because like that’s not a language. (0:20:02) Codey: okay grumble grumble grumble (0:20:03) Al: Grumble, grumble. (0:20:07) Al: Song of the Prairie. (0:20:09) Al: Speaking of updates with 0.7 updates. (0:20:12) Al: No, speaking of games with 0.7 updates. (0:20:15) Al: Don’t know why this is the 0.7 update episode. (0:20:19) Al: But there we go. (0:20:21) Al: Song of the Prairie have a 0.7 update out. (0:20:23) Al: I didn’t actually read through this, did I? (0:20:25) Al: Added sec… (0:20:27) Al: Oh yes, yes. (0:20:28) Al: Yes. Yeah. So it’s mostly like small stuff, but they’ve added what they’ve called. (0:20:32) Al: The second homeland, which interestingly is like the 18th thing they mentioned on this list, right? (0:20:38) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:20:39) Al: The first seven are bugs. The next 10 are adjustments and optimizations. And then they finally talk about the fact that they’ve added a whole new area in the game as the 18th thing on the list. (0:20:52) Codey: Yeah, got to get those bugs out though, got to like mention what you’ve been working on and what you’ve been fixing before you can talk about what you’ve added. (0:20:59) Al: It’s just like some of these are like such random tiny things as well and you’re like maybe put the fact that you’ve added a whole new whole new region up at the top. (0:21:10) Codey: No, no, no priorities (0:21:12) Al: Dear, I’ve not played this game, you’ve not played this game. (0:21:21) Codey: Nope (0:21:22) Al: There’s a bunch of extra stuff, I don’t know, do we care about the extra stuff? (0:21:24) Codey: I just Like literally glanced through it and was like I see haircuts. I see a water balloon festival. I see romantic events cool (0:21:32) Al: Oh well, but a game I will play, and I suspect most people will play, is Snacko. They have come out with a, I mean, let’s, okay, so let’s start out with, they are absolutely smashing through updates. Like, I’m pretty sure I saw that they released an update on Christmas day, right? Like, their updates are coming thick and fast all over the place. So I think We certainly know what they’re– (0:21:33) Codey: Like I’m still not gonna play it. So [laughs] (0:22:02) Al: their plan is. (0:22:02) Al: But yeah, so there’s two things that most of it is like, here’s a new update with some bug fixes, right, fine, okay. (0:22:13) Al: But they have two specific ones I want to call out. (0:22:15) Al: The first is they had an update with some more accessibility settings, which is good. (0:22:21) Al: So this is just an example of how you can listen to people and actually change things based on their things. (0:22:28) Al: So they’ve added an ability to change the. (0:22:32) Al: Like saturation and contrast in the game. (0:22:35) Al: So if you have some eyesight issues and this helps, that’s great. (0:22:41) Al: Um, and secondly, they’ve released a roadmap, um, with, so they’ve said that these are roughly in the order. (0:22:50) Al: They will release them in, but not certain, but they’ve kind of given four (0:22:55) Al: updates that are going to come out. (0:22:57) Al: one of which is the gamepad support update which is (0:23:02) Al: obviously one that I’m very much looking forward to the progression update which includes house upgrades and tool upgrades the feature update which includes a bunch of stuff including the mines and festivals but also new shrines and buildables and marriage or which they’re calling bonding and the final one is the optimization improving stability improving performance. So I think assuming that that is the– (0:23:32) Al: or do they come out? That’s a good order for them to come out because we talked about this last year sometime where I was like, so often in early access, they leave the final update with this massive feature coming out that nobody has ever tested. And so they still end up in a situation where their 1.0 version is buggy. And it doesn’t sound like they’re going to be doing that. (0:23:52) Codey: I saw three things that I really liked in this news point. (0:23:58) Codey: So my first one is that the accessibility update is 0.9.05284, love that. (0:24:08) Codey: It’s great, that’s a great version number. (0:24:12) Codey: And then I loved how they said, (0:24:15) Codey: meow low in the roadmap post, that was very cute. (0:24:21) Codey: and then on the road map. (0:24:22) Codey: Sure, that pie looks really good, but no, I think this all looks sounds really good. (0:24:28) Al: Okay. (0:24:30) Codey: No, I think this all sounds really good. So, so similar to so similar to like House in Song of the Prairie. It’s like, cool, they’re adding stuff doesn’t matter. Not going to play it. (0:24:39) Codey: This is the opposite where I’m like, cool, they’re adding stuff. I’m still going to play it. Like, (0:24:44) Codey: this changes. Not much. Like, I’m like, uh-huh, just take your time. This looks good. (0:24:51) Codey: Excited for the final. (0:24:52) Codey: Good job, Eloise. (0:24:56) Codey: No wait, Arisa. It’s Arisa. (0:25:00) Al: Yup, mixing up your indie farming game devs. (0:25:04) Codey: I did. Eloise is lemon cake. Right? Cozy Bee Games. Yeah. Cool. (0:25:10) Al: Correct. (0:25:13) Codey: I know all, I mean, we just know all these people by name. I mean, there’s also Elle from Apico. (0:25:19) Codey: I mean, they’re all, I just know them all by their first name. They just get them all mixed up. (0:25:23) Codey: Because they all start with E. Okay, that’s it. I’m done. (0:25:28) Al: I feel like I need to talk about the version number thing because I’m about to complain about Paleopine’s version number so fine sure I’ll complain. Snacko feels so close to being like a good numbering system because clearly what they’ve done right is they’ve taken their build number 5284 and they’ve put that in the version number. Great. Why have we got this random 0.9.0 at the beginning? That has been the same for all of their versions so far. The first version that came out, (0:25:53) Al: Let me just double check the exact number just to make sure that I’m not giving you incorrect. (0:25:58) Al: Well, possibly. I’m not guaranteeing that, right? I bet it’s going to be 0.9.0 or some number. (0:26:07) Codey: But you bet it started with 0.9. (0:26:19) Codey: I love the underscore. I love how there’s points and then underscores. That’s just I love that chef’s kiss (0:26:24) Al: you just love it because it annoys me yeah I can’t see any other very (0:26:28) Al: person over before zero point nine point zero underscore four nine five six so snacko sort out your version numbers just use the if you just just use the build number right it’s fine like I don’t know why I don’t I don’t know (0:26:38) Codey: No, no, no. You do what you like. (0:26:45) Codey: You do what works for you, Arisa. (0:26:47) Al: I don’t know so like at the at the very least put it zero point nine point build number right why is there the zero there that is unnecessary because the whole point of that one. (0:26:58) Al: It’s because it’s like a patch update, but your patch updates you’re using as the build number after the underscore. (0:27:04) Al: I wasn’t going to mention it, and then you brought it up. (0:27:06) Al: I was obviously just so riled up. (0:27:08) Codey: We’ll continue to be riled up out because these next two news items also have version number issues. Let’s go (0:27:15) Al: Paleo Pines! (0:27:18) Al: It’s a major version update, why are they releasing it as 1.2.28? (0:27:22) Al: It’s just silly. (0:27:24) Codey: I mean what like I guess I don’t understand like what is there two two eight? (0:27:30) Codey: Let me let me go back. Let me look at what their other (0:27:34) Codey: Like it was the last one two seven. Nope the last one was (0:27:36) Al: This is now version number of the podcast. (0:27:40) Codey: Their last one was two two one point two point two three. Why have they gone up by five? (0:27:47) Al: Yeah, and that was like a bug fix update. (0:27:50) Al: This one is a content update. (0:27:52) Al: Why are they doing this to me? (0:27:54) Codey: They’re doing it by fives. Mmm. Nope. Nope. They did it by eight last time Ah. (0:28:00) Codey: Ah. (0:28:01) Al: I want to die. (0:28:03) Al: New dino colors. There you go. (0:28:06) Al: They’ve also added a nice looking feature, (0:28:10) Al: Seasoned Rancher Start, they’re calling it, which is basically just a new game plus. (0:28:14) Al: So after you’ve played the game the first (0:28:17) Al: new save and skip the first five days of the game, which is the tutorial. (0:28:21) Al: So this is good. More games should do. (0:28:24) Codey: Mm-hmm (0:28:26) Al: Cody’s like, I don’t really care. (0:28:27) Codey: No, I’m I was getting lost in the in the comments section of the update and I was like (0:28:34) Codey: Contemplating if I wanted to go down that rabbit hole, but I have chosen no, so (0:28:39) Codey: to pick Celia (0:28:40) Al: The 2px Elliot alpha is out now (0:28:44) Al: It’s only for Kickstarter backers who used who backed the alpha level (0:28:50) Al: So you have to get it through Kickstarter itself. It’s not on Steam or anything I wrote don’t version no no mention the version number, but I’ve not actually I can’t remember what that was cuz I didn’t actually Write it down (0:29:01) Codey: Cool. (0:29:03) Codey: Don’t blink it out of your mind. (0:29:04) Codey: Keep it, keep it. (0:29:06) Codey: The alpha’s out now. (0:29:07) Codey: If you back to pixelia, (0:29:08) Al: No, I need to find out now (0:29:12) Codey: if you back to pixelia, (0:29:14) Codey: you’re probably getting an email or something from Kickstarter to get your, (0:29:18) Codey: your code or whatever, but. (0:29:22) Al: if you backed it to at that level. I’m sorry I need to find this. What was I talking about? (0:29:24) Codey: Yeah. (0:29:28) Codey: You are fine. (0:29:31) Al: I can’t find it anywhere! (0:29:37) Codey: It doesn’t exist. (0:29:37) Al: What was I talking about? Did I write that or did you write that? I know it’s in my colour but (0:29:39) Codey: You wrote that. (0:29:41) Codey: You wrote that. (0:29:42) Al: I’m so confused. There’s no version number written anywhere. (0:29:45) Codey: Well, they knew that it was gonna bother you and so they deleted it from the world. (0:29:52) Al: This does feel like that a little bit, right? (0:29:55) Codey: It’s a little bit like a, (0:29:58) Codey: la moustache. (0:29:59) Codey: Have you ever heard of la moustache, the movie? (0:30:02) Codey: It’s a movie, it’s a French movie about a man that has a mustache and he decides to shave his mustache off and no one makes a big deal of it and he just had one for so long. (0:30:10) Codey: So he’s like, oh, I’m gonna really like, (0:30:11) Codey: I’m gonna get my friends. (0:30:12) Codey: It’s gonna be awesome. (0:30:13) Codey: So he shaves his mustache off and like no one reacts at all. (0:30:17) Codey: Like, and his wife doesn’t react. (0:30:18) Codey: And then finally when he just like explodes at her and it’s like, you haven’t mentioned my mustache. (0:30:23) Codey: I was so like, I did this. (0:30:24) Codey: And she’s like, what are you talking about? (0:30:25) Codey: You’ve never had a mustache. (0:30:28) Codey: And then it’s like, the whole rest of the movie is him. (0:30:31) Codey: Like, is he crazy? (0:30:32) Codey: Is it a plot? (0:30:34) Codey: Is he just delulu? (0:30:36) Codey: That’s you with this version number. (0:30:38) Al: Yeah, I do feel a little bit like it. I can’t see anything anywhere on the internet about this version number. Right, I’m just gonna move on and I’m sure it’ll keep me up at night. (0:30:46) Codey: And look it up later. (0:30:48) Al: No, definitely not. I’m not like scrolling there. (0:30:55) Codey: Did you back it on Kickstarter? (0:30:58) Codey: Maybe you wrote that or you put that in (0:30:59) Al: Yeah, but not alpha, so I won’t have I don’t have. (0:31:05) Codey: because you had mentioned the version numbers of the ones before. (0:31:09) Codey: So you were just like, we’re not gonna talk about it. (0:31:12) Al: I don’t know. Maybe that… I bet. Did I accidentally put that in the wrong thing? Was that meant to be in the Snacko one or something? I bet it was something like that. Anyway, moving on. OVA Magica. They have released their last update of 2023 and said that 2024 will, and This is a quote, “100% be the release year.” (0:31:24) Codey: Maybe. (0:31:40) Codey: Uh-huh. (0:31:42) Al: Look forward to Overmagica coming out in 2025. (0:31:44) Codey: Woo! (0:31:45) Al: It just feels like that was a mistake to say. (0:31:53) Al: Just put an eye out there. (0:31:56) Codey: but yeah, not much to say about that. (0:31:57) Al: They’ve also said that it probably won’t be before mid-2024. (0:32:04) Al: So there you go. (0:32:05) Al: That’s all we’ve got on that one. (0:32:09) Al: we have turn it by crossed. (0:32:12) Al: with super raft boat together. (0:32:15) Al: So there’s a game apparently called super raft boats together. (0:32:19) Al: I have not. This is not a farming game. (0:32:22) Al: But it does look quite crazy. (0:32:25) Al: And there’s a new level of it with turn it by. (0:32:29) Codey: You haven’t played either of these games, so cool. (0:32:32) Codey: Thumbs up. (0:32:36) Al: Yeah, I don’t really know what to say about it. (0:32:38) Al: I like turn it by. (0:32:40) Al: It’s an interesting crossover. (0:32:42) Al: I can see why they did it because it does seem like a turn it by kind of game. (0:32:47) Al: Like I could see myself playing this game at some point, (0:32:52) Al: but I also have too many games to play. (0:32:57) Al: Stardew Valley, that game. (0:33:00) Al: Concerned Ape has posted a screenshot, (0:33:04) Al: which has a lot of stuff in it, (0:33:07) Al: but it’s showing a new year festival, (0:33:10) Al: which honestly I’m surprised we didn’t. (0:33:12) Al: have a new year festival before. Did we not have something? (0:33:16) Codey: I don’t think so. I also don’t know. I think I’ve only ever gotten into the second year in Stode Valley once. So I don’t… I’m not surprised that I didn’t know that this was a thing. Or if it was a thing. This one looks cool. It talks about like fortune. People in the comments are absolutely losing their minds because they’re heart shaped fireworks. (0:33:41) Codey: But people always lose their mind every time Concerned Ape drops a screenshot so that’s (0:33:46) Codey: all. So I don’t know. It looks good. Excited that he’s still… mhm. He’s still pumping (0:33:48) Al: Yeah, he knows exactly what he’s doing. (0:33:53) Al: The other thing I found interesting about this is, so you look like you’re looking at a little card and it says “Good fortune to you in the coming year” and I wonder whether because obviously Stardew Valley, you might not know listeners, but Stardew Valley has a luck system. So each day you have like a certain luck number and that defines a bunch of things including how often you find ore in the mines. That’s kind of the biggest one. (0:34:18) Al: I wonder whether this will affect luck at all. Like, is this saying “Good fortune to you in the coming year”? Is that going to actually increase your luck for the next year by a bit? And if you get a negative one, is that going to… Or am I just reading into this too much and it’s just a random card that everybody gets? (0:34:34) Codey: Who knows at this point. It also has a cow on it, so I wonder if it’s whatever’s in the middle of the card, like what if there’s a good fortune to you in the coming year and the middle is like a fruit? (0:34:50) Codey: Like, is this luck for the cows? Is it? (0:34:56) Al: Well, so, I mean, luck is just luck in the game unless he’s completely changed it so that luck is different for each different thing. (0:35:02) Al: That would be a lot of unnecessary work, I think. (0:35:06) Al: Who knows? (0:35:07) Codey: I really think he posted he posted it on on Happy New Year what if it is literally just him posting something that shows him it’s him saying Happy New Year 12 a.m. January 1st yeah what if it’s just him saying Happy New Year there’s nothing (0:35:07) Al: It also doesn’t look like any (0:35:20) Al: Well, that’s a good point. That was at midnight in Eastern time, right? Yeah. Because I didn’t notice that because it was 5am my time, so I obviously didn’t notice that. But yeah, (0:35:36) Al: that’s midnight Eastern time. Well, great. So yeah, another concern to eat to talk about for an unnecessary amount of time. (0:35:48) Al: Next! (0:35:50) Al: We have Pixel Cross, Story of Seasons, and this is, I mean it’s like Picross, but obviously it’s not branded Picross, but it’s that kind of game. (0:36:05) Al: But Stardew, no Stardew, Story of Seasons version, so yeah, that’s a thing. (0:36:11) Codey: Yep, you know Micah’s gonna play this. (0:36:15) Codey: I really like Picross, but I don’t know if I would play like a Story of Seasons specific one or anything. (0:36:22) Codey: I usually just play the ones that are free on like that I can download and play and I’ll play it for like three weeks straight and just play a heck ton of it and then that’s it and then I’m done. (0:36:35) Codey: But this looks cute. (0:36:36) Codey: I’m sure other people will like it. (0:36:38) Codey: I know Michael will like it and it’s coming on the 27th of (0:36:44) Al: I sent Micah a message with just the link to the video that will be in the show notes on the 23rd of December and then on Christmas day he replied to me and said, “I passed out when I saw this and only just recovered in time to say Merry Christmas.” (0:37:01) Al: So I think he’s excited. (0:37:03) Codey: He might be excited. (0:37:08) Al: That is coming in on the 27th of February this year. (0:37:12) Al: Pokemon D. (0:37:15) Al: That’s me just double-checking. Yes it is February correct, that is. (0:37:18) Codey: I was just gonna go with it. (0:37:21) Al: And our final news update of the episode is another new game called Tales of Saikyu. (0:37:33) Codey: Psych psych you yeah, I mean you’re right sick you thank you (0:37:38) Al: We’ll go with that Saikyu. So this is coming to Kickstarter soon. There is a Steam page up. (0:37:44) Al: But obviously it’s not released yet. They’re planning to release apparently this year, (0:37:49) Al: which is interesting. So I wonder if this is just a get it over the money for the Kickstarter being marketing or whatever. Or maybe it’s just the 2024 is there under the access, who knows. (0:38:01) Al: Anyway, so the blurb for this is embark on Saikyu, a fantasy farming adventure amidst Yokai legends. Can you restore a countryside into its former glory? (0:38:14) Al: Forge connections with extraordinary characters and uncover the hidden wonders of this magical world. (0:38:19) Al: So it’s farming and it’s yokai. So what more could you want? (0:38:23) Codey: Nah. (0:38:27) Al: Wow. (0:38:29) Codey: I’m sure some people will like it. (0:38:31) Al: Okay. (0:38:34) Codey: I Uh. (0:38:35) Al: Um, it looks like, so it looks, it looks like the yokai bit is you (0:38:40) Al: shapeshift into other creatures and you can be those creatures. (0:38:44) Al: when you play the game. (0:38:49) Codey: I’m just not, I don’t know, I’m not into it, but no. (0:38:53) Al: still not interested. Fair enough. I think it looks interesting. It’s a 3d adventure game. It looks really cool like I just there’s a bit where like he runs jumps off a cliff and transforms into a flying creature and just flies around and then he’s on the farm and he transforms into like a boar type thing and tells the ground. It’s kind of like paleo pines right where you use the dinosaurs for things but you are the creatures. (0:38:54) Codey: No. (laughs) (0:39:23) Al: You’re transforming into them. (0:39:24) Codey: Mm-hmm. I look forward to seeing more of it. (0:39:25) Al: I think it’s cool. (0:39:28) Al: I think this has got the best fishing in any game as well because they literally, they transform into like this little water creature, jump into the water, see a fish and literally just suck it up. (0:39:38) Al: They just, I got it now. (0:39:41) Codey: The kirby-it. (0:39:43) Codey: I will say I loved the… (0:39:45) Al: Yeah, yeah, look, can’t be a fish. (0:39:53) Codey: My favorite thing was you doing the second noise and then saying, “I’ve got it now,” (0:39:58) Codey: but with like, “Your mouth is full.” (0:40:03) Codey: I got right now. (0:40:06) Codey: Oh, we’re off the rails. (0:40:08) Codey: That was lovely. (0:40:09) Codey: Yeah, I think I need to see more. (0:40:10) Al: I just… I… I don’t want to eat a fish that somebody has curbed. That’s all I’m saying. (0:40:18) Codey: But it’s a fish that you have kirby’d. (0:40:20) Al: Well, yeah, but surely the fish aren’t just like (0:40:23) Al: presumably I’m selling the fish, right? (0:40:26) Codey: But how are they gonna know? They’re not gonna know. (0:40:30) Al: They’re not gonna know. How are they gonna know? (0:40:32) Codey: How are they gonna know? They’re not gonna know. How would they know? Kirby that fish. Oh, oh did you? (0:40:36) Al: No. No car being fish and then selling them. It’s bad. (0:40:45) Al: So the Kickstarter launch is on the 12th of January, so presumably we’ll get more information. (0:40:51) Codey: Cool. Sounds good. (0:40:53) Al: » All right, that’s the news. (0:40:57) Al: We’re now gonna talk about Carl Island. (0:41:00) Al: So a little bit of housekeeping around this. (0:41:05) Al: Obviously, we did have a previous episode about that, (0:41:08) Al: which it sounds like Cody listened to again in preparation for this. (0:41:11) Al: I did not, I thought I should, but I didn’t. (0:41:14) Al: I will link that in the show notes if you wanna go have a re-listen to that. (0:41:19) Al: Was it probably around the end of 2022? (0:41:22) Codey: Ooh, I don’t remember, um, I just, let’s see who can find it. (0:41:28) Al: Yes. Oh, no, no. No, apparently May 23. Wow. That took a long time. Yeah. Why so long? (0:41:31) Codey: Okay. (0:41:33) Codey: Wow. (0:41:35) Codey: Uh, well. (0:41:37) Codey: I don’t know. (0:41:40) Codey: But it’s still, yeah, you, you had thoughts and now it’s out for real reals and so we can discuss that. (0:41:48) Codey: Um… (0:41:48) Al: Yeah, yeah, so I wanted first of all to get Cody, you’ve not been on an episode of a card island yet. You’ve given a little bit of like you think it was obviously good. Do you think it was robbed from its game of the year position? So give us a quick rundown of what you think about the game. We obviously don’t want to go into too much detail about specifics. We can get into that later, but yeah. (0:41:52) Codey: Mm-mm. (0:42:08) Codey: I mean, everything that you said on the Game of the Year episode, I echo the fact that I think that it does everything that Stardew does, but better, it does things that Stardew doesn’t do. (0:42:17) Codey: So like the museum is like it has, it has the quote unquote community center, which is the temple, but then it also has like a huge museum that you can use. (0:42:30) Codey: And so it has that that that’s really cool. (0:42:34) Codey: All of the characters are attractive. (0:42:36) Codey: I can’t find… (0:42:38) Codey: Can someone be a real human, please? (0:42:44) Codey: But I like the bug catching mechanic. It’s really cool. (0:42:54) Codey: Some of them are really fast, some of them are really slow. (0:43:00) Codey: Some you do get to creep up on and some you have to just yeet yourself at. (0:43:04) Codey: Um, like that the mines are more expanded. (0:43:08) Codey: Um, so I will say I am in, I think I’m on like the second or third day of my first summer. (0:43:17) Codey: So I’m not far in the game, but I am enjoying the level of automation, um, where. (0:43:28) Codey: So I just have a heck ton of sprinklers and they all do like the surrounding eight tiles. (0:43:34) Codey: So I just like the first day of the month, I… (0:43:38) Codey: …set up all these sprinklers and hoe everything and plant seeds and then I never have to worry about it again. (0:43:46) Codey: I just walk away and I do other things and I really like that. (0:43:50) Codey: And they’re not difficult to make. I felt like in Stardew they were a lot more difficult to make. (0:43:54) Codey: But yeah, so I think that’s like my general summary is I like it. It is largely positive. (0:44:04) Codey: I can’t really think of anything that’s negative, honestly. (0:44:08) Codey: Because I think I just need to play more. (0:44:12) Codey: Yeah, that’s where I’m at. So yeah, those are my thoughts. What about you, Al? (0:44:18) Codey: Okay. (0:44:20) Al: So let’s, I want to talk about the automation first thing, because you brought that up, right? (0:44:23) Al: Because I think, I think it’s fantastic, right? And I think it’s so much better than it was as well. So you’re right in that you’ve got the, you know, your standard, what they call sprinklers, (0:44:37) Al: and you can just use them as normal sprinklers, but they also got, first of all, they have like the nine by nine level of sprinkler. Interestingly, in the game of the year episode, I was like, (0:44:48) Al: Like they’ve got a five by five spring. (0:44:50) Al: I didn’t mean to say five by five, of course they have a five by five, Stargia has a five by five. (0:44:54) Al: My point is they have a nine by nine. Right. And that’s fantastic. Nine by nine. Amazing. (0:45:00) Al: Eighty one squares, eighty squares if you’ve got, if you’ve got your sprinkler. It’s eighty squares of automated farming. (0:45:08) Al: And not only does it automate your watering, but also you can get this additional thing. (0:45:14) Al: I don’t know if you’ve had this yet. Have you had the additions to the sprinkler? Yeah. (0:45:18) Codey: So the only addition that I’ve had is the fertilizing one. (0:45:20) Al: Okay. Yeah, cool. I mean, that’s good. Let’s get in and of itself. But let me tell you, when you upgrade to the highest level of addition to the sprinkler, (0:45:30) Al: this thing will sow your seeds. It will fertilize your seeds. It will water your seeds. It will harvest your seeds. Right. (0:45:38) Al: So now what I’m doing at the beginning of a season is I’m just buying a thousand seeds and a thousand fertilizer. (0:45:48) Al: I go put them in the machine. (0:45:50) Al: And then I never have to think about it again until the first day of the next season, and it harvests everything. (0:45:56) Al: It’s amazing. I absolutely love it. (0:45:58) Al: And obviously, it’s one of these things where I know some people enjoy the manual labor part of that. (0:46:04) Al: But I’m very much a progression kind of person in these games. (0:46:08) Al: Like, that’s fine to do to start with, and that’s kind of the monotonous nature of that part is fine to start with. (0:46:14) Al: But I want to see improvements on that, and this has automation everywhere. (0:46:20) Al: It’s absolutely ridiculous the level of this author. (0:46:22) Codey: How much money do you have? (0:46:24) Al: Oh goodness, I haven’t opened the game in a few weeks. (0:46:28) Al: Thanks. (0:46:28) Codey: Because like I have not gone more than like… (0:46:32) Codey: I think that at one point I had like 3,000 or 4,000 but then I ended up upgrading something so that I was back down to 1,000. (0:46:39) Codey: But each seed is like 20 or 30 monies. (0:46:43) Codey: So it would be like 20 or 30,000 if you’re buying a thousand seeds. (0:46:48) Codey: That’s bananas. (0:46:50) Al: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I have quite a lot of money, double check what my deal is, but yeah, it is crazy and I love it. It’s fantastic. I think being able to do all that, because like, I think maybe like half of my farm is now just plots of land with these automated things. Like it’s amazing. I love it. It’s fantastic. The game’s updating so I can’t actually check just now. (0:47:18) Al: Um, okay, cool. (0:47:20) Al: Automation, I don’t think there’s like, I think that that is what it is, right? (0:47:23) Al: If you like automation and farming games, the automation, this game is fantastic. (0:47:27) Al: Could they add more? (0:47:28) Al: Yeah, they probably could, but it’s still great because they’ve also put like some thought into the, what I find really annoying is when you’ve got like, Oh, (0:47:38) Al: here’s a sprinkler that does this many plots of land and there’s this, that has this many, and then the scarecrow does this, but it doesn’t really overlap in a right way. If you have everything maximum (0:47:50) Al: you’ve got the nine by nine sprinkler. You can have four of them completely contained within the biggest scarecrow. So you’ll have obviously one line through that that isn’t covered and stuff, but I use that for a path. But the four of those will fit perfectly inside a scarecrow, right? There’s no off by one or annoyances in terms of like how you lay out your farm, which I really appreciate. (0:48:19) Al: Obviously, there are still… (0:48:20) Al: I think it’s 3x3 and then 5x5, and then it goes up to 9x9. (0:48:26) Codey: There’s starts with three by three. I haven’t gotten there yet (0:48:40) Codey: Five by five seems right (0:48:43) Codey: So five five five five seems right. I think that’s what you and Bev were talking about when y’all were on the (0:48:50) Al: The 9x9 didn’t exist at that point, though. (0:48:54) Al: Most of the top level of things didn’t exist at that point, and almost all the automation stuff d

Welcome to the very FIRST episode of Cup of Cozy! We're starting off with a bit of a fluffy episode - games I'm looking forward to in 2024. 2023 was a great year for cozy games and 2024 looks to be great as well!  Games Mentioned: Spirit City Lo-fi Sessions - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2113850/Spirit_City_Lofi_Sessions/ Summerhouse - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2533960/SUMMERHOUSE/ Moonlight Peaks -  https://store.steampowered.com/app/2209900/Moonlight_Peaks/ Tales of the Shire - https://twitter.com/talesoftheshire Garden Life: A Cozy Simulator - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1915380/Garden_Life_A_Cozy_Simulator/ Everholm - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2312520/Everholm/ Magical Delicacy - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2231190/Magical_Delicacy/ Stardew Valley (1.6 Update) -  https://twitter.com/ConcernedApe/status/1707155027914035542 Chef RPG - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1796790/Chef_RPG/ Paralives - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1118520/Paralives/ Haunted Chocolatier - https://www.hauntedchocolatier.net/ ~ ‧₊˚ follow me across all of my social media platforms! • tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@laelindria • twitter - https://twitter.com/laelindria • instagram - https://www.instagram.com/laelindria/ ‧₊˚  join our cozy and welcoming discord community! - https://discord.gg/Ux9c5dh84V ‧₊˚ support me directly via tips and subscriptions and get a member-only bonus episode each month on ko-fi!  - https://ko-fi.com/laelindria ‧₊˚ come hang out on twitch! https://www.twitch.tv/laelindria

This week, Colin and Chris are reacting to many trailers released including the highly anticipated first look at GTA VI. The pair talks about the real-world repercussions of an all-digital world, the grit shown by Stardew Valley creator, ConcernedApe, and give their review of Godzilla: Minus One.Reach us via email: simplywhelmedmailbag@gmail.comTwitter: @whelmed_simplyInstagram: simplywhelmedpodcastFacebook: The Simply Whelmed Podcast

Al and Codey talk about the games in the Wholesome Snack Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:01:50: What Have We Been Up To 00:09:38: Turnip Boy Robs A Bank 00:13:11: Pixelshire 00:13:57: Botany Manor 00:15:56: Roots Of Pacha 00:18:02: Tchia 00:19:29: Bear And Breakfast 00:20:23: Everdream Valley 00:22:11: Harvest Moon: The Winds Of Anthos 00:26:22: One Lonely Outpost 00:27:07: Stardew Valley 00:30:46: Disney Dreamlight Valley 00:35:44: Fae Farm 00:38:14: Wholesome Games Bundle 00:40:38: Wholesome Snack 00:41:59: Vivarium 00:45:37: Communite 00:47:13: Lightyear Frontier 00:49:05: Go-Go Town 00:52:21: Snacko 00:56:47: Usagi Shima 00:59:27: Eastward Octopia 01:00:56: Summer House 01:02:44: Bugaboo Pocket 01:07:36: Voyagers Of Nera 01:10:14: Outro Links Turnip Boy Robs a Bank Release Date Pixelshire Info Botany Manor Roots of Pacha 1.1 Update Tchia Steam Release and Updates Bear and Breakfast Everdream Valley Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos Update Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos DLC One Lonely Outpost Unrefiner Update Stardew Valley Concert New Dates Stardew Valley Big Chest Disney Dreamlight Valley Pumpkin King Update Disney Dreamlight Valley A Rift In Time DLC Fae Farm DLC Wholesome Games Humble Bundle Wholesome Snack Vivarium Communite Lightyear Frontier Go-Go Town Snacko Usagi Shima Eastward Octopia Summer House Bugaboo Pocket Voyagers of Nera Codey on Twitter Codey on Bluesky Codey on Instagram Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers, and welcome to another episode of The Harvest Season. My name is Al, (0:00:36) Codey: And my name is Codey. (0:00:38) Al: and we are here today to talk about farming game, (0:00:42) Al: cartridge core games, games, lots of all the games. So many games. (0:00:45) Codey: Wholesome games that are snack related. Woo! (0:00:51) Al: Sure. Before we get into it, transcripts are available on the show notes and on the website. (0:00:57) Al: Go get them if you need them. (0:01:00) Al: We are going to talk just… I mean it’s basically all news, because we are recording this two hours after the wholesome snack came out. (0:01:04) Codey: Yeah. (0:01:09) Al: Which apparently is a short one, but it was half an hour long, so it wasn’t particularly short, but there we are. (0:01:14) Codey: Yeah, I wish there was a visual component because when you sit apparently it was a short one, my face was rude. (0:01:22) Codey: I was like, “Mmm, no.” (0:01:25) Al: Yeah. (0:01:27) Al: That’s what they said. I mean, like, the direct in June was… (0:01:30) Al: I know we’re long, so like, sure fine, it’s shorter, but shorter is not the same as short. (0:01:37) Codey: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. (0:01:39) Al: Anyway, so we’re going to talk about all that. There’s a lot of other news as well, so I think we’ll do all the other news first, and then we’ll get into the wholesome snack stuff. (0:01:43) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:01:47) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:01:48) Al: So we’ll just, we’ll take it as it goes. But first of all, Codey, what have you been up to? (0:01:49) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:01:53) Codey: I have been playing, uh, Disney Dreamlight Valley. (0:01:58) Codey: Um, yeah, I have also been playing, uh, that one thing, my Tetris game. (0:02:07) Codey: Um, I’m pulling, I’m pulling it up right now. (0:02:07) Al: Oh yeah. I was like, “What one thing?” Oh yes, that thing, the scam game. (0:02:09) Codey: They had, they, yeah, my scam game. (0:02:13) Codey: They have a thing going on right now. (0:02:15) Codey: I don’t know how long it’s going on for, but, like, you earn five times points. (0:02:19) Codey: Um, and so I’m actually at 887 million, or, sorry, 887,000 points. (0:02:20) Al: Ooh. (0:02:25) Codey: I am almost to a mill, I know, I’m almost to a million points. (0:02:25) Al: Oh my word. (0:02:28) Al: Get a cruise. (0:02:29) Codey: I’m going, though, I will say, I will say the cruises that they have right now, um, (0:02:31) Al: Where’s the current cruise? (0:02:35) Codey: Our two million points not one million points. So there are some there are some shifting baselines. (0:02:38) Al: Oh, see, I see what’s happening here. (0:02:42) Al: They just keep jumping up the prices when people get close to it. (0:02:47) Codey: Let me see. Oh yeah so for 13 oh no there’s there’s a five-day cruise to the Caribbean for 1500. (0:02:47) Al: Sneaky. (0:02:55) Al: Like 1.5 million, right? (0:02:56) Codey: Uh you have so correct sorry one and a half million. (0:03:00) Al: It’s like 1,500! Oh my word! You can get a lot of cruises right now! (0:03:04) Codey: No, and so yeah, it’s a complimentary five day cruise. (0:03:07) Codey: Uh, the cool thing about this one is that you leave Miami, Florida, you go, um, to Belize in Mexico, and then you go back to Miami, Florida. (0:03:15) Codey: So some of these cruises, like, especially once to Alaska, like they take, they grab you in like Washington and then drop you off in Alaska. (0:03:21) Codey: So you’re going to still have to like find a way back, but that one does not. (0:03:24) Al: Yeah, that’s not ideal. Yeah, but you have to go to Florida. (0:03:24) Codey: That one’s pretty good. (0:03:25) Codey: Um. (0:03:34) Codey: Um yeah so um bustin butt on that game for sure. Um also pokemon go and I think those are oh and pigman bloom but those are pretty basic um standard games. I also have been uh I upgraded to game pass ultimate so I have the ability to play some other games. Oh I played one game (0:03:59) Codey: that was like uh it like (0:04:04) Codey: built bent the world like worked on perception gosh what the heck was it called I don’t know it’s like me only like four hours to beat but it was really good yeah I’m upset that I can’t remember the subliminal super liminal something like that very good though yeah that’s yep super liminal so I think That’s what it’s called. It was very good. There’s (0:04:12) Al: Yeah, nice. That’s our Atlantic game I like. (0:04:32) Codey: It’s it (0:04:34) Codey: Yeah, very good. And I because there are games on game pass that I want to play like Coral Island and Echo Snipe Market. There’s like a bunch of games that are available, but I want to stay dedicated to Disney Dreamlight Valley for reasons. (0:04:52) Al: Speaking of Carl Island, I have been playing Carl Island a lot. I’ve almost hit 100 hours on that game now. I’ve just finished year three in the game and now I’m taking a wee we break to play some other games, but yeah, yeah, it’s not (0:04:54) Codey: So yeah, what about you? What have you wanted to? (0:05:07) Codey: Yeah, didn’t you say like you’re after your your you said you’re gonna take a break after year three? (0:05:22) Al: not. I mean, that gives you an idea of how much I like this game, because I don’t, I think stardew is the only other game that I went, I went to like at least two years, (0:05:32) Al: right? Like I don’t, I don’t do that often. It’s because it’s really hard to get through though to like actually sink a decent amount of time into these games. Um, this, this one just kept me going and I like how it kept me going the second time I came to it as well. (0:05:47) Al: Right, it wasn’t just like, I spent like what, 40 hours in the first time and I’ve (0:05:52) Al: stunk in another 60 hours, right? So like, that’s pretty good. Uh, you know, like it’s impressive to, for me to spend that amount of time on a game, a game which I have not spent that long in is Coa and the Five Pirates. Uh, so I have finished that game, but it’s a very nice short game. So it took me five hours. I’ve not like a hundred percented everything. (0:06:15) Al: I think you could maybe add on like another two to three hours if you want to a hundred percent everything but I was pretty happy. (0:06:22) Al: happy with it. So that’s the 3D platformer from the Summer in Mara people. So it was good fun. We have an extra story in that world and a fun platforming game. The bosses in particular were very fun, some good challenges and different ways of doing things. So it’s not just like the same thing over and over again. It really felt like each level they they kind of had crafted nicely. (0:06:23) Codey: Mm-hmm. Okay. (0:06:51) Al: So that was good. (0:06:53) Al: I have just started a Highland song, because that came out yesterday. (0:06:58) Al: That is a platformer based in the Scottish Highlands, but it also has some rhythm-based parts to it. (0:07:09) Al: It’s a really interesting game, and it’s really hard to explain, but essentially it’s a platformer, (0:07:14) Al: but it’s like an exploration platformer, kind of. (0:07:19) Al: But it’s also like a story game. (0:07:21) Al: the I mean everything about this game is just gorgeous. Like I love how it looks, I love how it plays, I love the music, (0:07:28) Al: like everything about it is just fantastic. And like real Scott, (0:07:30) Codey: Okay, that’s high praise, high praise it being about the Scottish Highlands and coming from a Scott, so. (0:07:37) Al: and it’s got real Scottish accents in it so. (0:07:39) Codey: Mm-hmm, awesome. (0:07:43) Al: And finally I’ve been playing the Beat Saber original soundtrack 6, so that just came out (0:07:51) Al: tonight today I think (0:07:52) Al: um so i’ve been playing that so that’s got a dragon force song, a lindsay starling song, (0:08:01) Al: a camellia song, and another song by someone I hadn’t heard of but I enjoyed it nonetheless. (0:08:07) Al: So now I just want more dragon force and more lindsay starling songs like they’re both really fun to play to. The camellia one and the other one were good as well but we already have a camellia pack so like there’s plenty of that I really want really want the others. (0:08:23) Al: Um yeah lots. I so I play it on the quest 2, the meta quest 2. (0:08:24) Codey: - What do you play that on? (0:08:33) Al: At this point trying with all my might not to buy the meta quest 3, especially as they just released an update for beat saber on the quest 3 that gives it 120 frames per second on which is just wild because it’s like the one thing that i’d not hugely a fact well the two things that i’m that I’m not a huge fan of with the Quest 2. (0:08:52) Al: one, the cameras to put you in the augmented part of it are not great, right? You can kind of see the shapes and everything. You can figure out where you are, but you can’t make out anything on it. And the Quest 3 has much better cameras. And sometimes it’s a little bit like, “Oh, that wasn’t quite the right kind of refresh rate, and I felt a little bit dizzy from that.” So it doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen enough to make me want to not have that. (0:09:22) Al: So yeah, we’ll see what happens. (0:09:28) Codey: Cool. (0:09:29) Al: What happens? (0:09:30) Al: Making you sound like it’s a surprise. (0:09:31) Al: Oh no! (0:09:32) Al: What happened? (0:09:33) Al: Oops, I bought it. (0:09:34) Codey: What? What could possibly… (0:09:34) Al: How did that happen? (0:09:35) Al: Shall we talk about some news, Codey? (0:09:40) Codey: Let’s do it. (0:09:42) Al: Let’s start off with Turnitboy Robsabank. (0:09:45) Al: They have announced that their release date is the 18th of January. (0:09:49) Al: Oh… (0:09:50) Codey: I just want, so like the fact that they’re making this turn up to all these illegal things (0:09:58) Codey: I really want the next one to be turn it boy breaks up a marriage just for you Al (0:10:04) Al: Why- Laughter (0:10:06) Al: No! Laughter (0:10:06) Codey: Like have you ever wanted to evade taxes? Have you ever wanted to rob a bank? (0:10:08) Al: Right, no, no, no, no, no, no [Laughter] (0:10:12) Al: I also don’t, like, in real life, want to break up marriages, right? (0:10:16) Al: Like, that’s- Laughter (0:10:18) Al: You’re making it sound like I’m a homewrecker! (0:10:22) Codey: You want to be a video game? You want the option. (0:10:22) Al: I just- Laughter (0:10:24) Al: In- in my- Laughter (0:10:26) Al: In my farming games! Laughter (0:10:28) Codey: No, I love, I just saw this title and I was like, (0:10:32) Codey: they’re making this poor turn up to all these things. (0:10:37) Al: No one’s making him do anything. He’s choosing to do this. He is crazy. (0:10:39) Codey: Yeah, he’s a goofy goober. (0:10:43) Codey: So, I mean, so you’ve played the first one. (0:10:46) Codey: Does this seem, is this like a sequel? (0:10:48) Codey: Like, do you get to continue on from the same? (0:10:49) Al: Yeah. (0:10:51) Al: Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s the sequel. Like it’s a continuation of Turn It By Story. (0:10:59) Al: I mean, it looks good. It looks like it takes kind of what was in the first game and adds some more other ideas like the first game didn’t. (0:11:07) Al: Have guns, for example. (0:11:08) Codey: The picture of him, the logo when he’s holding a gun. (0:11:15) Codey: Oh my god. (0:11:17) Al: I mean, nobody robs a bank with not a gun, right? (0:11:20) Al: Like, that’s kind of a requirement to rob a bank. (0:11:22) Codey: I feel like people will rob banks in countries that don’t allow guns without guns. (0:11:27) Codey: There’s gotta be like… (0:11:29) Al: Yeah, they just get guns, right? Like, yeah, sure, guns are illegal. And, you know, this is not a political point, but it doesn’t mean that there are no guns, right? Like, you can still get guns. (0:11:41) Al: Like, do you think gun people, for countries that have no legal guns, still have zero guns, right? (0:11:46) Al: If you’re going to rob a bank, you can get a gun, right? It’s harder to get it. Like, I’m not saying that gun controls don’t work. They do. But it doesn’t mean that literally nobody can ever get to gun and therefore you got to rob a bank with a knife, right? Like, which would be significantly harder. (0:11:50) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:12:06) Codey: I feel like that would make– that’s like how you play this game on hard mode. (0:12:10) Al: No guns. (0:12:10) Codey: That should be what’s hard mode. There’s just no guns and you gotta rob the bank. (0:12:15) Al: There are a lot of guns in this trailer. Lots of different guns. And also a spaceship at the end. (0:12:18) Codey: There are. There are. There really are. Yeah, yeah, there’s an alien at the end. I didn’t know if like it was a character that you’ve already seen or something because, um, like they have the outline of the character. Yeah, they have the outline of the character and like you can see that it kind kind of has like maybe sunglasses on. (0:12:29) Al: The alien, no. (0:12:36) Codey: And I didn’t know if there was maybe like a link to the previous game. (0:12:38) Al: No, I don’t recognize that character. (0:12:41) Codey: Cool. (0:12:42) Codey: Cool, cool, cool. (0:12:43) Codey: How is the alien going to help? (0:12:45) Codey: Are they going to give you more advanced guns? (0:12:47) Codey: Is that how that works? (0:12:49) Al: Oh, I did see a laser gun at one point. (0:12:51) Codey: Are they, are they like also trying, they came from space to rob the exact same bank that you’re trying to rob? (0:12:58) Codey: Like are they competition? (0:12:58) Al: I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. This game’s coming to Windows, Switch and Xbox, (0:13:02) Codey: Uh. (0:13:04) Al: and it’s also coming to Game Pass. And there’s a new trailer. There you go. Done. Right. (0:13:06) Codey: Mm-hm, January 18th, next. (0:13:10) Al: January 18th. Pixel Shire is no longer coming to Early Access and is releasing next year. (0:13:16) Al: Cool. Great. No real comment on that. Good for you. It seems like an interesting thing to be like, “We’re coming to Early Access,” and then be like, “Aha! No, we’re not.” But (0:13:16) Codey: Yep. Take your time. (0:13:21) Codey: Good for her. (0:13:27) Codey: Well, it’s not that. It’s not like a “ha ha, we pulled the rug from you.” (0:13:33) Codey: We were optimistic and life happens and that’s okay. That’s okay, Pixel Shire. (0:13:36) Al: No, I think their point is they don’t, I think what they’re trying to say is they don’t (0:13:42) Codey: That is true. In the thing, they’re like, (0:13:45) Codey: we’re not going to do early access. (0:13:46) Codey: at all, we’re just going to release 1.0 in the neck. (0:13:49) Codey: I don’t understand what the benefit of that is, but sure. (0:13:52) Codey: Cool. (0:13:52) Codey: You do you it’s, it’s your stuff. (0:13:53) Al: We’ll see what happens. (0:13:58) Al: Botany Manor is releasing in Spring 2024 on Steam Switch, Xbox and Game Pass. (0:14:05) Codey: Yeah and it is they mentioned it in the Twitter like someone asked if it’s going to be steam deck verified and they said yeah not going to be on PlayStation that’s another comment from someone on the Twitter Twitter post tweet (0:14:17) Al: I mean, I feel like Steam Deck verification is just kind of a default for these things now, (0:14:21) Al: like, if you’re not supporting all the Steam Deck stuff, get out of here, go away. I don’t want you. (0:14:26) Codey: Okay, okay. (0:14:28) Al: Right. Bare minimum. Bare minimum. (0:14:28) Codey: Um, look, looks really cool, though. (0:14:31) Codey: I don’t know if we’ve talked about this game before, but I hadn’t seen it and it looks really cool. (0:14:35) Al: We’ve mentioned it somewhere, but yeah, it’s like, you’re running a botany. (0:14:40) Codey: Um, a bot–a botany. (0:14:40) Al: No, why is it a botany? Botanical gardens, I guess, would be. Is that what it is? (0:14:44) Codey: You–you encounter a botanical garden place, like– (0:14:46) Al: Please. (0:14:49) Al: Running a botany. (0:14:51) Codey: You’re basically it seems like there’s like there was a botanist’s house. Maybe the botanist passed away (0:14:56) Codey: She’s like elsewhere on a vacation or something But like you come upon her house and then you kind of like using her notes try and find plants that are (0:15:06) Codey: Lost like plants that might have died out somehow or they’re just missing like they they’re like this plant should exist And then it’s like boom you can make it Looks really cool. I wonder if they’re gonna teach you how to take care of real plants because your girl needs it I’m pretty sure this is I always want this. I’m pretty sure that this game (0:15:22) Al: You’re always wanting that, goodness me. (0:15:27) Codey: Mmm, I should yeah, it’s it’s (0:15:32) Codey: Per published published by white thorn games, which is the same game publisher that published a pico (0:15:39) Codey: And I told the a pico people that I wanted this (0:15:43) Codey: Also white thorn games is like based in like three hours for me very cool (0:15:51) Codey: So cool excited we’ll get it on game pass Yes. (0:15:57) Al: Roots of Patcher have released their 1.1 update and are on Switch and PlayStation now. (0:16:03) Al: Codey, is there anything I need to care about this update because I’ve still not played (0:16:04) Codey: The update… (0:16:08) Codey: I think that the update only adds stuff to… (0:16:12) Codey: I don’t think it’s going to add anything that’s going to make people that haven’t played it want to play it. (0:16:16) Codey: I think it’s just a benefit if you’ve already played it before. (0:16:20) Codey: So they include a new animal, which is called the Oryx. It’s kind of like a bison-ish thing. (0:16:24) Codey: You’re able to sit down now. (0:16:26) Codey: There’s a new romanceable character. (0:16:28) Codey: And oh, you do get the ability to break up with people. (0:16:32) Codey: So like if you decided you want to date. (0:16:34) Codey: someone and then you’re like yeah then you actually can like go in and be like I think it’s a like disband Union or something like that and then you can (0:16:42) Al: Yeah, they don’t have marriage because obviously that’s a modern concept. They have unions instead. (0:16:46) Codey: unions and so you can disband that and like go be with someone else and it said something like your the people will be upset but they’ll get they’ll get over it you can now harvest meat from traps and there are new cutscenes and other things so yeah they’ll just get over it they’ll be fine (0:17:00) Al: They’ll get over it who cares doesn’t doesn’t matter Bye! (0:17:04) Codey: so yeah I think it’s it’s things that kind of enhance the world and the interactability and the choices that you can make which is really cool but I don’t think like you’re saying like someone who hasn’t played it I don’t think these are things that are gonna be like ooh you can that’s gonna bring me to the game well now there’s this cool update you can get an oryx you can ride an oryx I’m assuming you can write an oryx well it’s it’s a (0:17:23) Al: I mean I do want to play it, I’ve just not done it yet. Too many games. (0:17:29) Al: Whatever that is. Is that a real animal or is this a thing they’ve made up? (0:17:34) Codey: an extinct animal but yes it was a real animal yeah it’s like a bison so I said (0:17:37) Al: Oh it’s just like a cow with horns. (0:17:42) Al: Interesting. What do I look like? Someone who knows what a bison is? (0:17:47) Codey: known because your voice is not from America so there’s a lot of bison here yeah skeleton what’s crazy (0:17:52) Al: Oh, the skeleton looks creepy. (0:17:54) Al: I wanna ride the skeleton one. (0:17:58) Al: Hey, oh yes, that’s a bison, I recognize that. (0:18:03) Al: Tch, tch, chia. (0:18:04) Codey: chia mm-hmm (0:18:06) Al: Tch, chia is out now. (0:18:09) Al: Wait, no, we already knew that. (0:18:10) Al: Why are you adding that? (0:18:11) Al: They were already, they’ve been out for ages. (0:18:15) Al: Goodness me, let me try that again. (0:18:17) Codey: listeners behind the scenes I wrote that they’re out now he just had it that they were they were releasing on Steam in March and I was like is this are they not out I Chia okay on Bye. (0:18:22) Al: Tch, chia. (0:18:28) Al: Right, tchia, tchia, which is already out on PlayStation (0:18:35) Al: and in the Epic Game Store is coming on Steam in March. (0:18:40) Al: Is that better? (0:18:42) Codey: I wonder. (0:18:43) Al: And they’re adding a bunch of updates. (0:18:48) Codey: The updates that are coming are an outfit perk system. (0:18:50) Codey: So basically the items will now give you buffs, (0:18:53) Codey: like outfit, like items that you wear. (0:18:55) Codey: There’s also new cosmetic items. (0:18:58) Codey: The comment that I wrote is look like the clown that you are. (0:19:02) Codey: Because you can look like a clown. (0:19:06) Codey: Yeah, that’s because I’m a clown. (0:19:10) Codey: That’s the joke. (0:19:11) Codey: New soul melodies. (0:19:11) Codey: So basically it’s new ways to– (0:19:12) Codey: interact with your environment. (0:19:15) Codey: They– in the trailer, they show that you use a soul melody and it like blows something up, which is really interesting. (0:19:22) Codey: Yeah, that’s– that’s that. (0:19:25) Al: It’s Windows only, by the way, it’s not Mac. Sods. (0:19:26) Codey: Thank you. (0:19:27) Codey: I was about to look. (0:19:30) Al: Bear and Breakfast are coming to PS4 and PS5. (0:19:34) Al: I was funny when they say that it’s like, is there a PS4 version that you can play on the PS5 or is it a PS4 version and a PS5 version? (0:19:42) Codey: Mm-hmm (0:19:42) Al: I suspect it’s a PS4 version that you can play on the PS5. (0:19:45) Al: Anyway, whoever. (0:19:46) Codey: Yeah (0:19:48) Al: Just coming on the 12th of December next week. (0:19:53) Codey: There’s also a new trailer that they have that they put in it and that trailer was unnecessarily dramatic and I absolutely (0:20:02) Al: It is completely in fitting with their entire social media. (0:20:08) Codey: I love it. I want more. 10 out of 10 recommend that people watch it. And play that game. (0:20:16) Al: You played it, didn’t you? Yeah, you were on the on the app. (0:20:18) Codey: It’s a good game. I did. (0:20:24) Al: Everdream Valley, which is already out on other things, is coming to Xbox on the 15th of December. (0:20:26) Codey: it’s coming thank you (0:20:36) Al: It’s funny because they say our Xbox One version and the comments are like, oh, what about the other consoles? (0:20:42) Al: like that’s what they mean is they’ve done what I would talking about with beer and breakfast right it’s an xbox one version that works on xbox series x and s so they just they’ve worded it in a confusing way (0:20:54) Codey: And the more important thing is the release date of December 15th is also the day that Twitter user MrRedEyes19 was planning on proposing to his girlfriend. And so he’s saying that it’ll be the perfect engagement gift and I need the tea. I need to know if he– how that ends up. (0:21:14) Al: It feels really risky to tweet that beforehand. (0:21:16) Codey: Doesn’t it though? What if she saw that? Like what if she– (0:21:24) Al: There isn’t a huge amount on their Twitter to, you know, suggest who they are, so. (0:21:31) Codey: I need the tea though. I need the tea. I need to know if his girlfriend, or their girlfriend, if their girlfriend says yes and if she does, if they give her that game, or I need to know. (0:21:49) Al: I got so confused there. (0:21:52) Al: With your changing of what pronouns you were using, I just got so confused to say “see”. (0:21:55) Codey: Well, cause I don’t know. They say girlfriend, but I’m not assuming they’re genders. (0:21:57) Al: No, no, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. (0:22:02) Codey: I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to do that. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. (0:22:02) Al: I agree with that, it was just because you changed halfway through, (0:22:06) Al: I was like “what is, who’s who now in this situation?” (0:22:07) Codey: It was a self-correction. Speaking of self-corrections, Harvest Moon, the Winds of Anthos, is releasing a relaxed mode coming in an update. (0:22:14) Al: Oh (0:22:19) Codey: This update has, there’s less stamina lost as you’re maneuvering the world, and the days are longer. (0:22:27) Codey: or longer so to me this like means that you are able to do more and there’s it’s like (0:22:31) Codey: less on hard mode like and I get my question with that is does this address the concerns that folks had like did you play this game and was this a complaint that you had? (0:22:33) Al: Yeah… (0:22:37) Al: I mean… (0:22:41) Al: It addresses one of the complaints, but it’s like one out of like 50. (0:22:45) Al: I mean part of my problem with this game is it just didn’t even feel fun to play. Now, (0:22:51) Al: the stamina loss when you’re moving, yeah, I didn’t enjoy that, right? It’s one of these things where it’s like, yeah sure, (0:22:57) Al: that’s more realistic, but not as fun, right? And the point is we’re taking (0:23:03) Al: things that are like real life and we’re making them fun, right? Like I’m very much a… (0:23:08) Al: I’d rather more fun than more realistic, and that’s certainly the case there. So it is a welcome change. (0:23:15) Al: I didn’t particularly feel like the days were very short, so that doesn’t really make much of a difference, (0:23:20) Al: but I mean the game’s still not gonna be fun to play, I don’t think. (0:23:24) Al: But each to their own. (0:23:26) Al: I don’t… (0:23:26) Codey: Uh, is, is the introduction of pizza in the new DLC, uh, the new crops, fish and recipes pack available is, does that increase your funds? (0:23:33) Al: So, I’m really fascinated by this, right? Because, like, some of these things are like, (0:23:40) Al: “Oh, cool, they’ve added killer tomatoes, and they’ve added Nejog, and a bunch of new fish, (0:23:47) Al: and pla- right, pizza seem- I mean, it feels like a kind of base game food, right? Like, (0:23:54) Al: it seems like an odd one to leave for a DLC. I’m not, as some commenters are suggesting, (0:24:01) Al: it should all be a free update because… (0:24:03) Al: Stardew does that, right? (0:24:06) Al: Like, I mean, let’s not make Stardew the base for what you should be doing for your free updates. (0:24:14) Al: They are definitely the extreme for that and you should not expect 10 years of free updates to a game. (0:24:20) Al: Do not expect that, right? (0:24:22) Al: Stardew is one person who can afford to do that now. (0:24:28) Al: Most people can’t do that, right? (0:24:30) Al: Like, don’t expect that. (0:24:32) Codey: I do love one of the comments says, “Imagine making a pizza recipe deals.” (0:24:33) Al: The other stuff I can see why you would think that was an interesting thing to add, but pizza? (0:24:44) Codey: You’d pay for that? You’d pay for all that stuff? You’re gonna… okay, okay. (0:24:44) Al: Why? (0:24:45) Al: No, I’m not saying I would pay for it. (0:24:49) Al: I’m not saying I would pay for it. (0:24:50) Al: I’m saying I understand why they would add it as a paid update. (0:24:54) Al: I do not understand why pizza is in a DLC. (0:24:56) Codey: Yeah, I don’t understand. I mean it seems like there’s (0:24:58) Al: Such a weird, weird thing. (0:25:01) Codey: Depending on how I mean, do we have an amount for how much that DLC costs? (0:25:05) Codey: because I wouldn’t (0:25:06) Al: I mean, whatever it is is too much (0:25:08) Codey: Yeah (0:25:13) Al: Give me a minute. Let me look let me look (0:25:15) Codey: Yeah for it to just add like a more fish more flowers recipes and tomatoes that can kill you I’m assuming (0:25:24) Codey: Just doesn’t seem like you should have to be (0:25:26) Codey: for that. Oh! That’s not that bad. (0:25:28) Al: Two dollars. (0:25:33) Al: It is like, why why? (0:25:36) Al: It’s so odd. (0:25:37) Al: It feels like they wanted to bump up the number of DLCs. (0:25:43) Al: Because you can like bundle them all together, right? (0:25:45) Al: Like or you can buy them separately, fine, whatever. (0:25:47) Al: But like I just who’s going, oh, yeah, I want to buy the the pizza DLC, (0:25:54) Al: not the the animals DLC or like I want to buy them. (0:25:58) Al: The game that added tool upgrades as a DLC, which I do think is a ridiculous thing to be in your DLC. That’s definitely a base game thing. Don’t add tool updates in your DLC. (0:26:11) Al: That is bizarre. I don’t know. I want to start. Can I can I stop talking about this game, please? (0:26:14) Codey: What game? One Lonely Outpost? (0:26:18) Al: I’m done with this game. This stupid game. One lonely outpost. This is an interesting, (0:26:26) Al: small update. I don’t know why we’re talking about. (0:26:28) Al: But there we are. They’ve added a new thing to the game and it no longer pretends to be an oven. (0:26:29) Codey: It’s funny. (0:26:32) Codey: Well, so it wasn’t… (0:26:35) Codey: Yeah, that’s what I was going to say. (0:26:37) Codey: I don’t think that they’re adding it now. (0:26:40) Al: No, they did add it. The bit at the top is like, “Oh, hey, we fixed this in a patch on top of it.” (0:26:40) Codey: It’s… (0:26:45) Codey: Yeah, so they had something called, they had something called an unrefiner, (0:26:45) Al: But if you read below, they’re actually talking about it being brand new. (0:26:50) Codey: which I’m assuming just like takes a thing and makes it its base thing. (0:26:52) Al: Unrefined. (0:26:55) Codey: So, but apparently you would place it in the world and it would just become an oven. (0:26:56) Al: Yeah. (0:26:58) Al: No it doesn’t. Awesome. Stardew Valley. Codey, they added more dates for the Stardew Valley concert. And there’s one in Edinburgh, which is my city, and I have tickets. I have bought tickets. I got tickets. Oh my word. Let me tell you, this was so stressful. The The concert sold out in 90… (0:27:05) Codey: It doesn’t do that anymore, yay. (0:27:11) Codey: What? What? (0:27:14) Codey: They did. (0:27:16) Codey: And… (0:27:18) Codey: And… (0:27:20) Codey: Yay! (0:27:24) Codey: Okay. (0:27:28) Al: Nine minutes. The Edinburgh concert. Nine minutes. (0:27:28) Codey: Okay. (0:27:30) Codey: Okay. (0:27:33) Al: That was so stressful, let me tell you. (0:27:34) Codey: Yeah. (0:27:37) Al: But I got it. I got it. And I got… I mean, they weren’t the best tickets, right? (0:27:41) Al: But they weren’t what they called restricted view. They weren’t restricted view. So… (0:27:44) Codey: The worst tickets. (0:27:48) Codey: They’re not the best, but they’re not the worst. (0:27:51) Al: Exactly. So my word. And the Europe ticket… So they added a whole bunch more because it was (0:27:58) Al: one in Europe. So there was one London show and that was the only one in Europe. (0:27:58) Codey: Mm-hmm and that’s sold out. (0:28:02) Al: And they added… And it sold out within seconds. (0:28:06) Codey: I wonder how many people like imagine if if you’re someone from like Italy and you’re like oh my god it’s gonna be in London and then now you’re seeing that there’s one in Italy. Like are they gonna are they gonna riff on the London tickets and go to the Italy one? Who knows? I’m assuming these are all these are all gonna sell out these are all gonna sell out (0:28:12) Al: Yeah. Yeah. And you book your tickets together. Yeah, I know. I know. (0:28:22) Al: Oh, I suspect so. I suspect. They do ticket reselling. (0:28:28) Al: Well, most of them already are sold out, so the four of the eight are already sold out, and two haven’t gone on sale yet. (0:28:34) Al: So… [LAUGHS] (0:28:36) Al: But yeah, like, funnily enough, the only one in Scotland sold out within minutes, so… Yeah, I’m so glad I got there. (0:28:45) Codey: Oh, the website is not loading. (0:28:48) Al: Yeah, but they’re now up to eight, so they had one Europe showing, and now they’ve got eight. (0:28:52) Codey: Cool. Well, I’m excited that you get to go. (0:28:52) Al: So I’m so super excited. (0:28:55) Codey: Um… (0:28:58) Al: To run, I was like, do you want to go to a video game concert? (0:29:01) Al: And she was like, sure. (0:29:02) Al: And I was like, yeah. (0:29:08) Al: So, yeah, we’re going to have a date, a musical date. (0:29:12) Al: Because she’s a big music person. (0:29:15) Al: She’s a music teacher and she has like a billion different instruments that she (0:29:18) Al: plays, so she will appreciate the actual music part of it. (0:29:21) Al: And I will appreciate the stardew part of it and. (0:29:23) Codey: Right. That’s awesome. (0:29:25) Al: It’ll be fun. Yeah. (0:29:26) Codey: And they also have an update. (0:29:28) Al: Well, yeah, so they roll. (0:29:34) Al: As he continues to do, Concerned Ape has posted another random small tidbit from the upcoming 1.6 update, and this time, it’s a big chest, sorry, a larger container for items. (0:29:45) Codey: It’s… it’s called a big chest. (0:29:47) Al: It’s got a big chest. (0:29:49) Codey: It’s just called a big chest. (0:29:53) Al: What I find funny is that is, well I mean one of the things I find funny, clearly, is… (0:29:58) Al: It says, it’s description is, “It can store almost twice as much as a regular chest.” (0:30:04) Al: What does “almost” mean in this situation? (0:30:06) Codey: My favorite thing is the top comment says “Finally I won’t need 2 million chests” and concern Dave said “Nope only 1 million.” (0:30:12) Al: Yeah. So yeah, like, is it going to be like two times the normal chest minus one? Or like, (0:30:28) Al: I really like, what does it mean by almost? I need to know. I need to know, but we’ll find out. (0:30:30) Codey: Yeah, is it like one less? (0:30:34) Al: Well, you need to find out. I suspect. (0:30:36) Codey: I’m sure you will find out. I’m sure it will be double actually, but whatever (0:30:42) Al: So I suspect that’s funny wording. Anyway, Disney Dreamlight Valley. (0:30:50) Al: I wrote all of this before the stuff came out, but it actually came out today, didn’t it? (0:30:53) Al: So I don’t know if there’s been any changes, but the, so I guess the, the 1.0 is out for Disney Dreamlight Valley came out today, including the Jack Skellington. So the Pumpkin King returns update is out now, so is no longer in early access and is therefore more expensive. (0:31:12) Al: And the first DLC is also out, which is, like, okay, I’ve talked about this quite a bit. I don’t have an issue with them releasing DLC for this game, but they really didn’t think about the Optics well enough, right? So one, they announced the paid DLC on the same day they announced that the game was not going to be free. And two, they released the first paid DLC on the same day as the 1.0 release which just… (0:31:30) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:31:42) Codey: Yep (0:31:42) Al: Feels… (0:31:43) Al: Mmm… (0:31:46) Al: I don’t know. (0:31:46) Codey: Yep (0:31:48) Al: Have you played it today? (0:31:49) Codey: Nope Well, one thing that I’m curious about so like looking at the platforms it doesn’t say that it’s still available Oh, just kidding. It was initially planned (0:31:59) Codey: Nope, I still don’t know. I don’t know if the game pass version is still available Like I don’t know if it’s still on game pass or if once it came out (0:32:07) Codey: They just popped it off game pass now. It’s that is unclear to me (0:32:12) Codey: Cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. It’s in another room. Also, launching that game takes so long. (0:32:12) Al: It does look like it’s still on Game Pass. (0:32:14) Al: Pass. Pass. (0:32:16) Al: I mean, you could just try and launch the game. (0:32:26) Al: It’s still on the Game Pass website. (0:32:26) Codey: Okay, cool. I don’t know, that game takes so long to load. And I am horrified to see how much longer it is going to take to load today. (0:32:28) Al: So, I’m guessing it’s still there. (0:32:38) Codey: Like, I literally, I literally… (0:32:38) Al: Just don’t just don’t get the DLC. Oh is the DLC on game pass? (0:32:42) Codey: Start the game… I’m not gonna pay for that. (0:32:44) Codey: It literally… Oh, I guess I wouldn’t… (0:32:46) Codey: It literally… I start the game… (0:32:49) Al: Do you want to start over there? (0:32:53) Codey: ADHD. (0:32:54) Codey: Um, I start the game from, like, my Xbox home screen. (0:32:59) Codey: And then I walk, I go, like, play with my dog for, like, five minutes. (0:33:02) Codey: And then I come back, and then I can click the button to, like, load my game save. (0:33:07) Codey: And then I go play with my other dog for five minutes. (0:33:10) Codey: and then I come back and finally can play. (0:33:12) Codey: She do be slow and I have a wired connection so yike. (0:33:16) Codey: Um, but yeah, so the DLC has a scramble coin, which is an in game board game that you can. I don’t really know how you play it, but looks really cool. (0:33:26) Codey: And you can collect figurines or yeah, so you collect like figurines of the care of your favorite characters and I’m assuming that they have different abilities. (0:33:28) Al: Yes, it’s a collectible (0:33:31) Al: It looks really cool (0:33:40) Al: Yeah, so I don’t care about the game, right? The game, I could take it or leave it, but like, (0:33:42) Codey: Okay. (0:33:44) Al: another collecting thing? I am in. Did I get to collect the villagers in my village and as figurines? Perfect. Just what I need. Give me more collections, please. No, I’m not being sarcastic. (0:33:52) Codey: Are you, are you being sarcastic? (0:33:59) Al: This is literally what I do in games. I am a collector. I collect things. I like collections. (0:34:02) Codey: My gosh, cuz also like I, not to get too, too into it, but this game, (0:34:12) Codey: I like much, I much like this game. (0:34:14) Codey: And my response to all of this news about the DLC, (0:34:18) Codey: the minifigures as a pumpkin king update, (0:34:22) Codey: like my comment was literally this game is too big, please Disney stop. (0:34:28) Codey: Because like I already, man they’re, (0:34:30) Al: They’re not stopping yet. (0:34:31) Al: They’ve got four upcoming updates next year and two more parts of the DLC. (0:34:34) Codey: They are not stopping, like because I started playing it in early access from Game Pass and it already was like. (0:34:42) Codey: I need to redact my thoughts because I might be giving them elsewhere. (0:34:54) Codey: So I need but. (0:34:54) Al: If you want to hear more about that, maybe tune in in a future episode, maybe. (0:34:56) Codey: Maybe do that. (0:34:58) Codey: Maybe do that. (0:35:01) Al: Look, I just I will say I will say one last thing. (0:35:06) Al: Feel free not to respond to this. (0:35:08) Al: But I think it’s very clear that they want this to be the game that people play, right? (0:35:12) Al: They want it to be, you know, a word of Warcraft or something like that. (0:35:12) Codey: Mm-hmm yep yep (0:35:18) Al: They want it to be the game that you play for years. (0:35:23) Al: And we’ll see you in a few years. (0:35:24) Al: Whether they’re successful or not, I mean, we know they’re going to be successful with certain people, obviously. There are certain people who will buy and play literally every Disney thing imaginable, but. Also, Jack Skellington’s in the game now, so. (0:35:36) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:35:39) Codey: Correct. (0:35:43) Codey: Yeah. (0:35:45) Al: Speaking of DLC, Fae Farm have released DLC. Oh no, not have released, are releasing. (0:35:48) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:35:54) Al: It’s coming next week, on the 14th of December. And this is called Coasts of Crocea, which is a great name. And, so I’m confused because it’s like, oh, here’s a frog. And I’m like, (0:36:11) Al: the frogs were already in the game. But then there’s a big frog. The big frog was (0:36:12) Codey: yeah. And it seems like the so this is the big frog opens like a portal in his mouth and then you go you jump into the mouth portal which gives me real (0:36:27) Codey: oh I can’t remember his name from Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. (0:36:34) Al: Oh, I did not like that game, so I don’t know what you’re talking about. (0:36:34) Codey: Fish guy. I’d probably need to be way more specific than that. It’s the (0:36:42) Codey: job. I want to say like Jabba or something. Jabu Jabu. Oh I was close man. It’s been a hot minute since I played that game. He I mean he’s like a fish that swallowed the princess and you have to go into him and there’s like a whole freaking like world inside of him that you have to explore like you’re exploring his bowels and stuff. And I wonder if that’s like what this is like this this frog has a mouth portal and the portal takes you to what is called the Crosts of croquia, which I’d still hate that name. (0:37:12) Al: Can I just point out how amazing the phrase “mouth portal” is? (0:37:20) Codey: Am I wrong? Are you going to look at me and you’re going to tell me that I’m wrong? (0:37:23) Codey: It’s a mouth portal! (0:37:24) Al: No! No I’m not! I just… I just… I just love hate the name. That’s all I’m saying. (0:37:30) Codey: Yeah. So yeah, it looks like there’s just a bunch of new stuff for that. (0:37:38) Al: Yeah, this feels a lot bigger than I was expecting the DLCs to be, right? Because it was like “here’s the Deluxe Edition and it’s gonna have three DLCs” and I was totally expecting it was stuff like that. (0:37:49) Al: The Harvest Moon Winds of Anthos like “oh here’s some new crops” no no it’s “here’s a whole new world to explore with a new story” so I mean that’s cool. I really want to like this game, I really do. (0:37:54) Codey: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. (0:37:59) Codey: Yeah? (0:38:04) Codey: Yeah. Yikes. (0:38:05) Al: I really do. (0:38:07) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:38:09) Al: Anyway, if you’re enjoying it, there you go, go get your DLC in a week. (0:38:16) Al: And the final thing before the wholesome snack is the wholesome games bundle, because they did announce this before the snack, which is they’ve put together a wholesome and a humble bundle, (0:38:20) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:38:28) Al: a humble bundle of wholesome games, which include four games that we have talked about on the podcast, (0:38:34) Al: wildflowers, bed and breakfast, smishy come home. (0:38:38) Al: And there’s also Tinykin, which I believe is like Pikmin, Pikmin type game. Mailtime, (0:38:48) Al: which when I looked at it just looked exactly like smishy come home. And Passpartout to the Lost Artist, which I hate that name on so many levels. (0:39:03) Codey: Yeah. (0:39:04) Codey: Um… (0:39:08) Al: I mean, look, I’m saying if you have the money and there’s at least one game on this bundle that you don’t own, go buy the bundle. Go do it now. Because every single one of these games is more expensive than the price to get all of them. (0:39:15) Codey: Yeah (0:39:21) Codey: Yep, and each game has over an 85% or or higher positive rating on (0:39:27) Codey: Steam so that like even the quote-unquote maybe possibly worst of these games is still super highly rated Like this is a really cute little little bundle that they’ve provided Um… (0:39:40) Al: And all of the money goes to save the children who are doing very important work all over the world, especially currently in Gaza. (0:39:51) Al: So you can go buy your games and give money to stop children dying. Crazy, crazy ideas. (0:39:58) Codey: Yep, so if you’ve listened to our podcast and you’ve heard us talk about these games and you’ve been waiting to get it, what are you waiting for? (0:40:08) Al: There’s little if you don’t buy these games now, you’re not gonna buy them, right? (0:40:11) Al: Just don’t just admit that to yourself if you won’t buy this seven game bundle for was that $18 (0:40:17) Al: You’re not gonna buy any of these games. You just won’t do it (0:40:20) Codey: Yeah. (0:40:21) Al: So admit it to yourself or go buy it (0:40:25) Codey: Yep, yep, yep. (0:40:25) Al: If you don’t have the money I’m really sorry that’s very sad (0:40:32) Al: All right, whoa that was quite a quite a quite a news section and the news is over so the wholesome snack just came out a few hours ago and we have watched through it and we have curated I was gonna say we’ve curated the things that we should care about this is like half the things in the snack Oh (0:40:36) Codey: Quite a bunch. Mm-mm. (0:40:38) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:40:40) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:40:52) Codey: The things that seem important to or relevant to this podcast with the with the respect of cottagecore games in mind. (0:41:06) Codey: I will say that we will talk about the non cottagecore games that we are also excited about in a house that of the green variety may have. (0:41:17) Codey: So, we will talk more in depth about that kind of stuff then. (0:41:22) Codey: But, just the which which games seemed to strike the vibe of the pod? (0:41:28) Codey: And which which ones do you think? (0:41:30) Al: No, there were no, there were no which games. (0:41:32) Codey: Wow, I said… (0:41:33) Al: Not in this one. (0:41:37) Codey: Which W-H-I-C-H games, not W-I-T-C-H games? (0:41:43) Codey: You goob. Okay. (0:41:45) Codey: So… (0:41:45) Al: So I just before we go through these, we will have a link to the whole wholesome (0:41:46) Codey: Thank you. (0:41:50) Al: snack in the show notes, and also I will link each of the trailers for these games (0:41:56) Al: individually. (0:41:58) Al: All right. (0:42:00) Al: So first up, we have a vivarium, which is about a world inside a terrarium. (0:42:10) Codey: a vivarium. (0:42:12) Al: Is a vivarium a thing or is that not just the name of the (0:42:16) Codey: Terrariums are designed to raise plants and vivariums are designed primarily to be a habitat for an animal. (0:42:23) Al: So they said it was a terrarium in the game. (0:42:26) Codey: But the game is called vivarium. (0:42:28) Al: Yeah, it says missing terrarium. So why is a terrarium or is it a vivarium? I’m so confused. (0:42:33) Codey: Well, the game is called “vibarium.” (0:42:36) Al: Yeah, but in the trailer they said a missing terrarium. They use both words. (0:42:39) Codey: And given that inside of the thing is animals, I’m presuming, I think it’s a vibarium. (0:42:50) Al: Oh wait, so wait, so a vivarium is a type of terrarium or a terrarium is a type of vivarium. (0:42:56) Codey: Um, they are, they both do similar things or they’re a type of, of areum. (0:43:04) Al: Ah, a vivarium may be small enough to sit on a desk or table such as a terrarium or an aquarium. (0:43:05) Codey: Um… (0:43:14) Al: So terrariums are kinds of vivariums, but vivariums can be big. (0:43:19) Al: Oh, so like yeah, these big ones you get like are building size, they are vivariums. (0:43:20) Codey: Well, so the differences of vivarium will have animals in it, whereas a terrarium could be, so it houses plants. (0:43:37) Codey: It could be a vivarium, but it doesn’t have to be a vivarium. (0:43:42) Codey: So an aquarium is a type of vivarium. (0:43:44) Al: Anyway, this is both. This is both. That’s the important thing. (0:43:45) Codey: This is both. (0:43:46) Codey: It has plants and animals. (0:43:51) Al: So the semantics aside, I’m not really sure what this game is, but I feel like it’s probably a Cottagecore game, but it’s really hard to tell, because the trailer doesn’t really tell as much. (0:43:59) Codey: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, the trailer doesn’t really have much. Um, it has a lot of like, (0:44:08) Codey: I really like the design style and the way that it’s, it’s, um, the way it looks, it looks like an anime almost. Um, like one of the characters literally looks like a Hayao Miyazaki character, (0:44:21) Codey: 100%. Like he’s got this big mustache and the way that he smiles looks like, um, the Boiler Man in and spirited away. (0:44:29) Codey: So, if you like that kind of stuff, then this game basically is like, to me thus far from this trailer, looks like a little Hayao Miyazaki world inside of a vivarium that is inside of what possibly is an abandoned terrarium. (0:44:45) Codey: Yeah, not entirely sure what all the gameplay within that is going to be. (0:44:47) Al: And my question is, you being in a vivarium, is that going to affect anything? Or is that just like, because they said so, right? So like, if you’re just in a world and, and nothing’s kind of like, different about it because you happen to be this tiny little world, then that feels kind of pointless. So I guess we’ll just have, but literally we saw no real game. (0:45:17) Al: We just saw a few clips of your character walking around the world and that was it. (0:45:22) Al: So we’ll keep an eye on it, figure out whether it’s actually a cottagecore game, figure out if there’s actually any gameplay to it and whether it actually means anything. But I’m intrigued. (0:45:34) Al: Communite. So I’ve talked about this before, but just for people who aren’t aware, this This is a multiplayer city builder game, it’s like an online game. And they have announced that you can get your own server for it. So previously it was just like one combined server, but you can, they have 30 servers that they’re giving to

