Tuesday 11 December 2018

11/12/2018

就在昨天,我最後一隻在會夢見的兔女郎……啊不對,遊戲也找到了。PS2移植這種完全就是我的盲區嘛。如果有甚麼收獲的話大概就是90年代初-90年代末-00年代初的技術力差距還是很明顯。

我果然是00年代的gamer,嗯嗯。

當然這不代表我對舊遊戲沒興趣。各種舊遊戲的speedrun在觀賞性上完全不輸現代的3A大作。比如那個SMB 4:55影片

29:10處我就超想拿去做成海報。

除了一些經典鬥快的speedrun外,俄羅斯方塊應該算是另類的遊戲優化代表。最近看了不少CTWC(Classic Tetris World Cup)的影片,本來用TGM(Tetris Grandmaster)的眼光去審視會覺得任天堂自家出的俄羅斯方塊有夠慢。不過在實際了解整個機制後不難意識到其實這個遊戲後段對玩家負荷其實很大,這也能解釋為何比賽上大家都像是打近身肉博而不是拼失誤少的射擊一樣。正因為遊戲簡單,SMB1和俄羅斯方塊(任天堂和atari都是,sega就算了)都是少數在實際競技層面上摸到硬體相關應對優化的遊戲。其他拼速度的遊戲如Mario Kart和Sonic等始終屬於連續性的操作,優化還停留在模型上的最佳解而不是將每個可以優化的地方分別做到極致:Mario Kart不算Weathertanko這種條件不明的捷徑,在一般Any%下該繞彎的的都是正常的繞彎,想快的話只能調校好切入角然後抓準時機甩尾,一切全憑經驗--反正差那麼一兩度看上去也不會影響整個流程,只要從頭到尾零犯錯世界記錄就唾手可得了,何必大費周章追求那一兩個frame的優化呢?當然,這種容許人類接近理論極限的遊戲的存在性只是引證了我的遊戲優化層級理論而已。在簡單的遊戲追求TAS也好,在開放世界高速奔馳也好,每隻遊戲的優化都有其吸引力,彼此之間並無優劣之分。

說起speedrun,AGDQ 2019又快到了。真是令人期待,雖然過去兩年這個活動過度商業化令人擔心,但拋去政治因素單看speedrun的話它在業界目前還是無可替代。

然後,我好像又快要去日本。上次明明說要去東京巨蛋還是沒去成,這次冬天來根本沒球可看嘛。不過不打緊,大王在日本的話我終究會有機會在年中去的。然後比起去看球我更應該擔心自己出文一年兩次的頻率……

是不是該換輸入法了?

Sunday 25 November 2018

青春豬頭史萊姆不會夢到哥布林殺手穿大人的防具繼續奔跑向上司傳遞微熱的夜晚

來犯的哥布林前仆後繼地衝擊著城門。

縱然有聖壁守護著,魔法也不是萬能的。按某人的量化方法,聖壁的殘血大概還有六千左右。

這六千還是槍哥用命換來的。第一波哥布林衝進城裡後有他爆氣把哥布林前鋒全滅趕到城外,讓女神官可以在城門設下防線。那時聖壁還有一萬血左右,不過在哥布林不要命的攻擊下聖壁開始變得透明化起來。

這波攻勢已從下午四點一直打到現在,已經是凌晨一點了。根據探子回報,哥布林還有大概一百隻,不過它們都是最精銳的部隊,強到連頭髮都是藍色的。

「哥布林衝過來了!」

--就在大家都快要絕望之時,一陣白光籠罩在城門上。沐浴在白光下的守軍就像剛泡完溫泉一樣士氣大振,聖壁也因強化的精神力而變得牢固起來。同一時間,一隊人馬帶著自己的裝備過來了。他們是平時在夜市擺攤的小販,聽到城防有難後趕忙收攤過來支援。

