Nex Machina

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Stanshall
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Stanshall »

Really interesting discussion on this one, I enjoyed it despite not getting so much out of the game. Just wanted to share a few thoughts on some of the points raised which have made me want to go back to the game - yet again! I thought Karl in particular summed up his thoughts beautifully and it definitely made me want to fire it back up.

I think Michiel's point about the dash and human saving adding extra layers of complexity to tactical approach and scoring is absolutely fair. I don't begrudge Dodonpachi DaiOuJou its absurdly strict multiplier or the unfathomable depth (to me) of its scoring systems. Likewise, Psyvariar Delta was my GOTY in 2018 and my highest scoring runs are generally those where I barely touch the fire button. It's pretty weird and quite complex, even relative to most grazing type shmups. I wonder then why I'm particularly averse to the human saving in Nex Machina and Resogun.

On reflection, saving the humans is a type of stress that makes me feel like I'm failing all the time, or narrowly avoiding failure. It's a kind of low level hopeless feeling. I know that sounds very dramatic but it gives me a sinking feeling. It's a shame because I really like the shooting and weapons. It's like you hear a cool little intro to a house track and you're instantly hooked and start to get into it and you just want it to keep looping and then they bring in a shit vocal about flying high or being free and you instantly lose the buzz and can't enjoy what you thought it was going to be, even when the vocal cuts out and you get back to the cool bit. Shit analogy but I can't settle into the shooting elements of the game. I'm always hyper aware of the imminent failure if I don't break off from what I'm doing and focus on the little green dudes. It's how I felt about Resogun and why I never enjoyed Defender as a kid.

Simon and Darren have given me some hope, though. Maybe I need to just forget about scoring and optimising and all that and just concentrate on survival and the shooting stuff. I think it's partly because the improving tactics and execution stuff is what I really love about shmups (and something I love about games full stop). I'll definitely give it another go, though, ignore the scoring and see how I get on. Cheers, gents. Great start to the new Volume.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Stanshall wrote: January 18th, 2019, 10:21 am I wonder then why I'm particularly averse to the human saving in Nex Machina and Resogun. [...] On reflection, saving the humans is a type of stress that makes me feel like I'm failing all the time, or narrowly avoiding failure. [...] Maybe I need to just forget about scoring and optimising and all that and just concentrate on survival and the shooting stuff. I think it's partly because the improving tactics and execution stuff is what I really love about shmups (and something I love about games full stop).
Survival has no time-based human multiplier! You can definitely have scoring and optimization without the stress factor!! :shock:
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Michiel K
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Michiel K »

Thanks for the response, Stanshall! It's interesting to delve deep into why certain systems and design choices do or don't click for us, especially when a game is put together with apparent quality.

To be a bit more clear than I might have been during the podcast: what keeps me from enjoying Nex Machina to the fullest is that all the secret bits you need for an optimised scoring run feel like a distraction to me. A distraction from the pure flow and rush of combining survival with the timed saving of humans for a ridiculous multiplier chain.
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Simonsloth
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Simonsloth »

Great show and what a way to start the year.
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dezm0nd
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by dezm0nd »

Cheers!
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Oooh, nice one! :P
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Chopper
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Chopper »

Surprised they didn't go with, 'It looks proper meaty'. :lol:
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Alex79
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Alex79 »

Ha that's pretty cool!

It reminds me a bit of Edd The Duck. You all remember Edd The Duck, right? He was a hand puppet character who used to be part of the BBC's Broom Cupboard children's TV when we were kids.

Well, the thing about Edd The Duck that has always bothered me since I was a kid, is that when he first came on to the scene, he was bald. He was just a yellow headed duck. No hair. Until one day, fairly soon after he was introduced, a viewer sent in a green mohawk that they'd made at home. I distinctly remember the day it was sent in. They stuck it on his head, and that was that. Every time Edd The Duck was ever shown on TV again, he had that green mohawk. In the video games, cartoons, every piece of merchandising, there it was, the green mohak that the viewer had made at home and sent in.

And I've always wondered, did they ever see any royalties for creating the thing that the character was best known for? My money's on no. And that's been on my mind for the last thirty years.
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by ratsoalbion »

I remember that too Alex, but I always wondered if a viewer really did actually send the mohawk in, or whether that was a little white CBBC lie to justify his image changing.
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Suits
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Suits »

Wiki says that the Mohawk was added by the girl that controlled him, Christina Mackay-Robinson, from an old Blue Peter punk teddy.

All this has blown my mind.

I just don’t know what to believe now.
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Alex79
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Alex79 »

Sounds like a cover up to me...

Forget Kennedy and the moon landings. Where are the six hour YouTube documentaries on Edd The Duck?
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by ratsoalbion »

They definitely did say on TV that it had been sent in, but I have a feeling it was indeed later revealed that was a fib.
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Suits
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Suits »

I had an Ed’s the Duck puppet and rainy day fun book - loved it I did 😄.
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Flabyo
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Flabyo »

This is how I know I’m older... I’m very much a Gordon the Gopher person, Edd was a pale imitation.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by KSubzero1000 »

And this is how I know I'm foreign... I have absolutely no idea what any of you are talking about. :P
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Alex79
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Alex79 »

Haha, no I remember Gordon The Gopher too - and Spit The Dog!
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by ratsoalbion »

Flabyo wrote: May 28th, 2019, 6:26 pm This is how I know I’m older... I’m very much a Gordon the Gopher person, Edd was a pale imitation.
I remember both too. I think I'm older than you, Flab?
Gordon was cute but Edd had attitude.
:D
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Flabyo
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Re: Nex Machina

Post by Flabyo »

You are indeed older than me, but not by much.
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