Having finally reached the Community Center, our heroes must confront the true mastermind behind all these hauntings—a mastermind wearing a very different face than expected. Bob puts his upgrades to good use. Patrick thinks about the wrong person at the wrong time. Louise makes an even bigger boom. • • • Patreon: patreon.com/improvtabletop Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok: @ImprovTabletop Email: ImprovTabletop@gmail.com Donations: ko-fi.com/improvtabletop • • • Audio Credits Improv Tabletop's theme song is “Melodic Marauder”, written by Scott Villanueva, and performed by Scott Villanueva and Ned Wilcock. The following also by Ned Wilcock. “Melodic Marauders Down Under”   The following songs are used courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library License. “Grind” by Andrew Huang "Spring Field" by Godmode • • • This actual play episode uses the Fate Accelerated RPG rules by Evil Hat Productions. This is a fanmade work of parody. Improv Tabletop is not affiliated with the Stardew Valley brand or its owner ConcernedApe, nor with the Ghostbusters brand or its owner Sony Pictures.

We're knee-deep in fall leaves in some parts of the world, though much like our spring themes episode earlier this year, what autumn (or fall) means to each of our panelists varies. Some of us chose songs based on cozy evenings with a hot drink, and some of us used our imaginations since not everyone lives in parts of the world with the typical four seasons. So enjoy eight different musical approaches to autumn, and let us know which of these sound like autumn in your part of the world!Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Paul DennisLinks for this episodeRhythm Encounter 11 - Pumpkin SpiceTracklist0:08:35 - 日常 (Everyday) (Ayako Minami, Makoto Asai) - DAEDALUS: The Awakening of Golden Jazz0:14:10 - Fall (The Smell of Mushroom) (ConcernedApe, arr. by GENTLE LOVE) - Prescription for Sleep: Stardew Valley0:31:32 - Old Familiar Scent of Iselia (Motoi Sakuraba) - Tales of Symphonia0:34:18 - Thank You (Jason Chen) - Autumn's Journey0:45:30 - Mages In Their Chantry (Inon Zur) - Dragon Age: Origins0:47:13 - Works and Ways Unseen (Ryan Ike) - Shadows Over Loathing1:00:11 - Branch-Colored Past (Time) ~First Chapter - One Hundred Years Ago~ (SOLIDTUNE [Seiichi Takamoto]) - Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century1:02:55 - National Park (Go Ichinose) - Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver1:18:02 - Audra's (and Jimmy's) Bonus Track!Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomInstagram: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom

Our heroes are about to go face to face with their toughest foe yet—Rick Moranis! How will they make it out of the mines, and can they free all their friends/former lovers in the process? Patrick shares his technology with the crew. Bob flashes his sheriff badge. Louise makes a big boom. • • • Patreon: patreon.com/improvtabletop Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok: @ImprovTabletop Email: ImprovTabletop@gmail.com Donations: ko-fi.com/improvtabletop • • • Audio Credits Improv Tabletop's theme song is “Melodic Marauder”, written by Scott Villanueva, and performed by Scott Villanueva and Ned Wilcock. The following also by Ned Wilcock. “Melodic Marauders Scared Stupid” “Currently Being Subsumed” “Melodic Marauders Down Under” “At High Noon, We Maraud!” • • • This actual play episode uses the Fate Accelerated RPG rules by Evil Hat Productions. This is a fanmade work of parody. Improv Tabletop is not affiliated with the Stardew Valley brand or its owner ConcernedApe, nor with the Ghostbusters brand or its owner Sony Pictures.

Ghosts in the sewers? That ain't gonna fly! But what strange things will our investigators find in the depths? Louise breaks some hearts. Patrick impresses some ladies. Bob thinks in three dimensions. • • • Patreon: patreon.com/improvtabletop Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok: @ImprovTabletop Email: ImprovTabletop@gmail.com Donations: ko-fi.com/improvtabletop • • • Audio Credits Improv Tabletop's theme song is “Melodic Marauder”, written by Scott Villanueva, and performed by Scott Villanueva and Ned Wilcock. The following also by Ned Wilcock. “Fuguenchillen” “Melodic Marauders Scared Stupid”   The following songs are used courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library License. “Grind” by Andrew Huang "Zameen - Movement of Earth” by Aakash Gandhi • • • This actual play episode uses the Fate Accelerated RPG rules by Evil Hat Productions. This is a fanmade work of parody. Improv Tabletop is not affiliated with the Stardew Valley brand or its owner ConcernedApe, nor with the Ghostbusters brand or its owner Sony Pictures.

Al and Micah talk about Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos. Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:58: What Have We Been Up To 00:32:53: News 01:12:15: Harvest Moon: The Winds Of Anthos 01:50:34: Outro Links Disney Dreamlight Valley Upcoming Releases Disney Dreamlight Valley Apple Arcade Edition Roots of Pacha 1.1 Update and Console Release Ooblets 1.4 Update Everdream Valley 1.6 Update Slime Rancher 2 Update Echoes of the Plum Grove Kickstarter Snacko Early Access My Time At Portia Optimisation Concerned Ape Cool Fruit Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. (0:00:35) Al: My name is Al and we’re here today to talk about Cottagecore games. (0:00:37) Micah: And I’m Micah! (0:00:44) Al: And you totally didn’t forget and suddenly remember that you had to say your own name there, did you? (0:00:49) Micah: I just, I never know when to like, you know, it’s, I’ve got the brain of a five year old. (0:00:56) Micah: So I need someone to say, and now’s the time that you say your name. (0:01:00) Al: Well, the problem is, right, that you’re on like two episodes a year, right? (0:01:01) Micah: Yeah. (0:01:06) Al: It’s not like, you know, the others are on like, you know, once a month or something. (0:01:09) Al: It’s much easier to remember how it goes that way. (0:01:11) Micah: I feel like I’ve gotten better about the outro, (0:01:14) Micah: but yes, you’re totally right. (0:01:17) Micah: It’s not, you know, it comes to me again as we’re doing. (0:01:23) Al: Yeah, that’s the thing I could hear when you said, and I’m like, I could hear, you were like, “Oh yes, no, I need to say it now.” Welcome. Anyway, welcome. It’s been a while. (0:01:28) Micah: You can hear the gears turning You can hear the cogs clanking around in there Yeah, thanks. Thanks for having me. It’s always fun to be on Talk about some of my favorite genre my favorite genre of games (0:01:39) Al: Welcome back. It’s good to have you on. I notice how you said ‘favourite genre games, (0:01:49) Al: favourite games because well, we’ll see. (0:01:52) Micah: Not all of them, you know [laughs] (0:01:53) Al: Let’s not conclude on the game yet before we even said what it is. (0:01:59) Al: So, first of all, transcripts for the podcast are available in the show notes and on the website if you need them, although they’re whether you need them or not, but now you know where to go if you need them. (0:02:10) Al: We’re going to talk. (0:02:12) Al: You know what it’s going to be because we got Micah on. (0:02:15) Al: You know it’s going to be either Harvest Moon or Story Seasons. (0:02:17) Al: We’ve got a Harvest Moon, the Winds of Anthos. (0:02:21) Micah: We sure do. (0:02:22) Al: So we’re going to. (0:02:23) Al: We’re going to talk about that just as a preamble to that. (0:02:28) Al: I will not be playing the game during the episode because I’ve already sold it so that probably explains my feelings in summary, but we’ll get to that when we get to it. (0:02:38) Al: But, yeah, no, I. (0:02:39) Micah: Well I’ve got a digital so it’s not even an option for me, so… (0:02:41) Al: I know better than to buy a Harvest Moon game digitally. (0:02:45) Al: Come on. (0:02:46) Micah: I actually told you about this, but I’ll save it for when we get there, I guess. (0:02:47) Al: Yeah, yeah, we’ll go. (0:02:50) Al: We can leave that for the yeah, yeah, people can hear. (0:02:53) Al: The fun story. (0:02:54) Al: We’ve got a bunch of news, a bunch of exciting news to talk about. (0:02:58) Al: But first of all, Makar, what have you been up to? (0:03:01) Micah: Uh, I just recently got back from Japan and My partner and I went for about two Three weeks something like that something we’ve been planning since originally planned on going in spring of 2020 World event Happened and I don’t know. I just everything feels weird after (0:03:19) Al: Classic. (0:03:21) Al: Yeah, what happened in spring 2020? Nothing. Nothing happened. That’s the point. (0:03:30) Al: I know. (0:03:31) Micah: 2020 and I don’t know what it was. (0:03:33) Micah: I Yes, it was a great time. It was something that we’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. I put a lot of time and effort into the planning the itinerary and Making sure that we had a full schedule, but also a flexible schedule, you know, I for a bit there It was getting to the point where I like I’ve got you know (0:03:53) Al: Don’t do the minute. (0:04:01) Micah: some levels of ADHD and OCD that I have been formally diagnosed with that manifest itself in things like that where I’ll just lock in on an Idea and then I’ll just run with it and then I’ll just keep going and then I’ll get deeper and deeper And it was pretty much to the point where I was like Google mapping If I took the train from this location at this time of day in Japan (0:04:29) Micah: what train would I take and… (0:04:31) Micah: where would I transfer and how much would it cost and then like figuring out travel costs down to like you know the individual train ride and things like that. (0:04:42) Al: Oh, you’ve got to know the best way to pay for it, right? Do I get a travel card or am I buying individual tickets? You know, that’s important. (0:04:43) Micah: That originally was the plan but then you know it just got to the point where it was it was like things that you especially knowing now you would not be able to like (0:05:02) Micah: plan for really given like you know how travel works like mass transit travel works there but which beautiful by the way beautiful transit system could not say anything bad about that transit system and then we came back here where it’s just cars. (0:05:22) Al: Well, you presumably weren’t traveling in peak hour, peak time, you’re commuting hour. (0:05:28) Micah: Uh, there was a lot of it where we were, which was a little, you know, that was a little challenging being absolutely crammed into trains, like, just packed with people. (0:05:29) Al: Oh, OK. (0:05:46) Micah: It was an experience that I’m not used to, but yeah, it was an experience. (0:05:52) Micah: I did a lot of looking at retro games and stuff like that. (0:05:55) Micah: We did a lot of, you know, we did some– (0:05:59) Micah: theme cafes and things like that, Dragon Quest Cafe. (0:06:02) Micah: Went to the Dragon Quest Island. (0:06:04) Micah: Dragon Quest Island was a bucket list item. (0:06:06) Micah: And I was very excited to do that. (0:06:06) Al: Of course. (0:06:10) Micah: Very awesome, just like a real life JRPG. (0:06:15) Micah: You just like walk around a town and get quests and then go fight stuff and then come back. (0:06:21) Micah: And it’s a lot of, you know, like, (0:06:24) Micah: what do you call it, fetch quests, (0:06:25) Micah: but it still was a very cool experience. (0:06:28) Micah: And while I was there, they were promoting and releasing Mario Wonder. (0:06:35) Micah: So I picked that up while I was there because the exchange rate was absolutely in our favor. (0:06:43) Micah: So a brand new Switch game wound up being like $36 or something like that. (0:06:48) Micah: USD once you convert it. (0:06:52) Micah: And I’ve been playing that. (0:06:55) Micah: I picked up the metal gear. (0:06:59) Micah: Collection was there too, because it came out around the same time and I played a little bit of that. (0:07:05) Micah: But mostly it’s been I’ve been playing Super Mario Wonder and trying to get through the Pokemon DLC. (0:07:14) Micah: And I’ve picked up Disney Speedstorm and I’ve been playing a lot of Disney Speedstorm, which is their cart racer. (0:07:19) Al: Is it any good? (0:07:21) Micah: It is actually incredible. (0:07:24) Micah: It is remarkably good. (0:07:28) Micah: There is two mechanics that I think separate it quite a bit from being just like Mario Kart. (0:07:37) Micah: It does feel just like Mario Kart but with Disney characters. (0:07:41) Micah: But one of the mechanics is that you instead of having like just this selection of power, like item block, (0:07:53) Micah: you get the item block and there’s like a selection of items that you can get out of that. (0:07:57) Micah: I (0:07:58) Micah: And everybody gets the same thing. There is one item that is like your ultimate move For whatever your racer is and all the racers have different ultimate moves and Even beyond that there is a basic ultimate move and there is a charged ultimate move where if you charge you hold the button And charge it up then it’ll do something different So as an example, I’ve been playing a lot of Donald Duck and Donald Duck’s (0:08:05) Al: Right. Okay. (0:08:27) Micah: basic move. (0:08:28) Micah: The ultimate move is that he puts a shield around himself, and if that shield gets broken, then he has these energy fists that punch all the other racers around him. (0:08:42) Micah: But if you charge it, then it immediately does the fists, and it also boosts you. (0:08:50) Micah: So there’s different ways that your ultimates can come through. (0:08:55) Micah: The big thing for me I think is that there is (0:08:58) Micah: a combat mechanic to it where you can slam into other cars and push them into an obstacle or whatever and a lot of the power-ups and stuff like that or a lot of the items can be translated directly into combat So it really there’s a there’s a really (0:09:28) Micah: Powerful feeling of getting into a race and immediately shoving everybody around you into the wall as Donald Duck and then just like blasting your way through the finish line. There’s something so Kind of yeah, yeah, it does have it the especially in in the single-player because if there’s not, you know, if there’s (0:09:43) Al: So it’s basically it’s Mario Kart crossed with Barnett. (0:09:56) Micah: There’s opportunity. (0:09:58) Micah: There’s time for that. It slows down a little bit and shows the cart that you hit spinning out or whatever. (0:10:03) Al: Yeah, classic. Yeah, yeah, sure. (0:10:05) Micah: Obviously, you can’t do that in multiplayer, but that definitely makes it feel more like burnout in that way. (0:10:13) Micah: When you’re hitting something and it’s spinning out and you’re watching it in slow motion. (0:10:18) Micah: Yeah. It was good. (0:10:18) Al: Burnout was always my favourite racing game when I was younger, just because of that. (0:10:22) Al: I was never a huge fan of the realistic races, because it just isn’t fun. But Burnout was like, “Yeah, I can drive and smash people into walls.” Amazing. (0:10:26) Micah: Yeah. (0:10:28) Micah: Yeah. (0:10:31) Micah: It’s great and it’s yeah, that’s like the big difference for between it and Mario Kart like there’s obviously there’s combat Kart combat quote-unquote with the items that you get and things like that in Mario Kart, but this is like physical combat. It’s like It’s much more cutthroat it feels it is a really satisfying game and it’s doing the whole you know Like they’re they’re doing seasons and they have a battle pass and you can buy like a premium battle pass that gives you you know more or whatever. (0:11:01) Micah: It is not bad. A lot of it is very cosmetic focused because there’s outfits for racers. There’s different like paint jobs for racers and things like that. They have things like victory poses that you can get. There are some bundles where it’s like you can buy these upgrade packs for like the specific items that you need to upgrade your racers and stuff like that. (0:11:02) Al: So that’s my next question, how bad is that? Because obviously it’s free to play game. (0:11:31) Micah: There’s a lot of content to it. There’s like for the single player portion of it. There’s there’s seasons and every season has like a single player chunk where it’s all of these like kind of it. It’s like chapters and each chapter has, I don’t know, 8 to 10 races in it and the races will unlock it. (0:11:38) Al: Is that something you can get for free if you work hard enough? Or is that? (0:11:41) Al: Right, okay. See, that’s the key for me. (0:11:59) Micah: and the races will unlock. (0:12:01) Micah: You can unlock chests that have the upgrades and stuff like that in it. (0:12:05) Micah: But there’s like, I don’t even… (0:12:09) Micah: 10 chapters or something like that for each season. (0:12:11) Micah: So right now the season is highlighting Aladdin. (0:12:15) Micah: And you can select the battle pass. (0:12:19) Micah: Through the battle pass you can unlock Jasmine. (0:12:22) Micah: And you can unlock Genie as racers. (0:12:26) Micah: And you unlock them really early in the battle pass. (0:12:31) Micah: And you can get them early even without the premium battle pass. (0:12:38) Micah: But then all the way at the end of the battle pass you get special outfits and special car colors and whatever. (0:12:45) Micah: Like paint jobs and stuff like that. (0:12:47) Micah: But the single player portion of the season is all Aladdin based story content. (0:12:55) Micah: Where it’s like races that you have to do with specific conditions. (0:13:02) Micah: And there’s so much content for it. (0:13:04) Micah: There’s like an unbelievable amount of content that’s just like free content. (0:13:09) Micah: So there is a lot of opportunity to get that stuff yourself without paying anything for it. (0:13:17) Micah: It’s good though. It’s a really really good racer. (0:13:18) Al: OK, that’s good. That’s good. (0:13:22) Al: I’ll need to try it because I’ve tried a number of different car racers and most of them, I’ve just not enjoyed the controls. (0:13:31) Al: Like, they’ve just never felt like they’ve worked as well as Mario Kart. (0:13:34) Al: So I’ll need to try this one and see how that goes for me. (0:13:35) Micah: This definitely is the most Mario Kart similar I think Right Yes, I do too (0:13:38) Al: It doesn’t need to be the exact same. (0:13:41) Al: I just use that as an example because like I like the controls in Mario Kart. (0:13:46) Al: it’s very smooth and it’s very controllable. (0:13:48) Al: Every single version of it, whereas like, you know, if you take like crash team racing or sonic racing or whatever, I hate, I just, I know I don’t enjoy how they control. (0:13:56) Micah: Yeah, we’re in the exact same boat. (0:13:59) Al: I always feel like I’m just not in as, as control as, as I am with Mario Kart. (0:14:03) Micah: Yeah, given that and how similar I think our feelings are on that, I feel like you’ll probably like it because I’m very much the same way. (0:14:13) Micah: I did not, was not a fan of Crash Team Racing and Sonic Racing and how that felt. (0:14:19) Micah: It does. (0:14:20) Micah: Um, I think probably just because of history with it, I’m most attuned to- (0:14:26) Micah: to like Mario Kart controls and things like that. (0:14:31) Micah: And it feels the most like that. (0:14:32) Micah: Like, you know, there’s- you go off a jump and you can hit a button to do like a flare or whatever to like give yourself a little bit of boost. (0:14:39) Micah: And the drift feels like Mario Kart and there’s like drift chaining and stuff that- (0:14:45) Al: I have actually downloaded it on my switch. I’ve just not opened it yet because it’s like free to play game that I know I’m going to play at some point. Of course, I’m going to download it, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It came out of early access a few months ago, I think. So yeah. Oh, interesting. (0:14:48) Micah: Yeah, and it’s also, I think it’s on every platform now, but you can chain your account. (0:15:00) Micah: It’s like super easy to link your account between platforms, so that’s also really nice. (0:15:05) Micah: Oh, you know what it is. (0:15:07) Micah: It’s coming to mobile soon is what I remember. (0:15:10) Micah: So if, yeah, we’ll see how the game changes at that point, but you know. (0:15:16) Al: - Yeah, I don’t, having said I liked all the Mario Kart, (0:15:18) Al: I don’t like live, I don’t like Mario Kart live, (0:15:19) Micah: No, I don’t. (0:15:20) Al: I don’t like how, I just, no. (0:15:21) Micah: Not a fan. (0:15:22) Al: I want something like that, I want the new, (0:15:27) Al: I like everything that it does in terms of the live service stuff, (0:15:31) Al: I just want that on a switch with controls rather than the, no, I don’t like the, anyway, whatever. (0:15:36) Micah: Yeah. (0:15:37) Micah: Yep, no, I feel you. (0:15:42) Al: So I too have been playing Mario Wonder. (0:15:45) Al: No finished it, I think in the last episode I said I was nearly done and I just had one level to go. (0:15:51) Al: I have no finished that one. (0:15:54) Micah: Dang, I have not finished it. (0:15:56) Micah: I’m very excited to see that. (0:15:57) Micah: What are your thoughts now that you’ve finished it? (0:15:58) Al: I really love it. I think it is one of the best 2D Mario games they’ve done. I think it’s really good. I think what I think is amazing is see if we had this game and one in every four levels had a wonderful hour. We’d think that was a really cool idea and it was really interesting that they did that. The fact that they’ve done this in every single level and every single level has a different thing that the wonderful (0:15:59) Micah: It’s so good, isn’t it? (0:16:28) Al: flower does. Every single level is incredible. Yeah, I love it. I love it. I also feel like unlike most Marios, I feel like I could figure out most of the secrets myself. So there’s a few that I just didn’t quite get and I had to Google. But with most other (0:16:29) Micah: it’s insane. Yeah, it’s insane. And there’s like multiple methods through the levels to like, it’s just it’s crazy how much detail and love (0:16:58) Al: Mario’s, I’ve been like, I have absolutely no idea how to deal with this here. I don’t know where to go here. And maybe that’s just me getting better at figuring out their secrets. (0:17:07) Al: That’s a possibility. But I’ve just felt like, yeah, it just, and I feel like when I got to the end of the game, I wasn’t hugely far off 100% because it just felt like everything was really fun to continue doing. I like got close to 100% in each world that I did up to like four, and then five and six, I just was like, I just want to finish this now. So I did what I needed to, but I think, yeah, no, I think it was, and I think there are quite a few levels at the end that are like really difficult. And they’re not like, you know, Mario, Mario maker difficult, right? Like they’re not like insane. You have to have like split second reflexes to ever do this, but especially the very last level, (0:17:53) Al: which you know, when you get to it, that one in particular was so frustrating. (0:17:55) Micah: I had… (0:17:58) Al: I, I’m not joking when I say I, it took me 60 lives to get through that game, that level. (0:18:05) Micah: Holy smokes, I had actually read someone had had said that they felt like it was the closest to Mario. (0:18:16) Micah: An official Mario game has come to feeling like a Kaizo Mario game, which if you don’t know, Kaizo Mario games you like, they call them like Iron Man Mario games. (0:18:28) Micah: Like insanely impossible, like super, you know, reflex. (0:18:35) Micah: Heavy like you have to jump with a shell at the right time and then kick off of that shell at the right time so that it hits a wall at the right time and then jump off of that shell after the fact, you know, all of these like really precise movements and things like that. (0:18:51) Micah: And they said, well, it’s not a Kaizo Mario level. (0:18:51) Al: Yeah, there definitely are a few levels like that. I understand there are people who are like, “I want more like that,” and that’s fair. But yeah, I certainly think there are some levels in this that are some of the hardest that have ever been in a Mario game. So yeah, (0:18:54) Micah: It is the closest that a core Mario game has come to feeling like a Kaizo game. (0:19:09) Micah: Yeah. It’s really fun. (0:19:12) Al: I really, really enjoyed it. I think it was fantastic. Yeah. (0:19:15) Micah: It’s such a I was and I was really kind of like on the fence about the the the theme or like the aesthetic of it being like, you know, I don’t know, LSD induced, whatever is happening, whatever. Yeah, whatever hallucinogenic effects these. (0:19:30) Al: Yeah, I was thinking more magic mushrooms, but yeah, sure. (0:19:39) Micah: Wonder flowers have on these wonder seeds have on everybody. (0:19:43) Micah: I was a little bit on the fence of like, OK, I don’t know if I’m, you know, elephant Mario and whatever. And it just felt a little too wacky, maybe to when I first saw the like trailer for it and stuff. Obviously, it still looked good. (0:19:59) Micah: I was still interested in it. I’m happy that didn’t like deter me from it at all because it’s it’s awesome. It’s such a good Mario game. (0:20:07) Micah: and that like aesthetic is… (0:20:09) Micah: It’s really well done throughout the game without feeling overly wacky or whatever. (0:20:13) Al: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s been a really good year for games because I also have been playing Spider-Man 2 and I’ve been loving that. It’s a great game. I feel like I think I’m like 80% through the main story, but there’s still quite a lot of side stuff that I need to do. But I’m at the point where I’m like, I just need to like finish, I need to main line the story, finish that before I tidy everything up. (0:20:17) Micah: They’re killing it with Mario lately, huh? (0:20:28) Micah: Yeah? (0:20:46) Micah: I don’t know too much about what’s going on in Spider-Man 2, but from what I understand it’s both Peter Parker and Miles Morales and… (0:20:56) Micah: Okay. (0:20:56) Micah: Are you like swapping between them? (0:20:56) Al: So the first game was… Yeah, so the first game was Peter Parker and then there was a Miles Morales game where Peter goes on holiday, and that’s the explanation as to why you’re just Miles. Okay, fine, sure, whatever. So what you can do is there are specific things that need to be done by one Spider-Man. So obviously, the storyline with Miles’ mum has to happen with Miles, right? (0:20:59) Micah: Right. And then there was a Miles Morales game, right? (0:21:04) Micah: Okay. (0:21:08) Micah: Got it. (0:21:10) Micah: He needs a break. (0:21:24) Al: It doesn’t make any sense for it to be Peter. (0:21:25) Micah: Right. Right. (0:21:26) Al: And the stuff with Mary Jane has to be done with Peter, it can’t be done with Miles. (0:21:30) Al: And there’s like a few kind of like side stuff, like there’s one of the like collectibles thing is to do with Peter’s job, and one of them is to do with Miles’ uncle, (0:21:43) Al: and so those obviously need to be done with that Spider-Man. But other than that… (0:21:46) Micah: can’t be with Peter’s uncle but is that am I allowed to say that I don’t know I’m allowed to say (0:21:55) Al: Wow. (0:21:56) Al: Oh, my, but other than that, you can just freely switch between the Spider-Man. (0:22:06) Al: So you’re just floating around and you can just pause the game and press square and switch to the other one and they’ll pop in and you can do whatever you want. (0:22:14) Al: So I have generally just been going through the game because obviously the story switches you between them for different parts of the story. (0:22:21) Al: So I’ve just kind of continued with whatever (0:22:23) Al: and they’ve dropped me in on until they then switch me. (0:22:26) Al: Just because I felt like that’s the way that kind of felt most natural to me. (0:22:30) Al: But it’s been quite enjoyable doing that. (0:22:34) Al: Obviously, they have different powers. (0:22:36) Al: They’re not exactly the same. (0:22:38) Al: And they do some things that I’m not going to spoil to kind of level Peter up. (0:22:43) Al: Because obviously, Miles has his electricity powers, (0:22:47) Al: which makes him objectively better than Peter. (0:22:51) Micah: Oh, I didn’t even know that was a thing. (0:22:52) Al: Oh, do you not know this? (0:22:53) Al: this. Yeah, so miles can go invisible, first of all. (0:22:54) Micah: What? (0:22:56) Al: You don’t know this! Yeah, oh my word. There’s so much Spider-Man lore you don’t know. So miles can go invisible, but he also has electricity powers, so he can zap people and stuff like that, which Peter obviously doesn’t have. But those powers, one from a different reality. (0:22:58) Micah: I didn’t know this. (0:22:59) Micah: No. (0:23:10) Micah: What kind of spider did that come from? Sorry, never. (0:23:13) Micah: Oh, okay, well. (0:23:16) Al: No, I’m not even joking. That’s serious. Anyway, not important. How far deep do we need to (0:23:19) Micah: Yeah, I can see that. (0:23:26) Al: go with this? But that makes him objectively better to play as than Peter Parker. So they have had to do something to level up Peter Parker. And I’m not gonna say what that is, (0:23:39) Al: but they do it, and it feels great. Like, you don’t feel like you need to be miles. (0:23:44) Al: It doesn’t feel like he’s automatically better than miles. I think they’ve balanced it really well. So you feel like you can be either of them. And it will be interesting to see whether (0:23:57) Al: those powers continue on to the next game. I’ll be interested to see what they do then, (0:24:02) Al: but it’s been good fun. (0:24:02) Micah: I maybe this is what I thought I don’t know how I would know this is a spoiler but I thought I had seen me and maybe I’m like crossing the wires between other something else Spider-Man but this does Peter is like the was it the symbiote or whatever not in the that yeah like Venom’s like doesn’t just does Peter get because there’s like a symbiote suit for (0:24:23) Al: Venom. (0:24:25) Al: Venom is in this game. (0:24:32) Micah: isn’t there like in in Spider-Man lore I don’t know I don’t know is it I thought I like I thought this was in the trailer but also I don’t know for sure okay because that’s a thing that’s existed in Spider-Man lore for like a while right is that at some point Spider-Man has like a symbiote like suit right I don’t know okay all right we can cut all this out (0:24:34) Al: All right, so we’re just fully smiling this, then, are we? (0:24:42) Al: I mean, well, Venom is in the trailer, sure, (0:24:46) Al: but it doesn’t really talk about what that means. (0:24:56) Al: Yeah, I don’t want to say too much. I don’t want to say too much. I mean, people who know a lot of Spider-Man lore are going to be able to predict a lot of this story, right? Like, (0:25:03) Micah: I don’t know how to spoil anything but okay sure yeah (0:25:08) Al: it’s not fresh and new, but it’s still fun to do. And, you know, I think a lot of people don’t aren’t that deep into Spider-Man lore. What I will say is one really annoying thing. (0:25:19) Al: So yeah, Venom’s in this game. Do you know what Miles’ electricity powers are called? (0:25:22) Micah: electricity powers? (0:25:23) Al: No, they’re called venom. (0:25:24) Micah: Wait, what? (0:25:27) Al: He calls them venom! His venom powers! I don’t know why! (0:25:28) Micah: I’m confused. Wait, why does he… (0:25:31) Micah: Oh, that’s weird. (0:25:34) Al: So there’s two venoms in this game and it’s driving me insane. (0:25:36) Micah: What a weird decision. (0:25:39) Al: Also, my other annoyance with this game, right? I love the game, but my other annoyance is they just refer to each other as Spider-Man. (0:25:50) Al: So you’ll be like “Oh, hey Spider-Man, oh hey Spider-Man!” So they’re constantly just referring to Spider-Man when they’re talking. (0:25:56) Al: It’s worse because the subtitles will say “Spider-Man is saying this” so it’ll say “Spider-Man colon” and then what he says. (0:26:00) Micah: No way! (0:26:02) Al: But you’re like “Which one?” But they try and deal with that by having a little face, right? So there’s two little faces, right? (0:26:02) Micah: Oh, I see. (0:26:08) Al: But it’s of the mask. But the problem is, do you know what the masks are? The masks are red and black or black and red. (0:26:09) Micah: They’re both wearing a mask. (0:26:12) Micah: Okay. (0:26:15) Al: And these are teeny tiny little images on a 40-inch screen 12 feet away from me. (0:26:23) Al: I can’t figure out which one it is, it’s dre- (0:26:25) Micah: Yeah, this seems like an oversight a little bit (0:26:26) Al: It’s real bad! And I’ve turned the subtitle size up to max, because I like reading subtitles. (0:26:37) Al: It helps me understand what’s- But the picture’s still tiny! Why is the picture so tiny? And also, (0:26:40) Micah: ID too, same boat (0:26:44) Al: you change their suits, right? Nobody stays in the default suits in this game. That’s part of the fun of it, is changing your suits. So I needed to- Part of my problem is that I always- I have a very (0:26:56) Al: specific aesthetic of Spider-Man suit that I like, but I can’t put them both in the same aesthetic, (0:27:01) Al: because then I can’t figure out whose is who. So I’ve had to do like- So I have to decide that this is the colour for Peter, and this is the colour for Miles, and I’ve had to kind of stick with that, (0:27:11) Al: so that I can tell them apart on screen. I know, I know. But it’s- But it is really fun. It’s a really fun game. It has done the same thing, in my opinion, for Spider-Man. (0:27:13) Micah: What a nightmare. (0:27:26) Al: Spider-Man games, that Tears of the Kingdom did for Zelda games. I think it’s done- It has taken a game and done what you think is basically the same thing, but then layered so much more on top of it that it feels so good. (0:27:41) Micah: Yeah, huh It looks really good. I didn’t it seems like the reaction to it has been very good. I just saw today I saw it tick-tock that was somebody saying like I Don’t care what you say Miles and Morales and Peter Parker are my friends. They’re real people. They’re my friends They’re we’re we’re best friends. They’re the boys like And I think you know just saying that like the characters are done so well that it feels like they’re you know (0:28:11) Micah: um but I Not knowing really much about spider-man There is a part of me that wants to play it purely out of like seeing how much Like open world traversal there is for like I’m a big sucker for when there’s like true to life in-game recreations of like real locations So like being able to traverse New York City, I feel like would be (0:28:42) Micah: very fun, even if it’s just I Have not no I Uh Not no, not really that I can remember I mean I do I’ve seen people play them and I’ve seen like, you know, there’s a Again on tick-tock. There’s like occasionally I’ll see a tick-tock live of somebody. That’s just like No camera or anything. It’s just their their gameplay of them Swinging as spider-man and I’m assuming the like previous one but it. (0:28:43) Al: So if you don’t play any Spider-Man game, even like the early 2000s ones or anything, (0:28:50) Al: the Tobey Maguire tie-in film ones, no, that’s fine. (0:29:06) Al: Yeah. It’s absolutely incredible. It’s absolutely incredible, Michael. There’s no traversal in another game that is as fun as this, and they added extra stuff on to what the games had before to make it even more… You have a wingsuit now, so you can fly. So you can swing and swing and go high, and then you fly in your wingsuit, and you can… You’re gliding, right? You’re not flying, (0:29:36) Al: ages. And there’s slip streams around the city, so you can go so fast through the city if you catch the right slip stream, and they’ve added in a bunch of stuff. You can surf on the water for a short period of time and then jump back up and stuff like that. There’s so much in… It’s so fun. (0:30:00) Al: It’s just incredible. And there’s also stuff like you might have seen… Have you you haven’t seen any of the NPC conversations. (0:30:06) Al: There’s like full-on full-on 10, 15, 20 minute conversations that these NPCs have. (0:30:07) Micah: I don’t think so. I don’t think I’ve seen any of the NPC stuff or like (0:30:17) Micah: Oh, like, not like cutscenes, it’s just like listening to people. (0:30:18) Al: If you like just drop down onto the street, no, if you just drop down and there’s two people talking, they will have a full-on conversation for 15 minutes about the most random stuff. (0:30:29) Al: But it makes sense. (0:30:30) Al: It’s incredible. (0:30:31) Al: Like there was there’s ones that I’ve seen which is like, you know, people who were on a work site and they were complaining about their boss. (0:30:36) Al: And then there were people who were talking about like their children and then there’s just so many and it’s wild. (0:30:43) Al: I cannot imagine like it just feels like they’ve gotten in some voice actors and said riff on this and they’ve just spent 20 minutes talking about it. (0:30:50) Micah: Yeah, I can imagine that would be the best way to do that too is to just have people like That’s awesome Who’s the is it rocksteady as a developer Oh insomniac, okay (0:30:51) Al: But it’s incredible. (0:30:52) Al: Yeah. (0:30:54) Al: But they’re everywhere. (0:30:57) Al: I don’t understand how they’ve done it. (0:30:59) Al: It’s like so much. (0:31:01) Al: It’s not. (0:31:02) Al: It’s Insomniac. (0:31:06) Al: It’s incredible. (0:31:07) Al: And it’s also they’re doing a Wolverine game as well coming out in a we don’t know when but presumably like five years or something like that. (0:31:10) Micah: Oh, okay, cool. (0:31:12) Micah: Yeah. (0:31:13) Al: Who knows. (0:31:14) Al: It’s made me really excited for that because like I’m just yeah. (0:31:17) Al: Well I say so yeah having so much fun. (0:31:19) Al: And we probably don’t need to get into a huge conversation about this but also been playing the watermelon games. (0:31:26) Al: It’s a week out game or whatever they call it. (0:31:26) Micah: Yep. I think everybody at least has touched it at some point or see. (0:31:28) Al: It’s been good. (0:31:32) Al: If you haven’t played it. (0:31:33) Al: If you haven’t seen it go play it. (0:31:34) Al: Go watch a video of it. (0:31:36) Micah: And it’s like, what’d you say? $2? (0:31:37) Al: Yeah. (0:31:38) Al: Something like that. (0:31:38) Micah: I bought it when I was on the Japanese eShop. (0:31:39) Al: A thousand yen or something. (0:31:40) Micah: So it was like, I don’t know. (0:31:43) Micah: Yeah, it was like 200 yen or something. (0:31:43) Al: I do even know is what that means. (0:31:45) Al: Yep. (0:31:46) Micah: Yeah. (0:31:47) Micah: It was– yeah, it’s very cheap. (0:31:48) Al: Yeah it’s very cheap and loads of fun. (0:31:50) Micah: It’s like $2 on the– (0:31:54) Al: I like I play a couple of times a day. (0:31:56) Al: It’s good fun. (0:31:58) Al: Oh this is. (0:31:58) Micah: very good. Yeah, we there’s not a whole lot to say about watermelon. You drop you drop fruits into a bucket and they combine if you match them and just don’t overflow the bucket and that’s it. Yeah. It reminds me of there’s some like old arcade game I can’t remember what it was where you’d like shoot balls at each other and if you hit the same color balls then they would combine into like. (0:32:01) Al: We talk a little. (0:32:07) Al: Yeah. (0:32:10) Al: It’s like physics version of Candy Crush or whatever. (0:32:15) Al: Or marriage was the marriage marriage games. (0:32:27) Al: Yeah, I think there’s a few, yeah, there’s a few different games that have done this similar sort of thing. (0:32:28) Micah: a different color and it was like that same. (0:32:31) Micah: Yeah. (0:32:34) Al: This just does it really nicely and the physics aspect of it changes the game entirely because like you drop one and it bounces off stuff and you don’t know for certain where it’s going to go. (0:32:45) Al: So it adds a little bit of, you know, just randomness to that as well, which is fun. (0:32:49) Al: Oh my God, this isn’t going to be a short episode, is it? (0:32:51) Micah: No, I guess not. (0:32:52) Al: We’re going to talk about some news after half an hour. (0:32:56) Al: Um (0:32:57) Al: So, first of all we get Disney Dreamlight Valley. Um, so before we get into the brand new news about this, I just need to talk to you Micah. So, had you seen that the game’s no longer going to be free to play? (0:33:08) Micah: I did. You are actually not the only person to have reached out to me after the news dropped to ask me how I felt about it. Well, I mean, I feel like, you know, if I had to pay for it, (0:33:09) Al: How do you feel? (0:33:25) Micah: then everybody else should. I’m just kidding. It’s kind of a weird move to like start something and say like it’s free to play because usually it’s the other it’s the other way around right like something is paid for it’s like a paid experience and then eventually when it’s not performing the way that they want it to anymore then they move it to free to play like that’s usually the way it goes not the other way around where it starts free to play and they’re like actually you know what we’re gonna charge money for this kind of a weird thing but (0:33:30) Al: Justice! (0:33:30) Al: Or it’s going to be free to play, yeah. (0:33:55) Al: Yeah. Well, it’s also a bit weird because it never was and isn’t going to be now free to play. The weird thing is it’s not gone free to play too paid. It’s gone from paid but we’ll be free to play to actually, no, we’re not going to be free to play. (0:34:13) Micah: Yeah, yes, like free to play, but you have to pay for, like, (0:34:17) Micah: stuff to get access to it anyways, like. (0:34:22) Al: It’s wild, it’s weird, it’s weird, but anyway. (0:34:22) Micah: Yeah, it is a weird thing. (0:34:25) Micah: I don’t I don’t really know how I feel. (0:34:30) Micah: Other than that, like it’s it seems like a weird choice for them. (0:34:34) Micah: I now my concern is, are they going to charge me (0:34:34) Al: I mean you must be less frustrated about buying it now. So they’re not. So I guess what I should say, just a quick summary for people who haven’t listened. So the game is going to come out of Early Access on the 5th of December. There will be a new update at that point. We got more details about that. (0:34:42) Micah: again for the actual (0:34:43) Micah: game since everything that I bought was like basically cosmetic stuff and currency will there be an actual okay, all right good (0:35:04) Al: last week, so I’ll detail. We’ll go over that in a minute. But your early access will continue on. And in fact, you will get extra stuff because you were early access. So you will you get like there’s a few extra cosmetics, including you get capybara. So, you know, (0:35:16) Micah: Oh. Okay. (0:35:24) Micah: Oh Now I’m not upset at all I was a little bit upset but now I’m not Yeah I’m not like opposed to that, but I’m curious to see the I know we have a roadmap that we’re gonna look at But I’m curious to see how frequent paid is gonna come into play because that can kind of (0:35:27) Al: here we go. But, but, but. (0:35:34) Al: they are doing paid DLCs, which will (0:35:46) Al: Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. So a couple small things first. So first of all, the soundtrack for Disney Dreaming Valley is out. You can go get, go stream it or buy it now. So that’s, that’s a thing. I feel like it’s a pretty standard thing for games now. Except Pokemon games. (0:36:03) Micah: That’s also interesting thing, because I don’t know. (0:36:07) Micah: That’s not like, you know. (0:36:10) Micah: Yeah, I suppose so. (0:36:12) Micah: I feel like the standard thing is like, they’re available, (0:36:16) Micah: or like you get the soundtrack with the game or something and not, you know, like, the soundtrack’s out and you can buy it if you want. (0:36:23) Micah: I don’t know, maybe that’s. (0:36:25) Micah: And I don’t know that there was anything really like distinct about the Dreamlight Valley soundtrack that had me like, (0:36:30) Al: No, no, it’s no, it’s no Stardew Valley soundtrack. (0:36:31) Micah: Oh, I got to get this. (0:36:33) Micah: But I don’t know, yeah, that on the other hand outpaid over and over for that. (0:36:36) Al: So the 5th of December update, the 1.0 update, if you will, has been detailed a little bit. (0:36:48) Al: So Jack Skellington will be coming. (0:36:49) Al: Weird that this is coming. (0:36:51) Al: I mean, I guess maybe it makes sense it’s coming between Halloween and Christmas, but I feel like why isn’t this out just before Halloween? (0:36:57) Al: I don’t know. (0:36:58) Micah: You know, I just had this conversation about Nightmare Before Christmas with someone that I work with who said that Nightmare Before Christmas is a Christmas movie and not a Halloween movie and I argued that it’s both. (0:37:12) Al: It’s both. It’s, of course, it’s both, right? (0:37:14) Micah: But then there were other people that agreed with them that said, yeah, it’s more of a Christmas movie than it is a Halloween movie, which like, it’s actually both. (0:37:15) Al: And it… (0:37:16) Al: No. (0:37:18) Al: It’s literally both. (0:37:22) Al: It’s literally both. (0:37:24) Al: This is not a diehard thing, and I’m not going to have that argument, (0:37:27) Al: because my argument about a diehard is, “I don’t care, shut up.” Right? (0:37:31) Al: But, like, this is not… This is literally half Halloween, half Christmas. (0:37:32) Micah: No, this is explicitly bold. (0:37:35) Micah: Yes. (0:37:37) Al: It’s about both holidays. (0:37:40) Al: It just seems like people… (0:37:40) Micah: Thank you, I feel vindicated. (0:37:42) Al: People feel this need to categorise things so that they feel they can watch it at Christmas, right? (0:37:48) Al: And it’s like, you can watch it at Christmas, you can watch it at Halloween. (0:37:53) Al: It’s both. I mean, you can watch it whenever you want, but like, no one’s going to look at it… (0:37:53) Micah: You can watch it whenever you want. Yeah. (0:37:59) Al: I watched it on… I hadn’t watched Nightmare before Christmas, before this year. (0:38:04) Micah: Oh, really? (0:38:05) Micah: Thoughts? (0:38:05) Al: Just hadn’t got around to it, so I watched it a few days before Halloween. Really liked it. (0:38:09) Al: liked it. It was good fun. Good say. I mean, (0:38:12) Al: some of the songs are incredible. It starts out particularly well. Like it’s like comes out of the gate crashing. Like I’m a, it’s really good. Very weird. I enjoyed it. Anyway. (0:38:25) Al: Uh, yeah. So Jax Galton coming to Disney Dreamlight Valley and also multiplayer. So if you really want multiplayer, I’m not going to play multiplayer. Don’t make me play multiplayer. But if you (0:38:36) Micah: I can’t imagine the multiplayer being super smooth based on the gameplay, but I don’t know, maybe. (0:38:45) Al: I feel like it’s going to be basically Animal Crossing multiplayer, like it’s not going to be like Stardew Valley multiplayer or anything like that, it’s going to be visiting someone’s village to see what they’ve done. (0:38:47) Micah: I don’t know. (0:38:49) Micah: Yeah, yeah, that probably. (0:38:54) Micah: Well, because there’s, I mean, they say in the, what’s the wording for that? (0:39:04) Al: enter the valley verse with your friends. Maybe that’s a special place then. (0:39:07) Micah: » See, when I had originally read it, I thought maybe that it was like interacting with Jack Skellington in the Valleyverse with your friends, (0:39:18) Micah: as if you can do whatever that story content is with them, but maybe I just read that (0:39:27) Al: So this update also introduces the highly anticipated multiplayer mode, allowing you and up to three friends to visit each other’s valleys. (0:39:34) Al: Oh, there you go, visit each other’s valleys. (0:39:36) Micah: Okay, yeah. (0:39:36) Al: From showing off your eye for design to checking ScroogeMcDuck’s stock in another v- It’s Animal Crossing. (0:39:38) Micah: Next. (0:39:39) Micah: Yep. (0:39:43) Micah: Okay. (0:39:45) Micah: That I can see a little bit more than like, (0:39:47) Micah: ‘cause when I’d read it, I thought it was, you know, (0:39:50) Micah: you could do story content with your friends, (0:39:52) Micah: and that to me felt like that would be a very not smooth experience. (0:39:56) Al: Yeah, that, yeah. (0:39:57) Micah: But if it’s just like, come check out my valley, (0:39:58) Al: Perhaps more exciting is the fact that the multiplayer mode would continue to evolve over time as new ways to interact with your friends are added in future updates. (0:40:08) Al: Okay, well we’ll deal with them when they come, but yeah, basically the launch version is basically what Animal Crossing does. (0:40:09) Micah: Hmm Yeah when they’re on a When they’re on a content roadmap, then we’ll look at it (0:40:15) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah, give us the give us the details. (0:40:22) Al: So then we’ve had more information about the paid DLC so (0:40:26) Al: we’ve got a content roadmap with a lot of stuff in this. I’ll link this in the show notes so you can go have a look at it but we have detailed five free updates and three I’m pretty sure three of the same paid DLC updates so this is I think one pack that you pay for and you get these three updates I don’t think these are three separate paid things because it’s all part of one One story, basically. (0:40:50) Micah: Hmm, okay Oh sure (0:40:57) Al: So this paid expansion, which is called a Rift in Time, you visit a place called Eternity Isle, (0:41:05) Al: and you meet Rapunzel, Gaston, and Eve, and go through some adventures with them. And then the spring 2024 says, explore ancient’s landing to uncover more of its secrets and befriend a very lucky villager and you also see (0:41:26) Al: in that picture Gaston, Eve and Rapunzel and then it says some (0:41:29) Micah: Mm-hmm Who do you think the very lucky villagers I? (0:41:34) Micah: Couldn’t figure out from that. I don’t have enough Disney knowledge to based on whatever that door is to maybe look (0:41:41) Al: I don’t know and then summer 2024 it says foil Jafar’s schemes and fix the rift in time so that feels to me like three parts of this one paid day. (0:41:54) Micah: Yeah, that makes complete sense, I think. (0:41:58) Micah: I think that you’re totally right. (0:42:00) Al: Yes, yes, so Jafar being very clearly, he’s the big baddie of this DLC, and that’s interesting. (0:42:00) Micah: And obviously, introduction of Aladdin characters (0:42:13) Al: Interesting that Jafar is the first Aladdin (0:42:15) Micah: And also that it’s not like sticking to one series, like one movie. (0:42:22) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:42:24) Micah: It’s like Rapunzel, Gaston, Eve versus Jafar. (0:42:28) Micah: It’s not like. (0:42:29) Al: And one other character, one other person that we don’t know who yet, like wild. (0:42:30) Micah: And yeah, a mystery character. (0:42:37) Al: Oh, yeah, actually, it does say so in these mysterious lands, you will embark on a new main story involving Jafar and the very fabric of time itself taking place across three acts all included in the expansion purchase. (0:42:49) Al: confirmation that those three updates between. (0:42:52) Al: December and summer will be the one purchase, which is thirty dollars, I think. (0:42:57) Micah: It’s not too bad if it’s like a yearly thing, like a yearly expansion purchase or like even, (0:42:59) Al: It’s not it does seem yeah. (0:43:06) Micah: you know, half a year or whatever, which it seems like that probably they’re doing here December 5th to summer 2024. (0:43:15) Micah: It’s like a six month, six months of content for like 30 bucks. (0:43:20) Micah: I guess that’s not too bad. (0:43:22) Al: It’s not terrible. It’s not terrible. We’ll see how it… And I think on top of that they are then obviously doing these other free updates. So obviously we’ve got the the 1.0 release in December which gives you Jack Skellington and the multiplayer and then late winter. It says 2024. It’s a very confusing saying winter 2024. What it means is January or February, right? (0:43:39) Micah: which yeah of 2024 yet. (0:43:46) Al: Yeah, it was just like don’t word it like that. Like this is just whatever. (0:43:52) Al: That is obviously some monster ink related stuff. We’ve got Mike Wazowski and it says scream with excitement as a new realm door opens. And then we’ve got early spring 2024, (0:44:04) Al: a vibrant new villager moves to the valley. I have no idea who… (0:44:07) Micah: Don’t either I was trying to figure that out, but it there’s like there’s like a daisy duck on the front on the like Mast of that ship and I don’t know what that I don’t know if this is like a again, not sure I have the Disney knowledge to know what that’s from but I’m sure it’s from some specific Mickey Mouse movie or you know (0:44:15) Al: Oh yeah, interesting. (0:44:32) Micah: episode or whatever something I’m sure it’s from something really (0:44:32) Al: They’re getting very vague at this point, realistically, right? Because then we’ve got late spring 2024 and it just says, “You don’t find a realm like this every dynasty.” And you’re like, “Oh, for goodness sake, where are we going with this? My word.” Like, someone will know this because there’s some insane fan who knows everything based on… I don’t I don’t know. (0:44:44) Micah: Which like, (0:44:46) Micah: I feel like that’s Mulan. (0:44:53) Micah: Is that not based on the word dynasty? (0:44:57) Micah: I don’t know. (0:45:02) Micah: I feel like that that’s probably Mulan, (0:45:02) Al: Do the flowers relate to that? Like, there’s flowers coming out the door? (0:45:05) Micah: but they’re just doing like, they’re, (0:45:11) Al: I feel like a Taylor Swift fan right now. And then we’ve got… (0:45:18) Micah: ‘Cause the Mulan is set in the northern Wei Dynasty. (0:45:19) Al: Yeah. (0:45:24) Micah: So I don’t know. I don’t know. (0:45:28) Al: And then we’ve got summer 2024, which that’s the princess and the frog. (0:45:32) Al: Right. That picture is the, I can’t remember her name. (0:45:33) Micah: yes. Uh, shoot. I forgot. Tiana. I think maybe, I don’t know what those are, maybe Benet’s, (0:45:35) Al: I’ve never seen it. (0:45:36) Al: Who’s the princess name from Princess and the Frog? (0:45:39) Al: Ba ba ba ba. Tiana. (0:45:42) Al: Good timing there. (0:45:44) Al: Both Googling at the same time. (0:45:51) Micah: which I like the, um, that like French. (0:45:55) Al: the French pastry thing. I think a lot of French stuff is pastry. (0:45:59) Micah: But it’s also like, it’s like a fritter, but it’s like a (0:46:12) Al: So that’s five updates, five free updates in the same time that we’re getting the three parts of the one paid DLC. (0:46:21) Al: So what I do have one small issue still that with this not free to play thing and and having paid DLC is that they’re still going to have their in game currency that you have to pay for as well, which just like you can buy the game, you can buy the DLC and you can also by around the world. (0:46:42) Al: And it just feels like they’re, you know, double dipping there. (0:46:52) Micah: Yeah, I don’t know. I I guess it my first thought was that it feels similar to like I don’t know like destiny or something where it’s like you have a Like expansion that you pay for and then they do like Event stuff throughout that like season quote-unquote like expansion season or it’s free stuff And you have to like still buy the main game and then the expansions (0:47:22) Micah: So like there is precedent for it It just is a really weird move to go from like it’s gonna be free to play - (0:47:30) Micah: It’s not free to play also We’re gonna charge you for it But also there’s gonna be paid expansions for it - like it’s like doubling down on charging for it like Interesting choice, but Especially interesting considering that I don’t feel like it’s a very like widely talked about game I feel like the fan base is… (0:47:52) Micah: …not massive for Dreamlight Valley. (0:47:53) Al: Yeah, I mean, let’s see, like, a lot of that may well be due to being early access, right? (0:47:54) Micah: So it seems like a weird move to like… (0:48:02) Al: And let’s see what happens over the next couple of months, right? Like, there might be a massive push for it, like, you never know what. (0:48:08) Micah: Yeah, I didn’t realize that Gameloft was the developer for it, they are also the developer for Speedstorm, so they must, I don’t know, maybe Disney is just buying them out or something. (0:48:23) Al: Well yeah, I think they’re still doing a lot of other stuff. But it’s interesting that they kept free to play with Speedstorm, and they’ve not done it with this. Well yeah, but it’s out of early access, and it is free to play. Disney Dreamlight Valley has not been, and