大家沒想到的時這隊小販帶著自己混飯吃用的燒烤叉、鐵鏟等打起來也有聲有息。本來包圍著城門的哥布林被衝開、衝散。小販們在以一敵三的情況下絲毫不落下風,那個平時賣香腸的甚至揮舞著雙截棍把七隻哥布林打得落花流水。

有了白光和小販的奧援,哥布林終究沒法再次突破城門。在聖壁大概還有三千殘血下哥布林全數被殲。一般來說哥布林大舉來犯是四年一次的事情,但哥布林王對這次戰況極為不滿,會不會近期再次發動進攻還是未知之數。

「我在出征時給受付娘留了個紙條說,我一定會回來的」英雄王在勝利演說如此道:「現在,阿北回來了!」

**

好啦,一個選舉如果單是盯著數字滾動的話層次確實差了點,不過這並不會礙到大家看到熱血沸騰。

對我來說,這不是自家的選舉,這是別人家的選舉。

那自家的選舉呢?是不是也應該多關注一下?曾幾何時心中的一團火現在又到哪了?

在與世無爭的地方活久了,觸覺總會無可避免地變得遲鈍起來。我想,該努力一下把這種觸覺找回來了。

甚麼?你說你聽不懂我在工三小?

Sunday 18 November 2018

DDR, the 4.5th year

Some references:
[5/2016] DDR the 2nd year
[2/2017] DDR the 3rd year
[5/2018] DDR the 4th year



IX down.
Max period down.
Schrodinger's cat? Who cares.

Over the period and ENDYMION are the last two challenge that stands before I clear all the 18s (oh and of course A4A but that is never a problem as soon as it is made available). What I lack can basically reduced to 3 classes.

1. The ability to hit slow streams (BPM160-) consistently

With most 17-18s sitting at the 170-200 range, it is natural for players to hit too fast on these streams. Two typical examples are the two Saber Wing remixes

- SABER WING (satellite silhouette remix) CSP, BPM 138 Lv 15
- SABER WING (AKIRA ISHIHARA Headshot mix) CSP, BPM 158 Lv 17

But two more relevant examples are

- MAX 300 (Super-max-me-mix) CSP, BPM 160 Lv 16
- 嘆きの樹 ESP, BPM 160 Lv 16

In particular, the highly repetitive streams makes it hard to concentrate and to master. Comparatively Max period ESP has a long BPM 150 stream at the end but that is never a problem.

It might be even harder when more weird things got mixed in, where you often hit too fast too hard and damage your performance and stamina. 嘆きの樹 CSP (BPM 160 1/4+1/6) and max period (BPM 160 section in a BPM 205 song) are two example where you need to stay clam and hit in a slower speed.

And of course, over the period has the super-max-me section and that is not easy to master.

2. Stamina/consistency on hyper streams (BPM210+)

The orthodox way to make maps harder is to produce faster songs, and that occurs naturally as we have countless BPM 200 songs already. But we also get songs exceeding BPM 200 like

- Over the period (BPM 205)
- Neutrino (BPM 205)
- Prey (BPM 210)
- Elemental Creation (BPM 212)

And now, BPM 220 seems to be the norm for the hardest songs -- EGOISM440 and ENDYMION are both BPM 220. They also contain streams more complicated than those in EC. To pass those the highest standard of stamina is necessary. Maybe I should start playing consecutive Lv 17s?

Oh and of course the stupid ~eternal love mix~ section at the end of ENDYMION is definitely a Lv 19 thing. Or rather the whole diff should have been a Lv 19.

3. Ability to handle slow sections

Well that's always a problem to players started playing in the new era because they are never trained to read slow shits. Some maps allow extreme speed adjustments that you can survive while reading the slow part properly like

- Neutrino (racking up to BPM 825/900 to read the slow part)
- Valkyrie Dimension (Use BPM 3.5x and recite the slow section)

And for some you can use sudden+

- IX (BPM 600 with sudden+ worked for me, but I guess BPM 700 without sudden+ should also be fine)
- max period

But these tricks meet their limit when it comes to lv 18+ to lv 19 maps. Either the fast section is too long to be recited or you have no proper chance to remove the sudden+ screening. I can't the middle section of max period with the screen off so I have to turn it off during the 6th notes, and that is extremely risky. Imagine that I need to do the same in over the period and that must be painful.

It's really weird that you thought you can focus on the upper part even without the screen while your legs tell otherwise. And from here I slowly understand why high end Osu! players always complain about low AR...but well if you want to stick with DDR I guess this is something you need to adapt eventually.

With these 3 things in my mind hopefully I can get through all 18s before the introduction of lv 20.

Oh and maybe I will have the chance to have a glimpse into the 8th KAC...

Statistics, end of 2018:
55 times played since 26/05/18; 1416 songs played
Lv 17: All cleared / 24A
Lv 18: 35 cleared / 6A
Lv 19: ???

Friday 19 October 2018

TWEWY Final Remix: a mid-term review

My thoughts on TWEWY 10 years ago (in Chinese)

10 years has passed...

I finally got the English version after mistakenly bought the Japanese version. Took me ~40 hours to finish the main 21 days + secret reports, which is basically most of the old material. It would be good to have a mid-term review here.

Note that this is a review from the perspective of a TWEWY veteran who have already finished the original game and at least one version of the in-between remixes designed for pads. The game has already received enough praises -- I want to highlight my thoughts on the differences between the versions.

Gameplay:

Took me around 25 hours to finish the traditional story line and 40 hours for the secret report. I cleared most boss noises at ultimate - would be significantly easier on hard.

I skipped all possible conversations as I know them inside out anyway. It's easy for me to find a suitable pin set as well. I expect new players to clear the main story line within 40 hours and secret report within 60-80 hours.

Control:

It's good to have a grip-based control. It is naturally very hard to use, but it is good to have one at least. The only problem is the conversion between the two control method easily get stuck in the grip detection screen. Not sure if that's a problem from switch directly.

One may notice that with the HD battlefield the character now has a greater flexibility, and as a result a few blind spots occurred in some boss battles (neo cantus especially).

Mechanics:

With MPP completely taken away from the game, one problem occurs: BPP seems too easy to get while getting SDPP is too slow -- are there any compromise between the two? Old players eagers so much to finish the mastery collection swiftly.

The main game play is basically the same, but there's another bug around: in conversations when you have more than 3 choices the first option is always shown as uncompleted even if you read through that part. Not a big problem though.

Tin Pin Slammer:

I expect a multiplayer mode but meh. AI still suck as hell except the battle against the prof and the wizard which is hard as hell. AI's full potential to react is even better and they can hit you harder without getting you stunned. They can put you in very hard situation if they want, but they does not seem to happen frequently.

It seems like in high quality battle the hammer is simply unreliable. I start taking meteorite as means of escaping [when hit by AI without getting stunned] and spikes the practical way to stun opponents. That seemed to work in many different situations, but unfortunately we do not have a chance to test that in a PVP situation.

Music:

The new tracks are not very noticeable in the first 21 days. I liked the option that you can choose between the original OST set or the switch music set, but so far the difference is small. I think we will get more new songs in the new days.

Of course, all the old songs are great.

A new day:

Errr...despite the extremely messy chaotic Shibuya map, the new part is quite disappointing to play, at least on the battle part.

It is fine to have extra battling conditions, but having every battle to be a split battle is simply stupid. That forces players to choose penetrating attacks or otherwise the player would easily be flooded by the swarm of noises -- the new gem-currency, split-generated pp and new pins are also likely to break the original system in the sense that `everything in the old system is now useless just go ahead and grab all those new stuffs' --- that's a big no from me and probably also from other old TWEWY fans.