Trouble's afoot at the Stardew Valley community center! How are we supposed to fix up the place with all the haunting going on lately? Louise takes the initiative. Patrick makes an entrance. Bob digs in the trash. • • • Patreon: patreon.com/improvtabletop Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok: @ImprovTabletop Email: ImprovTabletop@gmail.com Donations: ko-fi.com/improvtabletop • • • Audio Credits Improv Tabletop's theme song is “Melodic Marauder”, written by Scott Villanueva, and performed by Scott Villanueva and Ned Wilcock. “Melodic Marauders Scared Stupid” also by Ned Wilcock.   The following songs are used courtesy of the YouTube Audio Library License. "Spring Field" by Godmode "Gas Pedal" by Diamond Ortiz   Rubix Cube by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/ • • • This actual play episode uses the Fate Accelerated RPG rules by Evil Hat Productions. This is a fanmade work of parody. Improv Tabletop is not affiliated with the Stardew Valley brand or its owner ConcernedApe, nor with the Ghostbusters brand or its owner Sony Pictures.

Al and Kelly talk about Pumpkin panic Join Al and Kelly in a quick journey through the world of cottagecore gaming. They share their experiences with “Pumpkin Panic,” discuss recent news, and leave you feeling cozy and inspired. Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:03:00: What Have We Been Up To 00:13:42: News 00:55:48: Pumpkin Panic 01:24:30: Outro Links Disney Dreamlight Valley Leaves Early Access Spirittea Release Len’s Island Roadmap Updated Moonstone Island Updated and DLC Released Stardew Valley Horseradish Juice Echoes of the Plum Grove Steam Page Echoes of the Plum Grove Kickstarter Pumpkin Panic Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. (0:00:36) Al: My name is Al, and we’re here today to talk about cottagecore games. (0:00:37) Kelly: And my name is Kelly. (0:00:38) Kelly: Woo! (0:00:43) Al: Two weeks in a row Kelly, what’s happening here? (0:00:50) Kelly: I know. It’s even funny because Kevin brought it up. I did last year’s Halloween. (0:00:56) Kelly: Which I totally forgot. Because I totally forgot Cult of the Lamb came out last year. (0:00:56) Al: Yes. That was last year, my word, wild. Yes. Yeah, yeah. I mean, why not? But hey, I’m on, I think this is, is this my first Halloween ep? No, no, I was on one with Rochelle, the original Graveyard Keeper one, I think, I was on. But I hadn’t played the game, so Rochelle I was basically just telling me. (0:01:01) Kelly: Yeah. It’s just my season. I don’t know what to say. (0:01:18) Kelly: I was gonna say Kevin brought that up last time actually, yeah. (0:01:22) Kelly: Okay. (0:01:24) Kelly: Well, welcome to your own podcast Halloween episode. (0:01:26) Al: about it and I was asking questions, but I think I’ve not been on any of the other Halloween episodes. So I’m here. Yay. Awesome. Well, thank you for joining us, Kelly. It’s good to talk to you again, even if Kevin did steal you from me for the last week. This one has been organized for much longer. Much longer. Yeah. Yeah. We have had a bunch of different ideas for last week and none of them were really like enough. (0:01:43) Kelly: Of course, thank you. (0:01:45) Kelly: I will say we planned this one. Yes. Last week was very impromptu. This is very much so planned. (0:02:01) Al: And there was a point where Kevin was like, I can’t do the recording time we have. And I’m like, well, I’m traveling the rest of the time. So so he kicked me off. He kicked me off my own podcast and and brought you on instead. So thank you very much for that. (0:02:16) Kelly: Always a pleasure. I did have to do a little, like, briefing on it though, because I hadn’t played Graveyard Keeper in, like, a year, and I was like, “Oh, what is this game again?” (0:02:19) Al: Oh, yes. Fair enough. (0:02:26) Al: Well, we don’t have that problem with this week’s game because it’s incredibly quick to play some of it and get a very good idea of what this game is. So this episode, we’re going to talk about pumpkin panic. And we’ll have lots to say about that later on in the episode. But yes, we’re going to talk about that just to mention that transcripts are available for the podcast in the show notes and on the website. So if you need that, that’s (0:02:57) Al: OK. Before we talk about pumpkin panic, we’re going to talk about the news. But first of all, Kelly, what have you been up to? (0:03:02) Kelly: I have been playing, I actually just finished this morning, I started playing the cosmic wheel of sisterhood. (0:03:16) Kelly: So this is an interactive story game where you play as a witch who has been banished from her coven, and you are kind of trying to make your way back. (0:03:32) Kelly: You play into your coven and you create tarot cards and you read the tarot cards to kind of create the gameplay in the world. (0:03:45) Kelly: And you have visitors. (0:03:48) Kelly: So I am not always great at story games because as much as I love reading, I also get very frustrated at a lot of stories in games. (0:03:53) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:03:58) Kelly: And I thought this, they did this so good. (0:04:01) Kelly: I thought it was so much fun. (0:04:02) Kelly: Because you’re so hands-on with it. (0:04:03) Al: This seems a little bit more involved than a standard visual novel. (0:04:12) Al: Is it just mainly the one minigame that I’m seeing on this Steam page? (0:04:16) Kelly: Um, what is… what is… (0:04:18) Kelly: Um, kind of. So that’s like… (0:04:18) Al: with making the cards. (0:04:22) Kelly: You have that, you can do like there’s interactive stories within the story. (0:04:27) Kelly: Um, so there’s like different… I wouldn’t call them mini-games, but like the interactions are the rest of it. (0:04:33) Al: Right, OK. (0:04:33) Kelly: Um, and… (0:04:34) Al: But it’s not it’s not just like click a button and see the next. (0:04:36) Kelly: You kind of… like obviously… (0:04:40) Kelly: No, no, no, no. Yeah, there’s definitely… (0:04:42) Al: Here’s one choice sort of thing, right? (0:04:46) Kelly: You make the choices as to what you’re gonna do, who you would mite over to your little house. (0:04:50) Kelly: Um, and then… (0:04:53) Kelly: Even when you pull a tarot card, you have the choice as to how to explain the card. (0:04:57) Kelly: So, there is a lot of, um, leeway into how the interactions go and how the story itself is gonna go. (0:05:05) Kelly: So like I did a run, and I can do a totally different run next time. (0:05:06) Al: Okay. All right. (0:05:11) Kelly: So you do have you really do like you kind of write the story yourself as much as you can for you know (0:05:19) Al: It has very positive reviews on Steam, it has over a thousand. (0:05:23) Kelly: demo. There’s a demo which I would highly suggest playing because that’s definitely what I did and once I finished the demo I immediately bought the game and all of your stuff transfers over which is so nice because I hate when you start a demo especially for a game like this and you got to start it over. But yeah I thought it was like a very nice little like casual gameplay but like still very interesting. And like kind of emotional. (0:05:53) Al: Shocking when they make you feel things. How dare they? (0:05:53) Kelly: Right? What have you been up to, Al? (0:05:56) Al: Well, speaking of making you feeling things, before I get into games, I have watched the new film “Killers of the Flower Moon”. Have you seen… I presume you haven’t seen… (0:06:08) Kelly: I have not seen it yet, however I have owned that book for like a decade or so. (0:06:14) Al: Yeah, mm-hmm (0:06:15) Kelly: My dad bought it years ago. My dad’s a very big like historical novel kind of person and then we actually read it in my book club about two years ago or a year ago. I really enjoyed it. I thought the book was very good. I have not watched the movie yet, but I’ve heard very positive reviews. (0:06:28) Al: » Okay. Yeah. (0:06:38) Kelly: Even from the Native American community about the movie, of course there’s some things that probably could have been done differently, (0:06:45) Kelly: but I think that’s anytime it happens when you’re telling somebody else’s story. (0:06:46) Al: Hmm. I think, yeah, yeah, definitely. I think there’s a lot about the film that is obviously, (0:06:54) Al: you know, there’s some, you know, some racist stuff in the film, right? Obviously. But that’s the sort of thing where it’s like, well, yeah, but you’re talking about a, you know, a racist crime, (0:06:57) Kelly: Mm-hmm Yeah, yeah, you’re telling a story from 1930 or 20 or whatever (0:07:04) Al: right? Like, yeah, yeah, exactly. It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s not, don’t go into expecting a good time. (0:07:15) Kelly: Yeah, and unfortunately I don’t think the story would be accurate if those things are kind of left out because they do play a big role in what’s going on with the story itself. (0:07:16) Al: No, of course. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, you know, I enjoyed that. It’s very long. It’s very long. So that’s why I was up really late on Thursday night because of that. (0:07:26) Kelly: But crazy. Yes. (0:07:37) Al: Because I saw the showing started at half seven and like I wasn’t home until quarter past midnight. (0:07:44) Kelly: Wow. Wow. (0:07:44) Al: So. (laughs) (0:07:46) Al: I don’t regret going to see it, it was very good. (0:07:49) Kelly: Which I feel like is such a… it’s such a hard thing to achieve with some of this… (0:07:49) Al: And I don’t think it was… (0:07:51) Al: Like, it doesn’t feel like it was unnecessarily long, right? (0:07:54) Al: Like, I feel like he was doing something with every minute that you had. (0:07:58) Al: Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. (0:08:03) Kelly: these stories. Like, I mean, I feel like I didn’t see Oppenheimer, but I feel like that a lot of people talked about that. (0:08:09) Kelly: Feeling kind of like dragged out in a lot of spots. (0:08:12) Al: Interesting. Yeah, I suspect a lot of these things depends on how you feel about quiet moments that make you contemplate. Right. Absolutely. You can’t be talking about a massacre or about, (0:08:21) Kelly: Which I think these stories need those moments. (0:08:24) Kelly: So I don’t see anything wrong with that. (0:08:27) Kelly: Yeah, just on to the next scene. (0:08:30) Al: you know, wiping out of a city without having some moments to make you think, “Wow, that’s bad!” (0:08:40) Al: Exactly, exactly. So it’s quite great. (0:08:42) Al: So I enjoyed it. It was good. I don’t think I’m going to watch it a second time. It’s not like I’m going to watch this film again. But yeah. (0:08:54) Kelly: I will say on that note, the book is also extremely good. I know, Allie, you said you’re probably not going to read it, but if anybody out there is interested, very interesting. (0:09:05) Al: Yeah, people don’t really. Yeah. (0:09:10) Kelly: I think some historical novels can be kind of boring and dragged out because I do read a lot of history. This was very good. This was written in a way that like really you You just, you had to keep going. (0:09:24) Kelly: No matter what. It wasn’t, it wasn’t… (0:09:26) Kelly: Umm, oh my god, what’s his name? (0:09:28) Kelly: The Devil in White City guy, Eric Larson. (0:09:30) Kelly: I like some of his works. They can also be a bit cumbersome. (0:09:31) Al: Yeah. Fair enough. Yeah. I mean, just to make a point of it, like people don’t like when I talk about the fact that I don’t really read books, but I don’t really read books. (0:09:34) Kelly: So I don’t think it was like that. (0:09:47) Al: And it’s not like I read books as a child. And the problem is that I just I struggle because I don’t have like the visual aspect in my brain. Like I’m not I’m not able to see the things that are described. So so much of a book I just kind of skim over. (0:09:53) Kelly: Yes, yeah. (0:10:01) Al: Because it’s like descriptive stuff that doesn’t really mean anything because I can’t see it. (0:10:04) Kelly: Whereas I’m the complete opposite and I see everything in my head and then I get really mad when the movie comes out and skews my perspective on how I envisioned everything. (0:10:05) Al: Um… (0:10:12) Al: Yeah. I always found that hilarious when people were like, “Oh, it’s nothing like what it is in the book. It’s not like what I imagined it.” And I’m like, “What do you mean it’s nothing like what you imagined it?” I don’t understand what you mean by this. And now that I understand that people now make up images in their head, suddenly I understand what they mean now. They’re like, (0:10:22) Kelly: Mm-hmm. (0:10:32) Kelly: Yep Yep, it’s it’s so funny cuz like my roommate is like you she can’t see anything in her head and I’m like, well What do you what do you mean? What do you how are you living? I don’t understand Well, I am That is the that is the issue Thank you. (0:10:33) Al: “Oh, this isn’t exactly what I had imagined in my head.” (0:10:46) Al: Oh, I’m just like, how do you ever get anything done? Are you not constantly distracted by the things in your head? (0:11:00) Al: So I’ve also played a bunch of games, because I apparently haven’t been on the podcast for multiple episodes. So I have played and finished Sonic Superstars and Mario Wonder, and I have been playing through the new Spider-Man game. That is taking me longer, because just like It’s on my PS5, you have to kind of sit down and deliver. (0:11:16) Al: All those games are great, Sonic Super Star is good, Mario Wonder is fantastic, Spider-Man is fantastic. (0:11:28) Al: Both of those two games did things that I couldn’t, I just wouldn’t have expected what they did. (0:11:36) Al: It’s not just like, oh there are another version of this game, right? (0:11:41) Al: They both do things that are like, this is brand new stuff, really interesting. (0:11:41) Kelly: I think that’s so exciting, especially for the Mario games because I feel like, you know, (0:11:46) Al: That I really, really like. (0:11:48) Al: Yeah. (0:11:50) Al: Yeah. (0:11:52) Kelly: how long has it been? (0:11:52) Al: Yeah. (0:11:53) Kelly: How many games have come out? (0:11:54) Al: Yeah. (0:11:55) Kelly: Like, how do you keep reinventing the wheel? (0:11:56) Al: Yeah, definitely. (0:11:58) Kelly: But it’s still exciting to find out that they can. (0:11:58) Al: Yeah, and I think, I mean I don’t think they need to do that for every single game. (0:12:02) Kelly: No! (0:12:02) Al: Like I enjoyed every game in the new series. (0:12:07) Al: Like they’re all fun, they don’t have to be completely different, they all have new challenges in their different levels. (0:12:13) Al: levels but it is also fun to occasionally get like this is just. (0:12:16) Al: Just a completely different way of thinking and the the Wonderflowers just do just crazy things in the levels that make it just so different. (0:12:26) Al: You know it’s not just like oh here’s a different power-up and the new power-ups are fun as well but it’s not just like oh this one’s a bubble instead of a fire right and that’s that’s fun but it’s not like a radical idea whereas like the Wonderflowers are like what if this was a top-down game instead of a side-scroller and you’re like. (0:12:46) Al: Like what if apparently now we’re doing that you know like I think it’s the weird stuff that they did with that game and it’s like what if the Piranha plant sang you know. (0:12:57) Kelly: Oh my god, I saw the clips of that, they’re so cute! (0:13:02) Al: It’s just like I love the idea of that it’s just brainstorm a hundred and the weird thing is every single level has one right it’s not like this is the sort of thing that you wouldn’t you if if they told you but you’re like oh that’d be fun so like you know it’d be like all the boss battles. (0:13:16) Al: Have them or what like this. (0:13:16) Kelly: That’s cool. That’s very cool. (0:13:18) Al: A couple of levels in every world. (0:13:20) Al: Every single world has one. (0:13:25) Al: So yeah, good fun. (0:13:26) Al: I’ve also been playing Harvest Moon Winds of Anthos because I need to play that. (0:13:32) Al: So I’ll talk about that next week. (0:13:35) Al: I don’t think we need to talk about that just now. (0:13:39) Al: It is what it is. (0:13:40) Al: Cool. (0:13:41) Al: News. Should we talk about some news? (0:13:47) Al: Let’s start with the controversial stuff. (0:13:50) Al: Disney Dreamlight Valley. (0:13:51) Al: Have you played this yet? (0:13:52) Kelly: No, I have not. I think when it first like when they first announced it I was like oh this looks really cute If I’m not playing anything, I’ll probably play it Yes So I don’t think I will be playing Because like free to play You know, I know there’s gonna be some payment stuff, but you can kind of avoid it sometimes (0:14:00) Al: Yeah, were you waiting for it to go free to play? That’s the question. (0:14:04) Al: Yeah, well wait no longer! It is no longer going to be free to play! (0:14:08) Al: I think this is fast, so this is okay, so full context. (0:14:16) Al: Yes, yeah definitely. (0:14:23) Kelly: Or at least you can get an idea of what the game is before you decide to put money into it Yes, sorry jumping ahead (0:14:27) Al: so yeah so let’s okay well let’s put that let’s put the (0:14:30) Al: the discussion of that bit aside let’s let’s get into the actual news of it so the game is leaving early access on the 5th of december so that will be the first full version of the game whatever that means they have announced that it’s not going to be free to play anymore so you will have to to buy it they have also announced that there is going to be a paid dlc coming which they’re going to detail you’ll know more about this when you listen to this episode because they’re going to be saying more about it on the day this episode comes out (0:15:00) Al: that next week as well but they have also said that they are still going to continue to have free content updates so it’s not all going to be paid dlc I think that there are so many different ways to buy this game now it’s weird have you looked at the so in the main link on there they’ve got a list of the new ways to buy the game which is like you can just buy the game for $40 or you you can buy the physical cozy edition. (0:15:26) Kelly: Oh, I saw this. (0:15:30) Al: Which also gives you some stuff and that’s $50 or you can buy the gold edition, which also has more exclusive items and gives you the DLC or you can buy the DLC separately and these purchase options are on top of what the current purchase options are for early access, which you can still do until the 4th of December. (0:15:52) Al: I know it’s so bizarre. (0:15:53) Kelly: I think I got a headache just looking at this earlier. (0:15:58) Kelly: I was like, what is this, a streaming service? (0:16:00) Kelly: What the hell is this? (0:16:00) Al: I think I just it feels like so I think you can you can frame not being free to play as positive and negative right negative obviously a bunch of people who were like yeah I get to play the game without paying for it now don’t get to do that they either have to pay or they don’t get to play the game and that’s really frustrating I get why people would be frustrated by that. (0:16:22) Al: On the other hand obviously we know that free to play games are very manipulative and are very good at sucking. (0:16:26) Kelly: Oh, absolutely, yes. (0:16:28) Kelly: Well, so that’s what I was gonna ask, right? Like they’re not removing microtransactions from the game. (0:16:30) Al: But it’s not like there aren’t going to be ways to pay for things inside the game after you’ve bought it. (0:16:37) Al: No so I it feels like they’re just doing a bit of both worlds which. (0:16:42) Kelly: Yes, they want their cake and they’re gonna have their cake and eat it too kind of thing. (0:16:46) Al: Yeah yeah it’s not not great. (0:16:49) Kelly: And then the the $40 base price is kind of wild. (0:16:52) Al: It does seem let me so let me double check. (0:16:56) Kelly: To go from free-to-play to $40? (0:16:59) Kelly: Oh wait, so if you paid for early access, does that come out of the base? (0:17:00) Al: The early access prices. (0:17:02) Al: Because. (0:17:04) Al: So if you paid for access you have the game now so you don’t have to buy the game again and they’ve also said as a thank you to our early access players all unique cosmetic items included in the upcoming gold edition will be given free of charge to any player who purchases and claims of founders pack in game or on on or before December the 4th no matter the tier. (0:17:30) Kelly: Okay, that’s nice because I think… (0:17:30) Al: And not only that but all founders will also receive 2500 min stones to celebrate this that’s. (0:17:32) Kelly: Okay, that’s nice. (0:17:39) Kelly: Nice. (0:17:41) Al: So let me just double check the prices for… (0:17:47) Al: Yes, so here we are. So there’s three different versions you can buy in Early Access. (0:17:50) Al: Well, this is the thing. This is where it’s wild. So there’s the standard Founders Edition, (0:17:51) Kelly: Oh my god. But how many tears? (0:18:01) Al: which is the Early Access to Dreamland Valley plus 8,000 Moonstones plus a bunch of exclusive stuff, (0:18:08) Al: and that is $30. So $10. (0:18:11) Al: cheaper than the final price. And then there’s the deluxe founders rewards which gives you 14,500 moonstones. I don’t know why they insist on always like it’s not 15, why not 15? Weird. And a bunch of more exclusive items and that one I don’t have a price for but I think it might have been, it was either 50 or 60. (0:18:34) Kelly: Well, that’s 50 on here, on the regular one. (0:18:36) Al: Yeah. I think, I think… (0:18:42) Al: Yeah, it’s 50, 50. And then there’s the ultimate founders edition which gives you 20,000 moonstones and a bunch of extra cosmetic things. And that one was $6, $70? (0:18:58) Kelly: Okay, I think that makes sense because the gold edition for the standard game is (0:19:03) Al: So there are like seven different ways to buy this game. All with different things. (0:19:08) Kelly: Oh my god. (0:19:10) Kelly: And then the DLC is $30. (0:19:11) Al: So it’s like if you… Yes, which is only included in the Gold Edition, not as far as I can tell, (0:19:19) Al: any of the Early Access editions. So if you have Early Access, you still have to pay for the (0:19:25) Kelly: I have some things I’d like to say, and I’m gonna maybe keep them to myself. (0:19:31) Al: So I will say you do get a capybara companion if you buy the gold edition. (0:19:31) Kelly: It is very cute. It’s very cute. It has a flower crown. (0:19:40) Al: A flowery capybara companion. (0:19:41) Kelly: I mean, you can’t go wrong with the capybara. (0:19:46) Al: True that. (0:19:48) Kelly: Listen, the game looks so cute. I think that’s why this is kind of so disappointing. (0:19:52) Al: Yes, yeah, yeah, it is. (0:19:59) Al: So I think it is a good game and if you said to me this game… (0:20:01) Al: Why did they say that? Why did they even say that? (0:20:04) Kelly: Mm-hmm. (0:20:20) Kelly: Exactly. They made the promise. Yeah. (0:20:23) Kelly: And that’s so frustrating because that’s what they’ve been writing on since they announced this. Like why, why, why? And then to announce the changes a month before. (0:20:37) Al: Just why? (0:20:39) Al: I know, I know, I know it’s so… (0:20:40) Kelly: And then also, so if you buy the cozy edition, besides the flowery capybara and the expansion (0:20:50) Kelly: is there anything else you’re missing? Like are you limited from gameplay? Okay. (0:20:52) Al: No, no you’re not, you’re not. So the only gameplay, so everything that’s exclusive outside of the expansion pass, everything that’s exclusive is just cosmetics. If you buy, if you… it is, isn’t it? It’s not quite that bad yet, but it definitely feels like that’s where they’re going yes the funny thing is (0:21:07) Kelly: Okay, that’s a little bit better, but you know what? It’s giving me sims. (0:21:14) Kelly: No, but it’s getting there. Yeah. (0:21:22) Al: right see if you buy the base game and you buy the expansion pass that’s one cent cheaper than buying the gold edition which gives you the base game and the expansion pass I mean it also gives you the it does give you the capacity is the capybara worth one cent that’s the it just seems like why is the gold edition the same price as it seems weird (0:21:33) Kelly: Yeah, but no capybara. (0:21:47) Kelly: It does, like also, like okay so if you if you do really want to play this game, (0:21:51) Kelly: why would you buy the base edition and the expansion pack instead of just buying the gold edition? (0:21:55) Kelly: Again, this is just such a headache to look at. (0:21:55) Al: Yeah, yeah, well, that’s that yeah, so yeah seven different seven different ways to buy this game You either buy it in one of the three early access ways of buying it or you buy it in one of the three Non-early access ways to buy it if you wait till the 5th of December and then you either buy the expansion mass or not We don’t know what’s in the expansion pass exactly they’ll be telling us that on Wednesday today if you’re listening on the day this comes out (0:22:24) Al: There are some hints. (0:22:25) Al: There we’ve seen Gaston and… oh is that Rapunzel? I think it’s Rapunzel. (0:22:33) Kelly: Oh, yes, that’s Rapunzel in the back. And then, uh, Eva. Eve, Eve. (0:22:34) Al: Who’s the little robot? Oh was that from Wally? (0:22:38) Kelly: Eeeve. (0:22:40) Kelly: Yeah, from Wally. (0:22:41) Al: Okay I still haven’t seen Wally. I know, I know. So I went through a period of time of just not watching Disney Pixar stuff. (0:22:42) Kelly: What? (0:22:44) Kelly: Ugh. (0:22:47) Kelly: I mean, I’ve never seen Tangled, so whatever, but Wally’s so good. (0:22:52) Al: I have seen (0:22:55) Al: a few of them since, but I haven’t caught up on all of them. I just watched, what’s it called, Elemental today. (0:23:10) Kelly: How was it? I get clips on TikTok and it seems pretty cute. (0:23:14) Kelly: I feel like the trailer kind of made it seem like it was going to be like a knock-off uh… (0:23:14) Al: I enjoyed it, yeah. It’s better than the trailer that made me think it was going to be. (0:23:22) Kelly: How am I… I’m blanking on it. (0:23:24) Kelly: No, um… I can’t think right now. I don’t know. (0:23:25) Al: Anything can roll me on Juliet. (0:23:30) Kelly: It just felt very familiar, I guess, if that… (0:23:34) Al: Yeah, it is. There’s nothing particular about it that’s interesting on you, but I think it does a good job of being a fun and enjoyable and emotional way of exploring immigration and an immigrant’s family’s journey and some of those struggles. I think it does a good job. (0:23:50) Kelly: Mm-hmm. (0:23:52) Kelly: That’s uh, that’s like kind of like again, I watched a lot of clips on tiktok. I get so sucked into the movie clips on tiktok But I think that that’s exactly the vibe I got to I was like very surprised I feel like With the difference between the trailer and how the actual movie seemed to be See ya later. (0:24:03) Al: fair. (0:24:16) Al: Yeah. I don’t know what that trailer was about, because like the trailer came out and everyone went “this looks terrible, what are you doing?” and then the phone came out and people were like “yes, yes, sorry, it’s good, it’s good, it’s enjoyable”. Yeah. Yeah. I’m not going to say it’s the best Pixar film, but it’s certainly not the worst. It’s good. I enjoyed it. Yeah, so that’s, we don’t, we’ve seen Gaston and Rapunzel and would you say Eve? (0:24:19) Kelly: Bye. (0:24:27) Kelly: Yeah, I feel like every review I’ve seen of it, people really liked it, like they enjoyed it, so… (0:24:46) Kelly: Eve, yeah. I think that Eve, Eevee, something like that? Not Eevee, but it’s like that, yeah. (0:24:46) Al: And there’s a snake and a pig. So we don’t know a huge amount, we’ll see, but it’s, I don’t think so. (0:24:57) Kelly: Is that the jungle book? (0:24:58) Kelly: No, that’s not the snake from the jungle book. (0:25:03) Kelly: Oh, there’s a creature in the tree too. (0:25:05) Kelly: That is the jungle book. (0:25:07) Kelly: Look at the monkey in the tree. (0:25:09) Kelly: I’m pretty sure that’s the jungle book. (0:25:11) Al: Anyway, well, no more. It’s interesting that this is their first paid DLC, so they are locking content behind another paywall, which is what it is. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing. I’m just saying it is what it is. So don’t expect to pay the base price of the game and get all of the updates for free forever. That’s not going to happen. (0:25:22) Kelly: Which I think is just… (0:25:24) Kelly: Yes. (0:25:34) Kelly: I just think it’s a little wild to go from free to play to the base game is free and then the DLC is also the same price as like a game. (0:25:36) Al: It’s not Stardew Valley. (0:25:41) Al: Well, that’s the thing. If you want to now play everything that will be available on the 5th of December, it’s gone from zero to $70. Yes, you say there’s going to be more free content updates, but you know there’s going to be more paid DLC as well. (0:26:01) Kelly: Oh, and like you said, there’s transactions in the game probably too, right? (0:26:04) Al: Yep, yep, yep. So I never outright bought it. (0:26:06) Kelly: Do you have early access or no? (0:26:11) Al: Although I will now be buying it because I was waiting for it to be free before I got it on Switch. But I did have it on Game Pass for a while, and I was playing it on that. (0:26:14) Kelly: Well… (0:26:16) Kelly: Oh, uh, okay. (0:26:25) Al: The thing that I’m frustrated with free to play is not that I have to pay for the game. (0:26:28) Al: I’m fine with paying for the game. What I’m frustrated is I now have to decide what I’m playing it on. When it’s free to play, it would mean I could have it on everything and choose depending on how I’m feeling on the day or how they play on different platforms. (0:26:29) Kelly: - Yeah. (0:26:41) Al: Whereas now I need to go, or no, I need to decide do I want to on Switch or do I want to on Steam Deck. (0:26:45) Kelly: Mm-hmm That’s fair I just I think it’s just I’m mostly annoyed about being told the whole time that it’s gonna be free to play and then Getting the rug pulled out from under you a month before (0:26:46) Al: I think I’m going to do it. (0:26:54) Al: It’s bizarre. Never make these decisions upfront. Yeah. Wild. Never say, “Oh, next year when release is good.” Just don’t do it. It’s pointless. It is. I mean, it doesn’t feel like it should be that big a promise for, you know, one of the biggest companies in the world. (0:27:05) Kelly: It’s a big promise to make. (0:27:07) Kelly: No, no, no, no, it shouldn’t. (0:27:12) Kelly: I think that’s another point that I was trying not to bring up is like, come on, like of all people Do you really need to be charging this much? (0:27:21) Al: Yeah, I suspect. What I suspect is they didn’t expect it to be as popular as it has been and people to like it as much. Like, this is a good game, right? This isn’t one of these, like, “Oh, they’ve just thrown some money at someone and got a really rubbish game based on a film,” right? This is a really good game, and if you like Disney characters, (0:27:42) Al: this is a great game to play because there’s so much lore and you get to, like, be friends with the characters that you like in the games. It’s really good fun. (0:27:51) Al: And the farming is good. It’s not their best, but it’s good. It’s a good game. That’s part of the problem is I think they were probably expecting it to be a standard free to play game. The people who made those decisions, right? We’re expecting it to be like, Oh, (0:28:05) Al: this isn’t a game we’re going to manage to convince people to pay for. Oh wait, no people like the game. Oh, well, we’re gonna, we’re gonna charge people in, you know. (0:28:12) Kelly: And I think back to your point, like, I’m not… I mean, obviously I grew up on Disney, whatever. (0:28:19) Kelly: I’m not the biggest Disney person. I still wanted to play the game. Like, it looked like a good game. (0:28:24) Al: It is. It is a good farming game. It is a good cottagecore game. (0:28:26) Kelly: But I think now, like, someone like me, I’m not gonna play this game, to be quite honest. (0:28:31) Al: Yeah. (0:28:34) Kelly: Because I’m not gonna pay, whatever, 40 bucks at the minimum. (0:28:38) Kelly: I mean, to be honest, I’m mostly playing indie games, so like… (0:28:42) Kelly: He paying $40 is like, I really wanted to play this game. (0:28:42) Al: Yes, it’s cheap compared to some games, but… (0:28:45) Kelly: Yes. But by my standards, that’s a triple-A game. (0:28:52) Kelly: Literally. (0:28:53) Al: You could buy Stardew four times for that price. (0:28:55) Kelly: Literally. (0:28:59) Al: You could buy Stardew on all your consoles if you wanted, and you probably already have. (0:29:06) Al: Last couple of things, the Cozy Edition, as we mentioned, that’s the… (0:29:12) Al: physical edition. (0:29:13) Al: I do not know why they’re calling it this, it is a stupid name, but whatever. (0:29:17) Al: It has been delayed until the 10th of November, except the Switch version in North America. (0:29:25) Al: All the other versions have been delayed. (0:29:26) Kelly: How lucky. (0:29:29) Al: It’s such a weird… (0:29:30) Al: I mean, first of all, who’s buying this game physically? (0:29:33) Al: That is a weird decision to make. (0:29:35) Al: I don’t… (0:29:35) Kelly: I could see if it was released closer to Christmas or something. (0:29:36) Al: Why are you… yeah, okay, I guess that’s a good point. (0:29:39) Kelly: Like, does anything come with it? (0:29:41) Kelly: No, no, I mean like physical. (0:29:42) Al: Yeah, you do get a few cosmetics extra with it, but that’s all. (0:29:47) Al: Oh, no. (0:29:47) Kelly: No, then no. (0:29:49) Al: No, no, it’s just a case with the game and a code that gives you some extra cosmetics, (0:29:49) Kelly: Oh, not even… yeah, no, no, no. (0:29:58) Al: that’s it. (0:30:00) Al: I think, yeah, you’re probably right though, that’s exactly it. (0:30:03) Al: It’s because people will buy a game for people physically, right? (0:30:06) Kelly: Yeah. (0:30:06) Kelly: I was about to say, “Your grandma can buy a friend.” (0:30:07) Al: That’s why they always do that, because then your grandmother can walk into a shop and buy a game for you. (0:30:12) Al: Oh, they like Disney. (0:30:14) Al: Yeah, that’s exactly what it is, isn’t it? (0:30:14) Kelly: Exactly. (0:30:16) Kelly: Oh, Disney characters? (0:30:17) Kelly: This is perfect. (0:30:20) Al: Don’t buy this game physically. (0:30:23) Al: It’s weird decision to make. (0:30:24) Al: I mean, do what you want. (0:30:26) Al: I’m not. Anyway, and I guess the final point to say is that Micah has finally been vindicated because he bought the game not knowing it was going to be free to play. (0:30:35) Al: And turns out it’s not going to be free to play. (0:30:36) Kelly: Oh, really? (0:30:40) Al: So he gets the last laugh. (0:30:43) Al: I think. Yeah, he didn’t. (0:30:45) Al: It was really funny because we were I can’t remember when it was. (0:30:47) Al: But the first episode that I had him on after the game came out, (0:30:52) Al: we were talking about how he was playing it and then how he bought it. (0:30:54) Al: And then I’d mentioned that it was going to be free to play. (0:30:57) Al: And he was like, wait, what? (0:30:58) Al: It was very funny. (0:31:01) Al: I think he bought the Ultimate Founders Edition as well. (0:31:02) Kelly: Well, it seems like he was gonna pay the money no matter what, so… (0:31:03) Al: So that’s like he paid the seventy dollars. (0:31:06) Al: Well, yeah, that’s true. (0:31:08) Kelly: You know, I feel like in that instance, it doesn’t matter if it was free to play or not. (0:31:13) Al: That’s true, that’s true. (0:31:14) Al: I think that’s everything about that. Wow, we just spent 15 minutes talking about that. (0:31:21) Al: Cool, so there you go. 5th of December, that’s the important thing. If you want any of the special stuff that comes with only early access, go get that as soon as you can. If you don’t, (0:31:34) Al: then don’t. If you’re not going to buy this game, I’m sorry. There we go. (0:31:39) Al: Speaking of games coming out with less controversy. (0:31:42) Al: Spirit tea. So this is the farming game slash Spirited away type game where you are running a tea Once ago tea. Yeah. Yes And Yeah, I kick started it when I came out because I’m I thought I I actually have access to the game already I know right (0:31:55) Kelly: It’s like a tea house, bath shop. (0:31:58) Kelly: It looks so cute. (0:31:59) Kelly: I wanna get this. (0:32:01) Kelly: This is, I’m definitely getting. (0:32:08) Kelly: Oh my god. (0:32:12) Al: So, yeah, I kick started the game looking forward to playing it it is the is finally releasing on the 13th of November So if you have been looking forward to running your own little tea house tea shop wherever you want to call it with a bath house and Play with some spirits. I don’t I don’t know the right words to use with this game yet. Go go get it It’s mostly one guy who’s been developing it for a bunch of years. He’s working with a publisher But yeah, if you like game– (0:32:42) Al: games that are as indie as they come, go get it. (0:32:47) Al: Yeah, yeah, it’s not just your standard. (0:32:47) Kelly: It looks like a nice little spin on the farming game. (0:32:55) Al: Go plant some turnips and then you get better crops. (0:32:58) Kelly: Yeah. (0:32:59) Al: Lens Island have updated their roadmap, (0:33:04) Al: so they have said that their 1.0 is coming out in July 2024. (0:33:09) Al: I think this is the first official date we got from them. (0:33:12) Al: We had got some– they’d originally wanted to release it this year, (0:33:16) Al: and then at some point they’d said it would be next year. (0:33:20) Kelly: That’s nice to get a solid time actually. It always is. You’re talking to the person waiting for Silksong here, I know. (0:33:23) Al: It’s dangerous, but yeah, nice. So I look forward to Lens Island coming out in November of next year. (0:33:36) Al: They’ve also said there are going to be two more updates this year. One in November, (0:33:47) Al: which, oh look, it’s November now, and one in December, and then there’ll be a final. (0:33:53) Al: Major update before the final release in March of next year, and then the final release in July of next year. So if you are waiting for that one point of release of Lens Island, (0:34:06) Al: that’s when you’re going for it. I actually own this game as well, and I haven’t played it. (0:34:11) Al: It’s quite combat focused this game, and when I first got it when it first entered Early Access, (0:34:22) Al: because I kickstarted that. (0:34:23) Al: I need to stop kickstarting things. (0:34:26) Al: I kickstart all the farming games. (0:34:28) Kelly: You just want to be hip and say, “I was here first.” [laughs] (0:34:29) Al: It’s a sickness, Kelly. (0:34:32) Al: Yeah, I know, right? (0:34:38) Al: They didn’t have controller support at that point. (0:34:41) Al: And of course, I was playing it on my Steam Deck, so it was not fun to play with. (0:34:46) Al: So I spent like five minutes and went, nope, not doing this. (0:34:48) Al: I’m waiting for controller support. (0:34:48) Kelly: Wait, if it didn’t have– (0:34:51) Kelly: how does that work, then? (0:34:53) Al: I think you can map any button or any touchpad or anything to any standard PC controls. (0:35:03) Al: So you can say, if I press this button, (0:35:06) Al: I press this keyboard button or I press this mouse button or I do this gesture or there’s loads of clever things you can do, and it works really well for a lot of things, but it wasn’t working for this. (0:35:17) Kelly: That’s very fair. (0:35:18) Al: I was like, I need to wait for official controller support for this one. (0:35:19) Kelly: I do think it’s funny that the release date on Steam is November 26, 2021. (0:35:22) Al: So that’s what I did. (0:35:28) Kelly: ‘Cause it’s 2023? (0:35:28) Al: Why is that date funny? (0:35:31) Al: OK, well, that was the early access release date. (0:35:32) Kelly: I know, I know, but I’m just saying it’s funny to like sit here and look at the news about, you know, it getting released next year. (0:35:35) Al: OK. (0:35:37) Al: Yes, yes. (0:35:42) Al: Moonstone Island are I think I think you and Kevin talked about the DLC for that last week, they’ve announced that there is a free update coming with the DLC as well, which should be out now. (0:35:57) Al: So it includes an expansion to the green. (0:35:58) Al: House closing old mine holes. (0:36:01) Al: I don’t know what that means. (0:36:03) Al: Who knows? (0:36:03) Kelly: Umm, okay. (0:36:06) Kelly: I’m assuming monsters come out of the mine holes, maybe? (0:36:10) Al: I think it’s a creature collection game. (0:36:10) Kelly: I don’t know. (0:36:12) Kelly: Stop the children from falling down the mines. (0:36:13) Al: It’s a creature. (0:36:15) Al: Yeah, we do. We don’t want that. (0:36:18) Al: Inventory manage improvements and adjustable day length are the big things that they were highlighting. There’s I mean, the patch notes are much more detailed. I’m not going through them. (0:36:28) Al: There’s a lot of stuff. I’ll link it in the show notes. (0:36:31) Al: Go look at that if you care about it. (0:36:32) Al: Yeah. Yeah. (0:36:32) Kelly: Yeah, this is the one it had a ton of updates last week too or two weeks ago Okay, that makes sense, but it seems like they’re really working to you know update any of these little issues (0:36:37) Al: I think most of it was like bug fixing and stuff. (0:36:39) Al: This is the first kind of like content update, I think. (0:36:42) Al: Content and feature update. (0:36:43) Al: So this is. Yeah, it’s. (0:36:45) Al: Yes. Yes, they are. (0:36:51) Al: This is one of those ones that I probably do want to play at some point, but. (0:36:55) Kelly: It looks really cute, too. It really does. I would like to play this. (0:36:55) Al: It does. It does. (0:36:58) Kelly: I mean, me too. I’m a sucker for collection in general. (0:36:58) Al: It’s also creature collection, and I’m a sucker for creature collection. (0:37:01) Al: Well, yes, that too. That too. (0:37:07) Al: That too. (0:37:08) Al: Yeah. Stardew Valley. (0:37:12) Al: Concerned Ape is continuing to just trickle things out. (0:37:15) Kelly: He’s been just dropping things. Yeah, like he it’s like it’s making me so annoyed because I’m like I don’t want to play stardew. I like I always do I do I’m actively spending my life fighting the urge to play stardew valley [laugh] (0:37:17) Al: I know. (0:37:18) Al: No, you do. You do, though. You do. (0:37:25) Al: You don’t lie. You want to play. (0:37:28) Al: What I love is like some of them are like, “here’s the most tiny little thing like this one, which is just a screenshot of wild horseradish juice.” (0:37:42) Kelly: Yeah. (0:37:42) Al: And my reaction was, “Oh, is that not already in the game? Okay!” (0:37:43) Kelly: I literally when I looked at it I was like oh yeah you can’t do anything with horseradish can you? (0:37:51) Al: So some of them are like this tiny thing where it’s just like, “Oh yeah, the update’s gonna have horseradish juice!” (0:37:58) Al: And then there was the one a few weeks ago which was like, “Here’s just like detailed ten bullet points of what’s coming in the update.” (0:38:04) Al: And you’re like, “Oh, okay!” (0:38:05) Kelly: Yep, listen, I would take every single one of these, I’m like, cool, awesome, great. (0:38:12) Kelly: But yeah, no, I saw this one and I was like, oh, another thing for me to micromanage. (0:38:18) Al: ALICE (KEEPER) Kelly, did you ever play any of the 1.5 update stuff? So that’s Ginger Island and stuff like that. (0:38:24) Kelly: Yes, so I started with actually my first Switch game. (0:38:26) Al: ALICE (KEEPER) I mean, I think it was for a lot of people. (0:38:28) Kelly: Yes, um… (0:38:32) Kelly: But I got my Switch a year later, so I was a year behind everybody. (0:38:33) Al: ALICE It came out nice and early in 2017 and yeah. Fair enough. Yeah. That’s all right, (0:38:39) Kelly: But I played it then, yes, and then I played it two years ago. (0:38:41) Al: so were the updates. (0:38:45) Al: Yeah. (0:38:45) Kelly: Yes, so Ginger Island had come out, which was fun because that wasn’t in my initial playthrough. (0:38:47) Al: Yeah. (0:38:49) Al: Yeah. (0:38:50) Al: I’m not sure. (0:38:51) Kelly: So that was really fun to go out. (0:38:54) Kelly: I feel like that really opened up a whole new part of the game and like extended it nicely. (0:38:57) Al: Yeah, yeah. (0:39:06) Al: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, well, that’s what he’s doing, right? Like, just keep playing this game, please. (0:39:09) Kelly: Yeah. But I mean, he does it in such a good way. Like people would play this game even if he didn’t go out there and release, you know, updates to it. People would be replaying it it constantly anyway yep (0:39:12) Al: Here’s more stuff. I know. (0:39:21) Al: and people would pay for the updates and he just gives them out for free. (0:39:24) Kelly: yep what a good guy yes yes but I mean we might have talked about a game a few minutes ago that might have been doing a different thing no but I fully agree with your point you know it’s like (0:39:26) Al: I mean, he is a millionaire, so you know, like it’s easier to be a good guy when you’re a millionaire. But yes, it is. (0:39:38) Al: Absolutely. No, I don’t. Yep, I don’t. I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m not not trying to take it away from him. You’re absolutely right. (0:39:51) Al: I haven’t played the 1.5 stuff with Ginger Island and stuff like that. So I need to, (0:39:54) Kelly: Oh really? Okay. (0:39:56) Kelly: That might be the best, because especially it seems like he is adding quite a few things, so why not wait? (0:39:57) Al: it’s on my list of like, I really need to do this. So I’m trying to decide maybe I just wait for 1.6 to come out and do it all at the same time. (0:40:06) Al: Yeah, yeah, and I’m going to have to cover that. (0:40:11) Kelly: I will say there is one thing in Ginger Island, there’s like one thing that you really have to like hope for the luck of finding. (0:40:20) Kelly: So that can be a little frustrating, but I think if you kind of… (0:40:24) Kelly: I think the issue is more so when you don’t leave enough stuff to do at home to. (0:40:29) Kelly: And you kind of save Ginger Island for the very end and then you’re like, “Ugh, where is this thing? Come on, show me your…” (0:40:36) Kelly: Like, because it’s like one of those things where you can only collect a few things a day of it. (0:40:39) Kelly: Oh, I always do a new save. (0:40:39) Al: And then I need to make the decision of do I do a new save or do I continue my existing save. (0:40:45) Kelly: I know I should probably go back, but I love a restart. (0:40:49) Kelly: Like, I’ve got like five different room worlds because I just like… (0:40:52) Al: So mostly I have like one that I have done most of the things in, and then I have like a bunch of others that are like random challenges and a random multiplayer one. (0:40:52) Kelly: Could I go back and keep– (0:40:54) Kelly: I’m playing them sure. (0:41:12) Al: See I’m the opposite, I’m like I really should do a new one and see how it changes things because obviously it’s not. You don’t expedite. I need to do both realistically, right? Because it changes things. Exactly. Yeah. (0:41:16) Kelly: Mm-hmm. (0:41:18) Kelly: It’s like you get to see how you strategize and how you handle things differently and like, you know Going back in with like new knowledge and like all that stuff Like like this this the one I did two years ago, I have notes I take notes when I play this game So I have like field guides I’m like, you know the best things to do with this and each season and what you should pickle and what you should Kagan like blah blah blah like what Fisher what’s Oh Yeah Oh, no, I I love a (0:41:32) Al: Yeah, yeah. (0:41:46) Al: Yeah, yeah. Oh, see, I don’t pickle and keg because I just can’t be bothered. I just go, (0:41:54) Al: what is the most expensive crop? Like the most for selling. And I just go with that. (0:41:59) Al: Like, I’m just like, I do like mayo and cheese and stuff like that. But I’m like, I don’t, (0:42:04) Al: I can’t be bothered with like putting my crops and these other things and waiting. No, I just sell. Like, I know you can make more money, but I don’t, I don’t want to do that. (0:42:12) Kelly: I love a good micromanage. It’s not even about the money because I’m a third point I don’t need more money. It’s literally just about me having tasks to do. But yeah, no, I’m like, I… At certain points I was like, okay, so if I place this many kegs in the basement, can I still access them if I walk around this way? (0:42:31) Al: Yes, what’s the optimum strategy? I think the problem is that they figured it out. There is a right answer to that in everything. (0:42:43) Kelly: Yes, which I don’t, I don’t want to sound like I’m one of those people who are doing things to the T perfect, like gotta have every second count. (0:42:54) Kelly: Like I definitely do things in my own little stupid way. (0:42:58) Al: Yeah. Yeah. I also quite like trying different things. So there was one quite early on with the podcast where me and Rachelle were trying to see how much money we could make just from mining. It was good fun. It was good fun. Yeah. Yeah. (0:42:59) Kelly: But there are certain things that I try to make sure I’m doing them correctly, I quote unquote correctly. (0:43:07) Kelly: So that I can get money and stuff from them, especially early game. (0:43:10) Kelly: Once you get to a certain point, it’s like, oh my God, do I need money? (0:43:20) Kelly: that’s a that’s a fun challenge I think those are like fun ways to like how can I do this how can I do this differently oh yeah like I’m a I’m I do this in every like game essentially but I love fishing for So I’m always like a sucker for that, but I feel like (0:43:28) Al: Yeah, exactly. And it’s like, you can actually make a lot of money that way. (0:43:32) Al: And it’s just fun to try the different ways of doing that because (0:43:50) Kelly: My last one I tried to like avoid that more so but It’s always fun to just try different ways do different things (0:43:54) Al: Fair enough. (0:43:56) Al: I also saw someone do a challenge which was like you can’t leave the farm and that was quite interesting. (0:44:06) Al: So they didn’t get a lot of seeds is part of the point, right? (0:44:11) Al: So obviously you get them from foraging, you can get seeds just from foraging. (0:44:15) Al: But yeah, a lot of it was just having to like sell the things you find around the farm. (0:44:21) Al: They used the four carner’s farm. (0:44:22) Kelly: No chickens? (0:44:25) Al: They used the four carner’s farm, so you get a little bit of everything. (0:44:29) Kelly: uh okay okay but like no interactions with people unless they like literally come to visit you that’s crazy but I feel like you know that’s like the it’s like nose locking yourself into stardew it’s fun yeah but stardew yay (0:44:35) Al: Yep. Yeah. (0:44:38) Al: Exactly, exactly, exactly. Lots of different ways to do it. (0:44:47) Al: So yeah, wild horseradish juice. (0:44:49) Al: I will probably never make it. (0:44:52) Kelly: I i will say who is drinking this I love horseradish I love spiciness I love (0:44:53) Al: Yeah. But just pure horseradish juice. (0:44:59) Kelly: bloody marys I love burning my sinuses I would never listen there’s been times in my life where my sinuses have been really bad and somebody was like hey if you put apple cider vinegar up your nose it’ll help and i’ve done that this sounds wild I would never do this I have never heard of horseradish as being described as sweet (0:45:05) Al: No! (0:45:10) Al: It’s description is a sweet nutritious beverage. (0:45:23) Al: I think there’s lots of sugar in that. (0:45:25) Kelly: Yeah, it has to be like really pickled or whatever. (0:45:29) Kelly: That’s crazy. (0:45:33) Al: The final news is we have a new game announced. We don’t have a lot about it. It’s called Echoes of the Plum Grove and it is coming to Kickstarter soon and its little tagline is “Build a thriving community across generations in this cosy historical farm simulation”. (0:45:51) Kelly: I think that’s pretty cute, like that’s a different idea because I feel like you know in a lot of these you can have a kid or something or a family but it doesn’t really go anywhere. (0:45:58) Kelly: Like I feel like this is very much so not how I play The Sims but how a lot of people play The Sims where they’ll make generational things and like the generations start to interact with each other and it’s like really interesting, it’s a very long-term way of doing it. (0:46:08) Al: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. A few games have kind of done a little bit of this, like, I think the new Harvest Moon does it where you can grow. You still stay as your same character, though. (0:46:29) Al: But there was… Oh, what was the… A Wonderful Life did this as well, didn’t it? You can play as your child at a certain point, I think. (0:46:39) Al: So yeah, there is apparently a lot more information on Steam that I didn’t notice until now. (0:46:43) Kelly: I did have to go open the Steam page because the Kickstarter basically had nothing on it. (0:46:44) Al: I will link that in the show notes. (0:46:47) Al: Yes, well, that’s the thing, that’s why I didn’t think we had a huge amount, but it is apparently on Steam. (0:46:53) Al: Well, the page is up on Steam, and it says it’s coming out in 2024, but I suspect (0:46:59) Kelly: I would also. I like his little cute like

Jonnie and Codey talk through the week's news and cover Fae Farm Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:01:52: What Have We Been Up To 00:11:01: News 00:33:22: Fae Farm 01:15:40: Outro Links Wildmender on Steam Spells and Secrets Release Date Spirit of the Island Console Release Haunted Chocolatier New Screenshots Stardew Pet Hats Animal Crossing Lego Fae Farm Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Codey: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. My name is Codey and we’re here today to talk about cottagecore games. (0:00:35) Jonny: And my name is Jonnie. (0:00:37) Jonny: Woo! (0:00:41) Codey: Woo! As always transcripts are available in the show notes and on the website and today’s topic is Fae Farm. Woo! (0:01:00) Codey: So I am an added human on this so I was not initially on Fae Farm so I did not play the game but I am here to ask Johnny all of the very important questions about Fae Farm and make sure that we get all the coverage. You’re gonna get grilled. Did you prepare for the test? Did you study for the test? (0:01:24) Jonny: I prepared for all of my other school tests. (0:01:26) Codey: You [laughs] (0:01:30) Codey: - What was your scores on most tests? (0:01:34) Codey: Okay. (0:01:38) Codey: Well, that’s great. (0:01:40) Codey: So, yeah, you’re gonna do great. (0:01:42) Codey: Okay, so we’re gonna talk about Faith Farm. (0:01:46) Codey: And before that, we have some news to go over. (0:01:49) Codey: Concerned Ape just trying to dominate the news cycle as always. (0:01:53) Codey: But before that, Johnny, what have you been up to? (0:01:56) Jonny: have I been up to? This is a game that I really like, and it’s called Cassette Beasts, and this week they came out with their DLC. I should have looked up the name of the DLC, it’s like Pair of the Unknown, or something to that effect, and it’s excellent. If you like Cassette Beasts, (0:02:14) Jonny: which everybody should like Cassette Beasts, this is more Cassette Beasts. It doesn’t. (0:02:20) Jonny: It adds stuff in the way you want DLC to add stuff, where it’s like, that’s cool, (0:02:25) Jonny: extra world build. (0:02:26) Jonny: I’m playing it on Xbox. (0:02:27) Jonny: I think I did play it initially on Game Pass, and then I enjoyed it so much. (0:02:41) Codey: What are you playing it on? (0:02:46) Codey: Okay. (0:02:47) Codey: With the game pass. (0:02:55) Jonny: I just wanted to. (0:02:56) Jonny: I don’t think the DLC is available through Game Pass, I think you have to buy that separately. (0:03:09) Jonny: And the game is only like, the game is really cheap. (0:03:13) Jonny: I get the feeling it’s like 25 bucks in New Zealand, which would put it like, probably below. (0:03:20) Codey: Yeah, so I’m seeing it on Steam, it’s $20, but less, it’s currently 25% off. (0:03:29) Jonny: Yeah, so I think it’s the same thing on Xbox, I think there’s a sale on there, so… (0:03:33) Jonny: Um, yeah, it’s just like, if you like Pokémon, and you know, you want to play a game that’s actually fun, um, play Cassette Beasts and don’t play Pokémon. (0:03:41) Codey: Oh, the developer is currently playing right now on something, I don’t know what this is. (0:03:51) Jonny: that was really dangerous to tell me why we’re in the middle of recording an episode you should play cassette beasts but I keep saying that to everybody so anyway I feel like that’s all I’ve really been really been doing oh the idea of the thing is like Marvel snap which we very occasionally talk about on the show is still really good and really fun. (0:03:52) Codey: Yeah, I have. (0:03:53) Codey: I’m sorry, we’ll try and get through this really quickly. (0:04:00) Codey: But yeah, I have not played Cassette Beast, I’m sorry. (0:04:07) Codey: I know I should. (0:04:14) Codey: Okay. (0:04:18) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:04:20) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:04:21) Jonny: I’m still sticking with that, and I feel like it’s way longer than I expected to stick with a mobile card game, but it’s just very good, very fun. (0:04:32) Codey: big enjoing. (0:04:33) Codey: Okay, yeah, I don’t play that either. (0:04:38) Codey: ‘Cause that beast looks really cute though. (0:04:40) Codey: If I had time to play a game on like a console, (0:04:45) Codey: that would be what I would probably be playing. (0:04:47) Jonny: Yeah. What have you been up to? (0:04:47) Codey: I have been up to insect stuff, woo. (0:04:52) Codey: So I had, I went and harassed legislators (0:04:59) Codey: the state capitol last week. (0:05:02) Codey: and was like, “hey, we need people to support insects and insect conservation and no one’s in charge of that right now.” (0:05:08) Codey: and that’s an issue. (0:05:09) Codey: and I got three of them to say, “yes, that is an issue. Let’s write legislation to make it someone’s problem.” (0:05:15) Codey: So that’s cool. Excited about that. Just gotta like, contact them now with some draft legislation, which is cool. (0:05:23) Codey: I also had this thing called the Great Insect Fair, which is my university’s like, big extension outreach things. (0:05:32) Codey: about insects, so everyone that does insect science at my university has like, a little table and they talk about their research. (0:05:39) Codey: We had over 3,000 people show up, which was great. (0:05:44) Codey: My club made $1,800, which is also great because we use that to support students. (0:05:51) Codey: Yeah. (0:05:51) Jonny: That’s pretty amazing that’s a lot of people to bug you guys Ahhhhhh… laughs (0:05:59) Codey: We bugged them actually (0:06:02) Codey: Cuz we had people hold like we had at cockroaches and Tarantulas and scorpions and things that people could hold We had I brought my bearded dragon and someone else also brought rats and so you could feed them Little mealworms, which is really fun Yeah for games I’ve been playing I’m still playing Pokemon go and I actually (0:06:29) Codey: I’m going to Hawaii in a week and I just found out that there’s a specific Pokemon that’s only available in Hawaii. (0:06:37) Codey: So I’m pretty stoked about that. So I’m gonna get a bunch of Comfey and bring them back for people. Yeah. Have you not? (0:06:44) Jonny: Nice, I’m still shocked at how big Pokemon Go is. (0:06:47) Jonny: Like, I just… I don’t like Pokemon Go. I just… I didn’t play after the first week. It’s not for me. (0:06:56) Codey: Okay. They’ve definitely fixed a lot and like made it a lot more. (0:07:02) Codey: Enjoyable and easier for like new people to start, which is really nice and yeah I still I still play it every day. I play that every day. I play Pikmin Bloom every day. Something I don’t play every day but I wish I remembered it every day is my Tetris game. I now have 382,000 points. (0:07:27) Jonny: So you are getting ever closer to the million you need for this cruise. (0:07:31) Jonny: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What do you mean either one million or two million? (0:07:32) Codey: Either one million or two million but yes. Depends on the cruise. (0:07:38) Codey: Some cruises are a million, some cruises are two million. It depends on which one you want. (0:07:39) Jonny: Okay. (0:07:43) Jonny: I am still very much in the category of this is a scam, Cody. (0:07:45) Codey: I’m excited. (0:07:48) Jonny: I feel like if you get on this cruise, you’re going to be like kidnapped, and then we’re going to turn this into a real crime podcast where we’re like trying to track you down. (0:07:57) Codey: Well currently all of the cruises that they have are sold out so. (0:08:02) Codey: There’s two million and five million and let’s see they had five cruises available. One was a seven-day Alaska cruise. Actually there were two seven-day Alaska cruises. There was a five-day Mexican Riviera cruise and then a five-day cruise. This doesn’t say where. Western Caribbean cruise goes to various ports starts in flow write-up. (0:08:32) Codey: Oh and then comes back to Florida. (0:08:34) Codey: Interesting. (0:08:36) Jonny: Okay, I like the point of getting on a cruise in Florida would be to not come back to Florida (0:08:41) Codey: right? I don’t want to come back. I just like, I think that one of the cruises went like some of the Alaskan cruises start you in Vancouver, British Columbia and it ends in Alaska so then you have to find a way back. So that’s like interesting to me why the other like that the other one you come back. Yeah these are the crews these are these are cruises that (0:09:11) Codey: are booked for the April April 2024 sailing there’s a couple of them there is another one that’s April 22nd April 29th so they have a couple different embarkings of these cruises but they’re all currently sold out but it doesn’t matter because I don’t have the money anyway or the points anyway there are 2 million or 5 million depending on which cruise but I did want to see one (0:09:41) Codey: for 1 million. The other game that I’m still playing daily is Usagi Shima which is the one that I played the adorable bunny collection game that I played with Al. I am only missing one bunny and I am about to Google it because I don’t know how to get this one bunny. Also some of the bunnies are like we like. (0:10:11) Codey: Our favorite toy is currently a question mark and I’m like that’s interesting. I have everything. I’ve purchased everything. (0:10:19) Codey: Like anytime I look at these The store there’s nothing that I don’t have so like How is the your favorite toy not not there? (0:10:31) Codey: I don’t know if she’s gonna the developer is gonna like release more. I don’t know but Very grumpy about that (0:10:40) Jonny: Maybe you just haven’t done the secret bunny handshake password to unlock the secret item (0:10:46) Codey: I must not have. I do still have some bunnies that I need to like become their best friend. (0:10:53) Codey: So like think of like Stardew Valley where you have hearts for everyone. (0:10:58) Codey: There are some bunnies that I still need to do hearts for. (0:11:01) Codey: Uh yeah and that’s what we’ve been up to. (0:11:07) Codey: Whoo! Okay so we’ve got some news. First up is Wild Mender. (0:11:16) Codey: And it is out now on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. So this is the game where it’s a desert gardening survival game where you find like a spring in the garden or in the desert and you’re using that spring and bringing things back to that spring to like rejuvenate the world. (0:11:35) Codey: And it says also you’re cleansing the corruption that turned the world into the near dead wasteland before you. They literally say, “Or just make a pretty garden.” (0:11:46) Codey: That works too. Interesting. So, yeah, this is currently $25 on Steam. (0:11:55) Codey: I just realized I didn’t. Oh, Windows. Windows only. No Mac. (0:12:02) Codey: And they also said that if you share your garden screenshot in their Discord, (0:12:08) Codey: you enter a competition to win a plushie. They have two plushies. (0:12:13) Codey: the third. (0:12:13) Jonny: And this frog plushie looks so derpy it’s kinda great. (0:12:16) Codey: It is really… it kind of is giving me from Futurama that frog from… (0:12:24) Codey: It’s not a frog, it’s a toad. (0:12:24) Jonny: Yes, yes it absolutely is (0:12:30) Codey: Hypnotoad. (0:12:31) Codey: It’s giving me Hypnotoad vibes. (0:12:32) Jonny: Yep. 100% (0:12:33) Codey: Yeah, what are you… what are your thoughts on Wild Mender? (0:12:37) Codey: Are you a Wild Mender? (0:12:38) Codey: Is this up your alley or… (0:12:39) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:12:39) Jonny: No, it doesn’t look like that sort of game for me, because I’m not a big survival game person. (0:12:46) Jonny: I like something a little bit more directed, I think. (0:12:50) Jonny: But I like the idea of what this is trying to do. (0:12:53) Jonny: So I feel like if I was feeling like playing a survival game, I would be keen to try this one, because of the sort of more gardening style aspect rejuvenating the land. (0:13:04) Jonny: I think that’s really compelling to me, and something that I’ve kind of wanted. (0:13:07) Jonny: I think in one of the first episodes. (0:13:09) Jonny: was on, Al and I kind of talked about like the idea of you know being able to change the landscape in a farming game which this is obviously sort of getting into but probably more in that survival game sort of way rather than I’m kind of more hoping for it on a smaller scale right where it’s maybe a little bit more directed and bigger impacts than I think you would see in this sort of game but it looks cool. I think if you, you know, like a survival game and like a farming game this looks like a really fun fun little crossover to try. (0:13:44) Codey: Yeah, they do say that they Allows you to customize your experience from adjusting the difficulty all the way down to toggling sandstorms on and off There’s a lot of options to ensure that you can make the world work for you So maybe like you can get rid of a lot of the survival aspects And kind of be in like creativity mode a la minecraft, so (0:14:09) Jonny: Yeah, seems cool. (0:14:12) Codey: Next up is spell (0:14:14) Codey: and secrets this now has a release date this is the gosh what did he say Harry Potter without the turf so this is Harry yeah yeah if you really liked the world of Harry Potter and you want to go to a magical school and defend your magical school but (0:14:27) Jonny: Yep, that was… (0:14:29) Jonny: I watched the trailer and I was like “Wow, this looks like Harry Potter, but there’s no problematic people…” (0:14:35) Jonny: Well, there’s no problematic people that we know of involved. (0:14:44) Codey: you also believe that trans women are women because they are this is the game for you so yeah you it’s the release date is November 9th it’s coming out on switch PlayStation 5 Xbox series s and X and Steam and PC and the new trailer that they have did you watch the trailer Johnny there’s curling (0:15:10) Jonny: I did. I did. (0:15:12) Jonny: Oh, I might have missed the curling in there, but that… (0:15:15) Codey: at one point they’re not doing it in they’re doing it like on grass it’s like a turf but it’s it’s 100% curling it’s at about 38 seconds in (0:15:16) Jonny: Bye. (0:15:26) Jonny: Sorry, just… (0:15:28) Jonny: I was not expecting both uses of the word “terf” to come up in this conversation, but here we are. (0:15:34) Jonny: Yup. (0:15:38) Codey: oh my gosh you’re not wrong yeah (0:15:44) Codey: so they show you playing wizard jet let’s probably just chess but they show you playing chess and then right after the chess part they show curling but it’s magical curling it’s really interesting (0:15:58) Jonny: I think the thing that really… I can’t remember the name of the game but it was kind of like Magica or something and it was just kind of a game where you ran around as wizards and you kind of combined spells and like they had lots of weird elemental effects. This game kind of gives me similar vibes to that where it’s kind of like that 45 degree overhead sort of like action-adventure sort of vibe and just really playing off like “hey people just really like Harry Potter and this is kind of just like… (0:16:10) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:16:28) Jonny: um uh you know trying to do that and make it fun um and again I think it’s doing a thing that I kind of really like at the moment which is um games kind of being clear about what they are and being simpler like so many particularly AAA games at the moment are just so big and bloated and over complicated um and they’re trying to be all things to all people and this looks like a game It’s like hey, we’re a spells action adventure game Like you make your own character, that looks cool, you’re out of school Like there’s a lot of familiarity around it around just making what looks like a fun action adventure game. So this looks fun (0:17:10) Codey: yeah it looks really cute um it gives me it reminds me like the top-down style like you said like the 45 degree angle kind of reminds me of like the gauntlet series I don’t know if you ever played gauntlet but I loved that series and the fact that like when you open a door it like reveals the room behind it but until then it’s just kind of like empty space I don’t know it just it’s it’s It’s giving gauntlet, it’s giving… (0:17:40) Codey: It just seems like it’d be really fun. (0:17:43) Codey: And the fact that you can play with two people simultaneously, (0:17:45) Codey: so you and a friend can be exploring this world together, (0:17:49) Codey: is really cool. (0:17:50) Codey: So, yeah, Spells and Secrets releasing on the 9th of November on all of the platforms at the same time. (0:17:59) Codey: And they will have a physical release for a couple of them, (0:18:02) Codey: but it’s, I think, at a different time. (0:18:04) Codey: Spirit of the Island is getting a console release, (0:18:10) Codey: and this game is already out now on Steam for $18. (0:18:17) Codey: And at the time of recording, it’s 55% off, so it’s only $8. (0:18:22) Codey: But I don’t know if this is going to be there. (0:18:26) Codey: It says it’s got, like, a, I think, 44-minute– (0:18:31) Codey: 44-hour countdown, so I don’t know if it’s still there or not. (0:18:34) Codey: But I did see on their Twitter that they had another. (0:18:40) Codey: sale recently. They’re part of an indie sale. So I think that they’re on a lot of sales. So definitely keep your eye out for that if you want the Steam version. But the physical versions. So they have PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and S, and the Nintendo Switch. All getting physical releases. And oops sorry the retail version is only. PlayStation 5 and Switch. But they’re all coming out on… what’s the date? Where is it? Thank you. The 19th of October. (0:19:16) Jonny: 19th of October. (0:19:18) Jonny: I think this is kind of one of those games that’s in the category of “I would quite like to try when it comes to consoles, and now it’s coming to consoles.” (0:19:28) Jonny: It’s coming at a really busy time, so I feel like it might be one of those ones that, unfortunately, goes on the backburner until I get a bit of space. (0:19:30) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:19:37) Jonny: But really excited for it. (0:19:49) Codey: just the fact that they have a Paradise Edition, I guess, so on the physical releases for the PS5 and the Switch, they have this thing called a Paradise Edition where you get like stickers and a cute little tourist guide, but there are no prices available. Oh, $25, just kidding, (0:20:05) Codey: $25 is what they will be. I don’t know how much more of the Paradise Edition is, but (0:20:12) Codey: all of the console games will be $25 no matter where you are, euros or dollars. (0:20:19) Codey: It’s probably more for you, isn’t it, Donnie? (0:20:21) Codey: Yeah. (0:20:21) Jonny: Uhhh, I’m guessing it will be more for us. (0:20:24) Jonny: It will be probably more like $35 where I am. (0:20:25) Codey: Dang! (0:20:28) Jonny: But our dollars are… (0:20:35) Codey: Unfortunate, okay, and then yeah, Concerned Date just trying to dominate the, oh and I think Al said this, just trying to own the news cycle, right? (0:20:46) Codey: He’s just trying to make sure that every time we have podcasts, we have something to talk about and we bring them up again. (0:20:53) Codey: So for Haunted Chocolatier, he posted, Concerned Date posted four new screenshots as a thank you for the fact that he now has a million followers on Twitter, which is bananas. (0:21:05) Codey: Um, what do you think of these screenshots, Johnny? (0:21:08) Jonny: Yep, these look like screenshots from a game they’re concerned I’ve made. (0:21:12) Jonny: Like… (0:21:16) Jonny: I don’t want to downplay it, but I’m a little bit like… (0:21:19) Jonny: Until there’s real news, like screenshots are just screenshots, right? (0:21:23) Jonny: Like, yep, that’s… I don’t know. (0:21:25) Jonny: I didn’t… probably look particularly deep at them, because I was just like, (0:21:29) Jonny: “Yes, these look like, you know, ones of forest, ones…” (0:21:32) Jonny: I can’t even remember them, I’m reopening it, but yeah, like there’s the, you know, the library, (0:21:39) Jonny: I think we’ve seen before, a house, a fountain, and yes, these are like… (0:21:43) Jonny: These could be locations in Stardew Valley, except for the fact that we know that they’re not locations in Stardew Valley. (0:21:48) Codey: Mm-hmm. We know that they’re in a different game. (0:21:50) Jonny: That’s… yeah. (0:21:53) Jonny: Um, and I’m not trying to be down on it, it’s just more, “I don’t really want to be…” (0:21:58) Jonny: Like, I want to get excited for Haunted Chocolate here when it is close to coming out, (0:22:02) Jonny: not when it’s just a thing that we don’t know any more. (0:22:06) Codey: Yeah, I’m usually the same, but I do love the conspiracy theory, like people on Twitter who are nitpicking every little thing that they see in these screenshots. (0:22:20) Codey: I do love that people, when people get really hyped like that. (0:22:23) Codey: So for example, in the house, it looks like it’s a shop because there’s a shop portion of his house and then there’s like a little kitchen and then the bedroom. (0:22:32) Codey: No bathroom. (0:22:33) Codey: Just realized I don’t think he’s ever made is there our bathrooms (0:22:36) Codey: Are there bathrooms in any concerned ape things? (0:22:38) Codey: Just people just don’t have to go to the bathroom? (0:22:40) Codey: People in concerned apes world do not have bodily functions confirmed Um… (0:22:41) Jonny: I don’t recall dipping. (0:22:49) Jonny: So now you’ve opened this door, it’s not going to close that quickly. (0:22:54) Jonny: I was reading a book, like I really got into lit RPG style books, you know fantasy style RPG books, but it’s kind of often heavily inspired by video games. (0:23:05) Jonny: And one of the books I was reading recently, I can’t even remember which one, but I addressed it by basically being in this world, I didn’t want to address bathroom stuff, which you never address in books anyway, but they explicitly referenced the fact that magic just makes the poo disappear. (0:23:15) Codey: Mm-hmm Okay There’s just you take a magic pill or something and then that sits at the bottom it sits at the bottom of your gastrointestinal system and Any time anything gets within a certain distance of it. It’s like magicked away. Where does it go? (0:23:20) Jonny: No, just the magic. (0:23:22) Jonny: Yup. (0:23:23) Jonny: Yup. (0:23:24) Jonny: Well, see, that’s the- Well, that’s the fun thing, right? (0:23:41) Codey: Can you like make it go somewhere? Can you make it go to your enemy’s house? (0:23:47) Jonny: it’s never explained where it goes but but presumably (0:23:49) Jonny: it does go somewhere so maybe there is somewhere that is just you know the entire collection of humanity’s poo (0:23:55) Codey: Pooh Island. Maybe. Interesting. Well, in this screenshot of the shop, there’s like a little creature in the back that kind of looks like a thylacine to me, but it’s like obviously a, (0:24:10) Codey: you probably know all about thylacines because you’re down there. You don’t know what a thylacine is. So a thylacine is a, well it was a (0:24:11) Jonny: What’s a thylacine? What’s that in human words? (0:24:18) Jonny: I only know human words. (0:24:25) Codey: marsupial that looked kind of like a dog that existed in Australia, but the last one was killed in like the 1920s. So we have like some, but you’re down there. I know, I know. I got the Kiwis. (0:24:36) Jonny: Cody, Cody, I’m in New Zealand. We do not have the marsupials. That sounds like some Australian nonsense that’s like… (0:24:42) Jonny: Yeah, we’re in New Zealand we have birds. We love birds. That’s that’s our thing. We like dinosaurs. We’re way cool. (0:24:53) Codey: But someone on the Twitter said– (0:24:55) Codey: so saw this like Thylacine-looking little adorable thing and they said– (0:24:59) Codey: This is– I’m gonna credit them. Who is it? Mads. Start up with Mads. (0:25:05) Codey: Said, “Is that one of the animals you put the skeleton together for on Ginger Island?” (0:25:10) Codey: So possibly I’ve– so I’ve not ever done Ginger Island, so I don’t know. (0:25:10) Jonny: How interesting I don’t think so it doesn’t (0:25:19) Codey: But there’s this little creature, so that’s a deep cut that someone had. (0:25:25) Codey: Second screenshot of them in the forest. He’s using a bow and arrow. (0:25:34) Jonny: I mean, sure, but like, isn’t it just kind of like the slingshot? (0:25:38) Jonny: I mean, yes, but functionally. (0:25:38) Codey: No, it’s got a bow and arrow. It’s very clearly a bow and arrow. (0:25:42) Codey: No, it’s different. It’s different. (0:25:47) Codey: You’re at like a fountain, and it’s really the mermaid fountain. It’s really pretty. (0:25:54) Codey: And then, yeah, I guess there’s not much to say about the library other than the fact that (0:25:58) Jonny: actually so the thing that gets me excited and it’s from the forest screenshot is the inventory view um so it has like uh what I presume is a tool slot uh where it looks like there’s a stick or something in there and then there’s like a bow that’s selected and there’s a present and something else so it looks like a different version of the inventory system to stardew valley which for me is really exciting because that’s the thing I don’t like about stardew valley (0:26:04) Codey: uh-huh (0:26:19) Codey: Yeah. (0:26:20) Codey: And you also have a health bar. (0:26:26) Codey: With hit points in it. (0:26:27) Jonny: Yes. (0:26:28) Jonny: Yes, with hit points and… (0:26:31) Codey: Yeah. (0:26:32) Codey: And then is that a bowling ball or a coconut? (0:26:36) Jonny: I’m not sure what that is, because it’s definitely not a bowling ball, because there’s too many holes. (0:26:42) Jonny: I also think it’s… (0:26:42) Codey: They might bowl differently, you never know. (0:26:44) Jonny: I also don’t think it’s a coco… I don’t know what it is, but yeah, it looks… (0:26:49) Jonny: The two options feel like bowling ball and coconut, and I feel like it’s neither of those. (0:26:54) Jonny: Maybe it’s a chocolate? That would make sense. (0:26:57) Jonny: I’m gonna say it’s a chocolate. (0:26:59) Codey: Okay it’s a chocolate bowling ball. Okay so yeah those are the screenshots and our ramblings about them and the twitter comments about them. (0:27:12) Codey: Confirmation of archery which we got a hint at with started 1.6 last week when we talked about it but by we I mean Kevin L. But concerned ape was not done he wanted us to talk about him (0:27:29) Codey: so uh when was this yesterday he posted hats on cats and dogs so these are it’s just and it’s just cats and dogs from persoupsardou question mark haunted talk the tier question mark no no idea but they have hats on (0:27:55) Jonny: I feel like these are from Stardew, the only one I’m not sure about is the bottom left image, (0:28:02) Jonny: I’m not quite sure where that one is. But anyway, hats look cute on catsanddoll. (0:28:05) Codey: But yeah, they do. And there’s a big old bow on one of the dogs. So we’ve got like a cowboy hat. (0:28:13) Codey: We’ve got like, I don’t know what to call the hat on the top right. What would you call that hat? (0:28:21) Codey: It’s got a feather in it. (0:28:24) Jonny: uh I am not a hat expert so I don’t know what to call any of these hats like it’s uh it kind of reminds me of like the zoro style zoro yeah (0:28:33) Codey: Okay, the bottom. (0:28:35) Codey: Ooh, yeah, yeah, Zorro style hat. (0:28:42) Codey: I’m sure that Gaucho hat is what people have called it online, or Zorro hat. (0:28:51) Codey: Zorro hat or Gaucho hat. (0:28:54) Codey: Al probably loves that we’re diving this deep into these little pictures. (0:28:58) Codey: Probably not going to edit this out at all. (0:29:01) Codey: Um, the bottom left hat looks like if (0:29:05) Codey: a grandma was like, “I need to go to the market today.” (0:29:10) Codey: This is the type of hat that she’d put on, you know? (0:29:13) Jonny: Yeah, this looks like the one of the first hats that the kittens sell you. (0:29:18) Jonny: So the kittens sell you the hats? (0:29:20) Jonny: Mouse? (0:29:20) Jonny: Is a mice who sells you the hats? (0:29:22) Codey: think it’s mice. And then the bow is like the gigantic obnoxiously large bow. I would think like this bow is like Lady and the Tramp style bow. Like one of the one of the big bows that Lady had that’s like way too big for her little tiny body. So yeah, hats on cats and dogs and some screenshots. (0:29:22) Jonny: God. (0:29:23) Jonny: Yeah. (0:29:48) Jonny: And none of this is actually news, because it’s just pictures. (0:29:50) Codey: Just picture. (0:29:52) Codey: And speculation. Woo! (0:29:57) Codey: Since we love pictures and speculation, but possibly, whatchamacallit, video and speculation. (0:30:06) Codey: Oh my gosh. (0:30:08) Codey: Lego Animal Crossing. (0:30:14) Jonny: Yeah, so the video just shows like minifigs and it had like, you know, your classic characters from Animal Crossing. So you’ve got like Isabel and Tom Nook and a few others, which is cool. But I think the real speculation is are they going to be real Animal Crossing LEGO sets coming? And I feel like that seems very likely, given how much LEGO (0:30:44) Jonny: loves doing IP crossover stuff now. I would be very surprised if it wasn’t. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought it made sense because you could do everything from, you know, (0:30:58) Jonny: Nook Store to the museum. You know, you could go back to some of the old games and do like the coffee shop. You could do like the play a house, all sorts of things. Like it just feels like a really really natural collaboration. (0:31:14) Jonny: and a collaboration that is going to make many of us agree. (0:31:20) Codey: I mean that’s my thing is like is this hinting at figurines and like sets that you can purchase or is this hinting at like a video game because they have like I mean but like could they I mean is that it does say minifigure what okay when the balloon goes up over again this is an 11 second video y’all we’re really okay it says lego the lego logo and the (0:31:29) Jonny: Oh, I… did not give video game 5% (0:31:50) Codey: minifigure the minifigure I don’t know what that means our trademarks of the lego group I don’t (0:31:58) Jonny: Presumably it’s the trademark that they use for like because they I think they’ve done some blind box sort of stuff With with the minifigs like the the Lego the Lego people That would be my working assumption (0:32:14) Codey: I mean you could also, I mean you could have Tom Nook from every generation in this too because he looks like he’s wearing New Horizons, his New Horizons outfit, but he could wear, (0:32:27) Codey: you could get him wearing his wild world outfit, you know, like there’s, I feel like they’re gonna make a lot of money off of this. (0:32:35) Codey: This is from Nintendo of America by the way, I don’t think we said who tweeted this. (0:32:42) Codey: And yeah, people are just talking about. (0:32:44) Codey: How they’re ready to lose money and ready to be broke in the comments. (0:32:48) Jonny: Yeah, like I’ve been on the border of becoming a LEGO person for a long time and the thing that’s kind of held me at bay is I’m not big into most of the IPs that they’ve done collabs with, (0:32:49) Codey: So. (0:32:59) Codey: Oh yeah. (0:33:01) Codey: Yep, I don’t have money so… (0:33:08) Codey: That’s what stopped me. (0:33:11) Codey: And when I do have money it goes to my dogs. So yeah. (0:33:15) Codey: That’s the news. (0:33:18) Codey: So Johnny we’re here to talk about Faith Farm. So what… (0:33:20) Jonny: Whoo (0:33:29) Codey: Faith Farm, what is it? How are you? What are your thoughts? (0:33:34) Jonny: So at its core, Fey Farm is another iteration take on the Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, (0:33:45) Jonny: Story of Seasons, whichever one you want to sort of pick as the base. But it’s another iteration of that formula. So it’s farming… it’s probably more in the crafting end of the spectrum, (0:33:58) Jonny: so it’s a lot more crafting driven than it is farming driven. Farming is more of a thing (0:34:04) Jonny: in the game, rather than sort of being a central point. But it’s, you know, you… I think the starting is you have sailed to the island where the stuff is happening. Anyway, you’re a new resident and they’re like “hey there’s an old abandoned farm, would you like it?” You say yes, (0:34:24) Jonny: you start clearing up the farm and, you know, doing the quests and all of those sorts of things. So (0:34:30) Jonny: At its base, like the core gameplay loop, it is one of one of the most popular games (0:34:35) Codey: Yeah, looking at the launch trailer, it looks very Animal Crossing-esque, but with farming and magic. (0:34:43) Jonny: uh it’s so it looks that way and uh maybe maybe we’ll get into the so so I have a very conflicted take on this game right so if I was going to summarize my overall thoughts is that um this game plays really well but overall I do not enjoy this game because it’s missing some really really core elements and it’s helped me understand the things that I like in these sorts of games, but it is missing some really cool elements which (0:34:57) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:34:59) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:35:13) Jonny: are primarily around things like the story and the characters, which was very surprising to me because in a game like Fei Farm, and I guess probably to which probably just very quickly talk about why it’s called Fei Farm is that there are theories in the world, there is magic which we’ll talk about in a little bit, there is a theory realm which I have only really just got access to and it’s quite sparse but it kind of just seems like another area (0:35:44) Jonny: theories in it. So my expectation was that the story and interacting with the characters was going to be kind of a big part of the game. And weirdly it’s like yes there are quests and the quests drive a lot of what you do, but the characters are so non-factors in this game it is shocking. Like on day one you kind of learn that none of these people (0:36:13) Jonny: think interesting to say, like there is no interesting dialogue, they are not particularly distinctive like some of them have distinctive looks you’re like oh maybe this is the cool one there’s very few of the characters that are romanceable and the romanceable ones feel like they’re entirely separate from the characters that you interact with for most of the quest stuff. It’s just really odd how bland and boring the characters in this game are and how quickly they’re just like not a thing. (0:36:44) Codey: Mm-hmm, which is not normally when you’re playing these types of games. (0:36:52) Codey: People that play these types of games are really into the story of the people around you and why they’re there. (0:36:58) Codey: So not having that is a big black hole, I guess. (0:37:03) Jonny: Yeah, and I think for me, like the one of the really easiest comparisons that I’ll draw is, (0:37:09) Jonny: you know, they have all of their characters that represent the various things, so they have like the fishing guy. I couldn’t tell you the fishing guy’s name, just that he’s the he’s the guy that you talk to for the fishing stuff, and you compare it to a character like Willy in Stardew Valley, (0:37:23) Jonny: right? And Willy is just like a really great character in that he’s the fishing guy, but he’s, (0:37:30) Jonny: you know, a very passionate fisherman in a place where fishing (0:37:33) Jonny: maybe hasn’t been valued as much and he’s trying to look at it to get restarted and it comes through in his notice board quests, you know, like the way they’re framed and just the way his character speaks and his lines of dialogue where there’s a real character there that’s interesting and compelling beyond just being the fishing tutor, and that’s not the case in Fei Farm. (0:37:56) Codey: Mm-hmm Yeah, and it’s interesting cuz like on their website it says that They like it’s one of their big things is to grow lasting bonds They say our elaborate cast of neighbors will help you find your purpose Lean on them in times of need as you become a good citizen of Azoria. They might fall in love with you, too And it has like learn from the locals meet color for kick off colorful characters I don’t know why that was difficult find your soul mate bring friends home (0:38:26) Codey: so like this is Like it’s just so this is like maybe something that they’re hoping to develop or do you feel like it is what it is (0:38:39) Jonny: I kind of feel like it is what it is, like it’s… sometimes you look at something you go “oh there’s the basics of it there” but you know they could build on it. I don’t even feel like the basics are really there, like they all just have really generic… like on day one you have multiple characters kind of saying the same lines of dialogue to you. It’s not deep, the pool of romanciful characters is not particularly deep or interesting and you know… (0:39:09) Jonny: it’s an extreme version of the classic, like the few characters that you do like think “oh this one you know this one might be interesting” they’re just all not available for reasons that I don’t really understand. I did try to play with the system a little bit where it’s kind of like you just do fetch quests for you know the… and there’s friendship for the non-romanciful characters. (0:39:34) Jonny: But you just do fringe quests, or fetch quests to kind of build that. (0:39:39) Jonny: And then I did a date, you know effectively the cutscene once you get to a certain number of hearts with one of the characters, and it was very much one of those like “wow we could just put in any of the characters” like it was nothing specific to the character that I had picked, (0:39:51) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:39:53) Jonny: it was just like “we went on a picnic” and “hey I like you, you like me, great this was fun, let’s do it” like there was nothing special or unique to the character. I got no sense that I you know made a choice that was interesting. (0:40:09) Jonny: Or had any consequence, or was different to any of other choices. (0:40:13) Jonny: It was like, what? Which face looks the best? Which is, you know? (0:40:16) Codey: Yeah, not great. (0:40:17) Jonny: Like, it’s a video game. I’m not- (0:40:18) Codey: I mean that was me with Stardew. (0:40:20) Jonny: That’s not why I’m here. (0:40:24) Codey: That was a bad noodle. (0:40:25) Codey: And the first time I played Stardew, I was like, “Ooh, an emo boy!” (0:40:28) Codey: “I want the emo boy!” (0:40:31) Codey: But then, when you marry him, he’s–spoiler alert–he’s trash! (0:40:35) Codey: And I was like, “Oh, it’s not all about looks.” (0:40:39) Codey: Yeah. (0:40:39) Jonny: But that’s where you start and it changes from there right because you learn more about what the actual character is This is just like no which which? (0:40:47) Jonny: Which pixel combination do you think looks the best go with that one I guess So yeah, so that side of the game is very disappointing and kind of just because it’s sort of in the same realm Um, so there’s the there is the sort of story (0:40:51) Codey: Yeah, there’s not yeah, hmm (0:41:04) Jonny: Question and the quest system generally is is fine. You know, it’s kind of pushing you to do (0:41:09) Jonny: The next thing and in a you know similar way to most of these games do where it’s like Craft this thing or get to the bottom of the mine or you know Do do whatever this thing is and it kind of keeps you pushing along and that side of it’s quite compelling But the the biggest problem is so magic is part of the game and there’s a range of spells I think I unlocked two or three and the spells sort of help you clear stuff from the world so you can access more areas or (0:41:39) Jonny: Have so they have that use and I have a use on the combat side of things as well But when you unlock it, it’s kind of meant to be this big story moment So you do, you know a large fetch quest and you bring the the person that’s gonna teach you the spell a bunch of stuff You’re like, oh, this is gonna be really exciting and they say, you know Come and talk to me the next day and we’ll we’ll do the thing that we’re gonna do that will also Result you in learning the spell once you get really excited and then you go to bed and then (0:42:06) Jonny: Like a one-screen thing pops up that says “you and the character” (0:42:09) Jonny: went off and did the thing and then you just wake up in front of your house and now you know the spell. And the first spell I learned it took me a few days before I even recognized that I actually had the spell because I thought the game had glitched and I hadn’t the event hadn’t happened I didn’t realize that that one-screen thing was like the entirety of the thing so it’s really disappointing that you’re sort of building up to this big moment and in And the big moment is like a page in a book. (0:42:11) Codey: Mmm… (0:42:39) Jonny: Which is not a video game thing, like I didn’t get to… (0:42:42) Codey: Yeah, you didn’t get to like see you guys going off or anything like there’s no cut scene. It’s just you did it (0:42:43) Jonny: * (0:42:56) Jonny: Because you wake up on your farm, you don’t notice any change. (0:43:01) Jonny: Like there’s no immediate visual change that anything actually has happened, which is just (0:43:08) Codey: So the spells, is it like something that you can just do at any time or is it something that you have to have, like a store of magic and you can only do them when your store is full? (0:43:22) Codey: Mm-hmm. Okay. (0:43:22) Jonny: So it’s a mana system, and the mana effectively just works like stamina, so you can cast a certain number of spells a day effectively just in the same way that you can cut a certain number of trees or mine a certain number of rocks. (0:43:35) Jonny: So it kind of works fine, and the spells have interesting uses in combat in that they’re not just damage, so I think the second spell you get is a wind spell, which in the world it kind of clears some really heavy fog, (0:43:50) Jonny: but you can use it to knock enemies back. (0:43:52) Jonny: Which is a cool use of that spell, so it’s kind of that dual purpose. (0:43:53) Codey: Hmm Yeah Okay, so is it only you spells like you do you actually have like an axe and like a tool kit that allows you to Collect things from your environment or is it all pretty much through spells? (0:44:11) Jonny: No, so I’m actually surprised. So the spells kind of feel more like an add-on rather than the main part, so you still have all of the usual tools. And this is what’s really odd about this game, (0:44:23) Jonny: because this is the area where this game does things really, really right. So the way the tools work is for all of your base tools, so like your axe, your pickaxe, your watering can, (0:44:38) Jonny: those sorts of things. They’re… they… (0:44:41) Jonny: they auto… like, it will auto-select the tool based on the context that you’re at. (0:44:46) Jonny: So if your cursor is over the tree, then it will just automatically select the axe. (0:44:49) Codey: - Yeah. (0:44:51) Jonny: You don’t need to change to the axe. Same for the watering can, or like if you’re… (0:44:57) Jonny: if you’re over your crops, or if you’re in the mines, it’s just automatically the pickaxe, or if you’re on a diggable spot, it will be the spade. So you don’t have… (0:45:06) Jonny: you’re not constantly switching stuff, which is so nice, because you can kind of just run around and clean up your… (0:45:11) Jonny: farm really really quickly and you know there’s only a very small number of times I was like oh I thought I was pointing at this one thing and I was turns out I was pointing at something else so it used a tool that I wasn’t intending but those instances were so infrequent the convenience factor of that was really really nice the only tools that sort of aren’t on that wheel are your more like specialist tools so your wand is one your fishing rod is another and then there’s a bug catching it and that’s the… (0:45:41) Jonny: so you can you have to rotate between those ones which is generally fine because you’re often like okay I’ve done like I’m not doing work so I’m gonna move off the work tools and I’ll you know I’m gonna go catch bugs so I’ll select the bug catching tool the bugs are the bugs are great so the bug catching and fishing are kind of in the category of like really nice things to do where you’re sort of running around the world the fishings a little bit like So the fishing is a little bit (0:45:56) Codey: How are the bugs in this game? (0:46:11) Jonny: Animal Crossing style with the, you know, you need to cast in front of the fish and And there’s a bit of a reeling in minigame, which is fine. It’s not as difficult as the Stardew Valley one. So that’s okay the bugs you can Sneak up on and you have a chance to catch so the difficult ones you might need to have a few goes at at catching But they’re they’re really cool (0:46:36) Jonny: There’s bees in the game and they utilize the bees in a really cool way like you this you occasionally come (0:46:41) Jonny: Across a queen bee which you need to craft like your hives and things like that and then there’s also worker bees which you need to um uh craft Uh some some some like other like, you know Smaller sort of bee things. So I really love the way they use Use bees and it’s just kind of a nice little collectible thing that as you’re running around the world You’re like, oh, yeah, kind of just gonna catch some bugs or whatever. So it’s a nice little thing to to do (0:47:09) Codey: Do they look like regular bugs or do they look– (0:47:13) Jonny: In general, they kind of just look like regular. (0:47:23) Codey: Okay, so you’ve talked about the craft, not the crafting, you’ve talked about like the farming. Well, I guess you talked about just the tools themselves, (0:47:35) Codey: but like how do you, how does farming work in the game? (0:47:39) Jonny: Farming is kind of just like farming in other games, you know, you hoe the land, you plant the seed, you water the seed, and you know, you can use fertilizers to make it grow faster, you’ve got the crops that are just, you know, they’ll grow in three or four days and you harvest them once, and you’ve got the crops that will continue to be harvested over time, so there’s nothing particularly special or interesting happening from that respect, but It kind of works well. One really nice addition. (0:48:09) Jonny: And we’ll talk more about the world traversal in a bit. But you can go in the water, (0:48:14) Jonny: and when you’re in the water, or if it’s raining, your watering can just automatically fills up, (0:48:18) Jonny: which is just a really nice little quality of life thing. Because if you have forgotten to fill it up at the well after you’ve watered your stuff for the day, then it’s highly likely that you’ll just naturally fill it up over the course of the day with everything else that you’re doing. So that’s really nice. There’s animal farming as well. That kind of adds the little… (0:48:39) Jonny: …nuance of you need to interact with things every day, but they kind of like you based on have they been fed, have you packed them, and have they got sunlight? Which I really like the sort of have they got sunlight dimension. I think that’s pretty good. So that seems really cool. (0:48:57) Jonny: Only other thing I guess is just in terms of the types of crops, is that there’s flowers, (0:49:03) Jonny: which is cool. And you can do some flower crossbreeding, which seems kind of like a cool system and quite deep. (0:49:09) Jonny: So that seems like something that I kind of want to dig into more, which I’ve only really just started playing the surface of, because I don’t know that there’s seeds for every sort of flower. (0:49:19) Jonny: Maybe a little bit more like Animal Crossing, where there’s like the base colors for certain flowers and then you can crossbreed them. Yeah, yeah, so there’s that sort of thing. I get the sense that it’s sort of building towards there being more magical style of crops. I just haven’t got any yet, but I’m guessing they are in there. (0:49:22) Codey: Yeah, and then you put them next to each other. (0:49:39) Jonny: So, that’s pretty cool, and the best thing, so this is the best thing about farming, and this is the thing that this game does really, really well, because it’s all of the quality of life things, is you can move your planted crops. (0:49:52) Jonny: So if you’re like, I’ve put this in the wrong spot, or I want to adjust this to build something, you can move it, which is amazing. It’s so good. (0:49:55) Codey: Oh. (0:49:56) Codey: Yeah. (0:50:01) Codey: Well, and that’s something you could do in real life too. (0:50:05) Codey: You just get down to the roots and move your thing. (0:50:09) Codey: It’s not impossible. (0:50:09) Jonny: Yeah, yeah, it’s not it’s not impossible And it’s just so convenient because particularly with flower breeding when you’re like, oh I planted the wrong flower in the spot I didn’t want to crossbreed those two And you can just literally pick it up and swap it out for the one that you want. It’s really really convenient It’s such a nice little (0:50:29) Codey: So what do you do when you get the crops? What do you do with them like is it just kind of a you sell them or is there some type of like crafting or cooking. (0:50:40) Jonny: Yeah so this is probably a good segue into the crafting system because the crafting system is relatively deep in that so once you harvest them you can sell them if you want and that’s generally the worst thing that you can do. What you want to do with your crops is cook them. (0:50:59) Jonny: So you can at the start you just get a basic campfire and you can cook them on that but as you sort of progress you unlock more sorts of crafting stations and so you could take Um… (0:51:10) Jonny: Uh… something that you’ve… you’ve grown and you could… um… chop it up on… on one station and you know… (0:51:17) Jonny: Turn it into a maybe a cut version of the vegetables or… (0:51:20) Jonny: Mixed vegetables or something like that and then you could cook it on… you know a more elaborate… um… cooking station that can make… (0:51:26) Jonny: Um… better quality food and the better quality food not only does it sell for more But it you know does the energy restore or health restore or those sorts of things that you need for… (0:51:36) Jonny: um the mine and the crafting is kind of like it’s one of those (0:51:40) Jonny: versions where you know you jump into that you jump onto the table and you say craft 12 of this thing and it will craft them over time and you don’t have to stand there while it’s crafted but there’s a time element to to the way things are crafted but the game really rewards you for crafting with things so it’s not the sort of game where you want to sell stuff particular base versions and so again this game like quality of life features every other farming game copy fave farm’s quality of life features. (0:52:10) Jonny: at the start of the game on your farm there is a shed that shed has infinite storage you can hoard everything in this game it is amazing. (0:52:18) Codey: Oh my gosh. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. (0:52:20) Jonny: right it’s so good it’s so so good like I really want to uh like if you’re playing this game or you want to play this game hoard everything like sell stuff like there is there is certain stuff to sell like sell your things that you’ve crafted sell things that um you know you (0:52:40) Jonny: like you’ve you’ve kind of feel like you’ve done everything with and I feel like I feel like I should be able to do something with this hoard it hoard it because you can it doesn’t punish you it’s amazing (0:52:47) Codey: Yeah. (0:52:48) Codey: Well, that’s the problem with some farming games is you start the game and right off the bat, (0:52:56) Codey: you’re like, oh wow, this cool rock, that’s cool, (0:52:58) Codey: but I found it on my first day. (0:53:00) Codey: So it’s probably gonna be here all the time and I’m running out of inventory space, (0:53:04) Codey: so I’m just gonna sell it. (0:53:05) Codey: And then you find out that that was the rarest rock ever and you only get one every month or something like that. (0:53:13) Codey: And it’s just like, well, I sold it. (0:53:15) Codey: So, because– (0:53:15) Jonny: Yep. Yup. (0:53:17) Codey: Because I didn’t know what to do with it on day one, so that’s really cool that they have like stuff that you– like a way for you to just save everything right off the bat. (0:53:27) Codey: Because like– and you don’t have to– it’s just there, right? You don’t have to build it. (0:53:27) Jonny: Yeah Correct. Yep, so you don’t have to build it. It’s there from the start, which is great And you and your your characters inventory is also relatively Generous sets of things do tend to like have more sort of like stacks in your inventory where you can only carry certain amount in a slot and you have to unlock some slots, but your tools don’t take up inventory slots and Reli- (0:53:47) Codey: Mm-hmm. (0:53:49) Codey: Oh my gosh. (0:53:53) Jonny: Right? (0:53:55) Jonny: relatively quickly you can unlock. (0:53:57) Jonny: to get your inventory to like 25 or 30 slots which is like really like it’s it’s it’s very good once you get it that far so that was that was just Honestly, it made it so fun because if you feel like you’re just running around the world doing what you want to do and you’re not Doing an inventory management thing. That’s just annoying and frustrating Oh and and just sort of for the the final thing because it’s really important to call access really good is the the crafting pu