I'm kind of expecting an explanation throughout the 7 days, not something in a parallel world but having the full explanation in the secret report. That is not a good way to complete a story.

*

Well...I haven't really finished the new story line so I should not say too much about those. However I am really expecting more.

As usual I am not that kind of players taking the most recent standard on every single game, but you got to admit that the way they present things, and the depth of the context is no longer at the top using the 2018 standard. From the best RPG in the DS-era to a very well made RPG in the switch store, TWEWY final remix is still a good game that I would definitely recommend to every one of you.

Saturday 13 October 2018

Thoughts on Simon Marais 2018

This is the second time I am involved in this competition...and again of course, not in the role of contestants. Here are some short comments.

A1. Very good -- it is not that kind of idiotic question like last year. However I read the question as "find n for one can tile a n*n square with non-congruent dominant rectangles". This is another question, of difficulty in another dimension.

The main problem is still very easy. You can either look for family of solutions mod 3, or family of solutions mod 4. Both can be easily found.

Difficulty rating: Easy [2/10]

A2. A very nice setup. Once you realize everything can be scaled you can lower the dimension and the rest is simple by drawing some graphs.

Difficuly rating: Easy [3/10]

A3. Not very hard but tricky to write down a precise proof since the DE does not seem to have a short analytical solution. One would like to estimate and bound the solution curve by extending bit by bit on the interval 0
Difficulty rating: Moderately easy [4/10]

A4. The recurrence relation is easy to obtain, while the sum is hard to get. Partial credit is still better than nothing for an A4 even if this is not Putnam.

Difficulty rating: Hard [7/10]

B1. Oh come on standard linear algebra. One replaces min by max and it could look a bit more intimidating...

Difficulty rating: Super easy [2/10]

B2. High school surd exercise? One can make simpler and much stronger claims using density.

Difficulty rating: Super easy [2/10]

B3. The speed of the two slower spiders is a strong hint on how you should use them. Otherwise this is really a non-trivial claim.

Difficulty rating: Moderately hard [6/10]

B4. Comparing with the one last year, the object of interest this year seemed...not very useful at all. It's just like an ad hoc matrix just for fun...whatever.

If you looked for the case m=2,3,4 then you should be able to see through what's happening with m=5, and more importantly why is it a mess for m>5. Easy partial credit, but who dares to take the open problem?

Difficulty rating: Moderately easy [4/10] for partial credit + ???

*

Much harder than last year, and it is closer to what it should have been. The spreading of part A is desirable, while that for part B is dreadful. Would really appreciate if they decide to add more questions to widen the breath and difficulty spectrum.

Sunday 7 October 2018

18夏番短評

推介:
千緒的上學路 (8)
異世界居酒屋 (7.5)
工作細胞 (7.5)
高分少女 (7.5)

合格以上:
後街女孩 (7)
Persona 5 (7) (未完)
利根川 (6.5)

一般:
異世界召喚 (6)
京都寺三條 (6)
遊戲三人娘 (6)
殺戮的天使 (6) (未完)

令人失望:
Phantom in the Twilight (5.5)
Island (5)
百鍊霸王 (4.5)

18夏基本上沒有甚麼聲勢浩大的作品,從結果來看也確實如此。然而這季也有各種精於單一方面的作品可以滿足不同觀眾的口味,我這季一共有十幾套看到最後足以證明上季新番的多樣性。以下是一些簡單評點。

工作細胞(7.5)

本季主流霸權之一。將原作細胞種類大幅簡化,將精力放在介紹(舔)某幾種細胞上:香菜實力演出冒失鬼,很好很好;每集硬要把血小板拉出來賣一下萌,舔舔戳戳。深入淺出的內容讓觀眾非常好接受,就算與實際有所落差仍不失為一部上佳的入門科普作。另外OP的疊字運用也非常洗腦,讓大家以後都記得Hataraku一詞~

上學路(8) vs 遊戲三人娘(6)