Al and Kev talk about Mineko's Night Market Also, we talk about Stardew Valley 1.6, the recently teased Lord of the Rings cottagecore game, and a number of recent release date announcements. Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:42: What Have We Been Up To 00:15:56: News 00:45:50: Mineko’s Night Market 01:32:52: Outro Links Mineko’s Night Market Release Dates Mineko Plush Coral Island PS5 Critter Crops Delay Sun Down Survivors Update Orange Season Update Travellers Rest Update To Pixelia Kickstarter Stardew Valley 1.6 Sneak Peek Stardew Valley Joja Parrot Tales of the Shire Teaser Tales of the Shire Site Mineko’s Night Market Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. My name is Al And I am playing the neko’s night market as we speak Fantastic we are gonna have so much to talk about this game. I think it’s gonna be (0:00:36) Kevin: I’m Kevin. (0:00:37) Kevin: Um, excuse me, I believe that is Wormburger’s Night Market? (0:00:47) Kevin: Uh, you think the game that’s been in development for eight years and has been my most anticipated game of like two years running? [laughs] (0:01:00) Al: Funny because like yeah, so like this podcast I’ve been going for like nearly five years now, right? (0:01:04) Al: And this game had already been announced four years before the podcast started So quite a while Did neko just poop on the ground It just just sat on the ground and stood up and then it was a garden block (0:01:12) Kevin: 2015 baby that’s that’s wild like I don’t I didn’t (0:01:25) Kevin: Yeah, if that’s possible, yeah. (0:01:26) Al: I think Niko just pooped on the ground. (0:01:30) Al: To give me somewhere to plant, all right. Well let’s see what happens with that. (0:01:34) Al: We’re gonna talk about the Niko’s Night Market, because somehow we managed to play this game in the five days since it came out. (0:01:43) Al: Yeah, we’re gonna talk about it. Before that, we’ve got a bunch of news to talk about. (0:01:43) Kevin: Yeah, but I played a lot so I have things to talk about (0:01:57) Al: there’s stuff we need to talk about, there’s stuff we definitely need to talk about. (0:01:58) Kevin: Is there I don’t I don’t I don’t know Not really I like going in blind [laugh] (0:02:00) Al: Have you not looked through the news? (0:02:02) Al: Oh Kevin, right, that’s fine, let’s go in blind. (0:02:05) Al: Most of it is pretty small, pretty quick, still good, but we’ve got two really chunky bits of news at the end that we need to talk about. (0:02:11) Kevin: Wait, we haven’t talked about that one yet? (0:02:13) Al: We have not talked about that yet. (0:02:14) Kevin: I- (0:02:14) Kevin: Oh my gosh, okay, we do have things to talk about, all right. (0:02:17) Al: Yep, we have big stuff to talk about. (0:02:20) Kevin: I know- I like how you know exactly what I’m looking at. (0:02:22) Al: Well, of course, of course I know. (0:02:26) Al: So we’ve recorded the last episode, I think like the day before that news came out. (0:02:30) Al: Um, was it me and Cody? I think it was. Uh, we, we’d recorded really early that week and then they came out with our news and that was really frustrating. So anyway. (0:02:31) Kevin: was it okay yes yes I didn’t know it was it good good (0:02:39) Al: Um, uh, first of all, though, Kevin, what have you been up to? (0:02:46) Kevin: Um, okay, so in the Good good old me decided to do a whole bunch of things before Monneko dropped so you know the Pokemon DLC has been out for a minute, there’s been a lot of talk and So I finally gave in and I started playing Pokemon, but I wanted to play a good one. So I’m playing sword and shield I started a nuzlocke (0:03:22) Kevin: And it’s it’s a fun one to nuzlock through Because there’s so many a wide variety of encounters and and It’s surprisingly challenging at times. There’s there’s some heavy hitters in the game One going back to that Jen Like all all joking aside I I This is a subjective opinion, but I think it looks better (0:03:31) Al: Mmm, yes. (0:03:52) Kevin: And then scarlet violet like maybe not technically there’s probably It’s… (0:03:54) Al: I mean, I don’t think I disagree with that. I mean, I’m definitely one of the Scarlet and Violet enjoyers and defenders, but I don’t think that as a game it looks better than Sword and Shield. Definitely not. But I think personally that’s generally a problem with open world games. I don’t think that any of them look amazing. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have some moments where you’re like, “Wow.” But those are very few (0:04:09) Kevin: Yeah yeah. (0:04:19) Kevin: Yeah. (0:04:20) Kevin: Yes. (0:04:24) Kevin: You’re- you’re ner- yep, you’re right. (0:04:24) Al: and most of the time it’s just the same rocks and grass again. I think that is just a problem with them. So yes, I agree. (0:04:29) Kevin: Yeah. (0:04:31) Kevin: That’s fair. Yeah, no, that’s- that’s- I think that’s accurate. (0:04:35) Kevin: Um, so yeah, it is an uphill battle, I think, in that sense for Scarlet Violet, but… (0:04:41) Kevin: Even stuff like just the color palettes, I think they really, really pop in, uh, Sword and Shield. (0:04:43) Al: Oh yeah, especially Balonia. Amazing, amazing town. Just gorgeous, love it. (0:04:46) Kevin: Um… (0:04:50) Kevin: Yeah, yeah, the neon mushroom town, it’s awesome, yep, yep. (0:04:58) Kevin: And also one other comment, just like, again, looking back. (0:05:02) Kevin: The gym battles are just so good in Sword and Shield, (0:05:09) Kevin: like just this whole spectacle of a stadium battle and the chanting, (0:05:11) Al: Oh, yes. Yeah, definitely. The music. (0:05:15) Kevin: which, you know, actually fits in on like Scarlet Violet. (0:05:20) Kevin: It’s so bombastic and thrilling, and again, (0:05:25) Kevin: just comparing to Scarlet Violet, like, because of the freedom, (0:05:30) Kevin: I don’t know, they just, it wasn’t as memorable maybe, but again, (0:05:35) Kevin: that’s something subjective, but point B, ultimately, (0:05:38) Kevin: Sword and Shield is still really good, really fun, (0:05:41) Kevin: and I’m enjoying going through one of those luck. (0:05:44) Kevin: Well, I was before Monetco dropped, um, aside from that, (0:05:49) Kevin: I have had a big fighting game, Inch, um, so I dusted off a game called Skullgirls! (0:05:56) Kevin: Um, are you familiar with this at all, Al? (0:05:58) Kevin: Okay, so Skullgirls was originally released in 2013-2014, (0:06:07) Kevin: and they are still developing new stuff for it. Um, not a sequel, like the same game. (0:06:14) Kevin: It’s wild, um, it was, uh, it’s no- (0:06:19) Kevin: notable in the fighting game community for a couple of reasons. (0:06:23) Kevin: One, I mean, it’s a good game, for fighting game reasons, um, (0:06:26) Kevin: but aside from that, um, it’s all hand-drawn art, so it looks really good. (0:06:32) Kevin: Um, it has like a very stylistic art deco thing going on with a lot of its environments and settings. (0:06:39) Kevin: Um, and as the name implies, Skullgirls, um, at least originally, the original eight, (0:06:46) Kevin: I believe we’re all female fighters, um, which was you know, obviously not the norm in gaming in general, right? (0:06:54) Kevin: Um, it’s an all female cast, um, and they’ve done rounds of DLCs since then. (0:07:00) Kevin: Um, I think it’s going to be up to 18 by the end of this year. (0:07:04) Kevin: Um, I think there’s two males, but the rest are all females. (0:07:10) Kevin: Um, well, I mean, there’s a robot female and an alien monster thing. (0:07:16) Kevin: Um, but so, you know, um, take that how you will. (0:07:20) Kevin: Uh, it’s, it’s dynamic. (0:07:22) Kevin: It’s fun. (0:07:22) Kevin: It’s like not even fighting game or not. (0:07:26) Kevin: It’s, it’s just very good writing comical and then vibrant. (0:07:31) Kevin: Um, so yeah, skull girls to anyone who enjoys fighting games. (0:07:34) Kevin: That’s a hearty recommendation. (0:07:36) Kevin: It’s basically out on anything and everything. (0:07:38) Kevin: Um, uh, but, uh, aside from, yeah, so those were the two things I did. (0:07:42) Kevin: And then, uh, Meneco Wednesday came and it’s been all Meneco since then. (0:07:47) Kevin: What about you? (0:07:50) Al: Yeah, well, I mean, I think basically Maneko is the only game I’ve been playing this week. (0:07:56) Al: Maneko, Maneko, Maneko. (0:07:59) Al: I did play some more Pokémon, so I think I got my… (0:08:03) Al: I can’t remember where I was when we last talked, or when I last said it on the podcast, (0:08:08) Al: but I have done… (0:08:10) Al: I’ve completed the DLC on both games. (0:08:14) Al: I decided just to do… (0:08:16) Al: So my scarlet was like basically I hadn’t done anything in it. (0:08:20) Al: So I did the DLC without having done any of the badges. (0:08:23) Al: And then I was like, I’m just going to do all the badges. (0:08:26) Al: So I just did everything on that one. (0:08:27) Al: So I’ve now completed that. (0:08:27) Kevin: Right at least it’s fast to do it unlike other Pokemon games you can just knock them out (0:08:29) Al: And then, yeah, certainly once you’ve got everything. (0:08:36) Al: And then what else did I do? (0:08:39) Al: I did the DLC on my scarlet, my violet as well. (0:08:43) Al: And I completed the decks on that. (0:08:46) Al: And there’s a couple of side quests as well in the DLC. (0:08:49) Al: I did those as well. (0:08:50) Al: And yeah, just a bunch of Pokemon stuff in there. (0:08:56) Kevin: Have you- have you not gotten a bit tired of Scarlet Violet after doing it like three four times? (0:09:03) Al: times, yeah. I mean the story, yeah, sure, right? Like, the story bit is not fun. I still enjoy playing those games. Like, I still enjoy the core loop of those games. I still enjoy collecting Pokémon, blah, blah, blah. I think I have decided that I’m not going to do the new Professor Oak challenge that I suggested. I think that’s probably going a bit far. And if I want to do a Professor Oak challenge. (0:09:30) Kevin: until the second DLC drops. (0:09:33) Al: Well, I was going to wait until that because if you’re going to do it, then do it all the way, right? (0:09:39) Al: But then I was like, actually, if I want to do it, there’s so many games I haven’t done a Professor Oak challenge of, (0:09:43) Al: just do another one. (0:09:45) Al: I’m thinking about maybe doing Legends Arceus 1, for example, which could be fun, (0:09:53) Al: because I don’t have a Legends Arceus save file just now. (0:09:56) Al: I was thinking when you were talking about Nuzlockes, maybe it would be interesting as a Nuzlock, (0:10:03) Al: because obviously you’re not using Pokemon, right? (0:10:05) Al: So they’re not going to die, but you can die in that game. (0:10:07) Al: You can get knocked out in that game. (0:10:09) Kevin: Oh. (0:10:09) Al: So doing like a no death Arceus run, that could be interesting. (0:10:10) Kevin: No. (0:10:16) Al: Yeah, that’s probably about games. (0:10:19) Al: I mean, Pokemon Go, obviously, but that’s probably about it with games. (0:10:23) Al: I have, however, been watching a couple of things. (0:10:25) Al: I’ve been watching X-Men 92 and the run-up to the new X-Men 97 coming out next year. (0:10:30) Al: And I. (0:10:30) Kevin: Alright, how’s that been? (0:10:33) Al: It’s it’s good fun. I’m surprised at how like quickly and succinctly they’re getting through X-Men story lines like Like in the first season they do like like five or six big X-Men stories Like just that’s it. Those ones are done now and you’re like, oh my word, right? Wow, that was fast Yeah Well, it’s (0:10:50) Kevin: Yeah, this was prime 90s Saturday morning cartoon stuff, so like, there’s no time for plots or build up. (0:10:58) Kevin: Go do your enemy of the week. (0:11:01) Al: That’s the thing and then there’s no (0:11:01) Kevin: You got toys to sell, man! (0:11:03) Al: There’s no filler episodes that are all action all the time So it will be interesting to see where they go because there’s still four seasons to go Just I’ve just finished the first season. So I’ve got four more to go and I’m like I feel like they’re running out of stories by now Although I do believe there is a crossover with the 90s spider-man as well that I’ll need to watch at some point Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I know but that’s my I need to watch that as well right because it’s a crossover (0:11:03) Kevin: The- (0:11:20) Kevin: There is, but that is under the spine. (0:11:31) Kevin: Yeah, yeah, um, yeah, I If I assure you it does not matter Well, good luck with that because I’m sure it didn’t matter to the writers or whatever I will I will say like I (0:11:33) Al: I haven’t figured out where it lies in the timeline. (0:11:37) Al: I know it doesn’t matter. I know. I know it doesn’t matter, Kevin, but it matters to me. (0:11:56) Kevin: Was still pretty young when that X-Men first aired so I watched some of it (0:12:00) Al: Yes, in 1992, yes. (0:12:01) Kevin: but Yes, you know the year I was born I might be older than me So I didn’t watch it I Missed the boat a little on that one. I didn’t I watched it but just not like everything right but it’s still very much like many people was very iconic informative in my What I think of the X-Men right like that’s the theme the colors all the looks (0:12:05) Al: I was also quite young. (0:12:31) Kevin: It’s still my favorite beast of all time Yeah, but good stuff good stuff (0:12:40) Al: Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:12:41) Al: And then I also watched for the first time Scott Pilgrim versus the World, (0:12:46) Al: the film that is, the live action films. (0:12:46) Kevin: Okay, I have not watched this tell me tell me Wait we’re talking the live-action right? Yes. Yes. Okay, cuz the animated one’s not out yet Yes, okay. Yes, that’s right. Okay Okay, I hear a lot of love for this movie thing (0:12:48) Al: I thought it was really good. (0:12:50) Al: I think it does a good job. (0:12:52) Al: Like, obviously live action. (0:12:53) Al: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. (0:12:55) Al: The animated one, it’s not, it’s not a, yeah, and it’s a series, I believe. (0:12:58) Al: It’s not a film. (0:13:00) Al: But so like. (0:13:02) Al: I think, I think, yeah, so I think a lot of people like it and a lot of people (0:13:10) Al: thought it was fine. (0:13:11) Al: I will say that live action is difficult to do, like, a good kind of comic bookie style film, like most, most live action comic book stuff doesn’t try and be comic bookie, right? (0:13:25) Al: But Scott Pilgrim definitely does. (0:13:29) Al: And I think they did it really well. (0:13:31) Al: I think it works like that. (0:13:32) Al: Like you, it definitely feels like a comic book film. (0:13:35) Al: It’s like, you know how Into the Spider-Verse feels like a comic book film. (0:13:40) Kevin: Yes. (0:13:40) Al: It’s not live action, but it feels comic bookie, whereas all the other ones really just feel like superhero stuff, right? (0:13:40) Kevin: Yes. (0:13:43) Kevin: Yes, yes, I know. (0:13:46) Al: It’s, it, it feels like that. (0:13:48) Al: It feels, it feels like they wanted it to feel like a comic book. (0:13:52) Al: And I think it works really well. (0:13:54) Al: I think there are a few things in the story that feel a bit odd, but that just might be me being a bit weird around it. (0:14:01) Al: I’m not sure whether it’s, because I’ve not, I’ve not read the original comic run of this, right? (0:14:07) Al: So I don’t know whether it tells it some of the bits in it. (0:14:10) Al: In a better way, or whether I’m just kind of being a bit weird with it. I don’t know. (0:14:11) Kevin: Mm-hmm Yeah, okay. All right, that’s cool Yeah, I might watch it just speak for the animated series because the animated series looks very impressive (0:14:15) Al: But I enjoyed it. It was good. (0:14:25) Al: Yes Well, that was the other thing that was the other reason why I was watching it I was like, I know I want to watch this at some point You know what why not now, you know before the animated series comes out would be a good idea (0:14:35) Kevin: Yep, yep, all right, that’s good. (0:14:43) Al: I mean bits and pieces here and there. I’m about to start the newest series of Star Trek Strange. (0:14:56) Al: There’s a lot to watch. What can I say? Have you been watching Ahsoka? Of course, as well. (0:15:01) Al: I’ve been watching Ahsoka, which I’ve been enjoying. And Loki starts this week. (0:15:07) Kevin: Oh, I i’ve got to catch up on stuff before I watch loki like I mean like the required reading. I don’t watch ant man No, I don’t think so either ant man Yes Yes, i’ve watched the original ones. I watch one division watch loki season one. So just ant man Um, but I am going to do it because yeah, I do I do too which really means yeah I just need to watch ant man, um, which uh, but i’m excited for because it looks good. Um (0:15:12) Al: I don’t think there’s a lot of required reading. (0:15:16) Al: Yeah, I’d say Ant-Man, Lokey and Ant-Man, and presumably you’ve watched WandaVision. (0:15:22) Al: Yeah. (0:15:25) Al: I suspect that’s all of it. (0:15:38) Kevin: Owen wilson’s really good in it. And so is uh, (0:15:40) Kevin: Tom loki whatever his name is it’ll it’ll stand yes tom tom loki son. Um (0:15:43) Al: Tom Hiddleston and we’ve got Kehuquan coming in as well and his character looks very fun. (0:15:54) Kevin: Yep. (0:15:54) Kevin: Alright. (0:15:55) Al: Yeah. Awesome. Well, should we talk about some news? (0:15:56) Kevin: I guess so. (0:16:00) Kevin: Hey, you wanna talk about Moneko first though? (0:16:01) Al: No, no, I do not. Let’s talk about some news. (0:16:03) Kevin: Yeah, and what’s our first news item? (0:16:07) Al: Uh, oh yeah. Oh, I hadn’t looked yet. (0:16:13) Al: I wrote all this up like four days ago. So Maneko, there’s some Maneko’s night market news. (0:16:21) Kevin: Yeah. (0:16:23) Al: So the Xbox and PlayStation versions, we’ve got dates for them now. They’re coming out on the 26th of October and the physical Switch and PS5 versions are coming the 27th of October. (0:16:36) Kevin: Uh, is it? I didn’t realize it’s already on, is it on PS5 I assume? (0:16:40) Kevin: Or wait, no, no, sorry. I’m, no, you just said that. (0:16:40) Al: No, no, so that’s the PS. Please, it’s Xbox and- (0:16:43) Al: PlayStation versions, yeah. But I think, I think, I think the PlayStation version is for PS4 and PS5, (0:16:44) Kevin: My mistake. Yes. (0:16:50) Al: but the physical version is just PS5. Well, on Switch, obviously. (0:16:54) Al: So there is a PS4 version of the game, but not physical, if that’s clear. (0:16:59) Kevin: um yeah sure it’s look by the end of october it’s going to be everywhere that’s the main but you can get it on switch or pc (0:17:08) Al: You can. You can. (0:17:10) Al: And we have it covered because you got Switch. (0:17:12) Al: I got it on PC and played it on Steam. (0:17:14) Kevin: Yup, and if that’s not enough physical for you you can get a physical manneco Well, I think you can because I’m clicking on the link and it’s not working. I don’t know why Okay, anyways, um Okay, they’re doing Okay The manneco people are doing a plush (0:17:15) Al: Oh boy. (0:17:20) Al: You can. (0:17:23) Al: Yeah, there’s a new link. (0:17:27) Al: I’ve got a new link here as far as… (0:17:29) Al: Don’t worry, it still exists. (0:17:31) Al: There you go. There’s your new link. (0:17:39) Kevin: Run of manneco. It’s a good-looking plug. It is by the it is by the (0:17:39) Al: Is that good looking plush? It’s really detailed. (0:17:43) Al: Yeah. (0:17:44) Kevin: Company called make ship which I am familiar with this is basically what they do. They do limited runs of plushies you know even They did one for Baron breakfast and I missed it I’m so sad But that’s the that’s a kicker right that it is limited. I think turn it boy had like two plushies through that but anyways So yeah make ship rise of the time recording 20 days when it comes out That’ll probably even more like two weeks left on the campaign (0:17:47) Al: Yeah, they’re doing the ooblets ones as well, I think, and stuff. (0:18:14) Kevin: So check it out if you want. It’s $30 maybe a little pricey But if you love an echo like I love an echo It’s probably worth it because you will probably never ever see any mother physical manneco birch like this again Not yet, but I will so pay day when it gets But yes and minico’s art works really well with plush I think like the the the style (0:18:40) Al: Yeah, I’m just, I’m really impressed with how detailed it is, right? Like you’ve got the eye detail, the hair detail, and the clothing detail, the ear, the backpack, it’s just, it’s all so great. (0:18:44) Kevin: Yeah, got the little mark under the eye, yeah Yeah make ship I have had make ship products before and they are quality products and yes the detail is as good as You’d hope or want or the the creators want whatever and it’s a good quality plush a decent size to not one of those tiny little things (0:19:12) Kevin: Okay, so yeah, that’s Minneko (0:19:20) Kevin: So October 20th, roughly? (0:19:22) Al: Yeah, it does actually say that on the page, you don’t have to count it. (0:19:23) Kevin: Yeah, 19th. (0:19:26) Al: If you scroll down a little bit, it shows you the date. It’s got a timeline. (0:19:29) Kevin: um okay well there you go there the look the links on the show notes click on there yeah that’s the only thing right they take forever with these limited run things but understandably so yeah oh yeah you’re oh gosh no no no that’s too close 2024 is a year away no I know I went into lone the home depot the other day and there was all the christmas decor (0:19:30) Al: “Production starts 20th of October. Shipman estimated January 13th.” (0:19:38) Al: That’s not too bad. That’s not too bad. November, December, that’s three months. (0:19:48) Al: Christmas is less than 100 days. (0:19:59) Kevin: before october that’s the norm what what else is you know what else is october (0:20:06) Al: We’ve got, we’ve got Coral Island have announced their PS5 version is coming on the 9th of October. (0:20:14) Al: I will say, you know I love a conspiracy around dates. This is a suspicious date. (0:20:20) Al: This is suspiciously close because the next update for Coral Island is the 1.0 update. (0:20:27) Al: Just saying. Now we don’t know when that’s coming, but all I’m saying is they haven’t said the PS5 (0:20:37) Kevin: once you switch there’s no going back or wait oh they mean for version well either way that still sounds very uh and they have the wean (0:20:52) Kevin: There’s the art right there. It has the merfolk in it. It’s all that looks like a 1.0 or Like a game case cover Is it I don’t know I’m (0:20:59) Al: I mean, I think that’s the same artist they’ve been using for ages, but yeah, yeah, pretty sure I’ve had pretty sure I had that wallpaper on my phone for six months. (0:21:09) Al: Yeah, so we’ll see. We’ll see whether I’m right or wrong. It might be too soon after the most recent update, but they also could have been working on both of them at the same time. We’ll find out in like a week, because that’s like a week away. (0:21:27) Al: Next we have Crater crops have been delayed to the end of the day. (0:21:29) Al: We have so many more to delay. Keep coming with your delays please. (0:21:35) Al: There’s too many games. We still have like 30 games listed that’s coming out this year. Go and delay them please. (0:21:46) Al: Would you mean no? Man alive, Kevin. (0:21:49) Al: That’s all right. It’s all right. You’ve got two weeks till you need to do the Paleo Pines episode. (0:21:49) Kevin: I want, I just want Maneko, nothing else, and I’ll leave you alone, games. (0:21:57) Al: Sundown Survivors, they’ve got their 1.4 update, which they have named “The Final Boss”. (0:22:05) Al: And I think that the update includes “The Final Boss” of the storyline. Just a thought there. (0:22:10) Kevin: What that’s wild (0:22:16) Al: It’s like, what do they call it? Bullet hell? It’s a roguelike type game. (0:22:24) Al: I’m not playing this game. I don’t know. There’s some stuff. There’s some farming, (0:22:25) Kevin: But you have Pokemon. (0:22:31) Al: right? I felt like I needed to include it, but this is… (0:22:34) Al: It’s like three quid as well. It’s very cheap. (0:22:48) Al: Okay, I don’t know what that means. (0:22:52) Al: Or was that shoot him up? Right, got you. Orange season also have an update out. The festival’s season, that is out now, (0:23:01) Al: and it adds a tomato war, the summer festival and the chicken race. (0:23:06) Kevin: These are all good, good words. I like, especially “tomato war.” (0:23:08) Al: Yeah, so it looks like it’s a festival where you’re like trying to hit each other with tomatoes. (0:23:11) Kevin: What does that mean? Oh, oh, you thought- oh. (0:23:18) Al: During the event, you and three other competitors will throw tomatoes at each other, earning points for hits and losing points for getting hit. The one with the highest score when the time is over wins. Don’t worry, all the tomatoes used weren’t apt for consumption anyway. Like it matters, it’s a game. (0:23:34) Al: Oh, there’s a swimming… Oh, wait, swimming? That is the Summer Festival. They just called it different things. They called it Summer Festival at the top and then they called it swimming festival. (0:23:34) Kevin: - Yeah. (0:23:48) Al: Let’s use swim and then there’s the chicken race, which I feel like that’s probably self-explanatory as well. (0:23:50) Kevin: just it looks good though (0:23:54) Al: Also, is that a dino chicken? Look at the colors on that chicken. (0:24:02) Kevin: I don’t… I think it’s the green-ish chicken. I don’t know. (0:24:07) Kevin: Um, there’s a whole bunch of other… (0:24:09) Al: Yes, they have the key one, I think, being that they’ve added control support, so this is good. (0:24:14) Al: Yes, yes, I do. As someone with a Steam Deck, I very much like controller support on Steam Games. (0:24:21) Al: Next, we have another update. Travelers Rest have their drinks and staff update. So… (0:24:31) Kevin: Those sound important to a game where you’re running a tabber. (0:24:35) Al: Yes. Yeah, so customers can order drinks. (0:24:39) Al: You can serve them drinks, and then there’s also… you can employ employees. (0:24:46) Al: They also added seasons to the game. Like, I feel like what was in this game before now, right? (0:24:52) Kevin: You can hire a bouncer. (0:24:53) Kevin: I’m wondering! (0:24:54) Al: They’ve added the guest room system as well. Like, there’s a lot in this update. (0:24:56) Kevin: New beverage aging system was that… (0:25:00) Kevin: There- ooh. (0:25:02) Kevin: That you’d expect in a tavern. (0:25:07) Kevin: A similar game. (0:25:07) Al: To be fair, to be fair, isn’t it? (0:25:09) Al: access. So it’s 0.6.1 update. Right, next we have two Pixellia which we’ve mentioned before but they are now in Kickstarter. Now what I want to do is I want Kevin to go and watch the entirety of this video before we talk about this. (0:25:14) Kevin: It’s a fun idea, just a little more time in the oven and it looks like- (0:25:29) Al: So I will probably cut this out listeners but I want Kevin to go and listen and then tell us what his thoughts. (0:25:29) Kevin: Alright. Alright, here we go. (0:25:32) Kevin: Are you sh- (0:25:34) Kevin: Alright, you don’t want- I can do it live as I’m watching. (0:25:38) Kevin: Alright. (0:25:39) Al: I mean you can do it live if you want but you don’t need to. (0:25:40) Kevin: Alright, based on my true story, is that what it just said? (0:25:45) Kevin: Yup, on my true story. (0:25:48) Kevin: I can live my life how I see fit, okay. (0:25:50) Kevin: Pixelian is a whole awful word. (0:25:53) Kevin: Is this just Pixel Sims? (0:25:53) Al: I know, right? (0:25:58) Al: I mean, I don’t know, I don’t think it’s Sims. (0:26:01) Al: It feels more like Pixel’s Second Life. (0:26:05) Kevin: or that short yeah oh yeah I’ll look at there’s a fashion runway yeah there’s a lot going on here well you can really do anything you can be a band basketball farmer okay you can you can decorate your space yeah okay this is just Sick in life pixel version. (0:26:10) Al: Because like, you are playing, because you’ve got one character that you’re playing. And it’s like, there’s so much going on. (0:26:20) Al: This is the thing, it just keeps going. (0:26:34) Kevin: Um (0:26:35) Kevin: Let’s embrace the thrill what you can rob banks And a hack I saw a binary oh my gosh grand theft auto actual street traffic violations Of course build bonds, what could that mean? (0:26:40) Al: Uh-huh, you can rob banks (0:26:49) Al: Yeah, you know, and then. (0:26:55) Kevin: You can’t go to jail. Yeah, i’m sure there’s I hope that jail system’s innovative Or immersive (0:27:02) Al: Yeah, I don’t know. I wonder if you can break out of it or not. (0:27:05) Al: What isn’t there? What isn’t there in this game? Like when I first saw this, I just thought it would be like another like life sim, standard life sim, but there’s an insane amount in this. (0:27:06) Kevin: Oh, you can you absolutely can oh, well, there’s a nightclub. Can you do crimes at the (0:27:20) Kevin: I mean, it is a life sim, but it’s a lot of life. (0:27:22) Al: Yeah, you can be a boxer. (0:27:24) Kevin: They really, this really is everything. (0:27:28) Kevin: Yup. (0:27:29) Kevin: Fishing, oh, there’s our cottage core. (0:27:31) Al: There’s our farming. (0:27:31) Kevin: Yeah, but who’s gonna, who wants to do that when you can rob banks? (0:27:36) Kevin: What is that? (0:27:37) Kevin: Is that the UN? (0:27:38) Kevin: Look, they have the bank robber right on the cover art. (0:27:40) Al: I think so. (0:27:42) Al: This is absolutely wild. (0:27:44) Kevin: That’s, they know that’s the good one. (0:27:48) Kevin: All right, there you go. (0:27:50) Kevin: They can’t do anything. (0:27:51) Kevin: It is. (0:27:54) Kevin: Wow, and boy, they’re so- (0:28:00) Al: Yeah, it’s not a huge goal. But yeah, still, I mean, you’ve seen ones with small goals not get hit. (0:28:06) Al: So, yeah, it’s going all right. Well, yeah, this is 2Pixellia. 2Pixellia is a pixel art life simulator game set in the charming country of Pixellia. Your journey begins with a life-changing decision to start a new life from scratch, bleh. And as you step off the bus, your choices will determine what that life will become. I wonder how much of that is like actual choice. I wonder if there’s things that you can’t actually do. (0:28:11) Kevin: They really do have politics. (0:28:30) Al: Like, do they build in, like, privilege and stuff like that? (0:28:36) Al: Is it easier for certain people to do certain things? (0:28:36) Kevin: Oh Oh, that would I would applaud them so hard if they did oh my gosh Idol I would would it be fun playing the game. I don’t know but reading it and seeing it happen and the Twitter Tweets that would come out of that. Oh my gosh, that would be the best (0:28:47) Al: I don’t know if that would be fun or not, that’s my only question. (0:28:54) Al: Yeah, it would be great as an art piece, certainly, right? (0:29:06) Kevin: Oh my gosh Okay Yeah, yeah just like the South Park difficulty slider Oh My gosh, okay. Look, you know what? They don’t even have to put gameplay in it But you like just lean into it like you can do anything (0:29:07) Al: But yeah, would that make it a fun game? (0:29:09) Al: I don’t know. (0:29:15) Al: I’m probably going to cut this bit, but like, you know, hard. (0:29:17) Al: More does your black, right? (0:29:18) Al: Yeah. (0:29:35) Kevin: Right in there. They’re added. That’s what they’re saying (0:29:36) Kevin: in their campaign. They’re advertising right. You can do anything and you can have like you could be a boxer You can be a bank robber. You can be a farmer. You can have privilege as a person of color You can do anything Oh my god, I mean there’s politics so the anarchy might Anarchism whatever you want to call it might be in the cards (0:30:06) Kevin: Dismantle the establishment Um, wow, that’s really uh, we’re very big and ambitious. That’s the word ambitious. Um And it looks the trailer looks like a game and with that small of a goal i’m assuming they’re Basically done It’s more game than not (0:30:23) Al: Yeah, so it does say that they’re expecting the final version to be out in May next year, (0:30:31) Al: I believe with the alpha coming out in December. So, I mean, that sounds to me like they, yeah, (0:30:38) Al: they have the features, right? They have the game and the alpha and beta will actually be an alpha and a beta, which is like actually testing the stuff that you’ve done rather than just going, “Hey, here’s a game without the stuff!” Right? You know, it’s like… (0:30:48) Kevin: Yep, does it work cough travelers rest cough No, I know (0:30:53) Al: “Here’s a game that has some stuff!” (0:30:56) Al: Which is… Well, I mean, that’s early on. They’re not calling it an alpha or beta. (0:31:00) Al: I just… I find it really annoying. Anyway, we don’t need to get into this again. (0:31:03) Al: What have I written in it? Yeah. It’s going to be interesting. Interesting to see. (0:31:07) Kevin: Yes, it’s big while yeah, that’s that’s yeah, you can really do anything sailing still an awful name So the there are clouds in the sky the ocean is wet Go ahead go ahead (0:31:10) Al: So, we’re going to talk about Stardew Valley. Let me start off. Let me start this off. (0:31:20) Al: Let me start this off! (0:31:24) Al: Kevin! (0:31:24) Al: So, Concern Date, like just after we recorded the last episode, posted this image on Twitter of, (0:31:33) Al: so have you ever done any Ginger Island stuff in Stardew? That was in the most recent update. (0:31:39) Al: I haven’t either, but I know that on Ginger Island, there’s a bunch of like parrots that you can use to unlock a bunch of stuff. And then, so this is an image of a parrot that is like (0:31:53) Al: JoJo branding, JoJo? JoJo? Is it JoJo? JoJo, sorry, JoJo, the JoJo branding on it. And so I’m like, (0:31:56) Kevin: Jojo, not Jojo. (0:32:01) Al: oh, interesting. Is this like another like JoJo based thing? How does this work? It’s going to be interesting to see what this is, presumably it’s on Ginger Island, or it’s in a new place that we don’t know about, something like that. And then, Concern Date just like posts a list of the features coming up in the next update. (0:32:23) Al: And you’re like, “Oh, okay.” Which includes one of the bullet points is Georgia alternatives to some of the endgame quests. (0:32:32) Al: So what I’m guessing is if you go the Georgia route for the community center, when you go to Ginger Island, all the parrots are Georgia parrots. (0:32:39) Kevin: Yup. (0:32:40) Kevin: Yup. (0:32:44) Kevin: Aw, sick. (0:32:46) Kevin: You’re gonna… (0:32:47) Kevin: Deforest that island and put on a Joja Mart there. (0:32:51) Al: I mean, I actually, I mean, I really enjoy doing the Georgia way of doing things, purely because it’s like, I like being able to just like, be a filthy capitalist, right? And just buy everything, right? Like, I’m just going to make so much money and just buy everything I need, right? Like, that’s fun to do. I obviously, I’ve only done it once, but it was fun to do it when I did it. Like, obviously, I enjoy doing the other way. (0:33:17) Kevin: - Yeah. (0:33:21) Al: But, you know, there’s a lot of my words, right? (0:33:26) Al: Okay, so let me just, let me just, well, let’s just go through this list and see if we have anything to say about them. How does that go? Because this is a lot of stuff coming in the new update. And I feel like, yeah, can we talk about this? Can we talk about this? Because, like, when Concern Date initially announced the 1.6 update, let me actually find the tweet. Because I’m sure and I can find it because he doesn’t tweet very much. (0:33:28) Kevin: Okay. (0:33:33) Kevin: Shock or… (0:33:35) Kevin: Cornsturn Day has a big update. laughs (0:33:49) Kevin: It’s also really short, like two sentences. (0:33:53) Kevin: Update coming, no release date. (0:33:54) Al: Okay, so what he said in his first tweet about 1.6 which was “April of this year” okay? (0:34:06) Al: Five months ago he said “There is going to be a StarJ 1.6 update. (0:34:10) Al: It’s mostly changes for modders, which will make it easier and more powerful to mod, but there is also new game content, albeit much less than 1.5.” (0:34:22) Kevin: This- Look, it is much less for a concerned ape by his scape metrics. (0:34:22) Al: Now look at this list. (0:34:24) Al: We have one new major festival, and two mini festivals. (0:34:36) Kevin: Wow, mini, okay! (0:34:37) Al: Right, so that’s just three festivals, right? (0:34:42) Al: Let’s not list it. (0:34:43) Al: You just added three new festivals in this update. (0:34:45) Al: He has added new late game content which expands on each of the skill areas. (0:34:50) Kevin: There’s a lot of skills in this game, so that’s the… (0:34:51) Al: There’s a lot of skills in this game. (0:34:54) Al: New items and crafting recipes. Sure, fine. We don’t know much about that. One of them looks to be a drink. One of them looks to be another warp totem. One is either golf clubs or a bag of worms. (0:35:04) Al: I don’t know. I can’t tell. Oh, could be. Oh, interesting. Is that… I wonder if that would… (0:35:06) Kevin: Quiver arrow arrow quiver Weapon new weapon I could see that (0:35:14) Al: Well, you can… There is no bow and arrow, isn’t there? There’s just… There’s the… (0:35:18) Al: The… What’s it called? The little… The little… The little kind of… What’s Bart Simpson’s thing? (0:35:19) Kevin: And this last I checked, slingshot. (0:35:23) Al: you know the like slingshot. (0:35:24) Al: Interesting arrow. I wonder how much of this is come from like stuff he’s adding into haunted chocolate here and going actually I want to add that into Stardew Valley. (0:35:33) Kevin: Other way around he’s it just adding haunted chocolates here in the Stardew I made the joke on the slack. It’s to start a 2.0 actually (0:35:34) Al: I mean I actually wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up adding if haunted chocolate here was a DLC yes and then we’ve got like I mean honestly I would not be surprised if haunted chocolate here ends up being DLC for Stardew Valley like we’ll all buy it and we’ll all love it. (0:35:54) Al: A hundred plus new lines of dialogue. (0:35:55) Kevin: Yep. (0:35:55) Kevin: That’s a lot of dialogue. (0:35:58) Al: Georgia alternatives to some of the end game quests. (0:36:01) Al: That’s what we’ve already talked about. (0:36:03) Al: Winter outfits for the villain. (0:36:05) Al: Winter outfits for the villagers. (0:36:07) Al: That’s all of the villagers are getting winter outfits. (0:36:09) Al: Now, one could say they should have already been there. (0:36:12) Al: That’s fair enough. (0:36:13) Al: But like that’s not a small thing to add, right? (0:36:17) Kevin: Sure, yes, right. (0:36:17) Al: Unique clothes for every single villager in the game. (0:36:21) Al: New type of reward for completing billboard accrues. (0:36:24) Al: Adding in support for 8 player multiplayer on PC. (0:36:29) Kevin: Oh nothing nothing big there. It’s just a player multiplayer They only on PC to be clear What is left to fall it’s a new farm that specializes in chocolate actually (0:36:30) Al: Just doubling the number of people that can play the game at once. (0:36:36) Al: A new farm! Another new farm! (0:36:42) Al: I don’t… (0:36:51) Al: I just, like, you could say this was small. (0:36:54) Al: If you want, I think you’re talking nonsense, right? (0:36:57) Kevin: I genuinely believe Concerned Ape thinks this is small. (0:36:58) Al: Like… (0:36:58) Al: Oh, I’m sure he does! (0:37:04) Al: I think he’s talking nonsense though. (0:37:06) Al: Like, this is not a small update. (0:37:08) Al: Yeah. (0:37:08) Kevin: And of course, he has the new secrets and more at the end, meaning there’s who knows what else. (0:37:14) Al: Yep. (0:37:16) Al: Do you know, I think he keeps doing this because it just keeps getting people back into the game because now I want to play stardom. (0:37:17) Kevin: It’s a blank check. (0:37:24) Al: So yeah, there’s a lot of stardom stuff coming. He says there’s no date for 1.6 yet and I believe him. (0:37:29) Kevin: Maybe. I mean, there’s winter outfits for you to celebrate. (0:37:39) Al: Well that’s exactly what’s going to happen right? Well for PC anyway, it’ll take a while for consoles but yeah, that’s going to be like “oh yeah, game’s out now”. (0:37:42) Kevin: Yeah, it’ll just look knowing him. It’s just he’s gonna have a tweet. So it’s out. That’s it Yeah (0:37:50) Al: But yeah, that’s going to be like, “Oh yeah, game’s out now.” (0:37:53) Al: You’re like, “Sorry, what?” (0:37:54) Al: There’ll be somebody who will load up Steam the moment it gets updated, (0:38:01) Al: and Concerned Date won’t have tweeted about it yet. (0:38:03) Al: Someone will be like, “Oh, he’s updated the game,” and then Concerned Date will announce it by retweeting that person’s tweet. It’s like, “Oh man, you don’t have to keep giving us this stuff for free right like I know I know we made a lot of money with stargy (0:38:04) Kevin: Oh, oh, oh, absolutely. (0:38:25) Al: right I know i’m sure he is but I mean you know dude’s working dude’s got to get paid like i’m just i’m sure he is (0:38:25) Kevin: I think he still is. (0:38:36) Kevin: I’m I’m not concerned about that. I’m sure he’s making good money Like you said like you said this every time he does this the new one point whatever number That’s that’s that’s sales. That’s absolutely sales Just you watch to just just you way you will eat (0:38:51) Al: I think I already own the game on everything. I don’t think I can buy it again. (0:38:55) Al: I just can’t decide what to play the game on again. Like, do I just continue on Switch? (0:39:03) Al: Do I play it on Steam Deck? Because the update’s probably going to come to Steam first. (0:39:09) Kevin: I don’t know. Well, I mean, yeah, it’s kind of just the first I don’t know. (0:39:09) Al: How good’s the controller I support on Steam? (0:39:19) Al: It was fine. (0:39:23) Kevin: I would like to see when (0:39:27) Al: Crazy. I’m presuming the new farm is to do with that, right? Like instead of four corners, it’s in eight corners. (0:39:33) Al: It does have full controller support on Steam. He did also say in his Steam update, (0:39:44) Al: which is different from the Tweet, he says, “I have no release date for it yet, but it will release it as soon as it’s ready. The content is pretty close to being finished, but then there will (0:39:59) Kevin: Yeah, because he’s on everything now, that tail end of development is a bit, it’s a, it’s a- (0:40:09) Al: Maybe I need to start soon so that I can actually get done with the 1.5 stuff. (0:40:13) Kevin: There you go, yeah, there you go. (0:40:16) Kevin: Look, okay, you’re debating where, here’s what you do. (0:40:18) Kevin: You have one on Switch, one on Steam Deck, (0:40:21) Kevin: one of them is the Jojo Route, one is not. (0:40:23) Kevin: There you go, problem solved. (0:40:28) Kevin: You know, look at that parrot, (0:40:31) Kevin: it’s on a stand with the J on it. (0:40:34) Kevin: You won’t get that if you don’t do Jojo Route. (0:40:41) Kevin: It’s a self-concerned game, not me! (0:40:45) Al: Also, we’ll see whether 1.7 happens or not. (0:40:48) Kevin: Oh, it… it… like… I… (0:40:49) Al: He’s only mentioned 1.7 once and that was in answer to a question as to whether there would be a 1.7 and he said, “Who knows?” (0:40:59) Kevin: I made- again I made the joke on Slack but this is almost as serious as it is a joke. (0:41:05) Kevin: It will outlive a lot of things. (0:41:08) Kevin: These Stardew updates. (0:41:09) Al: I feel like he said 1.5 was the last one, so he kind of already has failed at stopping. (0:41:11) Kevin: This man cannot stop. He’s just one of those people. (0:41:20) Al: Anyway, right, the other big news that we’ve got to talk about. (0:41:24) Al: Oh, so, Tales of the Shire. (0:41:24) Kevin: Something else that won’t stop, Lord of the Rings! (0:41:31) Al: Now, for some reason, and I think we all know the reason, the answer to that, the reason is money, right? (0:41:36) Kevin: money. (0:41:39) Al: But for some money-related reason, Lord of the Rings is making a cottagecore game based in the Shire. (0:41:49) Al: And that’s how you get the best of your own. (0:41:49) Al: I’m not. (0:41:50) Al: We know at this point. What I will say, what I will say is interesting. Weta Workshop are, (0:41:57) Al: it says to, it’s, what’s the other company? Sorry, I’m just trying to look at this again, (0:42:03) Al: because it, so Private Division, I don’t know who they are, but I know that Weta Workshop made physical props for the films. (0:42:17) Kevin: If you that trailer looks like it was filled not the set like I mean it’s a very short trailer just shows the book basically but like it you can see from that one shot like there’s a lot of love for Lord of the Rings here I am very confident that this will be a very good and Lord of the Rings. (0:42:20) Al: Yeah. (0:42:39) Kevin: Well actually actually I’m thinking about this now it’s all in the shire right like there’s a lot of important. (0:42:45) Al: Yes. (0:42:46) Al: Yes. (0:42:47) Kevin: The Lord of the Rings stuff not in the shire and how much of that is going to leak into here can you romance or on. (0:42:51) Al: Well, I’m presuming some people are coming to visit, right? (0:42:56) Al: No. (0:42:58) Kevin: I. (0:43:01) Al: So, games, the private division have worked on or with Hades. (0:43:12) Al: They worked with Supergiant Games on Hades. (0:43:13) Kevin: Oh. Oh boy. (0:43:16) Al: Ollie Ollie World. (0:43:17) Al: Skateboarding game. It’s very good. (0:43:22) Kevin: Okay, oh That’s a that’s a good one Good heavens these this is the good resume (0:43:24) Al: The Outer Worlds. (0:43:25) Al: Kerbal Space Program Enhanced Edition. (0:43:31) Al: And they’re making Tales of the Shire with Weta Workshop. (0:43:38) Al: Well, the interesting thing is, the point is, Weta Workshop have done Lord of the Rings stuff. (0:43:44) Al: Like they are, they did physically. (0:43:45) Al: This is supposed weird, they made physical, they’re not a game developer. (0:43:50) Al: They are so, so, so there we go. (0:43:51) Kevin: No, but they’re Lord of the Rings people. (0:43:54) Kevin: That’s what private division is for. (0:43:56) Kevin: They’re Lord of the… Yeah. (0:43:58) Kevin: Yeah, to be clear… (0:43:58) Al: Well, so it looks like Private Division are a publisher, not a developer. (0:44:01) Kevin: Oh, well, well, look. (0:44:03) Al: That’s fine. (0:44:04) Al: So they’re not, they are, that is correct. (0:44:05) Kevin: Weta Workshop is from New Zealand, I believe, if I’m not mistaken. (0:44:09) Kevin: Okay, well, New Zealand, I… (0:44:12) Kevin: I say somewhat jokingly, somewhat seriously. (0:44:15) Kevin: There is an appreciable amount of their GDP That is from Lord of the Rings! (0:44:21) Kevin: I am confident this will get the love and attention it deserves. (0:44:21) Al: I’m just, I am just fascinating. (0:44:26) Kevin: And it’s a lot of the rings, man. (0:44:35) Kevin: Well… (0:44:36) Al: Look, this is going to be dangerous, right? Because I love Lord of the Rings and I love Kochiko Games. I’m really worried about this. (0:44:37) Kevin: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. (0:44:44) Kevin: I think the expression of “I just want to be a hobbit” in the last video is… (0:44:51) Kevin: A little shire is a very common sentiment among people in general. (0:45:04) Al: 2024 to PC and console. I don’t think they’ve said (0:45:12) Kevin: I like how we’re excited, we have no idea what it’s gonna be like, like, no! (0:45:14) Al: It doesn’t matter, we know, we know what, like I, I trust that this will be good. (0:45:17) Kevin: Oh, I do too? No, I fully agree, I just, I just think it’s funny, like, that’s how confident we are in this project. (0:45:25) Al: Yeah. Yeah. (0:45:28) Kevin: That we don’t need any details, we’re gonna get it, and it’s gonna be good, and… (0:45:28) Al: I mean, that trailer looked good. (0:45:33) Kevin: You alright? There you go. (0:45:36) Al: So, yeah. (0:45:37) Al: Hopefully, we’ll find out soon. (0:45:42) Al: I sincerely hope so. (0:45:43) Kevin: can you have second breakfast argue right right okay okay yes yes all right (0:45:48) Al: Oh, shall we talk about Meneko’s Nightmark? (0:45:59) Al: I realised I hadn’t actually written down what things were going to talk about, so I’m just like frantically thinking up things. (0:46:06) Kevin: Well, as always, let’s start with the context of where we’re coming from. (0:46:13) Kevin: As you said earlier, you’re playing on Steam Deck, I’m playing on Switch, I’m interested to hear the comparison there. (0:46:21) Kevin: What are your overall thoughts, opinions? (0:46:25) Al: Yes, I like this game. I have some comments on things I would improve. (0:46:37) Kevin: There are definitely issues… small, like… (0:46:39) Al: Well, small in so much as like, it depends how you define a small. So one of the things I have noticed is that every loading screen is very long. (0:46:53) Kevin: Okay, I okay. Are we just gonna get into this like the bad because like All right. All right. Okay. I was yes loading This is probably the number one big issue loading times are Atrocious like I thought I was wondering if it was just a switch port, but okay, so it’s not okay Okay, I want to My very first thought about this game when I played it (0:46:55) Al: Let’s just go for it. Let’s get the bad out of the way so we can talk about the good, right? Let’s let’s go for it. (0:47:02) Al: Yeah. Yeah. (0:47:09) Al: It is not. It is the same on Steam Deck. (0:47:23) Kevin: So when you started you get the loading screen and it’s like mineko running in the corner but there’s no music or anything and I Genuinely thought my game had frozen as I soon as I’d started cuz the necker stopped moving [laughing] (0:47:28) Al: Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like there’s something weird in terms of like, there, (0:47:44) Al: cause yeah, there’s some freezes and stuff as well, which sometimes can be a bit stressful. (0:47:46) Kevin: Yep. (0:47:47) Al: We are like, Oh no, have I lost my day? No, I haven’t. I have not lost any data. Um, (0:47:48) Kevin: Ee-eesh. (0:47:49) Kevin: Yeah. (0:47:55) Al: That’s not true, there was one, what happened? (0:47:58) Al: I can’t remember, there was one case where I had to restart and I lost the day, (0:48:01) Al: and I can’t remember what that was. Did I write it in Slack? (0:48:04) Al: Oh yes, no, I remember, I remember, I remember, there’s a button on the controller remapping where you can click it and it deletes all of your mapping so you can’t do anything with the game. (0:48:04) Kevin: I don’t… I mean, yeah… (0:48:08) Kevin: See, okay, my… oh, okay, so… (0:48:11) Kevin: Yeah. (0:48:15) Kevin: Yes. (0:48:19) Al: So if you click that button, which annoyingly the button is labeled default, so I can– (0:48:21) Kevin: Oh my god, are you see… (0:48:28) Al: I kind of thought that would set it to the default, right? (0:48:30) Al: Because I’d changed a few things and I was like, “All right, well, let me reset it to the default.” (0:48:34) Al: But the default is nothing. (0:48:34) Kevin: Ohhh… (0:48:36) Al: But the problem is then, I have no controls. Nothing worked. (0:48:36) Kevin: Ohhh yeah! (0:48:40) Al: So thankfully, it didn’t autosave, right? (0:48:42) Kevin: Yes, witches! (0:

Jonnie and Kev talk about Smushi Come Home Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:03:40: What Have We Been Up To 00:10:43: News 00:27:36: Smushi Come Home 00:39:13: Spoilers For Smushi Come Home 00:56:09: Outro Links Coral Island Merfolk and Fall Update Spirit of The Island DLC Research Story 0.5 Update Research Story Roadmap My Time at Sandrock Trailer Haunted Chocolatier Screenshot Usagi Shima Smushi Come Home on Steam Smushi Come Home on Switch Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript [00:00.000 –> 00:11.440] 2. [00:11.440 –> 00:36.800] Hello farmers, welcome to the harvest season where we talk about cottagecore games, should [00:36.800 –> 00:39.920] we still call them farmers if we’re going off that rant? [00:39.920 –> 00:44.240] Yes, yes, we’ve covered this many times, but they’re still farmers, definitely still [00:44.240 –> 00:49.680] farmers. Except for that one month when they weren’t farmers and they were anglers. [00:49.680 –> 00:55.040] Yeah, that’s true. I’m trying to think, where’s the Venn diagram not overlap of farmers and [00:55.040 –> 00:58.480] cottagecore? I’m guessing like, big industrial factory farmers? [01:01.280 –> 01:05.200] Um, alright, hi, I’m Kevin, and this is Johnny. [01:05.840 –> 01:06.340] Hi. [01:07.280 –> 01:12.880] We’re here to, yeah, the cottagecore, I said that already, um, Al’s not here so you know, [01:12.880 –> 01:17.120] this is going off the rails already. I really want a cottagecore industrial [01:17.120 –> 01:24.240] farming game, I bet someone can make it happen. I mean, Let’s Build a Zoo has that option. [01:26.160 –> 01:28.640] There we go, already solved, it’s already out there. [01:28.640 –> 01:36.800] It’s already on the way, um, gosh, what was that Pokemon knockoff game that was putting [01:36.800 –> 01:42.720] them in a factory, I had to look it up, I can’t remember, there was some Pokemon knockoff that [01:42.720 –> 01:47.760] kind of had cottagecore vibes, but then there was this weird bit where they were also in factories [01:47.760 –> 01:53.040] and being put to work, and I don’t know. So I had this, I was thinking about this [01:53.120 –> 01:56.080] the other day, this is like, we’re already way off the rails, but I need to share this. [01:56.800 –> 02:00.320] When you, in Pokemon, you send, you know, you send your Pokemon to the professor when you’re [02:00.320 –> 02:04.080] kind of getting rid of them now, that’s the sort of established thing, and I was thinking like, [02:04.080 –> 02:10.720] what does the professor do with them? And my current theory is that the professors are actually [02:10.720 –> 02:16.320] eating the Pokemon, so they’re like chefs, because like, they’re not, they don’t have space to store [02:16.320 –> 02:21.520] all of them, like they’re not storing them, so my theory is that they’re trying to cook the Pokemon. [02:22.080 –> 02:28.960] I mean, I’m pretty sure the popular theory early on in Go was they get grinded down to make the [02:28.960 –> 02:34.800] candies. See? Maybe that’s how, maybe so in the games where you just send them to the professor, [02:34.800 –> 02:39.680] it’s so that they could develop the candy making process. Yeah, there you go, it works, [02:40.240 –> 02:46.560] that’s, and that’s, that’s how they get stronger, like, it has all the nutrients they need, [02:47.280 –> 02:53.680] on the other ones. And also strong cannibalism overtones. Yep, there you go. Ah, so, [02:54.800 –> 02:59.760] yeah, welcome to our, uh, there’s the official harvest season stance on cannibalism. [03:01.200 –> 03:05.600] Well, actually, it probably won’t be the last time that cannibalism comes up this episode. [03:05.600 –> 03:10.640] No, wait, what, this episode? This episode! I was about to say, in general, no, but okay, [03:11.360 –> 03:14.640] all right, I mean, it’s not the first time cannibalism has come up either, [03:15.360 –> 03:23.360] um, called the little lamb had cannibalism as an option, um, all right then, um, uh, so we’re gonna, [03:23.360 –> 03:29.760] you know how we do, we’re talking about the news and stuff, and, uh, a game with, uh, well, I don’t, [03:29.760 –> 03:34.720] I don’t think, I can’t recall any cannibalism in it, uh, Smooshy Come Home, um, that’s our [03:34.720 –> 03:41.360] featured game of the day, um, and, uh, yeah, we’ll get to that later, um, but before that, [03:41.360 –> 03:45.920] Johnny, what have you been up to? What have I been up to? Uh, so Cassette Beasts, [03:45.920 –> 03:49.840] uh, I think I talked about last time I was on the podcast, I love Cassette Beasts, uh, [03:49.840 –> 03:53.360] I’ve pretty much done everything there is to do in Cassette Beasts, but there’s, like, [03:53.360 –> 03:56.800] I really enjoy the shiny hunting, um, in that game, which they call bootlegs, [03:57.360 –> 04:03.760] um, and they’ve got some DLC that’s coming out soon, um, I don’t know what’s in it, like, [04:03.760 –> 04:08.400] I, I very explicitly, like, try not to look at what’s in these sorts of things, because I just [04:08.400 –> 04:15.040] want to be excited and experience it, um, so I’m very excited to play even more Cassette Beasts. [04:15.920 –> 04:22.560] Well, I mean, I’m, so I’ve, uh, I will be getting to Cassette Beasts very soon, I have, [04:22.560 –> 04:29.120] uh, been whittling away at, uh, my life and organizing things to get to that point, um, [04:29.120 –> 04:35.280] I think I’ll play the, the Scarlet Violet DLC to hurt myself, and then I’ll feel better when [04:35.280 –> 04:39.680] I play Cassette Beasts. I’m like, oh, that, that’s what it should be. I don’t even know, [04:39.680 –> 04:44.640] like, when the Scarlet Violet DLC is coming out. I’m pretty sure it’s this week. Nor do I care. [04:44.640 –> 04:48.320] Yeah, that’s fine. Because the other game that I’ve been playing, which is gonna suck up all [04:48.320 –> 04:53.440] of my time, is Starfield. More like Snorefield, am I right? And that’s not true, I’ve heard it’s [04:53.440 –> 05:00.400] decent, actually. So Starfield is, uh, I guess before I say anything else, I think a lot of the [05:00.400 –> 05:05.280] commentary online is kind of just terrible and overly negative. That being out of the way, [05:05.280 –> 05:11.280] I found getting started with Starfield difficult, like, it lacked kind of the thing I like most [05:11.280 –> 05:16.480] about games like Skyrim, where, you know, you kind of get the, the world that opens up to you, [05:16.480 –> 05:21.520] and you can kind of just pick a direction and walk in that direction and find stuff and do stuff. [05:21.520 –> 05:27.520] The space travel aspect makes it a lot harder to do that, so I actually got kind of like [05:27.520 –> 05:33.520] five or six hours in, and then I made the call to restart, and that was a really good call, [05:33.520 –> 05:38.000] because I kind of knew how all of the systems worked, I kind of knew what I wanted to [05:38.560 –> 05:44.240] start my character off as, and I kind of found a bunch of things that I’d skipped over the first [05:44.240 –> 05:48.000] time, because I kind of just, like, I was just trying to work stuff out, and I didn’t really [05:48.000 –> 05:52.320] know that certain things were there or that I could interact with certain things, and so I’ve [05:52.320 –> 05:57.120] been really enjoying it kind of since I restarted and kind of have a better idea for what I’m doing, [05:57.120 –> 06:03.200] and, yeah, really feel like it’s, like, if you like Bethesda games, you will probably like this [06:03.200 –> 06:09.760] Bethesda game, but it does take a little bit more to get into, I think, than the likes of Skyrim. [06:10.640 –> 06:13.280] Is it Skyrim in space? Is that what it feels like? [06:14.160 –> 06:19.680] Yes, so to me it feels more Skyrim than space than, like, closer to Fallout, because I’m not [06:19.680 –> 06:24.960] really a Fallout fan, I don’t particularly like the combat in Fallout, I don’t particularly [06:25.680 –> 06:36.080] like Fallout as a world, where I find, like, Starfield to me feels more Skyrim-esque, I guess. [06:36.720 –> 06:43.200] Okay, all right, that’s, that’s, I mean, it’s a big game, so, like, [06:45.600 –> 06:53.280] but that’s cool, I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I didn’t think it was gonna do well when it came [06:53.280 –> 06:59.520] out, I thought it was gonna be a trash fire, but I’m glad that it’s actually come out okay for people. [07:00.800 –> 07:05.120] Yeah, it seems like a good one of those games. I think part of the problem, right, [07:05.120 –> 07:09.760] I was thinking about, like, you know, why people are so negative, I think space is just hard to do [07:10.640 –> 07:16.480] as a game, because I think what space means is a lot of different things to a lot of different [07:16.480 –> 07:21.440] people, right? Some people really want to engage with, like, ships and ship combat and have that [07:21.440 –> 07:26.880] be really deep and really interesting. Some people want, you know, complex world building with aliens [07:26.880 –> 07:31.760] and, you know, lots of different lore about, you know, different races interacting with each other, [07:32.720 –> 07:36.800] you know, and some people want just, like, basically space Star Wars, and all of those [07:36.800 –> 07:41.840] things are very different, and you could not put all three of those into one game, so I think [07:41.840 –> 07:48.800] that’s one of the challenges with making stuff in space. Sure, sure, it is, and, I mean, I guess, [07:48.800 –> 07:52.480] like, for me, you’re absolutely right, I haven’t even thought about that, like, I guess I like [07:52.480 –> 07:57.200] space, I guess I’d never think about it that deeply, but, I mean, because space is cool, [07:57.200 –> 08:03.360] of course, but even without the space, well, not with the space context, like, [08:03.360 –> 08:10.320] the well had been poisoned a little bit already, right? I mean, we’re talking, we got Fallout 76, [08:10.320 –> 08:18.880] right, that’s one of the memorable ones from Bethesda’s recently, we had No Man’s Sky, [08:18.880 –> 08:24.320] the other big space game, right, and that was Travesty when it came out, and wasn’t Starfield [08:24.320 –> 08:29.120] the one that was in early access for, like, ever? I honestly don’t remember, I barely pay attention [08:29.120 –> 08:33.840] to, like, early access of what’s going on for games outside of the cottagecore industry, it’s [08:33.840 –> 08:37.200] kind of like, they launch, and then, you know, whenever they hit the big hype thing, then I’m [08:37.200 –> 08:43.120] like, cool, I’ll jump into this, or I won’t, like, that’s, I don’t really pay that much attention to [08:43.120 –> 08:48.880] what’s in early access or not, because there’s too many cottagecore games, I can’t pay attention to [08:49.520 –> 08:55.040] seeing everything else. Yeah, no, I think that was… Oh, you might be thinking of Baldur’s Gate 3, [08:55.040 –> 09:00.880] that was in early access features. Maybe, I could be, I don’t know. Um, all right, but that’s cool, there you go, [09:00.880 –> 09:05.280] Starfield. Yeah, anyway, it’s like, for me, it’s like, I think if you like Bethesda games, there is a [09:05.280 –> 09:10.400] high likelihood that you will enjoy Starfield, and if you don’t like Bethesda games, then there’s [09:10.400 –> 09:15.280] a high likelihood that you won’t enjoy Starfield, because it’s a Bethesda game made by Bethesda, so [09:16.000 –> 09:22.880] um, it’s cool, I’m having fun with it. Kev, what have you been up to? Uh, good question, nothing of [09:24.160 –> 09:31.920] too much interest, my usual stuff, uh, Marvel Snap, seems to be Marvel Snap. Are you, are you, are you [09:31.920 –> 09:37.760] low-key-ing things up? Not yet, I’m, I’ve been contemplating, because, uh, that’s a really [09:37.760 –> 09:44.800] interesting card, a very chaotic card, right, and I like that concept. It’s a very powerful card as [09:44.880 –> 09:51.440] well. It is, um, yeah, I know, I need to look at the builds for that, I’ve just been going with [09:51.440 –> 09:57.920] my usual stuff, um, that game has been in a great place for a long time, it’s, it’s, I’m, I’m wary [09:57.920 –> 10:04.880] that the game continues doing this good, um, but yeah, that’s just my addiction, uh, Pokemon Unite, [10:04.880 –> 10:10.640] also the other addiction when I’m on the Switch, um, Mewtwo continues to be absurdly broken, [10:11.200 –> 10:16.000] and, uh, I mean, I, I still keep up, it is just my comfort game right now, Story of Seasons, [10:16.000 –> 10:22.960] um, the Wonderful Life remake. I am about to hit year five, um, well, well, well past whatever I [10:22.960 –> 10:29.040] made, um, and my kid is a teen, and boy, I, boy, teens are the worst, let me tell you. [10:31.200 –> 10:37.200] Um, aside from that, really, I just talked about Smooshy, that’s, that’s the big one, [10:38.000 –> 10:42.880] um, because that was this week, so yeah, that, that’s what we’ve been up to, [10:43.520 –> 10:48.000] so with that, let’s just dive into the new, shall we, and, uh, we can make this a literal dive, [10:48.000 –> 10:52.320] because the first one up is Coral Island, yay, all right, what is, what’s going on, [10:52.320 –> 10:58.880] Coral Island, we have an update, uh, it’s out now already, we have, let’s see, I don’t know what the [10:58.880 –> 11:04.720] video is, it’s Merfolk and Fall Update, that’s what I see off the bat, yeah, so there’s a new, [11:05.120 –> 11:11.120] or the next part of the story quest, like, a whole bunch of new features that you kind of [11:11.120 –> 11:16.800] won’t list, like, it just feels like sort of the next wave of stuff that you would likely expect [11:16.800 –> 11:22.480] to be in a Cottagecore game, um, uh, nothing massively stands out other than the fact that, [11:22.480 –> 11:26.480] you know, like, Merfolk, so there’s some, you know, water-based stuff, and, you know, [11:26.480 –> 11:31.520] I haven’t really played Coral Island, so it’s hard to get too deep into what it is, but it, [11:32.240 –> 11:37.040] sorry, go ahead, no, I just, I haven’t either, um, I haven’t played it either, and I’m just, [11:37.040 –> 11:43.280] I’m mostly curious, what do the Merfolk look like, is it, are they usual human half-fish bottom, or, [11:43.920 –> 11:48.480] are they going to be brave and do the opposite, that’s an excellent question, I do not know, [11:48.480 –> 11:54.880] um, but potentially the most exciting, uh, update that they’ve got is, um, an auto-chest, so the, [11:54.880 –> 12:00.800] the automation, um, in this game looks fantastic, uh, and basically I think all of the linked [12:00.800 –> 12:06.000] machines you can link to a chest that automatically collects the items, so, um, [12:06.000 –> 12:09.360] this game looks like it’s going hard with the automation, which seems pretty exciting. [12:10.000 –> 12:14.880] That, yeah, that tweet they have looks like, I mean, there’s a conveyor belt and chest, [12:14.880 –> 12:19.360] and they’re all linked, it’s pretty, wow, that, that looks right up Al’s alley, that’s, [12:19.360 –> 12:22.640] that’s a hardcore, and I think the cool thing, because my impression of the conveyor belt is [12:22.640 –> 12:28.480] it looks like it’s water, so it’s maybe like a water chute that’s carrying the, the strawberries, [12:28.640 –> 12:33.840] you’re ready to see that curve, um, which feels like a cool cottage call way of doing a conveyor [12:33.840 –> 12:41.760] belt, yeah, yeah, that’s pretty cool, um, that is neat to see, like, just to think about, well, [12:41.760 –> 12:48.160] I’m biased, the last job I had was conveyor stuff, so I now look at this stuff with interest, um, [12:49.200 –> 12:55.760] and then there’s a, um, charity cosmetics pack, uh, that you can purchase, so that comes out on [12:55.760 –> 13:02.400] September 12th, so it should be out, uh, when this, um, when this episode drops, uh, it’s out [13:02.400 –> 13:08.880] for a limited time, it’s, uh, five what I assume are American dollars, uh, and it’s got, looks like, [13:08.880 –> 13:15.760] uh, sort of save the ocean outfit, um, and a chest, there might be, uh, one or two other things, [13:15.760 –> 13:22.320] and, um, I’m assuming that means it goes to charity, although on the way this tweet is [13:22.320 –> 13:29.840] written, it’s not entirely clear who, like, who it would go to, Coral Guardian, I think it’s, [13:29.840 –> 13:35.520] like, the first one on the tweet, uh, unlike the first comment, let’s see, it’s in Coral Guardian, [13:35.520 –> 13:41.520] which is a non-profit organization dedicated to, uh, coral conference, coral ecosystem [13:41.520 –> 13:47.040] conservations, um, right, and things like that, so there you go, they’re working to save the sea, [13:47.680 –> 13:53.520] um, oh, coral reefs are cool, that’s good, go, go, go buy a thing, help save the sea, I like that, [13:53.520 –> 14:00.880] um, and yeah, there’s also fall update spooky stuff, Halloweeny stuff’s coming out, it looks [14:00.880 –> 14:08.800] like, um, but yeah, so there’s the, you can check the show notes, oh, I forgot, at the beginning, [14:08.800 –> 14:15.200] you can always see the, the, the links in the show notes, and the transcripts, as always, [14:15.200 –> 14:21.680] in the show notes, there, I said it, Al, you can relax now, um, let’s see, uh, so yeah, [14:21.680 –> 14:25.760] that’s Coral Island, um, yeah, you can see all the details on their Steam page for the update, [14:25.760 –> 14:28.800] or their Twitter account, or just click on the show, the links in the show notes, [14:30.400 –> 14:37.840] now, from Coral Island, we, Island hop on over to Moonstone Island, uh, let’s see, [14:37.840 –> 14:47.120] it is coming soon, September 20th is our PC and Mac release date, uh, yeah, so last, last week, [14:47.120 –> 14:52.560] um, uh, I think you guys mentioned that, uh, so this, we knew the September 20th date, but we [14:52.560 –> 14:58.560] didn’t know, uh, if that was all consoles or not, so it’s just the PC and Mac, and it’s coming to [14:58.560 –> 15:05.920] Switch later, so, you know, whatever that means, um, uh, but good to see they’re also aiming for [15:05.920 –> 15:14.960] Steam Deck Verification, um, yeah, yeah, there’s, uh, I’m just looking at the art they post, [15:14.960 –> 15:18.720] is that, there’s a fishbowl with legs, it looks like, I want to know what that’s about, [15:19.280 –> 15:29.520] um, but, uh, but yeah, there’s also, um, they’re tweeting up, hyping up, they got some non-binary [15:29.520 –> 15:34.960] characters in the game, and trans, um, so yeah, there’s your representation, that’s good stuff, [15:34.960 –> 15:39.760] good on them, um, Cottagecore always pushing, if you, you definitely feel like Cottagecore [15:39.760 –> 15:45.040] is a genre that’s always pushing, that’s part of it, um, I think that’s part of, [15:45.040 –> 15:50.640] you know, what, what we like about the genre, right, is it’s the sort of overlap between, [15:50.640 –> 15:56.240] you know, um, inclusiveness, doing the right thing, you know, between, uh, Coral Island, [15:56.240 –> 15:59.600] you know, releasing a water update and, and putting a little, together a little cosmetic [15:59.600 –> 16:05.360] pack to donate to a related charity, you know, really promoting the inclusion of, um, [16:05.360 –> 16:09.600] uh, sorry, Moose Island, really promoting the inclusion of non-binary and trans characters, [16:09.600 –> 16:15.920] I think is, is really awesome, um, particularly, I guess, you know, um, in the past week, we’re not, [16:15.920 –> 16:20.000] I don’t want to delve into it too much, but some of the commentary around Starfield having the [16:20.000 –> 16:25.200] horrific option of letting people choose their pronouns, oh my gosh, I saw that tweet, just [16:26.000 –> 16:31.920] some of the stupid over-the-top reactions to a choice that just makes the game more inclusive [16:31.920 –> 16:39.040] for more people has been really disappointing, so just to see, you know, smaller publishers [16:39.040 –> 16:43.760] not afraid to promote these things in their games, because it’s one of the things, right, it’s, it’s [16:44.480 –> 16:51.760] a hard space for particularly small companies given, you know, you look at what’s happened [16:51.760 –> 16:56.080] where some businesses, you know, there’s boycotts and all sorts of things, like it’s, it’s not [16:56.080 –> 17:01.920] zero risk for them to, to promote, um, this sort of stuff, it’s, you know, disgusting that, [17:01.920 –> 17:07.920] that’s the case, but, um, yeah, I just think these sorts of things should be, um, celebrated. [17:08.800 –> 17:15.280] Yeah, no, absolutely, much more well put than I am, than I said it, um, yeah, no, I, I fully agree, [17:15.280 –> 17:24.320] and it, yeah, it is a big deal for sure, um, and as Al pointed out in the Slack chat, like, even [17:24.320 –> 17:32.560] among cottagecore, I don’t think we’ve gotten that many, like, at least NPC types of, uh, [17:33.600 –> 17:39.200] non-binary trans, I can’t recall of any off the top of my head, other than Kim and Wildflowers, [17:39.920 –> 17:44.240] um, yeah, I couldn’t, I couldn’t recall of any either, and I think it’s one of those things that [17:44.240 –> 17:49.120] I expect we’ll see more of, but we’ve mostly seen it in letting player characters sort of [17:49.680 –> 17:57.520] make those choices, um, for their own character, but we haven’t seen a lot of that in, in PCs. [17:57.520 –> 18:05.120] Yep, so there you go, um, hats off to you, uh, Moonstone Island, that’s the one, yeah, [18:05.120 –> 18:12.080] the, I am checking, because our next one is another island, Spirit of the Island, uh, we [18:12.160 –> 18:19.360] have got an update, uh, Adventureland DLC, it’s coming out October 3rd, [18:20.400 –> 18:26.640] let’s see, what is in this update? So you can, um, create new amusements and sort of monetize [18:26.640 –> 18:35.760] your land, um, so kind of make, I guess, uh, a little, um, uh, theme park, um, but probably, [18:35.760 –> 18:40.000] you know, the, the more interesting piece of this, this bit of news is a bit of a road map, [18:40.000 –> 18:46.720] uh, around the future for Spirit of the Island, so they’ve got the, um, Adventureland DLC, [18:46.720 –> 18:52.000] they’ve got a big storyline update also planned to be coming, um, at the start of October, [18:52.000 –> 18:58.640] uh, it sounds like that’s independent from the DLC, um, it seems a bit, because it seems like [18:58.640 –> 19:02.240] the storyline is making them sort of feature complete, but it’s separate to the DLC, it’s [19:02.240 –> 19:07.760] just very confusing that those two things are sort of releasing at the same time, um, but probably [19:07.760 –> 19:13.040] the most exciting thing is for Q4, uh, of this year, uh, they’ve got console releases planned [19:13.040 –> 19:18.800] for PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, which is, um, which is very exciting, more stuff coming to [19:18.800 –> 19:25.280] consoles is good, um, and then some cross-platform release, uh, with a mobile version of the game in [19:25.280 –> 19:36.560] Q1 of next year. Yeah, it should be noted that, um, they are going for cross-play between all [19:36.640 –> 19:44.160] platforms, but not cross-save, from what I’m understanding, okay, um, yeah, yeah, yeah, [19:44.160 –> 19:49.520] you can’t move a saved file, okay, then I guess you can move your character and join them, but [19:49.520 –> 19:55.360] your own save file, you can’t, uh, move between consoles, or platforms, whatever, um, but, you [19:55.360 –> 20:00.880] know, there’s still cross-play, so that’s cool, um, so yeah, that, there’s some big stuff coming, [20:00.880 –> 20:06.160] and like I said, once they’re feature complete with, uh, this, or the update on October 3rd, [20:06.160 –> 20:11.840] they’ll be focusing on just new quality of life, and bug fixes, and so on, and so forth, so [20:12.720 –> 20:21.280] there you go, uh, coming soon to Spirit of the Island. Next up, we have one of our favorites, [20:21.840 –> 20:32.240] Research Story, um, they, uh, is this out already? Let me make sure, uh, because they are at the, uh, [20:32.240 –> 20:38.640] mid-autumn festival, with, uh, let’s see, a new soundtrack, and, oh, just a whole bunch of new [20:38.640 –> 20:47.200] stuff for the fall festival type event, um, let’s see here, they’re working on a beta with, uh, [20:47.200 –> 20:54.160] Simplified Chinese, and, uh, let’s see, a road map as well, hold on, I’m scrolling down the Steam [20:54.160 –> 20:59.360] page, I’m looking over these, uh, not, not much on the, the road map, they’re just working on [20:59.360 –> 21:05.360] some of their stuff around, um, uh, NPCs and stuff, but for me this is kind of just like a, [21:05.360 –> 21:10.640] a good next step in their, uh, are they calling it beta or early access? Whichever, whichever thing [21:10.640 –> 21:16.320] that they are in, um, you know, still in early access is, you know, version 0.5, so it looks [21:16.320 –> 21:21.840] like good progress, and I am still, you know, kind of just waiting for 1.0. All right, yeah, [21:21.840 –> 21:28.240] there you go, um, yeah, no, I get it, there’s a lot they’re working on, but it looks like it’s [21:28.240 –> 21:38.400] going at a good pace, so good on you, research story, uh, and okay, next up we have My Time at [21:38.400 –> 21:45.920] Sandrock, we have a new trailer, uh, let’s see, I, I’m actually just watching for the first time, [21:47.120 –> 21:53.200] so when I watched the trailer, like, I didn’t see anything that looked that new or unexpected from [21:53.200 –> 21:58.880] what I was expecting, so, um, just, uh, for clarity, My Time at Sandrock is the My Time at [21:58.880 –> 22:04.320] Portia, you know, or the next game from the developers, um, of My Time at Portia, uh, [22:05.440 –> 22:10.080] I really hated My Time at Portia, and I really think I should not play My Time at Sandrock, [22:10.080 –> 22:16.560] but the trailer looks really, really good, it looks really good, like, just everything about [22:16.560 –> 22:22.800] this game is very distinct, it just looks like a very good cottagecore game, which is [22:22.800 –> 22:26.560] exactly what I thought about My Time at Portia, so I’m very nervous, but I think I’m gonna have [22:26.560 –> 22:30.800] to give this a go, and I really like the more western-style setting, I think it’s a [22:31.360 –> 22:39.040] cool, unique setting for a cottagecore game. Yeah, I agree, um, yeah, no, I agree, but I mean, [22:39.040 –> 22:45.040] we got tumbleweeds actually going through the town, that’s great, um, and, and yeah, we got [22:45.040 –> 22:51.840] desert plateaus and mesas and all that good stuff, um, we have, I don’t know if the date, [22:51.840 –> 23:00.160] the trailer’s saying November 2nd, we have, uh, the 1.0 release, uh, and it will be on [23:00.160 –> 23:07.200] pretty much everything, the Xboxes, the PS5, the Steam and the Switch, all that good stuff, um, [23:08.640 –> 23:16.560] yeah, so that will be here before we know it, um, and something that will probably not be here [23:16.560 –> 23:25.280] before we know it, um, we got, uh, ConcernedApe with his usual, uh, one sentence followed by a [23:25.280 –> 23:30.560] screenshot of a haunted chocolatier, there’s a guy having a terrible dream, he’s an old man [23:30.560 –> 23:39.200] looking guy, that’s it, that’s the tweet, um, oh, Concerned, it’s hard to get mad at ConcernedApe [23:39.200 –> 23:46.160] with his, his continual drip feed of just random screenshots and comments considering, like, [23:46.800 –> 23:53.440] work on Stardew Valley is still going on and, and whatnot, um, but I think we all still have a lot [23:53.440 –> 24:00.000] of faith in him and, you know, there’s plenty of games in the beat in, uh, to play in the meantime, [24:00.000 –> 24:04.080] so I’m not in any hurry for Haunted Chocolatier, I just find it funny how he posts that every now [24:04.080 –> 24:08.480] then. Yeah, I’ve just decided Haunted Chocolatier is not real until it actually comes out, [24:09.440 –> 24:16.480] like, it could just be ConcernedApe just making random screens of stuff and posting that, [24:16.480 –> 24:21.120] that’s, that’s what I choose to believe until we see some actual gameplay. You know, that’s fine, [24:21.120 –> 24:28.160] um, something that’s very real is, uh, our, the next game we’re talking about, [24:28.800 –> 24:38.400] Usagi Shima, um, so this is a, what is wholesome, I’m confused by what wholesome games is, um, [24:38.480 –> 24:41.360] because I know it’s the Direct and whatnot, but is it an actual company? [24:42.880 –> 24:47.920] I don’t know anymore, like, I, I, I thought it was just a Twitter account. [24:49.440 –> 24:55.440] Um, regardless, anyways, Usagi Shima is a game available on the Google Play and App Store, [24:56.080 –> 25:03.200] um, where you collect bunnies, uh, and they are very cute bunnies, some of them, [25:04.000 –> 25:07.360] well, no, most of them are pretty round, but then they’ll, they will move around, [25:08.160 –> 25:12.960] um, you can put hats on them, uh, you’re collecting these, oh my gosh, you can put some [25:12.960 –> 25:20.160] in beds, it’s got a very, very pretty art style, um, kind of like the, you know, the [25:21.200 –> 25:27.120] ancient Japanese scroll type style, like Okami, that, that sort of art direction. [25:28.000 –> 25:33.280] Yeah, that’s exactly what it reminds me of. Have you played, uh, have you given it a go yet? [25:33.920 –> 25:35.040] What, Okami? [25:35.040 –> 25:35.760] Uh, Usagi Shima. [25:35.760 –> 25:38.880] Oh, oh, Usagi, oh, no I have not, have you? [25:39.440 –> 25:44.560] Yes, yes, so, um, I downloaded it this morning, maybe an hour before we started recording, [25:44.560 –> 25:49.120] uh, and you kind of just, you know, you buy decorations, you put them on your land, [25:49.120 –> 25:53.040] and they attract bunnies, and bunnies have different things that they’re attracted to, [25:53.040 –> 25:57.040] and they will leave you a tip in carrots so that you can buy more stuff to kind of [25:57.040 –> 26:01.120] collect the bunnies, so it’s a really nice little cycle for a mobile game. [26:02.000 –> 26:10.640] Um, it’s free to play, um, free to play, and you kind of can, uh, so there’s two forms of [26:10.640 –> 26:16.720] monetization, um, you can double some of the carrots you get as rewards by watching ads, [26:17.040 –> 26:23.360] or you can just pay to remove the ads directly, uh, which is kind of awesome, like, it’s a really, [26:24.080 –> 26:28.160] uh, it’s a good form of monetization, I guess, for a mobile game. [26:28.720 –> 26:36.480] Yeah, it is, um, and four dollars seems like the right price, um, because the gameplay doesn’t seem [26:36.480 –> 26:41.280] particularly deep, it’s mostly collected in place and look at the pretty thing, but, [26:42.080 –> 26:45.840] boy, this is so cute, this, these bunnies are so cute, and everything they’re doing, [26:45.840 –> 26:50.960] there’s one sunbathing, there’s one playing at the beach ball, um, it’s very, very cute, [26:51.600 –> 26:57.920] um, yeah, I prob- oh gosh, do I- there are too many good things out right now that are too close [26:57.920 –> 27:03.040] to Maneko’s Night Market, I can’t, can’t handle this. See, this is a good one, because it’s a [27:03.040 –> 27:07.360] sort of like, you know, you play for five minutes and then there’s nothing else to do, and then you [27:07.360 –> 27:12.320] can put it back down, so you should definitely play this. Alright, well, there you go, I’ll try [27:12.400 –> 27:19.680] it, he’s convinced me, um, so yeah, there you go, that, uh, that is out, like I said, it’s out now [27:19.680 –> 27:25.120] already, um, several people we know are already getting it, and I, I, they seem to be enjoying it, [27:25.120 –> 27:34.560] so, uh, it’s like, yeah, uh, go get it peoples. Uh, and I think that is the news for this week, [27:34.560 –> 27:41.680] whole bunch of updates and things. Now, let us just dive right on in to, uh, our main topic, [27:41.680 –> 27:48.240] uh, Shumi Come Home. Okay, let me look up the developer, I can’t even, small humble onion, [27:48.240 –> 27:53.360] is that what it is? Uh, some humble, some humble onion. Some humble onion, there you go. [27:53.920 –> 28:00.080] So, they’re the developers, this is out on Switch, it’s on, on Steam, um, available now, [28:00.080 –> 28:07.360] it costs 20 US bucks, um, and, okay, what are, what’s your initial opinion, [28:08.160 –> 28:13.600] Johnny, thumbs up, thumbs down, just give us a real thought. Yeah, so this gets a strong thumbs [28:13.600 –> 28:20.480] up from me, um, it’s a short game, uh, I think I 100%ed it in maybe six, five or six hours. [28:20.480 –> 28:25.440] That’s correct, that’s about what I did too. Yeah, so it’s, it’s not a super long game, [28:25.920 –> 28:31.600] but I also think it’s the right length, right? Like, for me, it was a really great end-to-end [28:31.600 –> 28:34.800] experience, when I was done, I was like, actually, I feel like that was, you know, [28:34.800 –> 28:41.200] I didn’t necessarily want more of that, but I really enjoyed the time that I had, [28:41.200 –> 28:49.440] um, with the game, and so I think what was, um, most interesting, I was trying to think, [28:49.440 –> 28:55.120] as I was playing the game, of what it reminded me of, or what sort of feeling it evoked as I [28:55.120 –> 29:00.640] was playing, and the closest I could come to was it reminded me of, like, the old sort of Spyro [29:00.640 –> 29:06.560] games, um, where you kind of, you know, just exploring the world, and finding stuff, [29:06.560 –> 29:10.720] and kind of uncovering stuff, and I’m sure it’d be very different if I went back and played one [29:10.720 –> 29:13.840] of those games, because I was probably, you know, like, six or seven when I was playing those, [29:13.840 –> 29:18.000] but that was sort of the, the feeling that I had while I was playing, playing this. [29:18.880 –> 29:22.400] That’s, I, well, I can’t, I haven’t, I haven’t played the old Spyro, so honestly, I can’t, [29:23.280 –> 29:28.960] I can’t comment on that, but I’m gonna take a step back here, let me give the Primus the [29:28.960 –> 29:35.200] elevator pitch to the listener, um, so Smooshy Come Home is a game about Smooshy, a little [29:35.200 –> 29:41.680] mushroom guy, um, just, just a little guy with a mushroom hat, um, and he lives on a little island [29:41.680 –> 29:48.160] with his siblings, and then a bird comes and yoinks him away, uh, he is thankfully not eaten, [29:48.160 –> 29:54.560] he manages to escape, uh, but he ends up some forest where he does not know, and he needs to [29:54.560 –> 30:00.160] figure out how to go back home, hence the name Smooshy Come Home, uh, and so yeah, the point of [30:00.160 –> 30:05.120] the game is you’re trying to make back your way back to home, you are climbing and exploring and [30:05.120 –> 30:10.880] gliding, um, up front you get a little leaf glider and a little climbing gear, um, and so you’re [30:10.880 –> 30:17.360] going through this, I would say Pikmin style world where, you know, you’re a little mushroom, [30:17.360 –> 30:22.640] so you’re in a forest and everything’s big and whatnot, um, and you encounter lots of other [30:22.640 –> 30:28.240] little forest type critters and other mushrooms, this game likes mushrooms, there’s a mushroom [30:28.240 –> 30:35.360] compendium, like real life mushroom compendium in the game, um, so the mushroom compendium, [30:35.840 –> 30:41.520] sorry, uh, we’ll come back, do you thumbs up, thumbs down? We didn’t. Oh yes, uh, super thumbs [30:41.520 –> 30:50.400] up, um, really hard thumbs up, because yeah, it’s a very, this game feels like a hug, it’s just so [30:50.400 –> 31:00.720] cozy and, and warm, um, I enjoyed it, and, and on a, it’s also, I think, really well designed, [31:00.720 –> 31:07.600] um, which I find a lot of even bigger studios struggle with, like everything is very thoughtfully [31:08.560 –> 31:13.840] laid out, um, I didn’t get stuck once, and this is the kind of game where you could easily get stuck, [31:13.840 –> 31:19.600] or no, not where, not know where to go next, but I think it’s very good at guiding you, and not even [31:19.600 –> 31:26.400] like real, like, it’s not direct, there’s no big arrows pointing go here, well for the most part, [31:26.400 –> 31:31.040] you can speak to some NPCs and they can give you a push, just from looking around you can find [31:31.040 –> 31:37.760] stuff, um, just because that’s, uh, it looks interesting, kind of like Breath of the Wild, [31:37.760 –> 31:42.960] to be quite frank, like, it’s hard not to think about that, because there’s the gliding and the [31:42.960 –> 31:50.800] climbing, and it feels like a little bit of that formula went into this, um, yeah, absolutely, [31:50.800 –> 31:55.440] because there’s a lot of, yeah, there’s a lot of like, you sort of see something, you go there, [31:55.440 –> 32:00.000] there’s a thing to do there, and then you kind of just see the next thing, and you kind of, [32:00.000 –> 32:05.120] like, the, the way you are sort of encouraged to move around the world feels very natural. [32:05.120 –> 32:12.560] Yep, absolutely, um, also, um, I should mention this is, the art style is like full 3D, [32:13.120 –> 32:20.480] cel-shaded-y, um, like it, someone on this team like Wind Waker, because they’re, it’s, [32:20.480 –> 32:25.280] it’s got a big Wind Waker feeling from the leaf glider to, uh, the, the, one of the [32:25.280 –> 32:30.800] symbols, the wind essence, like, that feels straight out of Wind Waker, um, and also Pikmin, [32:30.800 –> 32:36.080] a lot of the guys remind me of Pikmin, um, it’s also a very entertaining game, the, uh, [32:36.080 –> 32:42.720] there’s writing and, uh, the characters are very charming and over the place, um, I got a pretty, [32:42.720 –> 32:46.880] a few decent laughs out of the game. The power of crystals is cool. [32:46.880 –> 32:56.960] It’s so cool, definitely, AMBP, um, yeah. But no, you’re right, the writing in this game [32:56.960 –> 33:03.520] is fantastic, it’s like very, a very fun world to be in, and, uh, one of my favorite things, [33:03.520 –> 33:08.320] sort of, in the game is the, the mushroom compendium, um, so as you encounter different [33:08.320 –> 33:10.960] mushrooms, as you’ll make your way through the forest and make your way back home, [33:11.440 –> 33:16.640] um, you sort of have a notebook where there’s, you know, notes on the different sorts of mushrooms [33:16.640 –> 33:21.200] and it gives, I think, their, their proper scientific name and some facts about the [33:21.200 –> 33:25.600] mushroom, and then Smooshy has some comments about the mushrooms. Smooshy’s notes for every [33:26.240 –> 33:30.720] entry. They’re always really funny because there’s a few where he talks about the taste of mushrooms [33:30.720 –> 33:35.840] and then he kind of questions why he’s thinking about the taste of mushrooms, which is our second [33:35.840 –> 33:42.400] reference to cannibalism this episode. Yeah, you’re right, I forgot about it. [33:42.400 –> 33:49.840] It’s just a very, like, it’s very funny in a way that is, like, you’re not going to be, like, [33:49.840 –> 33:54.560] laughing out loud all of the time, but it’s just, I really like the description that you said a [33:54.560 –> 33:57.520] while back, right? Like, this game kind of feels like a hug where it’s just like, [33:57.520 –> 34:03.360] oh that’s really nice and well written, like, it’s not trying to overly be funny or to be funny all [34:03.360 –> 34:07.680] of the time, it’s just that the funny bits generally land really well, I found. Yeah, [34:08.560 –> 34:20.400] yeah, I agree, and I like the mushroom that with the strawberry guy, and there’s a strawberry [34:20.400 –> 34:29.040] hoarder and a guy who looks like a strawberry, and that was funny. But yeah, I’m trying to think, [34:29.600 –> 34:35.760] the gameplay itself, like we said, the exploration feels good, very Breath of the Wild-y, [34:36.080 –> 34:42.800] and a big part of the game is, well, so there’s different areas, you go in and there’s, like, [34:42.800 –> 34:49.840] a big roadblock, that’s the primary objective. Like, clear a tunnel, move this obstacle, [34:49.840 –> 34:56.640] whatever, but there’s all sorts of areas and side areas with little upgrades, that’s a big part of [34:56.640 –> 35:04.400] the gameplay, I think, looking around, finding these little upgrades which give you increased [35:05.120 –> 35:14.080] glider time or gives you more Naruto running, and things like that. Oh, and most importantly, [35:14.080 –> 35:20.000] you get different outfits for Smooshy, you get different mushroom hats, one of the biggest ones, [35:22.000 –> 35:28.880] and nothing feels like Koroks from Breath of the Wild where there’s just too many and all over the [35:28.880 –> 35:36.640] place. Again, all thoughtfully laid out and just enough where I didn’t get tired of any upgrade or [35:36.640 –> 35:43.040] felt like there wasn’t enough of one or the other. Yeah, and there’s lots of little challenges, [35:43.040 –> 35:48.480] right, and I think that’s one of the things that this game does really well, is sometimes it’ll be [35:48.480 –> 35:52.720] a platforming challenge or a challenge related to using your glider, or there are just enough [35:52.720 –> 36:00.320] challenges about exploring the world that you’re in, or you need to go and find an object [36:00.320 –> 36:05.360] and bring it back. There’s just enough… each of the puzzles feels distinct enough [36:06.800 –> 36:13.200] while continuing to build off the formula that the game establishes, and it’s only six hours, [36:13.200 –> 36:17.920] right, so it’s not like they had to stretch tons of content out of the relatively limited [36:17.920 –> 36:22.080] skill set of the game, but it feels like, you know, it just builds really well, it utilizes [36:22.080 –> 36:26.080] the things that it does, and there’s enough variety in each of the challenges, so you’re not just doing [36:26.080 –> 36:30.320] the same thing in a different location, and it’s slightly harder because you’re slightly later in [36:30.320 –> 36:42.160] the game. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and this game very, you know, very, like, I feel the word cozy [36:42.160 –> 36:48.960] is almost overused in this genre, it gets a lot of push, but this game I think really captures [36:48.960 –> 36:56.880] it well, and it doesn’t, it very explicitly, even in character, mentions, like, you don’t have to be, [36:56.880 –> 37:02.160] it doesn’t have, things don’t have to be super hard or tough, and they will scale down the [37:02.160 –> 37:05.760] challenges if you want, they’ll give you options for that, and it doesn’t push you to do these [37:05.760 –> 37:11.680] really difficult challenges or anything, and it’s in a very non-condescending way, [37:14.000 –> 37:18.080] I really like that, you know, I didn’t use them myself, but the options were there and that was [37:18.080 –> 37:23.360] nice to see. Yeah, and I think one of my favorite things, right, so this game just has such a [37:23.360 –> 37:27.840] positive tone, so, like, the character of Smooshy is great in that even the characters that he [37:27.840 –> 37:33.680] encounters that can be slightly antagonistic, he always approaches them with, like, you know, real [37:33.680 –> 37:42.080] kindness and, you know, and or fear, yeah, yeah, and it often sort of, you know, turns them round [37:42.080 –> 37:46.320] and makes them make some dice, and there’s, like, a few sort of challenge levels where [37:48.800 –> 37:53.040] you have to do, you know, a version of something and then a slightly harder version of that thing, [37:53.040 –> 37:56.560] and then an even harder version of that thing that no one has ever done before, and, like, [37:56.560 –> 38:00.160] the characters are always so stoked that you could complete this thing that no one’s ever completed [38:00.160 –> 38:03.920] before. I don’t know if it’s particularly difficult, but it doesn’t make it feel any [38:03.920 –> 38:08.560] less satisfying to kind of have done it and to have, you know, that sort of reaction. I thought [38:08.560 –> 38:12.160] that was just, like, I don’t know, there’s something about it that felt really genuine [38:12.160 –> 38:17.200] in kind of a goofy way but not a condescending way, which I really enjoyed. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. [38:18.160 –> 38:30.000] Yeah, 100%. Well, I’m trying to think, you know, there’s not much to spoil in this game, [38:30.720 –> 38:35.840] but I do want to talk about the last area, which is probably the most spoilery, [38:35.840 –> 38:41.600] or, you know what, yeah, yeah, this, all right, I’m putting the warning here that from here on [38:41.600 –> 38:45.600] we’re going to talk about whatever and get into maybe more specific things we enjoyed. [38:45.600 –> 38:49.840] And just before, like, I guess just before anyone sort of fast forwards, I, from a, you know, [38:50.560 –> 38:54.640] my take is that a huge part of the sort of spoilers of this game are kind of the specifics [38:54.640 –> 38:58.320] around some of the puzzles and how it plays and some of those sorts of things, so, like, [38:58.320 –> 39:03.360] I would highly recommend going and playing the game, but, yeah, I’m kind of keen, because we’ve [39:03.360 –> 39:08.240] kind of been dancing around some of the specific, you know, puzzles or things that we enjoy because [39:08.240 –> 39:12.160] half the fun of this game is sort of coming across those things and finding them, so, [39:12.160 –> 39:22.160] yeah, yeah, absolutely. Let’s go full spoils. I mean, for me, the big spoils is the Cappy [39:22.160 –> 39:28.560] Bearers somehow make an appearance in this game, too. I didn’t expect it, but you can ride and, [39:28.560 –> 39:33.440] you can ride a Cappy Bearer, and that’s really well done. I like that Cappy, those three, [39:33.440 –> 39:38.240] there’s three Cappy Bearers. I like them all. That was a fun segment. The Cappy Bearers are [39:38.240 –> 39:43.120] super fun and super silly, and because I think I knew, it was, I think it was in the trailer that [39:43.120 –> 39:47.600] Cappy Bearer was going to be in the game, and I think it was even revealed that you ride the [39:47.600 –> 39:51.600] Cappy Bearer to get home, but I was expecting that to just be the challenge for the level was, like, [39:52.160 –> 39:56.960] you need to make the Cappy Bearer your friend so he takes you home, which in theory it was, [39:56.960 –> 40:01.360] but what I wasn’t expecting is to ride the Cappy Bearer around that level and for that to be the [40:01.360 –> 40:07.520] way that that level was designed. That was thoroughly enjoyable. It’s so cool. It’s so, [40:07.520 –> 40:16.720] yeah, it was great. Here comes your boat. Actually, the water part in general, like, [40:16.720 –> 40:20.720] you can, you get the ability to dive halfway through, and that’s really cool. The water, [40:21.280 –> 40:24.560] everything looks really pretty, right, and I really liked how they designed the water area [40:24.560 –> 40:30.880] specifically. Yeah, I agree. I think the water area was great. Yeah, the water feels like, [40:32.160 –> 40:39.360] like the freshwater lake pond area, lots of roots and things down there. That was, [40:40.240 –> 40:46.880] yeah, that whole last area with the pond was really fun. And I really enjoyed the relationship [40:46.880 –> 40:51.280] between the Cappy Bearers, so the, you know, the relationship being, you know, the older sibling [40:51.280 –> 40:55.280] who’s kind of annoyed his younger siblings, and now they’re not going to be his friends. And [40:55.280 –> 40:59.920] I think the, like, the younger brother one in particular, where the younger brother was annoyed [40:59.920 –> 41:04.480] because the older brother didn’t want to go on a picnic with him, despite the fact that he had no [41:04.480 –> 41:08.720] food for the picnic and no real plan, it was just a thing he wanted to do, was so funny. [41:09.120 –> 41:15.680] I mean, he’s wearing a bucket, that’s a good one from the start, just [41:16.720 –> 41:20.960] good old bucket Cappy Bear, and Chunky, his little new mushroom friend. [41:25.520 –> 41:29.520] How long have you been down here? Sorry, you just reminded me of Chunky being stuck in the hole, [41:29.520 –> 41:32.560] and how, like, over it he is, and he’s been the

Al and Kev talk about all the new Harvest Moon: Winds of Anthos news and try out the original Harvest Moon. Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:01:53: What Have We Been Up To 00:17:35: News 00:45:31: Harvest Moon The Winds Of Anthos Medium Dive 01:09:27: Harvest Moon (SNES) 01:35:23: Outro Links Sprout Valley Release Date Moonstone Island Release Date A Tiny Sticker Tale Release Date Disney Dreamlight Valley Cozy Edition Spirittea Release Date The Wandering Village Birtdahy Update Stardew Valley Cookbook Fogu Winds of Anthos Info Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript [00:00.000 –> 00:01.860] There you go! [00:30.760 –> 00:35.880] Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. [00:35.880 –> 00:37.440] My name is Al. [00:37.440 –> 00:38.920] I’m Kevin. [00:38.920 –> 00:42.000] And we’re here today to talk about Harvest Moon. [00:42.000 –> 00:44.660] Yeah, yeah, living up to the name. [00:44.660 –> 00:45.660] All the Harvest Moon. [00:45.660 –> 00:46.660] Our name, the harvest. [00:46.660 –> 00:47.660] Yeah. [00:47.660 –> 00:50.440] This is our Harvest Moon Bonanza episode. [00:50.440 –> 00:55.920] Yeah, we’re going to the old, the new, the good, the bad, all of it. [00:55.920 –> 00:56.920] Yeah. [00:56.920 –> 00:58.920] And we’ll not tell you which is which yet. [00:58.920 –> 01:05.980] So before we get into that, obviously, transcripts are, as always, available in the show notes [01:05.980 –> 01:07.360] and on the website. [01:07.360 –> 01:09.320] So they’re there if you need them. [01:09.320 –> 01:14.200] Yeah, we’ve got a bunch of news to talk about. [01:14.200 –> 01:21.240] And then we’re going to do a dive into a bunch of information that’s come up on Harvest Moon [01:21.240 –> 01:24.280] Winds of Anthos over the last week. [01:24.280 –> 01:30.620] Coincidentally, this was coincidental, on the week that we decided that we were going [01:30.620 –> 01:37.060] to play the original Harvest Moon, now that it’s out on Nintendo Switch Online. [01:37.060 –> 01:39.680] So we’re going to talk about that at the end as well. [01:39.680 –> 01:46.540] Yeah, that’s gonna, that’s really an interesting timing there, how it all lined up. [01:46.540 –> 01:47.540] It’s amazing. [01:47.540 –> 01:48.540] I love it. [01:48.540 –> 01:52.440] I wish more episodes worked like this. [01:52.440 –> 01:56.080] But before all of that, Kevin, what have you been up to? [01:56.080 –> 01:58.220] Oh, good question. [01:58.220 –> 02:00.160] So I’m doing early plug. [02:00.160 –> 02:04.440] I didn’t talk about last week, but the episodes already out. [02:04.440 –> 02:05.720] Things have been busy over at the other show. [02:05.720 –> 02:11.200] I’m now working with our dear friend Alex on Rainbow Road Radio. [02:11.200 –> 02:15.640] I’ve been play well, not this as much this week, but I’ve been playing a little bit of [02:15.640 –> 02:19.880] Super Mario Sunshine, because we covered that. [02:19.880 –> 02:25.560] There’s a big media episode for you guys to listen if you want to hear my in-depth thoughts, [02:25.560 –> 02:28.080] but my general consensus, I still like the game. [02:28.080 –> 02:29.320] I’m giving it a thumbs up. [02:29.320 –> 02:30.320] Yeah. [02:30.320 –> 02:32.200] Do I get to have feedback on your episode here? [02:32.200 –> 02:33.200] That sounds fun. [02:33.200 –> 02:34.200] Sure. [02:34.200 –> 02:35.200] Yes. [02:35.200 –> 02:36.200] I think it was great. [02:36.200 –> 02:40.320] I will say, I didn’t like the fact that there was a question over whether it was better [02:40.320 –> 02:42.760] or worse than Mario 64. [02:42.760 –> 02:45.000] Mario 64 is terrible. [02:45.000 –> 02:50.040] Mario Sunshine definitely has its issues. [02:50.040 –> 02:53.760] You can tell it’s a 20-year-old game. [02:53.760 –> 02:57.360] You can tell it’s a 20-year-old game, which by the way, it’s insane that something that [02:57.360 –> 03:00.220] looks like that is 20 years old, but that’s just time. [03:00.220 –> 03:04.560] It just keeps moving. [03:04.560 –> 03:06.040] It works both ways here. [03:06.040 –> 03:13.960] GameCube is a weird era because not only does the stuff hold up fairly well 20 years later, [03:13.960 –> 03:22.960] but if you look at what was out five years before, it’s insane, because 64 is not that [03:22.960 –> 03:24.040] far before Sunshine. [03:24.040 –> 03:25.260] It’s crazy. [03:25.260 –> 03:26.260] This is the thing. [03:26.260 –> 03:34.680] If you look at screenshots of Mario 64 next to Mario Sunshine, they look a decade apart. [03:34.680 –> 03:42.680] You can literally see the polygons on him in Mario 64, and in Mario Sunshine, it’s smooth. [03:42.680 –> 03:45.760] If it’s the sort of thing that was released just now, people would be like, oh, it’s a [03:45.760 –> 03:50.160] little bit outdated graphics, but they wouldn’t be like, oh, it’s horrific. [03:50.160 –> 03:52.160] It’s pretty good, still. [03:52.160 –> 03:55.720] You get an indie developer in this day and age who would release it and nobody would [03:55.720 –> 03:59.600] bat an eye, right? [03:59.600 –> 04:00.760] It’s not that far behind. [04:00.760 –> 04:01.760] It’s insane. [04:01.760 –> 04:04.200] Yeah, yeah, definitely. [04:04.200 –> 04:07.760] The biggest thing, I think, as you discussed on the episode, is the camera. [04:07.760 –> 04:08.760] Yeah. [04:08.760 –> 04:09.760] Real issues. [04:09.760 –> 04:10.760] It’s the camera. [04:10.840 –> 04:14.960] The Mario team have figured that out, and the newer games have much better cameras. [04:14.960 –> 04:17.760] Yeah, yeah, they are. [04:17.760 –> 04:23.920] It’d be nice to see that game get a proper remake, not just this weird half port that [04:23.920 –> 04:26.960] they do for the collection or whatever. [04:26.960 –> 04:31.580] I think I’d be fine with, I mean, I get why you would want that, but I think it would [04:31.580 –> 04:37.780] also be fun if they just had the flood in a newer game, because that was what makes [04:37.780 –> 04:39.200] it different, right? [04:39.200 –> 04:40.200] Absolutely. [04:40.640 –> 04:45.960] I know the whole, oh yeah, well, Bowser’s Fury is like the spiritual successor to Sunshine, [04:45.960 –> 04:49.040] and I get why people are saying that, but it’s not the same. [04:49.040 –> 04:51.120] No, absolutely not. [04:51.120 –> 04:58.440] I think it was, getting more in-depth, there was stuff in the code that implied it was [04:58.440 –> 05:03.000] very much more, not just going to be spiritual, it was going to be, they were working on a [05:03.000 –> 05:05.920] Sunshine sequel to some degree, but there’s no flood. [05:05.920 –> 05:08.720] And that’s the thing that makes Sunshine, Sunshine. [05:09.240 –> 05:14.120] It’s built on the same code base, similar in lots of ways, but without the flood, it’s [05:14.120 –> 05:15.120] not the same. [05:15.120 –> 05:17.320] Yeah, you’re super right. [05:17.320 –> 05:22.040] I said like a remake, because I don’t think I will ever see flood come back in a game [05:22.040 –> 05:28.760] in my lifetime, or a new game, let’s say, so that’s why I’m thinking of the remake, [05:28.760 –> 05:30.760] but of course that would be my preference. [05:30.760 –> 05:32.760] I would give for a new flood. [05:32.760 –> 05:34.760] That’d be good fun. [05:34.800 –> 05:42.800] Yeah, and again, a little tidbit from that episode, but there were like, seven? [05:42.800 –> 05:45.800] They originally had like ten different nozzles for flood? [05:45.800 –> 05:46.800] Yeah. [05:46.800 –> 05:51.800] I want to know, oh god, okay, yeah, I’d love to see a sequel with more stuff. [05:51.800 –> 05:52.800] That would be fun. [05:52.800 –> 05:57.240] Yeah, but regardless, Sunshine, that was a good media episode, go listen to it, thank [05:57.240 –> 05:59.720] you for listening, Al. [05:59.720 –> 06:03.720] And actually, I highly recommend the episode that we’ll be releasing, well actually it’ll [06:03.760 –> 06:08.840] probably be out by the time listeners are listening to this, because Mario Wonder, we [06:08.840 –> 06:16.200] got our direct, and so we got the content for you guys, we go in-depth into our thoughts [06:16.200 –> 06:17.200] on Wonder. [06:17.200 –> 06:19.960] This was a good time to start a Mario. [06:19.960 –> 06:28.920] I know, it’s so good, yeah, it was great timing, much like this episode. [06:28.920 –> 06:37.160] But anyways, aside from the Mario life, nothing too crazy, I’ve been Tears of the Kingdoming, [06:37.160 –> 06:39.160] guess what, still good. [06:39.160 –> 06:40.160] Shock. [06:40.160 –> 06:45.920] Yeah, Don-Don’s are cool, I met them, I saved the pirates, no, I killed the pirates and [06:45.920 –> 06:50.320] saved literally another way around. [06:50.320 –> 06:56.960] Other than that, nothing too exciting, Unite, Snap, oh, the Mewtwo raids, I guess we can [06:57.000 –> 07:01.360] talk about that, or Scarlet Violet. [07:01.360 –> 07:10.720] It’s fine, I guess, it happened, I did it, I mean, there’s a whole spiel here I could [07:10.720 –> 07:19.240] go into, but there’s just something about optimizing an event like this, a strategy [07:19.240 –> 07:24.120] so well that it kills the fun for me a little bit. [07:24.600 –> 07:31.840] I get that, I guess the problem is that I think is people’s problem, unless you just [07:31.840 –> 07:40.640] go like, well, the raid can do these 10 different things, and therefore you can’t plan for it. [07:40.640 –> 07:44.680] Unless you do that, I don’t think there’s really a way to not have that happen, because [07:44.680 –> 07:49.960] you have thousands of players who are like, I need to min-max this, I need to figure out [07:49.960 –> 07:52.080] how to solve this. [07:52.080 –> 07:58.840] I find it quite fun to see the crazy strategies, like, oh, why on earth is everybody setting [07:58.840 –> 07:59.840] up electric terrain? [07:59.840 –> 08:03.120] Oh, it’s because apparently electric terrain means you can’t sleep. [08:03.120 –> 08:04.120] Oh, that’s fun. [08:04.120 –> 08:09.560] That’s an interesting one, I did not realize that was a thing, that’s the kind of parts [08:09.560 –> 08:14.320] of the game that I’ve never really been bothered to be interested in because I’m not a competitive [08:14.320 –> 08:15.320] player. [08:15.960 –> 08:23.800] Yeah, and to get, I guess for people who don’t play Pokemon or don’t know, there’s an event [08:23.800 –> 08:28.720] where you team up with three other players and you can fight a big Mewtwo, well not actually [08:28.720 –> 08:31.080] big, but it’s a very strong Mewtwo, right? [08:31.080 –> 08:37.760] And if you happen to have a Mew on you, which they gave out in distribution, or you happen [08:37.760 –> 08:42.200] to have one transferred in for whatever, you get a boost to your Mew, because there’s that [08:42.200 –> 08:47.200] rivalry in Pokemon Mew vs Mewtwo or whatever, and that’s fun and all, right? [08:47.200 –> 08:56.080] And so yeah, so there’s these obviously very efficient strategies to be in the event, but [08:56.080 –> 09:02.880] the real kicker is Mew has the ultimate, or like the poster child for adaptability, can [09:02.880 –> 09:06.160] learn every move, do everything, whatever it wants to, right? [09:06.160 –> 09:13.440] So I would have preferred a weaker Mewtwo where you didn’t have to maximize your strategy [09:13.440 –> 09:20.120] to, because it is a difficult challenge if you don’t know what you’re doing, right? [09:20.120 –> 09:26.560] But if it were so weak that, if it were doable without having to do that, right, where everyone [09:26.560 –> 09:30.840] could just run different things, or you could plan maybe something with your teammates, [09:30.840 –> 09:33.440] where everyone didn’t have to be the same, I think I’d enjoy that more. [09:33.440 –> 09:40.680] But that is, you know, that’s just wishful thinking, Cela V, it’s min-maxing video games, [09:40.680 –> 09:42.880] it’s what you’re going to do. [09:42.880 –> 09:43.880] But that’s what I’ve been up to. [09:43.880 –> 09:44.880] What about you, Al? [09:44.880 –> 09:45.880] What’s going on? [09:45.880 –> 09:50.080] Yeah, well, obviously I was doing the Pokemon raids as well, I quite enjoyed the getting, [09:50.080 –> 09:54.040] I think it took me about four turns, and we finally got a team together that was actually [09:54.040 –> 09:58.200] knew what they were doing, and we still had to do, I think the fun thing about this one [09:58.200 –> 10:01.760] is like, yeah, you have a strategy, but you still have to do it, and you have to do it [10:01.760 –> 10:02.760] well. [10:02.760 –> 10:06.040] So it’s like, you know, it takes the whole, was it five minutes? [10:06.040 –> 10:07.040] Is that how long one is? [10:07.040 –> 10:12.920] It takes almost the entire five minutes to do that, even if you’re doing everything perfectly. [10:12.920 –> 10:18.600] And just seeing like four random people connecting online, not knowing each other, and noticing [10:18.600 –> 10:22.480] what the others are doing, and just adapting to that, and just going, that was really fun, [10:22.480 –> 10:23.480] right? [10:23.480 –> 10:27.800] Because especially in the one that I won, like all four of us set up light screen turn [10:27.800 –> 10:32.640] one, and I was like, Oh, no, it’s just a group full of support Pokemon, we’re gonna lose. [10:32.640 –> 10:37.440] But then it turns out that the other two of the people had leech life, which is the [10:37.440 –> 10:41.640] big, big hair that you have to take it down. [10:41.640 –> 10:46.360] And they just they just started getting to the strategy that would lead them to do the [10:46.360 –> 10:48.680] swords dancing and leech life, blah, blah, blah. [10:48.680 –> 10:58.240] And I had the right moves for both to be support or be technical and the other and so we kind [10:58.240 –> 11:02.480] of me and the other one kind of just tag teamed and it worked really well, which was good [11:03.120 –> 11:08.640] Yeah, see, I’ll say that to like, that sounds pretty fun. [11:08.640 –> 11:12.920] I did mine with a team off the bat of people I was talking to, like I didn’t do with random. [11:12.920 –> 11:17.840] So we got it one and done pretty much we had it on the bat. [11:17.840 –> 11:24.160] But I will say that it is fun, at least even we because with four people, like you said, [11:24.160 –> 11:26.680] there’s there’s different roles and different movesets you can carry. [11:26.680 –> 11:28.480] So there’s a little variability. [11:28.480 –> 11:33.440] And yes, as you could probably pack one of different move to kind of pivot if you need [11:33.440 –> 11:36.880] to in the middle of a battle, which I did as well at some point. [11:36.880 –> 11:39.160] So that that is a little then it’s kind of fun. [11:39.160 –> 11:40.880] And so yeah, I did that. [11:40.880 –> 11:46.600] I’ve obviously been playing some Harvest Moon, original Harvest Moon for the SNES on the [11:46.600 –> 11:47.600] Nintendo Switch. [11:47.600 –> 11:48.600] Of course. [11:48.600 –> 11:52.600] This is my first time playing with these, these virtual console, whatever you don’t [11:52.600 –> 11:53.600] play any of them before. [11:53.600 –> 11:58.060] No, I’ve never, you’ve broken the dam, you’re going to be all in on all of them. [11:58.060 –> 12:01.660] You kind of Yeah, now that I saw. [12:01.660 –> 12:02.660] It’s not too bad. [12:02.660 –> 12:05.780] I’ll probably pick up some of the other ones finally try that Pokemon trading card game [12:05.780 –> 12:06.780] for the game. [12:06.780 –> 12:07.780] Well, that’s so good. [12:07.780 –> 12:10.620] I think I think that has aged really well as well. [12:10.620 –> 12:13.500] Like obviously, the graphics are very clearly Gameboy. [12:13.500 –> 12:19.980] But that’s, that’s like, that’s a style people still do because they like it so much. [12:19.980 –> 12:23.620] And it’s just obviously quite a limited selection of Pokemon and cards. [12:23.620 –> 12:26.500] But the actual the gameplay is solid. [12:26.500 –> 12:28.360] Like the game works really well. [12:28.360 –> 12:32.860] Like I’ve gone back to that game multiple times over the years, which is wild to think [12:32.860 –> 12:34.820] about. [12:34.820 –> 12:39.340] Because card games can be kind of hard to do on like, or easy to mess up. [12:39.340 –> 12:41.300] Let’s say on on a video game. [12:41.300 –> 12:42.300] Yeah. [12:42.300 –> 12:47.540] And so yeah, I am very curious just to see that because yeah, I don’t I hear nothing [12:47.540 –> 12:48.660] but good things about it. [12:48.660 –> 12:54.300] So that’s why I really hope I really want them to bring the sequel, translate the sequel [12:54.300 –> 12:56.100] out because that was Japan only originally. [12:56.100 –> 12:57.100] Yeah. [12:57.100 –> 13:00.460] So I’ve never never played that because I know this fan translations and stuff, but [13:00.460 –> 13:01.460] it’s not. [13:01.460 –> 13:02.460] Yeah. [13:02.460 –> 13:03.460] Yeah, of course. [13:03.460 –> 13:09.260] So, um, and I fell back into Marvel snap, oops. [13:09.260 –> 13:13.100] I think last last week, last week when we were talking, you were talking about Marvel [13:13.100 –> 13:15.480] snap and I was like, oh, I played it for ages. [13:15.480 –> 13:19.900] And then I think you’d mentioned the daily, the daily bonuses we’re getting at that point. [13:19.900 –> 13:20.900] Yeah. [13:20.900 –> 13:23.140] So I went in and got them. [13:23.140 –> 13:30.380] And oops, within the last week, I did the entire season. [13:30.380 –> 13:31.700] So yeah, that was crazy. [13:31.700 –> 13:34.260] Although this is where my complaint about this game comes in. [13:34.260 –> 13:38.940] Yeah, apparently, they don’t give you enough experience in the season pass missions to [13:38.940 –> 13:42.340] get to level 50 in the season pass, which is very annoying. [13:42.340 –> 13:45.940] If that is wild, if you’ve been playing the whole month and doing daily missions most [13:45.940 –> 13:50.460] days and, uh, and that sort of stuff, then you can, you can easily get enough for free, [13:50.460 –> 13:54.660] but not if you just, if you do it all at the end, which is really annoying. [13:54.660 –> 13:58.620] It’s like, I feel like they should, I feel like they should be able if you do every single [13:58.620 –> 14:02.300] season pass mission, I feel like you should be able to get to 50 right. [14:02.300 –> 14:03.440] That’s that. [14:03.440 –> 14:07.660] It’s not like because they clearly, they’ve clearly built it up around that, right? [14:07.660 –> 14:10.880] Because it’s enough to get you to 45, right? [14:10.880 –> 14:14.660] It’s not like it only gets you to 20 and you have to do so much more work to get it. [14:14.660 –> 14:15.660] I didn’t know that. [14:15.660 –> 14:16.660] 45. [14:16.660 –> 14:19.260] Oh, that’s, that’s cold. [14:19.260 –> 14:20.260] Thanks. [14:20.260 –> 14:21.260] Oh, just right. [14:21.260 –> 14:23.880] Oh, that’s, that’s rough. [14:23.880 –> 14:28.340] So I’m trying to decide in the next day, cause I think we’ve got one day left of it. [14:28.340 –> 14:32.900] It’s literally a day and a couple of hours or something to decide if I’m buying the season [14:32.900 –> 14:36.340] pass because I can’t just buy the 10 quid season pass. [14:36.340 –> 14:38.280] You can’t, I can’t do that. [14:38.280 –> 14:42.060] So I’d need to buy the 15 quid one, which gives you the extra 10 levels and would take [14:42.060 –> 14:43.060] me up to 50. [14:43.060 –> 14:44.060] It’s just so annoying. [14:44.460 –> 14:48.420] Well, it sounds like it worked exactly as they planned on you. [14:48.420 –> 14:49.420] They got you. [14:49.420 –> 14:50.420] Yeah. [14:50.420 –> 14:54.060] They got me in with those dailies and then I had was just enough time to get through [14:54.060 –> 14:59.460] all the missions and then be annoyed and have to pay more money is genius. [14:59.460 –> 15:02.420] At the very least, this season passes. [15:02.420 –> 15:03.420] Okay. [15:03.420 –> 15:07.580] It’s at least for me personally, like I’m not, I wouldn’t be weeping if I didn’t get [15:07.580 –> 15:08.580] it. [15:08.580 –> 15:11.700] Next one seems much cooler, but regardless, that’s just a preference thing. [15:11.700 –> 15:12.700] Yeah. [15:12.700 –> 15:13.700] Maybe, maybe I’ll just, I mean, there’s, there’s, there’s. [15:14.340 –> 15:15.860] I mean, the thing is, right. [15:15.860 –> 15:16.980] It’s a good value. [15:16.980 –> 15:17.980] The season pass anyway. [15:17.980 –> 15:18.980] It is a great value. [15:18.980 –> 15:24.100] You get so much gold and you get loads of good stuff. [15:24.100 –> 15:28.580] And so it’s like, it is the best value thing to buy in the game. [15:28.580 –> 15:32.980] And it’s like, I’ve now, I’ve spent a week unlocking basically everything and it’s like, [15:32.980 –> 15:39.180] I can pay 15 quid and get all the, all these 55 levels. [15:39.180 –> 15:42.900] But anyway, whatever I’ll decide tomorrow, how long I’ve got one day? [15:42.900 –> 15:44.420] Time’s good right now. [15:44.420 –> 15:45.420] One day and eight hours. [15:45.420 –> 15:49.700] So I need to, I did basically need to decide by the end of tomorrow cause it flips over [15:49.700 –> 15:50.700] while I’m… [15:50.700 –> 15:53.940] Did you, did you play on PC or just on your phone? [15:53.940 –> 15:55.580] I’ve done about, I’ve done about both. [15:55.580 –> 15:59.780] And so I’ve not played it on PC cause I use, I use a Mac most of the time, but I, on the [15:59.780 –> 16:02.700] Mac you can use the iPad app. [16:02.700 –> 16:06.900] So I’ve been doing it on my phone and, and using the iPad app on, on my, on my computer. [16:06.900 –> 16:08.980] And it’s good fun. [16:08.980 –> 16:13.500] I do kind of want to, I mean, I’m currently on a windows machine, like talking to you, [16:13.500 –> 16:17.740] but this is, recording the podcast is the only thing I use it for. [16:17.740 –> 16:20.060] So I might install it after this and see how it looks. [16:20.060 –> 16:26.420] Cause I know it’s, it’s like widescreen, isn’t it? [16:26.420 –> 16:31.380] It’s weird because like, obviously Marvel Snap is a very mobily mobile game designed [16:31.380 –> 16:33.140] for mobile to fit that phone. [16:33.140 –> 16:34.140] Right. [16:34.140 –> 16:38.760] And so it is wide screen, but like the field of play isn’t that much wider. [16:38.760 –> 16:47.520] It’s still feels very much like they just uncropped the background, but the animations [16:47.520 –> 16:50.720] and all that stuff, it is buttery smooth. [16:50.720 –> 16:52.200] It is pleasing to look at. [16:52.200 –> 16:53.560] So it’s still worth checking out. [16:53.560 –> 16:55.080] Oh, here’s an important question. [16:55.080 –> 16:56.080] It’s on Steam. [16:56.080 –> 16:57.080] That’s how you get it, right? [16:57.080 –> 16:58.080] Yeah. [16:58.080 –> 16:59.760] Does that mean you can play on Steam Deck? [16:59.760 –> 17:01.660] I want to say yes. [17:01.660 –> 17:06.560] So the only, the only thing, the only thing on the compatibility is that it doesn’t use [17:06.560 –> 17:12.400] the, it uses the onscreen keyboard for some things, which is, means it’s not technically [17:12.400 –> 17:15.840] fully compatible, but it does mean it’s completely usable. [17:15.840 –> 17:16.840] Yeah, probably. [17:16.840 –> 17:20.520] Like how often, I mean the only text I think you input is names of decks, right? [17:20.520 –> 17:23.600] When else would you entering text? [17:23.600 –> 17:24.600] I guess so. [17:24.600 –> 17:25.600] Yeah. [17:25.600 –> 17:26.600] That’s pretty much it. [17:26.600 –> 17:27.600] Yeah. [17:27.600 –> 17:28.600] Interesting. [17:28.600 –> 17:29.600] I wonder how it would play on the Steam Deck. [17:29.600 –> 17:32.360] Well, maybe you should let us know next week. [17:32.360 –> 17:33.880] Maybe I should. [17:33.880 –> 17:34.880] Maybe I should. [17:34.880 –> 17:35.880] Okay. [17:35.880 –> 17:36.880] Yeah. [17:36.880 –> 17:38.520] So that’s what we’ve been playing. [17:38.520 –> 17:40.760] Let’s talk about some news. [17:40.760 –> 17:47.720] So first of all, we have three games announcing their release dates over the next month. [17:47.720 –> 17:48.720] Three games! [17:48.720 –> 17:49.720] That’s… [17:49.720 –> 17:50.720] Why? [17:50.720 –> 17:55.680] It’s not like there’s anything else in September you need to worry about. [17:55.680 –> 18:00.300] First up, we have Sprout Valley, which is coming out on the 8th of September. [18:00.300 –> 18:01.680] So that’s just in a few days. [18:01.680 –> 18:04.720] And two days after this episode comes out, that’s Sprout Valley. [18:04.720 –> 18:05.720] Okay. [18:05.720 –> 18:10.360] Before you even describe the game, naming that, that’s a dangerous game and they know [18:10.360 –> 18:11.360] what they’re doing. [18:11.360 –> 18:14.360] Oh, they absolutely know what they’re doing. [18:14.360 –> 18:15.360] That’s bold. [18:15.360 –> 18:20.880] That takes some chutzpah to do an SV with a valley. [18:20.880 –> 18:21.880] It’s not just that. [18:21.880 –> 18:24.280] Stardew Valley was originally called Sprout Valley before. [18:24.280 –> 18:25.280] Was it? [18:25.280 –> 18:26.280] Yeah. [18:26.280 –> 18:27.280] Oh. [18:27.280 –> 18:31.280] So, I don’t know whether they knew that or not, but that is a thing. [18:31.280 –> 18:32.280] Yeah. [18:32.280 –> 18:33.280] So that’s 8th of September. [18:33.280 –> 18:34.960] That one’s coming out. [18:34.960 –> 18:40.520] And then Moonstone Island are coming out on the 20th of September. [18:40.520 –> 18:44.400] Actually, can I back up to Sprout Valley because we’re just listening there, but I just want [18:44.400 –> 18:51.480] to comment like, for people who look at the video, it looks like a Tamagotchi farming [18:51.480 –> 18:52.480] game. [18:52.480 –> 18:53.480] Yeah. [18:53.480 –> 18:54.480] I guess the sprites are kind of Tamagotchi. [18:54.480 –> 18:55.480] Yeah. [18:55.480 –> 18:56.480] I can see it. [18:56.480 –> 18:57.480] It is cute, right? [18:57.480 –> 18:58.480] It is. [18:58.480 –> 18:59.480] Yeah. [18:59.480 –> 19:00.480] I will say that it looks very cute. [19:00.680 –> 19:01.680] Yeah. [19:01.680 –> 19:02.680] Moonstone Island. [19:02.680 –> 19:03.680] That’s a thing. [19:03.680 –> 19:04.680] Yeah. [19:04.680 –> 19:05.680] Moonstone Island, 20th of September. [19:05.680 –> 19:08.560] Do I want to complain about the summer thing? [19:08.560 –> 19:09.560] I don’t know. [19:09.560 –> 19:10.560] Yes. [19:10.560 –> 19:11.560] September’s not summer. [19:11.560 –> 19:12.560] Yeah. [19:12.560 –> 19:16.960] So they’re like, oh, we said we’re going to release in the summer, and it’s technically [19:16.960 –> 19:22.080] still summer on the 20th of September, and I’m like, if you’re going to go into technically, [19:22.080 –> 19:28.440] if you’re going to go, oh, okay, then I’m going to technically right back at you. [19:28.440 –> 19:32.000] Summer doesn’t have a universally defined, and no, I’m not talking about Northern Hemisphere [19:32.000 –> 19:33.080] and Summer of the Hemisphere. [19:33.080 –> 19:38.680] If we just talk about this Northern Hemisphere, there is no universally defined definition [19:38.680 –> 19:41.440] of summer. [19:41.440 –> 19:42.440] There are, there is like- [19:42.440 –> 19:49.040] Actually, the Equinox is on September 21st, whatever date it is, I don’t remember. [19:49.040 –> 19:50.040] This is the thing, right? [19:50.040 –> 19:52.240] Like, it’s people are like, oh, well, it’s still technically summer. [19:52.240 –> 19:55.000] It’s like, depends on your definition of summer, right? [19:55.000 –> 20:01.000] There’s the astronomical definition of summer, which, yes, does end on the 23rd of September [20:01.000 –> 20:02.120] this year, right? [20:02.120 –> 20:06.940] So yet, sure, it would be under that definition of summer. [20:06.940 –> 20:11.980] But there’s also the meteorological season, which has already ended. [20:11.980 –> 20:15.140] The 31st of August was the last day of summer in that season. [20:15.140 –> 20:19.660] And then that’s not to mention there’s the lesser used Celtic season, also sometimes [20:19.660 –> 20:24.460] named the solar season, which we, you know, defining the seasons by the sun is a crazy [20:24.460 –> 20:26.540] idea, right? [20:26.540 –> 20:28.700] Which does May through July. [20:28.700 –> 20:35.100] So if you’re going to start saying, oh, it’s technically summer, I’m gonna say, well, technically, [20:35.100 –> 20:38.540] it depends on your definition, so. [20:38.540 –> 20:46.540] So regardless of when it’s, it’s not releasing in summer, I don’t care what they say. [20:46.540 –> 20:51.820] People don’t remember, it’s, this is monster collecting card is farming, there’s a lot [20:51.820 –> 20:52.820] of things going on. [20:52.860 –> 21:02.700] It’s a monster collection farming game on like floating islands in the sky. [21:02.700 –> 21:05.420] There’s a lot going on. [21:05.420 –> 21:06.420] There’s a lot. [21:06.420 –> 21:12.420] I mean, to me, it does look like it could be a lot of fun, but I need to play it to [21:12.420 –> 21:13.420] see. [21:13.420 –> 21:14.420] Yeah. [21:14.420 –> 21:17.020] I can’t remember whether this one is one of the ones I kickstarted or not. [21:17.020 –> 21:21.540] I don’t. [21:21.580 –> 21:26.860] When you do so many things like this, sometimes it’s hard to stand out because it has all [21:26.860 –> 21:30.580] the buzzwords or whatever. [21:30.580 –> 21:35.940] But that said, looking at the trailer, there is, oh my gosh, they even have romancing, [21:35.940 –> 21:36.940] don’t they? [21:36.940 –> 21:37.940] Oh, yup. [21:37.940 –> 21:38.940] Yup. [21:38.940 –> 21:39.940] You’re going to go on a date there. [21:39.940 –> 21:40.940] Oh, goodness. [21:40.940 –> 21:41.940] On the sky islands. [21:41.940 –> 21:46.060] You got to go on dates in the sky islands. [21:46.060 –> 21:50.180] See what they should have done was just focused on their little monster designs are quite [21:50.180 –> 21:51.180] fun. [21:51.340 –> 21:53.700] There’s a very tall like tree log guy. [21:53.700 –> 21:57.260] There’s a cool robot golem you fight. [21:57.260 –> 21:59.780] There is, they put a lot of care into the game. [21:59.780 –> 22:00.780] I’ll say that. [22:00.780 –> 22:01.780] Right. [22:01.780 –> 22:02.780] Yeah. [22:02.780 –> 22:11.020] Whether I don’t know if other directions they wanted to go to and was the best call. [22:11.020 –> 22:12.980] They are putting effort into it. [22:12.980 –> 22:13.980] Yeah. [22:13.980 –> 22:21.780] Also I do like, I am, I like the card battle menu where you pick a card to do it and tag [22:21.780 –> 22:23.300] it even if it’s just flavor. [22:23.300 –> 22:24.340] I like it. [22:24.340 –> 22:29.900] It’s a nice looking thing, but, but yeah, you can look at your, look at the trailer [22:29.900 –> 22:32.900] yourself and decide if you want to pick it up on September 20th. [22:32.900 –> 22:38.140] But yeah, it does, it does feel a lot like it’s the, oh, we’re wanting this game to be [22:38.140 –> 22:42.660] five different games in one and that can work and sometimes it doesn’t work. [22:42.660 –> 22:46.980] So we’ll, we’ll see whether this one works or not. [22:46.980 –> 22:48.420] This one, I didn’t kickstart it. [22:48.420 –> 22:50.940] I don’t know whether it was a kickstarter or not, but I didn’t. [22:50.940 –> 22:52.700] I didn’t kickstart it. [22:52.700 –> 22:54.140] I did kickstart Sprout Valley. [22:54.140 –> 22:56.140] So I’ve got that coming. [22:56.140 –> 22:57.140] Yes. [22:57.140 –> 22:58.140] Free game. [22:58.140 –> 23:05.680] And the third game that’s announced its release date is A Tiny Sticker Tale. [23:05.680 –> 23:10.220] This is the one, I mean, it’s not really a Cottagecore game, but it is by the developers [23:10.220 –> 23:11.220] of Lonesome Village. [23:11.220 –> 23:12.220] So that’s why I’m mentioning it. [23:12.220 –> 23:15.220] I mean, it has the vibes. [23:15.220 –> 23:16.220] Yeah. [23:16.220 –> 23:17.220] Yeah. [23:17.220 –> 23:18.220] Yeah. [23:18.220 –> 23:19.220] Yeah. [23:19.220 –> 23:22.440] I think that would be what some people would call a cozy game, not necessarily a cottage [23:22.440 –> 23:23.860] core game. [23:23.860 –> 23:30.620] If we want to get into these definitions, we don’t want to get into these definitions. [23:30.620 –> 23:32.940] If we wanted to, that’s what I would say. [23:32.940 –> 23:33.940] Okay. [23:33.940 –> 23:37.260] So, um, but yeah, this is from Lonesome Village. [23:37.260 –> 23:41.460] We covered that game a while back, Johnny and I, they’re the Mexican developers. [23:41.460 –> 23:45.680] So of course I’m going to probably get this game regardless and support them. [23:45.680 –> 23:50.860] I will say, I don’t know what the Lonesome Numbers Village were, but this looks like [23:50.860 –> 23:55.440] they got a little more, uh, a little more love when maybe they had a little bit more [23:55.440 –> 23:57.140] money for some production value. [23:57.140 –> 23:58.140] Yeah. [23:58.140 –> 23:59.140] Yeah. [23:59.140 –> 24:00.140] Yeah. [24:00.140 –> 24:03.020] So for people who may not remember, Lonesome Village was essentially a puzzle collection [24:03.020 –> 24:04.020] of games. [24:04.020 –> 24:05.020] They’re very good. [24:05.020 –> 24:06.020] Good one. [24:06.020 –> 24:09.020] Um, like, uh, all sorts of different types of puzzles and whatnot. [24:09.020 –> 24:13.660] This one, you’re going through an adventure sort of thing. [24:13.660 –> 24:16.620] And as the name implies, tiny sticker tale. [24:16.620 –> 24:20.380] You’re using stickers to actually put stuff, like you put a sticker of a bridge to make [24:20.380 –> 24:21.380] a bridge. [24:21.380 –> 24:23.380] Um, it’s actually a clever, cute idea. [24:23.380 –> 24:24.380] Yeah. [24:24.380 –> 24:25.380] Yeah. [24:25.380 –> 24:30.620] And it’s on this, it’s really small levels, um, where you’re basically getting from one [24:30.620 –> 24:34.020] side to the other using stickers as a kind of, it’s again, puzzle-y, right? [24:34.020 –> 24:36.740] They clearly love their puzzle games, which is totally fun. [24:36.740 –> 24:41.220] Um, and what I really like about what they’ve done is it’s, it’s, it’s the same art style. [24:41.220 –> 24:45.380] And I don’t know if any of the characters are exactly the same, but like it’s clearly [24:45.380 –> 24:49.100] leaning into its strongest thing, which is the art style. [24:49.100 –> 24:50.100] It’s super cute. [24:50.100 –> 24:56.220] And I like when they can do that and it works well because then you’ve got a love of consistency [24:56.220 –> 24:59.420] across multiple games, which is good fun. [24:59.420 –> 25:07.220] And also their art style works really well for stickers actually, so, um, yeah, it goes [25:07.220 –> 25:08.220] great. [25:08.220 –> 25:11.360] Cause it’s like all, they’re all kind of like 2D sprites on the world. [25:11.360 –> 25:16.100] They’re big, bold shapes, round cartoons. [25:16.100 –> 25:17.820] So it works great. [25:17.820 –> 25:23.900] Um, and it looks like you can just spit ball, I haven’t read anything, I’m just off this [25:23.900 –> 25:24.900] one trailer. [25:24.900 –> 25:28.740] It looks like you can even decorate a little house or something with your stickers and [25:28.740 –> 25:29.740] that’s nice. [25:29.740 –> 25:30.740] Yeah. [25:30.740 –> 25:31.740] Um, which is good. [25:31.740 –> 25:36.740] I don’t think we see enough stickers in video games like gameplay wise, like actually doing [25:36.740 –> 25:37.740] something with them. [25:37.740 –> 25:38.740] Yeah. [25:38.740 –> 25:42.460] Last one I can think of was that Paper Mario game and that one did not work well with stickers. [25:42.460 –> 25:45.220] Um, yeah, it’s quite clever what they’ve done here, right? [25:45.220 –> 25:47.180] Cause they’ve made the whole game play about stickers. [25:47.180 –> 25:48.180] Yeah. [25:48.180 –> 25:50.460] Of course you can then use that as a collection and base thing as well. [25:50.460 –> 25:55.020] And it’s still, uh, it’s not one of these things where your collectible is, as I’ve [25:55.020 –> 25:59.420] said multiple times before, where your collectible is just the same identical thing a hundred [25:59.420 –> 26:00.420] times. [26:00.420 –> 26:01.420] You’re getting different ones. [26:01.420 –> 26:06.380] So the collection becomes its own fun thing rather than just a thing to complete. [26:06.380 –> 26:07.380] You know? [26:07.380 –> 26:08.380] Yep. [26:08.380 –> 26:14.060] Actually I should, uh, I should, that reminds me of a very, uh, personal experience. [26:14.060 –> 26:17.340] So I buy card games and whatnot, right? [26:17.340 –> 26:18.340] Um, yeah. [26:18.340 –> 26:23.260] I buy like, I mostly do it for playing the games, but every now and then I’ll buy something [26:23.260 –> 26:27.580] like, I enjoy collecting, I don’t go after sets, but people do that. [26:27.580 –> 26:28.580] Right. [26:28.580 –> 26:30.980] But you know, the only kicker is, well, the best thing you can do is like put it in a [26:30.980 –> 26:31.980] binder or whatever. [26:31.980 –> 26:32.980] Right. [26:32.980 –> 26:35.740] Like it’s a, it’s a little hard to display or whatever. [26:35.740 –> 26:39.740] But anyways, the point I’m trying to say is back when I was younger though, in, in Mexico, [26:39.740 –> 26:44.900] I lived in Mexico for a little while, um, appropriate for this discussion, um, they [26:44.900 –> 26:50.580] would, one of the things that was hot for the kids or whatever, you could buy similar [26:50.580 –> 26:52.420] to cards, but they were stickers. [26:52.460 –> 26:55.300] Um, and there were like different things and you could buy sticker books and you could [26:55.300 –> 26:57.900] like place your stickers on in the books and stuff like that. [26:57.900 –> 27:01.500] Like I had a Dragon Ball sticker book that I fondly remember. [27:01.500 –> 27:03.580] Um, so yeah, good, good stuff. [27:03.580 –> 27:05.420] This uh, it leans into that. [27:05.420 –> 27:06.420] Stickers are fun. [27:06.420 –> 27:07.420] Yeah. [27:07.420 –> 27:08.420] Good fun. [27:08.420 –> 27:10.500] October 4th, that’s the fourth. [27:10.500 –> 27:11.500] Is that the right date? [27:11.500 –> 27:12.500] Yes. [27:12.500 –> 27:13.500] Tiny little sticker, tiny sticker tale. [27:13.500 –> 27:14.500] That’s the one. [27:14.500 –> 27:17.940] October 4th on Steam and Switch again, doing that, uh, dual release like they did for Lonesome [27:17.940 –> 27:18.940] Village. [27:18.940 –> 27:19.940] Very good for them. [27:19.940 –> 27:20.940] Cool. [27:20.940 –> 27:21.940] Yep. [27:22.460 –> 27:23.460] Cool. [27:23.460 –> 27:27.460] So that’s the three new releases over the next month and just a very, very fast rundown [27:27.460 –> 27:29.140] of September. [27:29.140 –> 27:34.780] We have Rune Factory 3 Special is out now, it came out yesterday when this episode comes [27:34.780 –> 27:35.780] out. [27:35.780 –> 27:38.860] Fae Farm and Sprout Valley, both on the 8th of September. [27:38.860 –> 27:41.420] Moonstone Island on the 20th of September. [27:41.420 –> 27:45.660] Monechos Night Market, Harvest Moon, The Winds of Anthos and Paleo Pines, all on the 26th [27:45.660 –> 27:49.860] of September and Wildmender on the 28th of September. [27:50.780 –> 27:51.780] Boy. [27:51.780 –> 27:59.780] I don’t, obviously the cottagecore space isn’t, uh, how should I put this, right? [27:59.780 –> 28:04.300] It’s maybe not as well defined or cutthroat as other spaces, right? [28:04.300 –> 28:05.300] Because like… [28:05.300 –> 28:10.540] Sure, but I mean, none of those, I have not taken any, like I know that sometimes I’m [28:10.540 –> 28:14.940] like, oh, it’s not really like, you know, sticker tale, whatever, but like that list, [28:14.940 –> 28:16.700] they’re all farming games. [28:17.660 –> 28:23.340] Like there’s, there’s no, no end, artistic license taken with them. [28:23.340 –> 28:34.300] The three big games on the one day on the 26th, whatever you said, that’s ooh, somebody’s [28:34.300 –> 28:35.900] gloves were thrown down. [28:35.900 –> 28:39.620] They like, they, the gauntlet was thrown. [28:39.620 –> 28:47.100] They, Paleo Pines looked at Monecho and then called them out. [28:47.100 –> 28:50.500] But you know, at the end of the day, Monechos Night Market is all that matters, so, you [28:50.500 –> 28:51.500] know. [28:51.500 –> 28:52.500] Yeah. [28:52.500 –> 28:57.260] It’s funny because I noticed today that apparently Winds of Anthos, I hadn’t noticed, doesn’t [28:57.260 –> 29:02.100] come out on the same day in Europe, it’s coming out like a week and a half later. [29:02.100 –> 29:04.860] And I was like, oh no, that’s really annoying. [29:04.860 –> 29:09.100] But then I realized, I’ll just, I’ll just be playing Monechos Night Market for that [29:09.100 –> 29:10.100] week anyway. [29:10.100 –> 29:11.100] Exactly. [29:11.100 –> 29:17.100] And we’re doing the Monechos Night Market episode first, because Micah’s busy. [29:17.100 –> 29:21.140] So it all works out anyway. [29:21.140 –> 29:22.140] All good. [29:22.140 –> 29:26.540] I am totally fine with that, but we’ll talk about Winds of Anthos later. [29:26.540 –> 29:27.540] Right. [29:27.540 –> 29:28.540] More news. [29:28.540 –> 29:31.660] We’ve got Disney Dreamlight Valley have announced their Cozy edition. [29:31.660 –> 29:38.780] I like the, I like the implication that the other versions of this game are not cozy. [29:38.780 –> 29:43.960] I will say something, some of those, that game gets, if you think about it, it gets [29:43.960 –> 29:44.960] dark. [29:44.960 –> 29:45.960] It’s like, it does. [29:45.960 –> 29:46.960] It’s raw. [29:46.960 –> 29:47.960] It does. [29:47.960 –> 29:50.180] So the Cozy edition doesn’t come with any of the dark stuff. [29:50.180 –> 29:51.180] It’s just cozy. [29:51.180 –> 29:52.180] No. [29:52.180 –> 29:53.180] No. [29:53.180 –> 29:54.180] Everyone’s not dead from the evil vines. [29:54.180 –> 29:56.380] This is a little bit funny, right? [29:56.380 –> 30:01.900] Because it’s a, it’s a physical case you’re getting, but with a download code. [30:01.900 –> 30:05.740] Oh, don’t you love it when they do that? [30:05.740 –> 30:09.060] But you also get a sticker set, a sticker sheet. [30:09.060 –> 30:11.460] Do you know about Fallout 76? [30:11.460 –> 30:17.620] I mean, about the game or like the physical, the physical, the physical edition of Fallout [30:17.620 –> 30:18.620] 76. [30:18.620 –> 30:19.900] No. [30:19.900 –> 30:20.900] Was that the same thing? [30:20.900 –> 30:28.260] It was a similar thing, but the download code, they actually put a paper disc in the CD slot [30:28.260 –> 30:34.100] to say download it. [30:34.100 –> 30:36.280] It’s just salt in the wound. [30:36.280 –> 30:38.860] That’s that was uncalled for. [30:38.860 –> 30:43.320] By the way, Nintendo, make your Switch 2 cases, make them smaller, please. [30:43.320 –> 30:44.320] They’re still too big. [30:44.320 –> 30:45.320] Right? [30:45.320 –> 30:46.320] Why did they get tall? [30:46.320 –> 30:47.320] Right? [30:47.320 –> 30:51.460] The case, the cartridge is smaller than the 3DS one, but the case got really tall. [30:51.460 –> 30:52.460] That is real. [30:52.460 –> 30:53.460] What’s that about? [30:53.460 –> 30:55.600] It got thinner, but taller. [30:55.600 –> 30:58.900] It’s like, they’re like, we need to use the same amount of plastic. [30:58.900 –> 31:00.700] It’s I don’t, I don’t get it. [31:00.700 –> 31:03.220] Like I, you know what? [31:03.500 –> 31:07.460] That is, I want to know the thought process to get there. [31:07.460 –> 31:12.860] I suspect it was to make it the same height as the Xbox and PS5 ones because it is now [31:12.860 –> 31:13.860] the same height as them. [31:13.860 –> 31:14.860] I think. [31:14.860 –> 31:15.860] Is it? [31:15.860 –> 31:16.860] I think so. [31:16.860 –> 31:17.860] I need to double check. [31:17.860 –> 31:18.860] Have I got one? [31:18.860 –> 31:19.860] I’ve got PS3. [31:19.860 –> 31:20.860] It’s PS4 and 5. [31:20.860 –> 31:23.420] Are they the same size as PS3 or are they taller? [31

Kev and Jonnie talk about Dredge. Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:18: What Have We Been Up To 00:16:51: News 00:23:46: Dredge 00:53:22: Outro Links Whimsy and Wonder Humble Bundle Stardew 1.6 Tweet Disney Dreamlight Valley Dreamsnaps Update Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript [00:00.000 –> 00:15.000] music [00:31.000 –> 00:37.240] hello anglers and welcome to another episode of the harvest season the fishing season whatever [00:37.240 –> 00:43.960] we’re called right now i’m kevin and i’m johnny and uh we’re here to talk about fishing games [00:43.960 –> 00:49.720] i don’t know who changed that made that official whatever it’s still fishing month um i think this [00:49.720 –> 00:56.360] episode it might be the tail end of fishing month i don’t 100 remember the order um no no this is [00:56.720 –> 01:04.240] this is week two of fishing month is it is it oh i am i am 80% sure that this is week two of [01:04.240 –> 01:13.680] fishing okay never mind never mind then um okay i just i had that all wrong okay um anyways uh [01:13.680 –> 01:17.680] so yeah we’re actually going to talk about a specific game this time unlike last time where [01:17.680 –> 01:22.640] we talked about a whole bunch of different mini games we talk about a full fishing game uh one [01:22.680 –> 01:28.480] called dredge um that just yeah and we’re going we’re continuing our world tour kids this month [01:28.480 –> 01:32.000] you know when we were first on an episode together we talked about lonesome village which [01:32.960 –> 01:36.960] was developed in mexico and then we we got together and talked about tyrannil which was [01:36.960 –> 01:40.880] produced in south africa and now we’re talking about dredge which was developed right here in [01:40.880 –> 01:48.000] new zealand so our world tour continues oh man put that on your list of exports um that’s a [01:48.880 –> 01:56.080] banger job new zealand the dev team um but yeah um before we dive into that [01:58.080 –> 02:03.520] we will uh we actually do have a few pieces as we brought to our attention so we can go over [02:04.160 –> 02:10.960] um but before that well actually first i want to mention as always we have transcripts [02:11.760 –> 02:19.920] show notes links yada yada on the uh website uh harvest season dot club um but uh anyways uh [02:19.920 –> 02:25.760] before we get into the news i’m not not johnny what have you been up to why have i been up to um [02:26.480 –> 02:31.040] kevin you and i became friends through a game that some people might have heard of called pokemon [02:31.040 –> 02:37.360] right um the one that’s dead and and we’ve sort of developed a shared hatred of the you know [02:37.360 –> 02:42.000] more recent pokemon games but um i’m guessing you still own you know some pokemon games and [02:42.000 –> 02:48.080] maybe some pokemon merch i do well i want you to take all of that pokemon stuff and just set it on [02:48.080 –> 02:56.240] fire because pokemon is dead uh it is now all about cassette beasts cassette beasts is so good [02:56.240 –> 03:02.080] you turned me on to this game this week from a side um into basically promise yep [03:03.040 –> 03:12.320] this game is incredible it is so so good um it kind of just does everything that i want a modern [03:12.320 –> 03:17.760] pokemon game to do it’s a fun take on the battle system like it’s not it’s it’s inspired by pokemon [03:17.760 –> 03:22.080] but i don’t think it’s fair to call it even a pokemon clone yeah i would agree with that it’s [03:22.080 –> 03:28.480] doing so many unique things on top of uh the creature catching thing the vibe of the game [03:28.480 –> 03:33.200] the vibe of the game is incredible the music is incredible i love cassette beasts kevin [03:33.200 –> 03:40.000] i love love love cassette beasts i mean okay so i have not played cassette beasts unfortunately [03:40.000 –> 03:44.480] but um i have heard enough discussion and most probably most importantly i have listened to the [03:44.480 –> 03:50.640] soundtrack which everyone should listen to regardless of surprise surprise a game called [03:50.640 –> 03:58.080] cassette beast has a banger soundtrack um uh but no i agree with pretty much everything you’ve said [03:58.400 –> 04:05.360] the art style direction the vibe however you want to call it is is very strong um in line with the [04:05.360 –> 04:12.880] music uh something that pokemon suffers from more and more as time goes on but um anyways uh [04:13.920 –> 04:20.080] the battle system is interesting because uh for people who aren’t familiar there’s whatever number [04:20.080 –> 04:26.320] of types these types of games but each one has unique interactions which is pretty crazy and a [04:26.320 –> 04:34.640] fun gift it’s it’s a really well implemented um system uh and a sort of few few examples of how [04:34.640 –> 04:39.920] it works it’s it sort of replaces the super effective you know not very effective from from [04:39.920 –> 04:46.240] pokemon um with interactions that make a lot of sense so and they stick right like so so they [04:46.240 –> 04:50.000] i find that they really stick in my brain when they happen once you’re like oh i totally [04:50.000 –> 04:58.640] understand how these two things will interact so for example if a um fire type uh attack hits a [04:58.640 –> 05:05.200] metal type pokemon it gets like a melted condition and so its defense and attack get reduced um [05:06.000 –> 05:11.520] whereas if a poison type attacks a metal type some of the poison is left on the metal and it gets [05:11.520 –> 05:15.600] additional contact damage when it uses melee attacks going forward and so it’s just like [05:15.600 –> 05:20.640] everything is super intuitive it makes sense uh actually you know some of them like even change [05:20.640 –> 05:26.240] the type of monsters for a few turns like if a fire type uh attacks uh ice type it becomes water [05:26.240 –> 05:32.800] type for a few turns right makes total sense and it’s just such a awesome and cool implementation [05:32.800 –> 05:37.760] and typing matters a lot more because a lot of the sort of normal type attacks from a pokemon [05:38.320 –> 05:45.120] style game they take on the type of um of the monster so it’s really clever it can [05:45.120 –> 05:50.080] yeah it’s really really clever like the battle system is super clever and super interesting [05:50.080 –> 05:56.160] um and it’s a really cool evolution of you know traditional pokemon style battling and you know [05:56.160 –> 06:00.800] like in a pokemon game i never lose battles i have lost a decent number of battles and cassette [06:00.800 –> 06:05.200] beasts so far and it’s not that the game is hard like it’s an easy game but you can get into areas [06:05.200 –> 06:08.880] that are over leveled for you or you can make a few mistakes and then like you know you’re [06:08.880 –> 06:12.240] leveling up some different beasts and it’s just like oh this is not going well [06:14.400 –> 06:21.840] um yeah no that’s uh i i like i said from what i’ve heard i can’t disagree with any of that [06:22.640 –> 06:29.440] um the designs are well you know that’s subjective but they’re pretty strong [06:29.440 –> 06:37.680] it’s a nice pixel style i’d say maybe diamond pearl black white era pokemon um yeah the designs [06:37.680 –> 06:41.600] are good they’re not the strongest element of the game but they are right but they’re good [06:41.600 –> 06:46.960] they’re not bad absolutely they’re good yeah yep yep um and it i mean that’s always a really [06:46.960 –> 06:52.320] tough space because you know pokemon yeah fine the other thing that’s really cool is the the [06:52.320 –> 06:56.800] world building that’s gone into cassette beasts and explaining like why you’re in the world and [06:56.800 –> 07:01.680] how that all sort of ties together and like there’s this this one song that plays when [07:01.680 –> 07:08.000] you’re in harbor town which is the the hub town for um the world and it is just like [07:08.000 –> 07:18.240] the most beautiful song it’s like very melancholy very like sad but also relaxing in a way and um i [07:18.800 –> 07:24.320] i love just hanging out in the main town and listening to the song uh yeah no i mean i don’t [07:24.320 –> 07:32.240] know what song it is but there are some really good songs throughout um i’m um yeah like i need [07:32.240 –> 07:38.160] to get this game it’s what it’s i know it’s on steam i think it’s on switch i do not it is on [07:38.160 –> 07:45.200] steam switch xbox game pass uh i actually it’s on playstation but i actually don’t know if it’s on [07:45.200 –> 07:54.800] playstation um well so either way check out cassette beasts um it uh fantastic entry into the [07:56.240 –> 08:03.680] monster collection genre um i do hope it continues one thing i think that we desperately need is a [08:03.680 –> 08:08.560] number two to pokemon you know like uh something to actually shake it up yokai watch kind of had [08:08.560 –> 08:13.600] that for a bit but uh uh other than that a lot of these don’t have a lot of staying power you know [08:13.600 –> 08:19.920] like they have one great game but or one maybe two but then but anyways sorry i don’t want to [08:19.920 –> 08:23.040] talk like endlessly about cassette beats but i actually do want to talk endlessly about cassette [08:23.040 –> 08:28.400] beasts the other cool things that they do is uh their version of shinies which they call bootlegs [08:28.400 –> 08:34.480] um yeah which is a great name um but they are different types right so they have a different [08:34.480 –> 08:40.480] color based on the type but any um uh so there’s like 14 i think there’s 14 different types there’s [08:40.480 –> 08:46.560] effectively 14 shinies or 13 shinies for each one and you can go and hunt specific types so [08:46.560 –> 08:54.080] it’s kind of like the you know um uh the terror thing terrastilizing thing from the most recent [08:54.080 –> 08:58.400] pokemon game but you know like good and fun and interesting and everything that is not [08:59.760 –> 09:06.400] oh ain’t that the truth um yeah no that’s good that’s anyway that’s that’s my that’s my mini [09:06.400 –> 09:14.000] love affair with cassette beasts um okay is is there moves can you trade or battle with other [09:14.000 –> 09:18.240] players do you know so this is the sad thing i don’t know anyone else that’s playing cassette [09:18.240 –> 09:24.400] beast so i haven’t looked into any multiplayer features other than um there is uh a form of [09:24.400 –> 09:28.800] co-op that you can do i’m not sure if it’s local or like you can also do it online because there’s [09:28.800 –> 09:35.760] two um like it’s all double battles um so there is at least that form of co-op but i actually don’t [09:35.760 –> 09:40.080] know if there’s trading or anything like that mostly because i haven’t had any reason oh wait [09:40.080 –> 09:46.160] actually no i’m just remembering i saw a tweet a while back they are planning a huge update um that [09:46.160 –> 09:53.280] will um which is a good sign that it will continue getting support um but uh or is it out now oh [09:53.280 –> 09:57.280] might already be out now i don’t know anyways they’re doing updates um which you know pokemon [09:57.280 –> 10:01.840] doesn’t really do either so uh go check it out because at least uh thank you for listening to [10:01.840 –> 10:10.640] the cassette beasts uh love podcast uh uh have you squeezed in anything other than cassette beast [10:10.640 –> 10:14.960] johnny uh have i squeezed in anything else other than cassette so i mean i’ve been playing a little [10:14.960 –> 10:20.080] bit of pokemon sleep that came out this week um and one of the advantages of being in new zealand [10:20.080 –> 10:24.960] is we get these things released before the rest of the world because we’re the testing ground for [10:24.960 –> 10:31.200] pokemon mobile games um so i have almost completed a week’s worth of pokemon sleep and [10:31.840 –> 10:37.200] it’s kind of exactly what i want it to be it’s a totally fine sleep tracker with pokemon in it [10:37.200 –> 10:43.680] like i don’t know it’s it’s not amazing but it is exactly what it is i loved uh magic carp jump and [10:43.680 –> 10:50.960] this is from the same developers and they just get the they get the vibe of pokemon right i feel so [10:51.040 –> 10:54.240] all right it’s been a it’s been a creature collecting week for me [10:54.240 –> 10:59.680] hey very nice very nice um yeah i’ll need to i don’t know if i’ll try sleep to be honest [10:59.680 –> 11:06.640] it’s just one ice the battle with sleep i don’t know if i need further agitation on that and um [11:07.520 –> 11:12.720] but uh i don’t know i was weirded out by the fact that you this game has a battle pass [11:14.560 –> 11:20.800] oh look the the micro transaction side of this game is pretty ridiculous but it’s kind of just [11:21.360 –> 11:29.680] a mobile game right and this is what mobile games do now and it’s stupid but okay but uh but i i’m [11:29.680 –> 11:34.240] glad it’s it’s i don’t see people necessarily disappointed but just seems really weird things [11:34.240 –> 11:38.320] that came out but anyways um the weirdest commentary that i’ve seen for people who are [11:38.320 –> 11:43.440] disappointed is like they’re like i’m disappointed there’s not more to do like during the day and [11:43.440 –> 11:49.760] i’m kind of like it’s a sleeping app game i’m not sure what you were expecting to do during the day [11:49.760 –> 11:53.280] but if you want to play pokemon during the day there are thousands of other pokemon games that [11:53.280 –> 11:59.520] you could go and play and do stuff during the day so like it’s just weird weird criticism yeah [11:59.520 –> 12:09.040] oh god nothing like uh pokemon fans um good stuff good stuff um anything else you want to bring up [12:09.040 –> 12:13.920] no no i think i think that’s um uh an awful lot for for creature collection games today what [12:13.920 –> 12:18.160] have you been up to no it’s not because i have been playing creature collection games [12:18.720 –> 12:27.600] um i uh well let’s see okay i’ve been unite is hitting the second anniversary and introducing [12:27.600 –> 12:33.600] you two and to be um unite i guess pokemon you know actually one thing i want to comment on [12:33.600 –> 12:44.480] you as well gmutu came out july 20th and it’s getting nerfed on july 21st i love when things [12:44.480 –> 12:51.360] come out so broken they have to get emergency nerve um but uh but anyways but that’s uh [12:52.000 –> 12:56.240] yeah that’s great night players i just love when they completely wreck the balance and have to fix [12:56.240 –> 13:04.800] it um aside from that i’ve been playing tears of the kingdom uh slowly and steadily i’ve married [13:04.800 –> 13:10.320] behind from everyone so i don’t think i have anything new to say that nobody else has said um [13:10.320 –> 13:14.560] i will say i have not yet encountered a horse i’m looking for the horse stables i don’t know [13:14.560 –> 13:22.880] where they are um but i found master koga before that you found master koga before you found a [13:22.880 –> 13:30.880] horse before i saw a single horse even out in the wild wow yeah so my uh journey has been something [13:30.880 –> 13:36.080] else to say the least um it sounds like you just went underground and you have not come back up [13:36.080 –> 13:41.840] i mean the first thing i went was the great plateau i wanted to see my old stomping grounds [13:41.840 –> 13:46.480] and there were some filthy guy cleaned them out and there was a big hole and yeah i jumped in [13:47.040 –> 13:56.560] um but uh but yeah no it’s great um i will say as an engineer uh it it scratches a special itch [13:56.560 –> 14:03.520] to build things um like the sign little the sign dude i like building very efficient [14:04.240 –> 14:10.400] hosts or whatever um but anyways um yeah surprise surprise tears of the kingdom is good um aside [14:10.400 –> 14:16.000] from that i have actually continued to play story of seasons um that i have actually finally [14:16.000 –> 14:22.880] surpassed uh where i played stopped originally or as far as i can recall um and that game just [14:22.880 –> 14:32.000] continues to be a joy in my life um i have also unfortunately gone down the deep dark regrettable [14:32.080 –> 14:37.440] hole of trading card games again i’ve gotten the itch uh this time the pokemon trading card game [14:37.440 –> 14:43.760] my brother picked up the the new app the live app or whatever that they use uh and so he got [14:43.760 –> 14:50.560] me into it and actually the app is pretty good um it’s well it works well which the old one didn’t [14:50.560 –> 14:56.240] do um but in general i’ve been getting a little in the pokemon cards not so much i haven’t really [14:56.240 –> 15:01.360] been buying any just dusting off what i do have i bought like a new deck just having fun with that [15:01.360 –> 15:09.920] um but yeah play like it is the app more like um like magic the gathering arena or hearthstone [15:09.920 –> 15:14.720] where it’s kind of like very just like focused on random battles or is it not too bad if you [15:14.720 –> 15:20.240] want to like battle you know your friends and kind of just puffs about uh no it’s uh it’s [15:21.200 –> 15:26.880] to be quite honest i have not done it myself but from what i understand it’s just it’s easy to play [15:26.880 –> 15:32.240] with your friends if you just want um obviously like they have battle passes and whatever of [15:32.240 –> 15:41.200] course um but uh so they focus a lot on like the random battles and stuff but it it’s no problem [15:41.200 –> 15:47.440] at all to play with your friends um to be fair the the old app was decent at that um just very [15:47.440 –> 15:55.440] clunky in the games itself um oh i will give them props for one well a few things that they’ve done [15:55.440 –> 16:05.520] but um one of the biggest things is uh so in the old online app you couldn’t really buy products [16:05.520 –> 16:13.120] almost um you’re almost it’s not exclusively but the best the easiest way to get cards was to buy [16:13.120 –> 16:16.880] actual products like physical products and put the little code card in right [16:17.440 –> 16:23.120] um they finally changed that in this new version of the uh in this new live app um where you can [16:23.120 –> 16:29.520] grind out coins and actually buy things um and all the stuff you can buy digitally is just the [16:29.520 –> 16:36.240] same stuff you can buy physically so that’s really nice they finally um but yeah so that’s uh that’s [16:36.240 –> 16:46.240] what’s going on with my life so now that we’re uh done collecting monsters for at least right now [16:46.880 –> 16:52.400] what is going on in the world of cottage core games let me actually look at well maybe um to [16:52.400 –> 16:57.200] start with uh um and i should have actually looked up the dates of of when this ends but there’s a [16:57.200 –> 17:01.840] a cool little humble bundle um i feel like humble bundle is one of those things i’m constantly [17:01.840 –> 17:07.280] surprised still exists um because it feels like it was you know really big like 10 years ago and [17:07.280 –> 17:13.280] now it’s just like wait that’s really still going um they have a whimsy and wonder cozy games [17:13.280 –> 17:20.480] collection bundle that has um a few games that um have been talked about uh if not had specific [17:20.480 –> 17:25.280] episodes but talked about pretty heavily on the show like garden story and a short hike plus a few [17:25.280 –> 17:28.560] games that i’d not heard of before there’s something called assemble with care that looks [17:28.560 –> 17:35.920] like a great little mobile game that i kind of want to try um uh and so that’s a current humble [17:35.920 –> 17:41.600] bundle and i can’t actually see an end date for uh it offer ends in 19 days so it will definitely [17:41.600 –> 17:50.640] still be out um by the time uh this uh episode comes out so uh if you uh after picking up some [17:50.640 –> 17:58.320] cool uh cozy games uh this is a good place to start yeah no that’s um yeah that sounds great [17:58.320 –> 18:03.920] um humble bundles like the sheer amount of value you get from them always blows my mind [18:04.000 –> 18:13.840] um but uh that’s good stuff um let’s see what else there is oh disney dreamlight valley [18:13.840 –> 18:20.000] getting an update um is that out already that might be uh i believe this update is out so [18:20.000 –> 18:29.520] yeah this is the dream snaps update um and uh it’s sort of them getting into some of the uh [18:30.320 –> 18:38.160] multiplayer sharing side of things um where uh it’s sort of a weekly photo challenge um [18:38.160 –> 18:44.480] so the snaps being photos um it has prizes for participating including moonstones and moonstones [18:44.480 –> 18:55.760] is sort of the um premium-esque currency um in in um uh in dreamlight valley uh and there’s a bunch [18:55.760 –> 19:00.480] of other stuff that goes along with that but that’s really i guess the key focus of this [19:00.480 –> 19:05.600] update now i’ll tell you what the key focus is the key focus is vanellope von schweetz is now in [19:05.600 –> 19:10.000] the game um i don’t know if you’re a fan of wreck-it-ralph but i’m a very very big fan of [19:10.000 –> 19:15.440] that movie i was like looking at that name and i could not place it and uh i think because [19:15.440 –> 19:20.240] wreck-it-ralph is not like immediately where you go like it’s not one of the instant disney [19:20.240 –> 19:23.600] associations but that yeah that makes total sense that’s exciting that she’s in the game [19:23.600 –> 19:28.720] yeah yeah that’s uh that’s fun she’s a great character love that movie great to see my sister [19:28.720 –> 19:32.320] has actually been big big big into disney dreamlight valley um so that’s why i knew [19:32.320 –> 19:37.120] it was out because i think i saw her mentioning vanellope out um but yeah i didn’t mention it [19:37.120 –> 19:43.040] i didn’t mention it in the um uh the main update because it’s been a few weeks but um i have [19:43.040 –> 19:47.040] actually hit credits on disney dreamlight valley which a i didn’t realize that you could hit [19:47.840 –> 19:54.640] was my mind uh i have hit credits of that game so um there’s a lot a lot more content than when [19:54.640 –> 20:03.040] al and i um first covered it um and it’s uh just still a really good game so um yeah yeah no that’s [20:03.040 –> 20:10.960] um yeah i i want to get into it but the list of other games i’m digging into first just is it’s [20:10.960 –> 20:16.800] really big um well i feel most people should still wait for 1.0 because it’s still not in 1.0 yet [20:17.280 –> 20:26.000] yeah um one thing that i do heckle my sister about like i i seeing all these disney characters [20:26.000 –> 20:30.000] next to each other like makes you realize just just how messed up that can be like [20:30.000 –> 20:37.440] why is scar not eating remy from ratatouille like why doesn’t that happen well if you play the game [20:37.440 –> 20:43.760] and you do some quests you will find out why scar is not eating remy because they definitely [20:43.760 –> 20:53.280] interact as part of scar’s quest line wait they do that’s awesome um good stuff uh but anyways um [20:54.640 –> 21:01.040] okay so that’s disney dreamlight valley speaking of updates to good games um [21:02.240 –> 21:11.920] uh we’re reporting that uh water is wet uh sky is blue and stardew continues to have updates [21:11.920 –> 21:16.800] um uh kev i think you know that that might actually be used to some of our listeners [21:16.800 –> 21:21.200] given uh last episode we spent you know half of it trashing fishing and starting out [21:22.480 –> 21:29.280] we do actually like the game no well yes yes yeah if we didn’t yeah we should be clear um [21:29.280 –> 21:38.080] yeah is a good game yes um not the fishing i’m just i’m looking through the concerned [21:38.320 –> 21:43.200] twitter is pretty good oh oh so that’s why he put a picture of there’s a steam sale is that [21:43.200 –> 21:50.160] for oh yeah no that’s over never mind sorry anyways yes stardew has a big update uh 1.6 [21:50.160 –> 21:57.520] update oh he’s going there is going to be one excuse me um to quote his tweet or to pull from [21:57.520 –> 22:02.240] his tweet here uh there’s changes for modders which will make it easier and more powerful to [22:02.240 –> 22:10.240] mod which frightens me um but there will be new game content much less than 1.5 um he’s [22:10.240 –> 22:16.640] taking a break from haunted chocolatier to work on this um that’s all i think oh here we go yeah [22:16.640 –> 22:24.560] look it’s basically hints that uh you know 1.6 is coming at some point soon there’s no date uh [22:24.560 –> 22:31.200] you know at new festivals you know a few new events um but it doesn’t sound like it’s gonna be [22:31.200 –> 22:38.880] some um uh huge update so if you like stardew valley and you want more stardew valley content [22:38.880 –> 22:44.960] it’s coming at some point you know in in the near future um if you take the near future to mean you [22:44.960 –> 22:49.920] know sometime within the next two years that’s about as confident as i’d be on when this is [22:49.920 –> 22:57.920] going to come out um but ultimately i think um the the the new story here is uh more stardew valley [22:57.920 –> 23:03.520] content it just uh uh is gonna be you know more of what’s already in there it doesn’t sound like [23:03.520 –> 23:13.520] it’s gonna be some massive shift um to what’s uh to what the game already does yeah um i mean [23:13.520 –> 23:20.240] stardew right like fans if you’re a fan you know what to expect um but uh but yeah i mean it just [23:20.240 –> 23:24.560] continues probably will never ever stop i mean i wouldn’t stop either with all the money he’s [23:24.560 –> 23:33.840] probably making off that um but yeah there you go uh let’s see i think that’s roughly what we [23:33.840 –> 23:39.440] have for news anything else that you saw uh no nothing else really i think that that um about [23:39.440 –> 23:44.160] covers i’m sure there’ll be some small stuff that we missed and uh we’ll catch up on that at some [23:44.160 –> 23:53.040] point in the future there you go so now that we are through the news let’s uh let’s talk about uh [23:54.640 –> 24:00.880] a cozy little game called dredge as we’re so prone to talk about on this game on this show [24:03.120 –> 24:07.920] all right yeah maybe not maybe not the coziest of games but um it’s definitely a fishing game [24:07.920 –> 24:15.120] it is a fishing game um all right johnny take since you uh for clarity uh johnny has played [24:15.120 –> 24:20.240] and i believe completed it i have not played but i am fairly familiar with the game i’ve [24:20.240 –> 24:27.120] talked about several people who have nothing but praise for it um uh it is on my list again so [24:27.120 –> 24:32.800] go ahead johnny give us give us the elevator pitch what’s going on with dread uh so as i said [24:32.800 –> 24:38.400] you’re a fisherman and uh you know the the base premises you’ve taken a job as a fisherman on the [24:38.400 –> 24:47.280] way to the town where you’ve taken the job your boat gets um uh damaged and uh you so you have to [24:47.280 –> 24:53.920] you know rent uh a new boat from the town where they’ve hired you to work as a fisherman um and [24:53.920 –> 24:58.560] so you go off and you start fishing up fish and paying off your debt and doing all of those sorts [24:58.560 –> 25:04.320] of fun things and there’s you know some some spooky overtones and then a little bit into the [25:04.320 –> 25:11.760] game you fish up an aberration um which is kind of like a regular fish um but kuthulu or you know [25:12.240 –> 25:20.240] um some lovecraftian horror got involved with the fish and turned it into a uh a weird aberration [25:20.240 –> 25:27.360] of the fish um and so really a little extra ooze just a little few extra eyes no biggie [25:28.320 –> 25:34.720] yeah and so um and from there the sort of core gameplay loop that takes off as you’re going [25:34.800 –> 25:42.240] around um uh various regions um fishing up different fish but ostensibly looking for [25:42.240 –> 25:47.440] some items for a character uh known as the collector who’s looking for some [25:48.240 –> 25:52.800] artifacts that were lost in a shipwreck and so you’re going around trying to [25:53.360 –> 25:59.360] find those um and you primarily do that with fishing um and fun little side note that i [25:59.360 –> 26:03.200] actually don’t think i told you about yet but i i am good friends with the person that did the [26:03.200 –> 26:09.360] voice acting for the collector oh really so yeah that’s really cool um you know because [26:09.360 –> 26:12.320] there’s only like six people in new zealand so it was highly likely that i was going to know [26:12.320 –> 26:17.680] one of the people that worked on this game johnny’s in the credits he didn’t even do [26:17.680 –> 26:26.960] anything but he’s just there as special thanks um um yeah so that’s kind of the core gameplay look [26:26.960 –> 26:32.320] but um to talk a little bit more about the the fishing specifically um so there’s a bunch of [26:32.320 –> 26:36.640] sort of different fishing mini games um but there’s sort of different fishing types which [26:36.640 –> 26:40.880] i really like so i think there’s sort of seven or eight fishing types you know there’s uh shallow [26:40.880 –> 26:48.480] water fishing coastal fishing deep water fishing uh abyssal fishing volcanic fishing um and they [26:48.480 –> 26:52.800] all have different rods and you catch different fish in the different uh different spots and some [26:52.800 –> 26:57.680] of them have different uh mini games and then when you catch the fish they’re sort of like an [26:57.680 –> 27:04.400] inventory um you know fit the fish in the space sort of thing that you have to do so your boat [27:04.400 –> 27:10.400] has a certain amount of space um and you can put the fish river it’s got space and bigger fish have [27:10.400 –> 27:14.240] you know weird shapes and all sorts of things so there is a little bit of a puzzle element to [27:14.240 –> 27:19.200] putting the fish together which is pretty cool yeah for to use a popular game reference it’s [27:19.760 –> 27:25.120] the resident evil 4 the attache case or whatever your little tetris thing to fit everything in the [27:25.120 –> 27:33.840] box um which i i do like my i like that i think that’s clever um but huh i didn’t know they were [27:33.840 –> 27:40.560] different i you know different it makes sense but i do like that that it’s not there’s different [27:40.560 –> 27:46.160] rods for different environments and things that is that’s nice to see uh you know a little death [27:46.720 –> 27:53.200] to the game um yeah and it’s cool right so so one of the limiting factors in the early game is the [27:53.760 –> 27:58.960] um rods that you have will maybe fish up can only fish up one or two different types [27:58.960 –> 28:02.800] um so you have to pick which rod you’re going to take on your boat because the rod takes up [28:02.800 –> 28:07.280] space on your boat so you leave some of them back in storage as you get more towards the end game [28:07.280 –> 28:11.520] you start unlocking rods that can fish up more types and it’s possible to sort of you know go [28:11.520 –> 28:17.760] around and fish up any type um you know pretty easily by the time you get to the end of the game [28:17.760 –> 28:21.440] but it’s a it’s a nice little limiting factor at the start of the game where you’re having [28:21.440 –> 28:25.600] to actively make the decision of like oh so what fish am i going at to get what what does [28:25.600 –> 28:31.920] that mean in terms of the sorts of uh rods that i would want to take right okay that is huh yeah [28:31.920 –> 28:39.760] that is a good natural way of unlocking progression or however you want to put it um huh that is [28:40.880 –> 28:46.480] interesting um oh you know here’s a question how is the sailing because all the game plays [28:46.480 –> 28:51.120] on the boat right like you’re moving around how does the boat control how’s it feel uh the boat [28:51.360 –> 28:59.440] controls okay um and it’s it’s weird right because are these the best boat controls ever [28:59.440 –> 29:05.840] absolutely not right but it almost feels intentional so um part of the game is that it [29:05.840 –> 29:12.720] runs on a you know 24 hour clock cycle so it’s kind of just going through um day and night and [29:12.720 –> 29:17.840] day is relatively safe so um i mentioned the aberration fish that you’re catching before [29:17.920 –> 29:24.640] if you’re out at night when the fog rolls in um your panic level starts to rise so there’s sort [29:24.640 –> 29:32.000] of this um big you know lovecraftian horror sort of theme going to the game and at night your panic [29:32.000 –> 29:39.360] rises and as your panic rises there’s certain um uh negative things that can happen and it could be [29:39.360 –> 29:44.640] you know uh sea monsters are kind of called to attack your boat um and you can’t you know fight [29:44.720 –> 29:50.960] back against them they just damage your boat or things like um uh rocks might appear out of the [29:50.960 –> 29:57.360] fog all of a sudden um that weren’t there before that you crash into and when you crash um or [29:57.360 –> 30:03.040] damage is done to your boat it impacts the um so it damages one of those inventory slots that [30:03.040 –> 30:07.760] i talked about before and anything that was in that slot is either like if a fish was in that [30:07.760 –> 30:12.960] slot that fish was lost overboard or if it was a rod or an engine or something then then that part [30:12.960 –> 30:20.080] of your boat becomes um disabled so it’s a really like fun sort of push your luck mechanic um [30:20.080 –> 30:25.360] different fish come out at night so so you do have to go out at night because it’s not just like try [30:25.360 –> 30:30.560] and get home during the day as quickly as possible and then you know uh rest until the next morning [30:30.560 –> 30:37.760] it’s um something that you kind of actively want to do but um uh sort of the panic level rising [30:37.760 –> 30:42.160] they do a really nice job of kind of actually you know making you feel slightly more panicked when [30:42.160 –> 30:48.880] you are out in the fog yeah yeah that panic level can refer to either the in-game mechanic or your [30:48.880 –> 30:58.080] own feeling of panic because uh boy is there uneasiness in this game um yeah because man like [30:58.720 –> 31:04.160] i guess we might as well start talking about the fish right because i’m sure you start off with [31:04.160 –> 31:13.040] just basic everyday fish um but then as you said there’s some really scary stuff in those waters [31:13.040 –> 31:19.760] just like the real world of ocean um yeah so when you start fishing you know it’s a lot of your [31:19.760 –> 31:27.200] um coastal and and sort of shallow water fish that you’re um uh fishing up um that kind of [31:27.200 –> 31:34.080] follows through into the the first area or the first sort of area outside of the main hub area [31:34.080 –> 31:37.840] that you go so it’s a lot of those sort of fish and you start fishing up some aberrations [31:38.480 –> 31:44.000] um and some of those sorts of things and then it kind of really opens i think when you get to the [31:44.000 –> 31:48.320] second area and i believe you can go to the areas in whichever order you want but there’s a [31:48.320 –> 31:55.520] natural order that they sort of push you towards them and we start getting the the rods to fish up [31:55.520 –> 32:02.080] the abyssal and um hadal style fish and i actually have no idea what the word hadal even means um or [32:02.080 –> 32:05.760] if it’s just something they made up for this game uh but at the start you know you’re fishing up [32:05.760 –> 32:13.040] mackerel and cod and squid and eels and just all of um uh those sorts of things and then as you go [32:13.040 –> 32:19.520] on uh when it’s sort of the abyssal fish it’s a lot of what we might think of as like those um [32:19.520 –> 32:24.880] really deep water fish you know see the um you know the ones with like the lights off their head [32:24.880 –> 32:31.520] and a really big sharp pointed teeth um there’s a lot that are sort of in those sorts of categories [32:31.520 –> 32:37.760] i still believe they’re real fish um like the anglerfish and some of those sorts of things but [32:37.760 –> 32:42.160] they uh it’s sort of like bridging that gap between it’s almost like asking the question of [32:42.160 –> 32:47.200] what’s even below those fish right the anglerfish and some of those sorts of things what’s below [32:47.200 –> 32:53.520] those well actually so i looked this up because i was curious hadal is a real word and refers to [32:54.320 –> 32:58.320] uh the deepest parts of the ocean so when you think of the deep ocean you know you think of [32:58.320 –> 33:04.400] anglerfish and whatnot the hadal zone is the ocean like in the deep trenches that goes even deeper [33:04.400 –> 33:13.440] than that um so yeah pretty much exactly what you said um that is oh gosh this is all horrifying to [33:13.440 –> 33:21.840] think about um lining up with shark week in here in the states um granted i don’t think i don’t [33:21.920 –> 33:27.280] know if there are any sharks in there are sharks in church oh there are uh but they’re actually [33:27.280 –> 33:32.560] not that uh scary to fish up they’re kind of like your um big open water fish that you go and get so [33:33.600 –> 33:38.560] they take up a lot of space in your boat but they are sort of uh valuable and they’re not [33:38.560 –> 33:42.160] particularly difficult to fish and i guess the fishing in general in this game is not [33:42.160 –> 33:46.720] particularly difficult so it’s um there’s a few different sorts of mini games that you do for [33:46.720 –> 33:52.080] fishing but they’re all just sort of timing based you know press the press the button when [33:52.080 –> 33:59.200] the thing’s in the zone um it’s relatively straightforward as far as fishing um as far as [33:59.200 –> 34:04.640] fishing mechanics go but there are a few sorts which is which is good right so there’s different [34:04.640 –> 34:08.400] types based on the sort of fishing or the sort of rod that you’re doing um and there’s a few [34:08.400 –> 34:13.200] different sorts of fishing as well so there is a little aspect of automation to the game so you’ve [34:13.200 –> 34:17.680] got rods um that’s the main thing there are crab pots so you can go and leave the crab pots out [34:17.680 –> 34:24.880] and they’ll fill up over over time um and you can can get them and you can also do um trawling um [34:24.880 –> 34:30.080] with the net so you can attach a net to the back of your boat and um that will pick up um you know [34:30.080 –> 34:35.760] it doesn’t catch uh big or expensive fish but it is a great way to sort of pick up extra fish [34:35.760 –> 34:41.680] as you’re um as you’re going around so they’ve got a few different sorts of fishing like that [34:41.680 –> 34:48.000] and in addition to they do actually have uh dredging so you can go and find um uh shipwrecks [34:48.000 –> 34:54.240] and um you can uh that’s how you get some of the resources that you need to improve your boat [34:54.240 –> 34:58.880] um or you find some some trinkets and other things so uh they’ve gone pretty broad with [34:58.880 –> 35:03.200] the different sorts of fishing that you can do in the game which works really well that’s nice [35:03.200 –> 35:07.920] i wasn’t aware of that um which i guess makes sense you know since it’s all just fishing to [35:07.920 –> 35:13.760] spice it up a little um but huh that’s yeah that’s really nice to hear that yeah that [35:13.760 –> 35:17.520] sounds like they really put a lot of thought and care into how you’re navigating these all this [35:17.520 –> 35:22.480] stuff um yeah and that’s one of the things that comes through really strongly in the game it’s [35:22.480 –> 35:26.480] like it would have been really easy for them to try and make like fishing a little bit more [35:26.480 –> 35:32.720] difficult than they did um because it’s ultimately a fishing game um but i think they got the balance [35:32.720 –> 35:36.800] really nice that it’s like actually it’s more about getting to the spot to fish it up having [35:36.800 –> 35:42.640] the right equipment not getting damaged on the way back um you know fish uh degrade over time [35:42.640 –> 35:47.440] so if you’re out for ages without going back to sell your fish they’ll become stale and then [35:47.440 –> 35:54.960] eventually um uh rotten and that reduces their value obviously so so they’ve created a really [35:54.960 –> 36:01.600] nice gameplay loop for fishing and by not making the fishing sort of like obscenely difficult [36:01.600 –> 36:05.440] um it’s pretty straightforward and the other cool thing that i’ve done actually while i’m [36:05.680 –> 36:11.760] talking about sort of the gameplay look is there’s uh it’s not a huge component of the game but there [36:11.760 –> 36:16.880] is a nod to sort of like the the notion of depletion of um fish stocks so whenever you [36:16.880 –> 36:24.160] go over to one of the designated fishing spots it’ll tell you um how much is is in there um [36:24.160 –> 36:30.240] and you can totally sort of over fish an area where there’s that now longer uh no longer becomes [36:30.240 –> 36:34.960] uh active fishing spot and i think it takes a long time to regenerate and i don’t know if there’s a [36:35.040 –> 36:39.280] 100 accurate or if this is just how it felt to me but if you sort of take an area that’s got [36:39.280 –> 36:44.480] lots of fish and you fish it down to medium that will regenerate relatively quickly um but where [36:44.480 –> 36:49.040] it’s low fish it seemed to stay low for quite a long time so uh it feels like there’s a little [36:49.040 –> 36:54.960] sort of nod to like trying to get you to not over fish a spot which was nice that is really clever [36:54.960 –> 37:00.800] um that’s something you don’t see or at least i don’t see much in games of over fishing um [37:00.800 –> 37:05.760] because yeah not all i mean that fits in the game and it’s a great way to push to other spots [37:06.560 –> 37:12.880] um get out there and confront those whores um that’s really clever i like that a lot um [37:13.600 –> 37:19.760] let’s see here speaking of whores i guess let’s let’s talk about some of the stuff that’s trying [37:19.760 –> 37:26.640] to fish you um because there’s it’s not just crashing into things there’s there’s actual [37:26.640 –> 37:32.960] monsters out there um and they are pretty horrible what are some of your favorites [37:32.960 –> 37:36.640] johnny since you’ve been through so i think the the first one that stands out and it’s because [37:36.640 –> 37:43.280] it’s one of the first ones that you really um encounter is the serpent um so the serpent’s in [37:43.280 –> 37:51.200] sort of the one of the first areas that you go to um and it’s kind of just swimming around the area [37:51.760 –> 37:57.840] and uh i think at night or if you’re high panic it’s more likely to be attracted to to your boat [37:57.840 –> 38:02.160] but i mean you can definitely encounter it during the day and it kind of just swims past and like [38:02.160 –> 38:08.560] damages you um a little bit and it’s kind of just like terrifying because it often happens when [38:08.560 –> 38:14.160] you’re not expecting it right it’s not like some um some of the other things where you maybe get [38:14.160 –> 38:19.120] an indication or a bit of noise and it kind of just happens right and it’s kind of terrifying [38:19.120 –> 38:22.320] and then it kind of continues on and sort of gives you the message of like you’re not that [38:22.320 –> 38:28.080] significant in the world oh boy you just happen to be on the water where you probably shouldn’t [38:28.080 –> 38:37.040] be in this game um so that’s probably the one that sort of stands out um the most to me um there’s [38:37.040 –> 38:47.040] the the uh phantom shark um which i think you usually encounter that um in the open water um [38:47.040 –> 38:53.600] and that tends to do some decent damage to the boat um those are probably the two that that [38:53.600 –> 38:59.680] really um uh sort of stand out and i think a lot of them you’re you’re more likely to encounter [38:59.680 –> 39:08.800] with um uh high uh high panic um or there are some abilities that you lock uh unlock throughout the [39:08.800 –> 39:14.320] game that can also help you sort of avoid some of the huh that’s that’s nice i believe the [39:14.320 –> 39:21.600] phantom shark will only appear with high panic just uh just salt in the wound um but uh that’s [39:21.600 –> 39:29.840] actually the other the other enemy that um is uh is very annoying are the crows so crows what from [39:29.840 –> 39:35.840] yeah from from time to time there are some like phantom crows or or birds that will um [39:36.960 –> 39:42.320] uh appear uh i think they only appear during the day when you’ve got high panics your panic [39:42.320 –> 39:48.640] sort of like can um uh stay high drought throughout the day but being in the daylight does [39:48.640 –> 40:00.080] um uh reduce your panic um but uh they um will steal um uh they will steal fish from your boat [40:00.080 –> 40:05.840] so uh they’re they’re very annoying and that if they’re something like you you might be getting [40:05.840 –> 40:10.320] a fish for a specific quest or something and the crows always take the fish that you need you might [40:10.560 –> 40:17.360] have fish on your boat and they’ll just take the one that you need of course i wonder part of me [40:17.360 –> 40:24.640] would say that could almost be intentional without the bullet um i had no idea that the uh the seagulls [40:24.640 –> 40:33.280] from finding anymore in the game um oh man um i will say again i haven’t played it but the one [40:33.360 –> 40:40.640] i’ve seen slash heard about that i like is the uh the goat the boat angler fish um apparently [40:40.640 –> 40:44.800] there’s like a big angler fish that looks like a boat at a distance but then when you approach [40:44.800 –> 40:52.320] it’s actually just a giant angler fish um i think it’s a really clever concept um but yeah that’s uh [40:53.360 –> 40:57.840] they’re really really good designs um just looking through some of the images here [40:58.400 –> 41:08.240] they feel like eldritch underwater horrors um but uh yeah no it’s actually let me i want i think [41:08.240 –> 41:16.320] i should say this like the art direction of the game in general is just top top notch um like [41:16.320 –> 41:23.680] what what do you call that Celsius is that that’s not Celsius it’s a very soft sort of art style [41:24.560 –> 41:33.120] um a lot of brown and orange color scheme for um well i guess depends on the time of the day but [41:33.120 –> 41:40.800] um it has a very gloomy feeling overall with Jenna yeah it has a gloomy feeling and like a lot of the [41:40.800 –> 41:47.680] characters and stuff kind of give me um like graphic novel sort of vibes to uh like a horror [41:47.680 –> 41:52.080] graphic like if i was reading a horror graphic novel a lot of the characters feel like they’re [41:52.720 –> 41:59.760] illustrated in a way like i would expect to see in in in one of them yeah yeah definitely [41:59.760 –> 42:04.000] right because when you’re talking to the characters it’s like a more they’re what [42:04.000 –> 42:09.120] you call them their portraits that’s the word almost kind of painted ish style um [42:10.880 –> 42:17.840] and i agree yeah everyone looks kind of grizzled nobody’s smiley or happy right um [42:18.800 –> 42:27.360] so it’s uh even the dog i see here looks kind of skinny um but uh actually i guess we should [42:27.360 –> 42:31.360] pro are there any standout characters like i don’t this is one of the things i haven’t [42:31.360 –> 42:36.720] heard about i don’t know how well written or memorable some of the characters uh no i don’t [42:36.720 –> 42:43.600] think any of the characters are super memorable um or or really stand out like i think the story [42:43.680 –> 42:49.120] is kind of compelling enough and you know kind of what you would expect for this sort of game [42:49.120 –> 42:53.680] i don’t want to say too much about it because it’s uh the game’s not super long so it’s a [42:53.680 –> 43:00.320] really easy sort of story to to spoil um and i think it’s one of the things where you know [43:00.320 –> 43:05.200] this is the sort of game that i think you sort of start and and you know some people be really into [43:05.200 –> 43:08.400] it for the fishing and collection aspect and some people are like oh this is kind of fun enough and [43:08.400 –> 43:12.720] i kind of just want to get through the story and i think i was more in the the latter category like [43:12.720 –> 43:17.680] i don’t feel a strong need to go and get all versions of all of the fish um like there&rsqu