同樣是輕鬆搞笑番,我是不明白為何這兩部一定會被拿去比較:兩者搞笑的點非常不同,很難說那部比較搞笑。上學路的核心是千緒所謂的「中下之道」,身懷一身好武功卻只想過平凡的高中生生活,兩個看似互相予盾的想法碰在一起才讓短短的上學路變得如此精彩。

三人娘的話動機比較單純,格局也限在比較日常的小遊戲上。類似的風格看兩三集也還好,看多了就會膩。一集中放三四五個小單元重複類似套路的話只會加速這個看膩的過程。至於作畫風格和搞怪的OP雖然創意十足,但沒有內容的番劇也沒法用這些拿到錦上添花的分數。

一個讓我一直笑,一個笑不出來,這就是分別。當然這是個人意見。

異世界魔王與召喚少女的奴隸魔術(6) vs 百鍊霸王(4.5)

本季的穿越系代表。一套是剛好合格,另一部則是破記錄的爛片。百鍊甚至爛到BD銷量算不出根本沒甚麼好奇怪的,我寧可買書使都不一定想碰這個。

異世界魔王與召喚少女的奴隸魔術是標準的滿級轉生,內向性格被後宮衝擊逐漸改造也是十分套路。劇組很早就下決心要賣肉到底,各式各樣的福利也能滿足大部分的宅宅(雖然被某網站聖光得很厲害)。我比較不滿意的地方是整個劇情非常倉促:經常剛解決了一件事情,第二天還沒醒就有人破門而入說大事不好云云。主線推得太快導致世界觀沒法完整舖陳:前面說這世界太家都很低等,立馬就跳一個120等的聖騎出來;150等主角竟然可以用魔法用到沒MP等等。當然我沒說動畫斷在這裡不行,但有些作品本來要塞進12集又想自然結束就不容易,此乃天命。

百鍊霸王……怎麼說呢。各種搭不上線,各種黑人問號。感覺是銅器時代的樣子,除了武器和軍隊配置外處處都是超越同時代的影子:超高的城牆和細膩的紡織技術,隨便拿得出來的幾萬軍隊……我說作者要不要先多考據一下?男主手機每次都要要給電量給一下特寫,可是從沒說過要如何充電;兩個世界的關連一兩句就輕描淡寫地帶過,被趕出異世界隨隨便便等個半集又回去了……諸如此類隨興的設定到處可見,作為穿越福利的戰術碾壓和全世界都是兄控系列也對不上我的口味。對我來說唯一亮點大概是聲優賣力演出吧,其餘的就算了。

利根川(6.5)

完美詮釋福本風格的作品。有點日常風又不太日常,因為觀眾全都知道這是限定猜拳的前傳。黑衣人在辦公室裡ざわ ざわ...,看倌們也私下在ざわ ざわ...,就這樣渡過了13集。的確利根川是個很優秀的人,與黑衣人和會長的互動也很有趣,不過說到尾這番還是福本粉絲限定,如果抱著看默示錄或者那場打二十年的麻雀一樣的心態來看的話可能會失望。

高分少女(7.5)

如果你是街機黃金時代的見證者,你一定會身同感受。晚生了十年的我對街機也略有考究,這作品絕對是這方面的精品。動畫一如漫畫原作那樣講究細節,奇特的人物畫風(說復古又不像,要我說不如是韓風)也完美的繼承過來了。這沒有甚麼好奇怪的,以小學初中為主軸的作品根本不用賣萌賣肉--街機要的就是熱血,是青春!