Al and Micah talk about Little Dragon's Cafe Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:36: What Have We Been Playing 00:34:09: News 00:58:31: Little Dragons Cafe 01:38:47: Outro Links Coral Island Roadmap Traveller’s Rest 0.6 Update Disney Dreamlight Valley Update Disney Dreamlight Valley Roadmap Roots of Pacha Roadmap Solarpunk Kickstarter Circle of Kerzoven Kickstarter Iridium Scythe Tweet Contact Al on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScotBot Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript [00:00.000 –> 00:01.600] See you next time. [00:31.000 –> 00:37.000] Hello farmers and welcome to another episode of The Harvest Season. My name is Al. [00:37.000 –> 00:39.000] And I’m Micah. [00:39.000 –> 00:45.000] And we’re here today to talk about cottagecore games. Have you been on a podcast since we changed that introduction? [00:45.000 –> 00:47.000] I have not. [00:47.000 –> 00:50.000] There you go then. It’s now Cottagecore Games, not Farming Games. [00:50.000 –> 00:53.000] Okay. Alright. I mean that makes sense. [00:53.000 –> 00:56.000] It does. It does. Once people actually know what the term means. [00:56.000 –> 00:58.000] Yeah. [00:58.000 –> 01:05.000] But yeah it felt like I was too often just saying like it’s not a farming game but we’re going to cover it anyway because it feels like a farming game. [01:05.000 –> 01:07.000] That’s true. You’re right. [01:07.000 –> 01:09.000] And so we’re like why don’t we just say what it actually is. [01:09.000 –> 01:11.000] Yep. That makes sense. [01:11.000 –> 01:15.000] So yeah. Welcome Micah. How you doing? It’s been a while since we’ve had you on the podcast. [01:15.000 –> 01:28.000] I’m doing good. Just busy. Lots of work. So I’m tired a lot but you know it’s plenty of time to wind down. [01:28.000 –> 01:36.000] All my time winding down from work is spent playing games. Can’t complain too much. [01:36.000 –> 01:43.000] That’s good. That’s good. Awesome. Well I’ve got Micah on because I finally bought Little Dragon’s Cafe on the eShop sale. [01:43.000 –> 01:51.000] And I was like let’s schedule an episode to actually talk about it because I think it was like four years ago or something you first mentioned it. [01:51.000 –> 01:54.000] And I was like oh yeah we’ll get to that eventually. [01:54.000 –> 02:00.000] Yeah it was quite a while ago. I think maybe 2019. Maybe even before then. [02:00.000 –> 02:02.000] That’s a whole different world. [02:02.000 –> 02:26.000] It is. It’s a different time. But when you said that you messaged me and said that you bought it and wanted to do an episode about it I was very excited because I was singing that game’s praises for the whole year that I was obsessed with it and I felt like nobody cared. [02:26.000 –> 02:32.000] Yeah. Yeah. It’s just there’s so many games you know. It’s true. Get to them all eventually. Yeah. [02:32.000 –> 02:39.000] Anyway so we’re going to talk about that. Obviously beforehand we’ve got a bunch of news. But first of all Micah what have you been up to? [02:39.000 –> 02:48.000] Zelda. Just Zelda. That’s pretty much it. There is in fact they have released a new Zelda game. [02:48.000 –> 02:57.000] Wow. That’s pretty much. I’ve been playing a little bit of Pokemon Infinite Fusion. I don’t know if you know what that is. What on earth is that? [02:57.000 –> 03:21.000] It is a Pokemon fan game that is essentially Kanto and Johto. But they have DNA splicer items where you can fuse any two Pokemon and there are well beyond Gen 2 Pokemon in the game. [03:21.000 –> 03:39.000] So I think there’s somewhere around like 175,000 combinations you can make. And it’s all like custom sprite work. They have a huge community that’s done like a huge community of like sprite artists and stuff that have done custom sprites. [03:39.000 –> 03:55.000] So that every fusion is like and it’s not just like you know AI generated like combination of two pixel illustration. It’s actual like handmade pixel art for each combo which is pretty incredible. [03:55.000 –> 04:07.000] And it plays really well. It’s like surprisingly well made. But you know it’s just kind of fun to goof around in. I’ve been playing a little bit of that. [04:07.000 –> 04:12.000] Is it a ROM hack or is it like a completely fresh thing? [04:13.000 –> 04:40.000] It’s made in I think it’s Pixel Game Maker Studio. So it’s not like a ROM hack of like Emerald or something like that. It’s very interesting. It’s incredible what like a community of Pokemon fans can do when they’re not like really upset about something. [04:40.000 –> 04:44.000] And instead just like banding together to make something cool. [04:44.000 –> 04:53.000] Yeah. I love this. This is great. This is the sort of thing that like I mean obviously this is I’m surprised it hasn’t been like taken down at any point. [04:53.000 –> 05:02.000] But yeah this is the sort of thing. This is why copyright is stupid. Let people go crazy with this stuff. This is ridiculous fun. I love it. [05:02.000 –> 05:15.000] Yes. 100 percent. Yeah I am a little surprised too. I don’t know though I feel like typically they leave like ROM hacks alone at this point. [05:15.000 –> 05:23.000] Or like quote unquote ROM hacks you know. This isn’t really a ROM hack but who knows. Who knows what goes through the mind of… [05:23.000 –> 05:29.000] Well that’s the thing. You don’t know what they’re actually thinking because like sometimes they don’t touch things and then sometimes they’ll touch the weirdest of things. [05:29.000 –> 05:35.000] You’re like why on earth would you do that. Maybe it’s just not got enough publicity. It looks like it’s been going around since 2015. [05:35.000 –> 05:46.000] Yeah and it just recently has started to like pick up steam a little bit and get a lot more coverage on like YouTube TikTok stuff like that. [05:47.000 –> 05:56.000] Oh my word there’s a poly wag and kanga scan fusion which like it’s not just this is what you mean about like the custom stuff. [05:56.000 –> 06:06.000] Like it’s not just like a blue kanga scan or something but it’s like a poly wag as a kanga scan with a poly wag inside like a bubble stomach. [06:06.000 –> 06:10.000] Like it is amazing. I love it. It’s great. [06:10.000 –> 06:16.000] Yeah it’s really creative and interesting and like the all the sprite work is really well done. [06:16.000 –> 06:33.000] They added even though it’s you know like Kanto and Johto and you know pixel sprites and stuff it’s it’s they added Mimikyu and all of the Mimikyu fusions are just kind of unhinged and I love it. [06:33.000 –> 06:37.000] Oh my word I feel like this is dangerous to know. [06:38.000 –> 06:45.000] It’s pretty fun. It’s a big I will say it’s a big download because the you well there’s two options. [06:45.000 –> 06:50.000] You can either download the game and then have the game download the sprites as it needs them. [06:50.000 –> 06:53.000] Two gigabytes for the the preloaded one. [06:53.000 –> 07:03.000] Yes and then there is there is the preloaded one which has all of the sprites and it installs they like puts it all in the game immediately so that you don’t have to download anything. [07:04.000 –> 07:07.000] I’m definitely not googling how to put this on my Steam Deck. [07:09.000 –> 07:12.000] That’s funny you say that. That’s what I am playing it on so. [07:12.000 –> 07:17.000] Nice. I presume it’s just a Windows build that you just run through the Steam Deck stuff. [07:17.000 –> 07:28.000] It works. This is the thing like I know I don’t know about you I really love the Steam Deck and I think that Valve have done a really good job of integrating the Windows stuff with it as well. [07:28.000 –> 07:34.000] Like the fact that so many games just work out the box just a Windows build just running on Linux is just incredible. [07:34.000 –> 07:50.000] Because like I was I was for a long time a Linux user like that was just it was just a thing that I did right like I didn’t run Windows or Mac for like 15 years like that was just my until I decided you know what life is life is too short. [07:50.000 –> 08:01.000] And yeah games on Linux was just horrific even using something like Wine or whatever to actually run these things because they just never worked well. [08:01.000 –> 08:09.000] Whereas like I’ve run like 10 different completely different Windows games on the Steam Deck with no issues at all which is incredible. [08:09.000 –> 08:21.000] Yeah it’s great. It’s such a night. My brother was just texting me last night asking me what I thought about the Steam Deck and I was sending him paragraphs about how much I like. [08:21.000 –> 08:41.000] Yeah it’s it’s really great that they’ve made it so I mean I’ve never touched Linux before this either so I’ve always been afraid of Linux but it’s it’s so easy to just like it’s literally a power down option like it’s an it’s an option to just switch into the desktop mode. [08:41.000 –> 08:50.000] Yeah. And then just it’s it’s such an easy and accessible thing it’s like really hard to add non-Steam stuff to it. [08:50.000 –> 08:59.000] Yeah I think I think it’s one of these things where like using a switch is still easier right like the way to get it is just 100% easy. [08:59.000 –> 09:11.000] But the customizability like if you are able to do that sort of thing it is it is still so much easier than doing things in any other way. [09:11.000 –> 09:20.000] And if you have any patience for doing custom stuff it’s it’s great and the amount of different stuff you can do is fantastic. [09:20.000 –> 09:31.000] So like I think for the casual person like something like a switch is still going to be better for you but if you have like any customizable bone in your body the Steam Deck is just amazing. [09:31.000 –> 09:43.000] Yeah yeah it’s uh it’s really great. I definitely still you’re right like I primarily am using the Switch but if there’s something that I can’t play on the Switch I move to the Steam Deck for it. [09:43.000 –> 09:52.000] I think I’m at the point where if it’s if it’s on Steam unless it’s cheaper on the Switch I will generally buy on Steam now and play on my Steam Deck. [09:52.000 –> 10:01.000] Not least because it’s actually more it’s more ergonomic to hold like it’s kind of destroyed the Joy-Cons for me. [10:01.000 –> 10:08.000] And especially if I’m getting like Kickstarters and stuff they all come on Steam first so I’m obviously getting the Steam code. [10:08.000 –> 10:13.000] But yeah if it’s if it’s a Switch only game or if it’s cheaper on the Switch then of course I’m getting on the Switch. [10:13.000 –> 10:21.000] I’m not going to say I’m not going to play that right because the Switch is still really fun to play on and you know I wouldn’t not play Zelda just because it’s on the Switch. [10:21.000 –> 10:25.000] Like that’s a really stupid way to do things but you know. [10:25.000 –> 10:36.000] Yeah I yeah it’s I even in the situation that I’m that I’m in where if I if it’s not on the Switch I’m playing it on the Steam Deck and if it’s on the Switch I’m playing it on the Switch. [10:36.000 –> 10:49.000] The amount of things that are on Steam that like like if it’s a you know it’s it’s only on like my console options are Switch PS or PS5 or like Xbox or whatever. [10:49.000 –> 10:57.000] Typically it’s also on Steam so yeah it’s you know it’s nice to be able to move over have everything handheld. [10:57.000 –> 11:01.000] I am not going to lie my PS5 is a Spider-Man console. [11:01.000 –> 11:07.000] That is what that is what I bought it for and that is what is going to remain till the day it dies. [11:07.000 –> 11:10.000] But we’re about to get the Wii U gamepad for it so. [11:10.000 –> 11:15.000] I know well yeah and that’s actually really interesting like it’s obviously going to be stupidly expensive. [11:15.000 –> 11:16.000] Of course. [11:16.000 –> 11:27.000] And it only like streams from your PS5 but personally that’s what I’m looking for right because like getting the power of a PS5 in the palm of my hands to use a Spider-Man quote. [11:27.000 –> 11:35.000] Sorry I watched Spider-Man the other day what can I say. [11:35.000 –> 11:40.000] The new Spider-Man film fantastic very good go watch it. [11:40.000 –> 11:42.000] What was I saying? [11:42.000 –> 11:47.000] Yes being able to play PS5 games without having the TV on that’s that’s what I want. [11:47.000 –> 11:51.000] I don’t actually play games out the house like it’s just not I work from home. [11:51.000 –> 11:56.000] I obviously live from home like if I’m going out it’s because I’m going out to do something. [11:56.000 –> 12:00.000] I’m not going out to do something and then playing games there right come on that’s not what I’m right. [12:00.000 –> 12:05.000] So if I’m playing it’s in my house either in my office when I’m definitely working I’m not playing games. [12:05.000 –> 12:11.000] Or you know in the living room in the evening when the kids are in bed and we want to watch something on the TV. [12:11.000 –> 12:14.000] I don’t want to make my wife watch what I’m playing on the TV. [12:14.000 –> 12:21.000] So the idea of being able to use my PS5 for games that are really good like I’m considering for example getting Sonic Frontiers. [12:21.000 –> 12:28.000] Which is on the Switch but is it really on the Switch like it’s there but it’s not going to run really well. [12:28.000 –> 12:33.000] Like so being able to get the power of the PS5 for that game but still have a handheld. [12:33.000 –> 12:43.000] As someone who bought and played Sonic Frontiers on the Switch I can tell you first hand to hit it on something else. [12:43.000 –> 12:54.000] It’s not great. It’s got that we did whatever we could to get this to run on the Switch kind of feel to it. [12:54.000 –> 13:03.000] Where it’s like everything is really blurry. Everything feels like you know it’s moving in a dream. [13:03.000 –> 13:09.000] The thing is I think that the new Zelda shows you can get games running well on the Switch. [13:09.000 –> 13:13.000] Although it’s not perfect there are obviously still some issues right. There’s still some slowdowns. [13:13.000 –> 13:20.000] But I think it shows that you can given enough time and enough effort and enough money. [13:20.000 –> 13:22.000] You need all those three things. [13:22.000 –> 13:26.000] You can get a game that big running really well on the Switch. [13:26.000 –> 13:32.000] But I mean one thing about Tears of the Kingdom is there’s not actually a lot happening in most of the time. [13:32.000 –> 13:39.000] Like if you look at something like Sonic or you look at something like Pokemon there are lots of things around you all the time. [13:39.000 –> 13:44.000] But actually in Zelda there’s not a huge amount around you all the time. [13:44.000 –> 13:51.000] And like I know that the way that it works technically with like things far away is they’re not modeling things at that point. [13:51.000 –> 13:55.000] They just throw up a few pixels to make it look like there’s something there. [13:55.000 –> 14:04.000] And then you can look through the camera thing. The zoomie magnifying for far away. [14:04.000 –> 14:06.000] The binoculars. [14:06.000 –> 14:09.000] There you go that’s a word. I don’t know what they call it in game but anyway. [14:09.000 –> 14:11.000] Yeah I don’t know what they call it in game. [14:11.000 –> 14:12.000] You know what I mean now that’s fine. [14:12.000 –> 14:14.000] The zoom. The camera zoom feature. [14:14.000 –> 14:17.000] Yeah and then it actually starts modeling things for that small area. [14:17.000 –> 14:24.000] But that doesn’t work for most games because you have more detailed things that you need to be seeing off in the distance. [14:24.000 –> 14:28.000] And they just don’t have a lot of complicated stuff in the distance. [14:28.000 –> 14:32.000] Right there’s like the dragons is probably the most complicated thing you have in the distance. [14:32.000 –> 14:33.000] That’s about it. [14:33.000 –> 14:34.000] Yeah. [14:34.000 –> 14:40.000] You don’t need to model like a bokoblin three miles away. You’re not going to see it. You don’t care about it. [14:40.000 –> 14:41.000] Right. [14:41.000 –> 14:51.000] And I think that like even I really do think that a lot of it comes down to like optimization and how much time is put into optimization and stuff like that. [14:51.000 –> 15:06.000] Like there are even so there are like at the distance that things come into the like field of view or like depth of field for Zelda. [15:06.000 –> 15:17.000] I mean I’ll be honest it’s been very hard for me to and I’m sure that this conversation will be had with other people. [15:17.000 –> 15:24.000] But what I’m saying is I feel like this is probably going to come up during greenhouse so you can cut this out if you want. [15:24.000 –> 15:29.000] But it’s all good. I think we don’t really talk about this sort of stuff in the greenhouse episode. [15:29.000 –> 15:39.000] Okay. It’s been hard to not compare it to Pokemon as a Pokemon fan who has played a lot of Scarlet and Violet and enjoyed it. [15:39.000 –> 15:49.000] It’s been hard to not compare an open world game on the same platform to to that game. [15:49.000 –> 15:58.000] And I do think that a big part of that is just the optimization and maybe how much time there they were given to optimize the game. [15:58.000 –> 16:10.000] Maybe it’s that they brought in Monolith Soft to help with development and Monolith Soft has been with the Xenoblade games and stuff like that. [16:10.000 –> 16:14.000] They’ve done a lot of kind of open world stuff so they’ve got the optimization down. [16:14.000 –> 16:35.000] I don’t know but seeing the way that things like even ten feet away from an NPC and they’re moving at slideshow speed in Pokemon versus you’ve got a whole village of people that are wandering around in Zelda. [16:35.000 –> 16:38.000] It’s a little frustrating. [16:38.000 –> 16:43.000] The only place I’ve really noticed kind of like re-rendering of things is in the depths. [16:43.000 –> 16:51.000] If you’re flying through the depths quite often like the trees will change model when you get closer to them. [16:51.000 –> 17:00.000] That’s the only place I’ve really noticed that and there’s a few places where there’s like high particle physics in the air and that causes a slowdown. [17:00.000 –> 17:03.000] Other than that I’ve not really noticed many issues. [17:03.000 –> 17:12.000] Which is also like for the depths at least pretty impressive because there’s so many particle effects and stuff happening in the depths. [17:12.000 –> 17:16.000] I guess it makes sense that they need to re-render a lot of stuff. [17:16.000 –> 17:25.000] I would always rather graphics pulled down a little bit and it keeps playing well. That’s always my preference. [17:26.000 –> 17:28.000] I agree. [17:28.000 –> 17:47.000] It’s hard to not compare the two I guess and I am sure that a big part of that is how much time they were given to develop this game versus how much time the Pokemon company gave Game Freak to develop Pokemon. [17:47.000 –> 17:53.000] It’s complicated because as a software developer time doesn’t necessarily make things better. [17:53.000 –> 17:59.000] In my experience when you’ve got a team that’s being run by people that make bad decisions. [17:59.000 –> 18:04.000] Developers can’t just do things. Developers can’t just go I’m going to make this better. [18:04.000 –> 18:10.000] You have to do what you’re told and ultimately people make decisions and go this is the priority you’re doing this. [18:10.000 –> 18:19.000] And if they keep making those stupid decisions even if they get an extra five years they’re still going to make the same stupid decisions over and over and over again. [18:19.000 –> 18:26.000] That’s the thing and one of the real problems is when you get more time suddenly they decide oh well we can add more features. [18:26.000 –> 18:31.000] And then you never actually get to the point of improving the things that need improved. [18:31.000 –> 18:34.000] You just end up adding more things that then need to be improved. [18:34.000 –> 18:48.000] I think it just shows that this game from top to bottom is being created by people who actually care and actually know what they’re doing. [18:48.000 –> 18:55.000] There’s not that person at the top telling somebody to do something which then is a bad decision. [18:55.000 –> 19:00.000] Or people at the bottom going I don’t know what I’m doing I’m just going to do things. [19:00.000 –> 19:03.000] Everybody knows what they’re doing and they know how to do it and blah blah blah blah blah. [19:03.000 –> 19:07.000] And where exactly the issues are in different games you’ll never really know. [19:07.000 –> 19:15.000] But yeah it definitely is a problem and how to solve that problem is complicated. [19:15.000 –> 19:21.000] And the problem is that you either end up with fewer games or with games with less stuff. [19:21.000 –> 19:25.000] And I mean I still really liked Scarlet and Violet. [19:25.000 –> 19:27.000] I did too. I absolutely did. [19:27.000 –> 19:32.000] Would you say no to whatever the next game is just to get Scarlet and Violet running slightly better? I don’t know. [19:32.000 –> 19:35.000] Like that’s a really… I don’t want to have to make that decision right? [19:35.000 –> 19:42.000] Yeah. Yeah I guess you know I’m okay with… I don’t know. [19:42.000 –> 19:48.000] I’m okay with whatever like I’m not like super picky about how… [19:48.000 –> 20:01.000] I don’t know what this says about me but I’m not super picky about how a Pokemon game performs as long as the experience of the game is good. [20:01.000 –> 20:03.000] And I felt that with Scarlet and Violet. [20:03.000 –> 20:12.000] But I wouldn’t be opposed to them taking like you know maybe an extra year or two between games instead of one every year. [20:13.000 –> 20:21.000] It just depends really. Obviously I want the game to be better. I want it to look better. I want it to play better. I want it to have better features. [20:21.000 –> 20:25.000] But it’s just not that simple. You can’t just say well that’s fine make it better. [20:25.000 –> 20:28.000] Like that’s not how life works sadly. [20:28.000 –> 20:40.000] And I am also very aware that you know because of the very strict capitalist strategies of the Pokemon company that that’s never going to happen. [20:40.000 –> 20:52.000] And we will always get them on a schedule because there’s you know merch and plushes and all kinds of stuff involved in that decision so. [20:52.000 –> 20:54.000] Anyway so you’re enjoying Zelda? [20:54.000 –> 20:55.000] Yes. [20:57.000 –> 21:03.000] Despite all my inner monologues when I’m seeing something perform really well in Zelda. [21:04.000 –> 21:11.000] Yeah it’s it’s really great. I am fully aware that I’m still in like the honeymoon phase with it. [21:11.000 –> 21:13.000] But it’s been like three weeks. [21:13.000 –> 21:19.000] Yeah and I still like I haven’t beaten the game yet. I am nowhere near that I don’t think. [21:19.000 –> 21:21.000] Well yeah what’s your what’s your current status of things? [21:21.000 –> 21:27.000] I am at the I think I can say this. [21:27.000 –> 21:29.000] I don’t care about spoilers go for it. [21:29.000 –> 21:33.000] I’m at the fourth temple. I am about to start the fourth temple. [21:33.000 –> 21:35.000] That’s fine that’s not a spoiler. [21:35.000 –> 21:40.000] Okay I just I feel like even saying the word temple is. [21:40.000 –> 21:44.000] If someone wants to play Zelda Tears of the Kingdom and they haven’t played it yet. [21:44.000 –> 21:46.000] I mean I guess they couldn’t they might not be able to afford it. [21:46.000 –> 21:54.000] But let’s be honest they know that there are temples right like nobody doesn’t know that at this point if you even slightly care. [21:54.000 –> 22:02.000] Yeah I guess I because there weren’t really temples and in Breath of the Wild they’re sort of where it was like the Divine Beasts but. [22:02.000 –> 22:09.000] Interestingly I’m not really I don’t really see the difference between like this game’s ones and Breath of the Wild ones. [22:09.000 –> 22:12.000] I’ve only done one so far but it didn’t feel significantly bigger. [22:12.000 –> 22:21.000] No I think it’s just the like the way that it like the puzzles and the way that it it operates more. [22:21.000 –> 22:28.000] It feels like a like a sort of a quote unquote classic Zelda dungeon. [22:29.000 –> 22:43.000] Or like Zelda temple then the Divine Beasts felt where like the there’s something that’s like poisoning or like cursing the like the temple. [22:43.000 –> 22:54.000] And it’s it’s I mean if you played Breath of the Wild you know at this point that like all the boss fights for the Divine Beasts were just like slightly different like iterations. [22:55.000 –> 23:03.000] Interestingly like I do yeah the bosses are definitely more interesting looking but I actually think that the battles are less fun. [23:03.000 –> 23:09.000] Interesting I actually feel like they I don’t know I feel like they feel more like a Zelda boss battles than. [23:09.000 –> 23:10.000] They do. [23:10.000 –> 23:13.000] The Calamity Ganon boss fights felt. [23:13.000 –> 23:17.000] I’ll agree with that they definitely do but they feel less like the game this game. [23:17.000 –> 23:22.000] They feel like less than how Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom work in general. [23:22.000 –> 23:28.000] As boss fights than the Calamity the the the other Ganon one wherever they were. [23:28.000 –> 23:31.000] They were Calamity Ganons I can’t remember what the names of them were. [23:31.000 –> 23:33.000] I don’t know what the I think they were just called. [23:33.000 –> 23:39.000] Those ones felt more in keeping with this the way the game works in general. [23:39.000 –> 23:43.000] I will agree these ones feel more like older Zelda bosses. [23:44.000 –> 23:47.000] But the game doesn’t feel like an older Zelda game. [23:47.000 –> 23:54.000] It feels kind of like shoving an old Zelda style thing into a new Zelda style thing and it doesn’t really fit as well. [23:54.000 –> 24:02.000] I don’t know I disagree because I feel like that is that’s what I was gonna say is that like I know that I’m in the honeymoon period for it still. [24:02.000 –> 24:11.000] But I do feel like this is very quickly becoming one of my favorite Zelda games of all time. [24:11.000 –> 24:15.000] And I feel like it already has far and away beat Breath of the Wild for me. [24:15.000 –> 24:17.000] Oh I’d agree with that 100%. [24:17.000 –> 24:22.000] Because of how much more the game feels like a Zelda game than Breath of the Wild felt. [24:22.000 –> 24:26.000] I don’t think I could go back to Breath of the Wild ever again. [24:26.000 –> 24:28.000] No I don’t think so either. [24:28.000 –> 24:33.000] I think Breath of the Wild was a great setup for this game. [24:33.000 –> 24:38.000] But I think that this is the this is the optimal game. [24:38.000 –> 24:45.000] And I really do feel like there are just the general atmosphere of the game. [24:45.000 –> 24:50.000] A lot of the interactions with NPCs, the way things are designed. [24:50.000 –> 25:00.000] The way that like I don’t know the amount of puzzles and stuff that are like and like side quests that are… [25:00.000 –> 25:07.000] I guess I don’t know I don’t know what it is specifically that makes it feel more like a Zelda game to me than Breath of the Wild felt. [25:07.000 –> 25:11.000] But it’s definitely there. It definitely feels more. [25:11.000 –> 25:16.000] I think some of it too is like music and like sound design and stuff like that. [25:16.000 –> 25:19.000] That gives it more of that that feeling. [25:19.000 –> 25:27.000] Take all of my opinions by the way with the knowledge that Breath of the Wild was my first Zelda game. [25:27.000 –> 25:32.000] And then when I went back and played them all I hated all the 3D Zelda games. [25:32.000 –> 25:36.000] Having said that I only really played two of them. [25:36.000 –> 25:37.000] Which two did you play though? [25:37.000 –> 25:40.000] So I played Ocarina. Did not like Ocarina. [25:40.000 –> 25:43.000] And Skyward Sword. Did not like Skyward Sword. [25:43.000 –> 25:46.000] Skyward Sword is my favorite Zelda game of all time. [25:46.000 –> 25:49.000] Oh really? Interesting. I hate it. I hate everything about it. [25:49.000 –> 25:50.000] I wonder whether I would have liked it. [25:50.000 –> 25:52.000] You played it on the Wii or did you play it on the Switch? [25:52.000 –> 25:56.000] I played it on the Switch. I wonder whether I would have liked it had I played it when it came out. [25:56.000 –> 26:01.000] Part of the problem is that obviously the gaming industry is not what it was. [26:02.000 –> 26:10.000] You can’t go back and imagine how this would have played if it was the best thing when it came out. [26:10.000 –> 26:16.000] But it’s not the best thing. We have better things. Therefore how can I put myself in that? [26:16.000 –> 26:20.000] I struggle with that. It’s why I hated Mario 64. [26:20.000 –> 26:24.000] Would I have enjoyed Mario 64 if I played it when it came out? Probably. [26:24.000 –> 26:29.000] But I did not like it when I played it first time six years ago. [26:29.000 –> 26:33.000] Because it’s just not fun now because there’s so much more fun games. [26:33.000 –> 26:37.000] Was it amazing for when it came out? Maybe. [26:37.000 –> 26:40.000] But that doesn’t make it amazing now. [26:40.000 –> 26:51.000] I definitely think that a lot of my ability to go back and play those games and appreciate them now is heavily tied to my nostalgia for them. [26:51.000 –> 26:57.000] Like how relevant their design is and stuff like that. [26:57.000 –> 27:03.000] They are very dated games. Especially the N64 era stuff. [27:03.000 –> 27:09.000] Great games but very dated and a lot has changed for the better since then. [27:09.000 –> 27:16.000] But I have loved every 2D Zelda game I’ve played. I’ve not finished them but I’ve enjoyed every 2D Zelda game I’ve played. [27:16.000 –> 27:23.000] So I don’t know how much of it is like, oh maybe this is more like the dungeons in the 3D Zelda games. [27:23.000 –> 27:27.000] But it doesn’t feel like a 2D Zelda dungeon either. [27:27.000 –> 27:35.000] With the 2D dungeons you were going through this maze essentially with a bunch of different rooms and trying to get to the end. [27:35.000 –> 27:40.000] I don’t know how the 3D ones were because I didn’t really get through that much of either of those two games. [27:40.000 –> 27:45.000] I just really struggled. I didn’t even get to the first dungeon of each of them. That’s how I struggled with them. [27:45.000 –> 27:53.000] I would say that is absolutely the case. The 3D dungeons are a lot different than the 2D Zelda game dungeons are. [27:53.000 –> 27:58.000] And these feel much more like 3D Zelda dungeons than they do. [27:58.000 –> 28:05.000] That makes much more sense because looking at the dungeons in this game and looking at the Divine Beast in the last one. [28:05.000 –> 28:14.000] They feel much more similar than different. But maybe there’s something I’m missing that I would have seen had I properly played any of the 3D Zeldas. [28:14.000 –> 28:20.000] And the boss fights too feel much more like the boss fights from 3D Zelda dungeon games. [28:20.000 –> 28:24.000] I do think the boss fights feel very similar to 2D Zelda games as well. [28:24.000 –> 28:32.000] It’s about figuring out a pattern for this large creature that obviously you can get damaged by it. [28:32.000 –> 28:36.000] But it’s not necessarily going in and attacking you with a sword. [28:36.000 –> 28:39.000] Hit the eyeball. Always hit the eyeball. [28:39.000 –> 28:47.000] It feels like that but my point about that was personally I don’t enjoy that as much. [28:47.000 –> 28:54.000] I much more enjoyed the Ganon battles because it felt more like the other battles in the game. [28:54.000 –> 29:05.000] I guess I didn’t dislike the Ganon battles. In retrospect now it didn’t feel the same way to me. [29:05.000 –> 29:14.000] It felt like a very good game but it didn’t feel like a Zelda game to me I guess in a lot of those instances. [29:14.000 –> 29:25.000] Which is where this feeling more like a Zelda game and having a lot more things that I’m familiar with for Zelda games feels more exciting to me. [29:25.000 –> 29:31.000] That that’s happening and that they’ve made those designed decisions and stuff. [29:31.000 –> 29:36.000] As someone who is a long time Zelda fan and has played every Zelda game. [29:36.000 –> 29:41.000] I think a lot of it is down to that. I didn’t play any Zelda games before this one. [29:41.000 –> 29:56.000] I bought Breath of the Wild on Switch release day because I pre-ordered a Switch but the games that I pre-ordered were Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart and 1-2 Switch. [29:56.000 –> 30:04.000] None of them came out for at least a month after the Switch came out so I was like I don’t have any games for this console that I just bought. [30:04.000 –> 30:09.000] So I wandered into a game shop and went have you got any copies of that Zelda game? I hear it’s good. [30:09.000 –> 30:14.000] They were like we’ve got one copy so I bought that one copy of Breath of the Wild. [30:14.000 –> 30:17.000] Are you saying 1-2 Switch didn’t hold you over until… [30:17.000 –> 30:23.000] Well it wasn’t out initially. It didn’t come out till April and the Switch came out in March. [30:23.000 –> 30:30.000] So yeah I had to buy this game that I’d never played any of the series called Zelda. [30:30.000 –> 30:34.000] And it turned out to be very good and one of my favourite games of all time. [30:34.000 –> 30:38.000] It’s such a funny… I’m obviously not the only person. [30:38.000 –> 30:43.000] More people bought Breath of the Wild than bought all of the other Zelda games combined. [30:43.000 –> 30:47.000] So this would have been a lot of people’s first Zelda game. [30:47.000 –> 30:53.000] It’s probably a reason why we’ll never get a Zelda game not like Breath of the Wild or at least not building on top of that idea ever again. [30:53.000 –> 30:56.000] We’ll probably get some 2D ones but they’ll never sell as well. [30:56.000 –> 31:02.000] Because there’s just a whole different group of people who this is Zelda to them. [31:02.000 –> 31:05.000] Nothing else is Zelda to them. [31:05.000 –> 31:09.000] Anyway this is a game about cottagecore games. This is a podcast about cottagecore games. [31:09.000 –> 31:12.000] Well I mean you can build a house and… [31:12.000 –> 31:17.000] My god the house building is so good! I can’t even… [31:17.000 –> 31:21.000] See when I first came onto that someone was like oh you can build a house and I was like oh that’s funny. [31:21.000 –> 31:24.000] It’s going to be like the last one. Whatever. [31:24.000 –> 31:26.000] And I went and I was like oh my word this is amazing. [31:26.000 –> 31:33.000] I have spent a good 10 hours building my house over the last 3 weeks. [31:33.000 –> 31:35.000] I’m not even kidding. [31:35.000 –> 31:40.000] My only gripe is that it maxes at like 15 blocks. [31:40.000 –> 31:47.000] Which I hope that maybe in the inevitable DLC or whatever they add new rooms. [31:47.000 –> 31:53.000] Or the ability to add more rooms. Something like that. [31:53.000 –> 31:55.000] I love it so much. [31:55.000 –> 31:57.000] I know it’s great. I love it too. [31:57.000 –> 32:06.000] I built everything inside the house that I really loved and I wanted to add the garden and the moat or whatever. [32:07.000 –> 32:15.000] The pond outside but I ran out of space. I ran out of space. I hit all 15 of my house blocks. [32:15.000 –> 32:20.000] There’s one other thing that annoys me about the house and this is literally it. [32:20.000 –> 32:27.000] The pond, it spawns fish. The garden, you cannot farm in. You can’t farm in the garden. [32:27.000 –> 32:28.000] Oh really? [32:28.000 –> 32:31.000] It’s just there. It just looks like a garden. [32:31.000 –> 32:40.000] I don’t understand why you gave me this pond that I can grow fish in and you gave me this garden that I can’t grow anything in. [32:40.000 –> 32:43.000] Why would you do that to me? Why would you make this so good? [32:43.000 –> 32:52.000] You would make this house building amazing and addictive and great and you’d give me a fish pond but you can’t let me grow something in the garden. [32:52.000 –> 32:55.000] It doesn’t even need to be massively complex. [32:55.000 –> 32:58.000] You don’t need to go oh well you can grow carrots and blah blah blah. [32:58.000 –> 33:06.000] Just let me grow the trees. The fire tree and the zappy tree. Just let me grow those. Let me plant one and it grows. [33:06.000 –> 33:11.000] I’m not asking for everything in the world to be possible to grow. [33:11.000 –> 33:15.000] Just those little trees that you can grow with the fruit. Let me do those. [33:15.000 –> 33:21.000] Just make it simple. Just three plots. You can just grow three things and that’s it. [33:21.000 –> 33:28.000] And I can grow my little fire fruit plant. Let me grow my fire fruit plant. That’s all I want. [33:28.000 –> 33:35.000] I actually didn’t know that because I ran out of blocks. I wasn’t able to put my garden in but that’s interesting. [33:35.000 –> 33:37.000] Well it’s a good thing you didn’t waste it. [33:37.000 –> 33:47.000] I don’t necessarily understand that. Maybe they were just like adding a farming element is something that we’ll do in DLC. [33:47.000 –> 33:53.000] That’s fine. If you make me pay for it I will pay for it but tell me it’s coming. Tell me it’s coming. I want to know it’s coming. [33:53.000 –> 34:01.000] I will wait for it and I will pay for it. I will pay like 30 quid for a farming addition to this game. 100% I will do that. [34:01.000 –> 34:09.000] And Zelda can wait. I’ve got farming to do. I’ve got a house to build. I’ve got farming to do. [34:09.000 –> 34:11.000] Shall we talk about some news? [34:11.000 –> 34:13.000] Let’s do it. [34:13.000 –> 34:19.000] So before we get into the new news I wanted to ask Mike if you have any thoughts on the marvellous games that were announced last week. [34:19.000 –> 34:23.000] Because we talked about them on the podcast last week, me and Johnny. [34:23.000 –> 34:29.000] But obviously you quite often have a lot of opinions on Story of Seasons and Rune Factory. [34:29.000 –> 34:41.000] The fact that they were mostly just announced without a lot to go off of. I’m very excited. [34:41.000 –> 34:49.000] But I don’t know what I’m looking forward to because there’s not a lot to go off of. [34:49.000 –> 34:57.000] Obviously I’m going to probably buy and play whatever they put out for Story of Seasons and Rune Factory. [34:57.000 –> 35:05.000] I am really excited at the prospect of a multiplayer Story of Seasons game. I am curious to see what that’s going to look like. [35:05.000 –> 35:07.000] Me too. [35:07.000 –> 35:11.000] But I am excited at that idea. [35:11.000 –> 35:15.000] What I said in the podcast last week was I have no idea what to expect from it. [35:15.000 –> 35:23.000] But the fact that they’re making it as a separate game means they obviously have an idea that is radical enough that it’s different from a standard Story of Seasons game. [35:23.000 –> 35:29.000] That they feel it needs to be another game and that I’m excited by in and of itself. [35:29.000 –> 35:35.000] And maybe that they don’t trust it enough to make it the mainline game. [35:35.000 –> 35:37.000] That’s possible but maybe… [35:37.000 –> 35:49.000] I feel like maybe it’s just they know their audience and they know that there’s a possibility that people who want to play their single player, you know, the standard Story of Seasons experience. [35:49.000 –> 35:55.000] I don’t necessarily want a multiplayer experience as well and it kind of gives the option between different games. [35:55.000 –> 35:57.000] And I think that’s fine. [35:57.000 –> 35:59.000] Yeah. Give me both. I want both. [35:59.000 –> 36:05.000] Yeah. I’m perfectly fine with that too. [36:05.000 –> 36:12.000] Otherwise, standard Story of Seasons experience. I’ve always been on board for that so I’m of course excited about that. [36:12.000 –> 36:17.000] I did see… what is that? Project Magia? [36:17.000 –> 36:19.000] Project Magia? [36:19.000 –> 36:21.000] The Rune Factory one? [36:21.000 –> 36:29.000] No, not the Rune Factory one. It’s the other… it’s like some RPG that they’re working on but it’s designed by the… [36:29.000 –> 36:33.000] I didn’t pay attention to anything that wasn’t specifically Story of Seasons or Rune Factory. Come on. [36:33.000 –> 36:41.000] But they had that and then they had the Project Life is RPG which… whatever those words mean together. [36:41.000 –> 36:45.000] Just I hate everything about that. [36:45.000 –> 36:55.000] But it kind of… it makes me wonder what of that is going to feel like Fantasy Life which was a fantastic game. [36:55.000 –> 37:09.000] Incredible game. Life Simulator. Again, if you haven’t played… every opportunity for that game to come up on this podcast, I will tell you to play it. [37:09.000 –> 37:13.000] Because it’s great. And there’s a new one coming out. [37:13.000 –> 37:22.000] But I’m curious to see how much that interacts with that style of game. If this is Marvelous’ take on Fantasy Life. [37:22.000 –> 37:24.000] Yeah. Maybe. [37:24.000 –> 37:30.000] But, you know, Rune Factory is Rune Factory. It’s going to probably be like Rune Factory. [37:30.000 –> 37:41.000] I think 5 made some really great moves and it still felt very… still felt kind of in its infancy for what they were trying to do. [37:42.000 –> 37:46.000] Shifting from previous Rune Factory games to 5. So hopefully… [37:46.000 –> 37:48.000] Well it was such a big step. [37:48.000 –> 37:49.000] It really was. [37:49.000 –> 37:58.000] It was so drastic. It felt like going from Pokemon Black and White to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. It was such a huge difference. There was no in-between steps. [37:58.000 –> 38:09.000] Yeah. Yep. It’s really hard not to look at Rune Factory Project Dragon and not see Tears of the Kingdom. [38:09.000 –> 38:14.000] But I know that that’s not how games work and that this was in development for a long time. [38:14.000 –> 38:16.000] Yeah. [38:16.000 –> 38:19.000] This is the one we got most information about out of those 4 games. [38:19.000 –> 38:26.000] Yes. Probably because they were like, we need to show this now so that people don’t think that we were just… [38:26.000 –> 38:33.000] And I need to ride my dragons. Right? Like, I love this. I want to ride a dragon. Give me it. [38:33.000 –> 38:37.000] It looks great. The dragons kind of look like a never-ending story. [38:37.000 –> 38:39.000] Oh yeah. Oh yeah. That’s funny. [38:39.000 –> 38:41.000] It’s kind of neat. [38:41.000 –> 38:43.000] Let’s go. [38:43.000 –> 38:45.000] Yeah, let’s go. [38:45.000 –> 39:02.000] But it looks like they’re… That’s kind of what I was getting at. It looks like they’re making those steps to bridge from 5 to 6 in Project Dragon to make it more what they wanted 5 to be and more what it felt like 5 should have been. [39:02.000 –> 39:10.000] Interesting. The other thing is, I’ve not written this in the show notes, but have we talked about the new Harvest Moon game? What are your thoughts about that? [39:11.000 –> 39:14.000] You know, I’m going to be honest with you, I forgot that there was a new Harvest Moon game. [39:14.000 –> 39:16.000] You’ve not seen the screenshots? [39:16.000 –> 39:19.000] Is it the Winds of Anthos? [39:19.000 –> 39:21.000] It is the Winds of Anthos. [39:21.000 –> 39:23.000] I have not seen the new screenshots. [39:23.000 –> 39:26.000] Oh my word. Let me get some screenshots for you. [39:26.000 –> 39:29.000] I think after the One World experience… [39:29.000 –> 39:31.000] Oh, let me tell you. Right? [39:31.000 –> 39:35.000] Okay, first of all, do not pretend like you didn’t enjoy that game. [39:35.000 –> 39:37.000] I played a lot of it. [39:37.000 –> 39:44.000] It was a bad game, but I remember both of us saying that it was an enjoyable bad game. [39:44.000 –> 39:52.000] Yeah, it was. And I played far more of it than I would play another game that I actually really didn’t like. [39:52.000 –> 39:58.000] Yeah, played more of it than you really should. But I sent you a tweet with some screenshots in it. [39:58.000 –> 39:59.000] Okay. [39:59.000 –> 40:01.000] Yeah, exactly. [40:01.000 –> 40:11.000] You know, screenshots are tricky, right? Because those same things could be in motion and be shocking to look at. [40:11.000 –> 40:17.000] But so far, so good. I’m a little more impressed than I guess I would have expected myself to be. [40:17.000 –> 40:23.000] Yeah. I mean, let’s not forget that the most exciting thing we got about One World was the initial concept art. [40:23.000 –> 40:27.000] The first time we got a screenshot, it was not good. [40:27.000 –> 40:31.000] So even getting good looking screenshots is an improvement. [40:31.000 –> 40:38.000] I do see that there are the romance music notes in the dialogue box. [40:38.000 –> 40:41.000] Well, come on, they can’t go too far away from things, right? [40:41.000 –> 40:48.000] There still are romanceable… Were there romanceable characters in One World? [40:48.000 –> 40:51.000] Yeah, it’s just neither of us bothered because we didn’t enjoy the characters. [40:51.000 –> 40:55.000] Okay. That feels more accurate. [40:55.000 –> 41:01.000] Yeah, it looks interesting. Do we have any info on release date or anything? [41:01.000 –> 41:05.000] Yes, so it’s coming out at the end of September. I think it was 26th of September or something. [41:05.000 –> 41:07.000] Oh, that’s soon. [41:07.000 –> 41:11.000] It is soon. They did say summer though, which that is not summer. [41:11.000 –> 41:19.000] But anyway, the interesting thing about this one is it’s continuing with the concept of the movable farm, the expando farm from One World. [41:20.000 –> 41:28.000] So you can still move your farm around the world and it sounds like it’s a bigger world than One World, which is a very confusing sentence to say. [41:28.000 –> 41:33.000] And I don’t know about you, but the expando farm was the best thing about that game? [41:33.000 –> 41:36.000] Yeah, yes. I think that it was too. [41:36.000 –> 41:39.000] I can tweet with an incredible screenshot as well. Go look at that. [41:39.000 –> 41:44.000] Tell me this doesn’t look good. Tell me this doesn’t. [41:44.000 –> 41:46.000] It does look good. It does look really good. [41:46.000 –> 41:51.000] So as you say, it could still be terrible. The actual gameplay could be horrific. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But… [41:51.000 –> 41:53.000] Oh, we got a mini map. [41:53.000 –> 41:56.000] I am encouraged by this. I am very encouraged. [41:56.000 –> 42:06.000] Yeah, I am too. I’m a little stressed about the idea that it’s coming out in September and we’ve only got like five screenshots total so far. [42:06.000 –> 42:12.000] But I’m not going to hold that against them. We’ll see how it goes. [42:13.000 –> 42:19.000] I do see that there is a Sleeping Cow plush as part of the collector’s box. [42:19.000 –> 42:21.000] Possibly the best plush they’ve done. [42:21.000 –> 42:31.000] Yes. And definitely much cuter, I think, personally than the recent Story of Seasons plushes as well. [42:31.000 –> 42:35.000] Oh, there are some more screenshots than just those few. [42:35.000 –> 42:38.000] Here’s one of them interacting with a polar bear. [42:38.000 –> 42:43.000] Yeah, there’s a few more. We don’t have any video or actual gameplay. There’s a few more scree