當然無口大野真的十分魔性,漫畫到尾真是一句都不說反而顯出押切蓮介深厚的側描功力。其他有關三人的互動相信其他人比我看得更透徹,在此我就不多加描述。

京都寺三條(6)

看上去的感覺比小說更差。男主的機掰程度比小說更明顯,雖說是作者刻意展示京都風而為,看了卻讓人不太舒服。推理部分與美術有關的部分當然算的上是福式推理,但剩下的部分則未免太稚嫩了。小說黨過來看的話可能略有失望,沒看過小說的話看完動畫則可能對那厚厚的小說打退堂鼓,這部說是失敗之作也不為過。

異世界居酒屋(7.5)

到異世界就是要吃!這番原作出現比貓屋更早卻遲一步被動畫化真是可惜了。比起貓屋這邊的設定更有利餐廳建立推動自己的文化:這邊不需要鰻魚一世,因為大家都會吃;啤酒也一樣,可惜我到現在還沒機會試一下這個越後之秋……啊不對是總之先來一杯生啤。因為是居酒屋,整體的氣氛比貓屋更為歡快,動畫也成功利用有限的時間把世界觀從內到外描述了一篇,稻荷大神和先王兩集更是神來之筆。總的來說是個各方面都很不錯的作品。

說到這個番當然不得不提每集兩節的真人出演。中間的真人煮食節目是很好學……可惜有幾集的料理實在不太對我的口味。用芽菜裝成意粉做拿玻里麵、用麵包粉沾蝦裝炸蝦等實在是……嗯,不行。我是覺得與其自欺聆人,用同樣的材料其實也能做出更好的正統料理。不過此人廚藝功力相當不錯,要跟他學如何煮食絕對沒問題。片末的作者帶你白吃白喝不用我多說,因為採訪對象是真的餐廳,端出來的賣相絕對一流。光看的話絕對是一種享受(或者折磨,如果你在餓的話),不過有廣告成份在,真去吃是否一樣好吃就不得而知了。

特別提名:Island(5)

正港的工三小之作。只有凜音能看……

Saturday 22 September 2018

Some nostalgia(c) stuffs

Nostalgia...不是音遊那個。雖然ノスタルジア我也玩很兇。然後玩到Ballade No.1 in G minor就想到四月是你的謊言...真是說多了都是淚。


[上圖不代表本人目前實力,我已經把隅田川A掉了。]

今天說的是另一種回憶:第一款接觸到的音遊。

剛好有人討論到……這個對我來說是蠻有趣的,偶而在這邊寫點短文充也不錯,所以我就把回憶趕快寫一寫然後吃飯去囉。

如果是正統的音遊那一定是PS2時代的太鼓,具體時間大約在~14年前[2004]。當時正值PS2盛世,到處都能玩到PS2乃是理所當然。同學家、玩具反斗城劃出整區試玩、被邀上電視打比賽……雖然我沒趕上高分少女裡面的街機盛世,但是即使沒有PS2的我[任豚,嘿]還是能深刻感受到家用機最後盛世的餘暉。

不過話說回來,2004同樣是個flash小遊戲橫行的年代。大型門戶網站如asiadog跟newgrounds等不用多說必是兵家必爭之地;在搜尋器不發達的年代一堆小網站同樣虎藏龍,日本網站對當時的中文用家來說更是如此。

當時大型flash門戶不難找到一隻叫太鼓の玄人的flash,分明仿太鼓之達人的小遊戲。一共用了6、7首歌,我還能記住的就只有One winged angel;譜面製作以2004的水準來說也是有模有樣,可惜flash水平不怎樣,有時打再好也會bug掉。

這隻flash我現在已經找不出來了。倒是我當時按這名字按圖索驥找到另一隻仿太鼓之達人的小遊戲叫太鼓の名人,藏在一堆beat master[仿DDR flash,當時極為流行,小說也有幾百個作品]的成品列表後面。這個太鼓の名人介面更像本家,可惜譜面不怎樣。但對我來說這太鼓の名人對我影響更大的是其選曲:Holy Moon和HARASSIN'BOSS,兩首帶我進電子音樂世界的入門曲。Holy Moon是我第一次認真想rank圖時選的曲子,而今仍是我的最愛[幾乎沒有之一],而後者也經常出現在我的「想map掉填坑列表」頂端的位置。

科網泡沫催生的個人網站熱潮已經倒得七七八八,今年十月才改組天空部落已是倖存的佼佼者了。儲存太鼓の名人的個人網站也不例外……不過幸運的是我們有web archive!

http://web.archive.org/web/20070323090931/http://r_akky.at.infoseek.co.jp:80/flash.html

這是太鼓の名人的鏈接。因為config已經不見了沒法看到譜面,但大家還是可以從這邊觀摩一下當年的仿製音遊。

*

說到web archive我還有另一款在我腦海中散不去的舊遊戲,那就是alfy.com的Pang。雖說是參照街機的PANG但因為比街機晚了20年,在畫質、操作、難度分佈、可玩性等各方面都完勝當年街機。可因為遊戲是用Java applet加上網頁硬上config運行,所以其他網站也抄不過去;加上近年各大瀏覽器集體封殺NPAPI,Java Applet已成昨日黃花,不弄個IE6都進不去。

Alfy版Pang同樣在web archive中能找到,包括了遊戲本體.jar和config碼,不知道有沒有有心人來試試把遊戲復刻出來?

22/9/2018

Sunday 26 August 2018

夢.十夜 (2) Training the little red hood

做了一個這樣的夢。

凜冽的寒風夾雜細雨驅散著路上的行人。如果說附近有甚麼地方能在這種天氣下吸引人群聚集的話大概就只有這檔天橋底下的小炒店。在遠處就能看到用強力照明燈映射著的金漆招牌,上面是斗大的「避風塘炒蟹」五字;招牌以下幾位伙計分別按照客人下單依次將肉類、配菜、香料炒進鐵鑊裡,最後把米酒倒進去時所引發的火龍甚至博得附近客人的一陣掌聲;在店面延伸出來十數米都是擠滿人的圓桌,喧鬧的交談聲與熱炒鐵鑊所發出的油炸聲響交織成附近最溫暖的風景。


小炒店上面頂著天橋,左右又是延綿不斷的高樓大廈圍繞,蒜香和辣椒香味無處可逃只可以一個勁地鑽進路人、食客還有我的鼻子裡。可惜這裡不是我今天的目標,不過就算我今天一個人來吃飯也只會被伙計們無視吧。我趕緊轉進旁邊的小巷,穿過兩三個街口來到舊區。街上的建築物從商業大廈換成了七層的民居,大氣中的熱炒香氣除了附在我大衣上的頑強分子以外也消失得無影無縱。很快我就來到一家像是咖啡店的門口,外面除了一個簡短的寫著是日餐點的黑版以外就只有簡樸的裝飾。又一陣強風吹過,我感覺我就像賣火柴的小女孩在外面看著別人吃大餐一樣--再不進去我就要冷死了,一杯咖啡也好,先進去在說。


厚重的木門緩緩的關上,把我和外面的世界完全隔絕開來。裡面與其說是簡樸的咖啡店不如說是高級甜點店:入口的櫥櫃裡放滿了精緻的瓷器和茶罐,店裡面左邊是糕點師傅的聖域,透明的玻璃櫃裡放滿了各式各樣的甜點任客人選擇;右邊則是給客人座的地方,典雅的桌椅配上以啡色為主調的裝潢,看上就像把人帶回二十世紀初的倫敦一樣--當然,前提是你別把手機掏來。蛋糕師傅正在把手指餅乾放進調製好的拿姆酒裡,大概是某人的提拉米蘇(Tiramisu);另外還有一名白髮少年躲在糕店櫥櫃後正在沖茶。看著他的背影總覺得有種熟悉的感覺,但又說不出是何時何地見過他--


正值晚餐時間,前來品嘗甜點的人自然不多。除了門口附近的一對情侶正在共享他們面前的千層派(MIlle-Feuille)外就只有最裡面的一桌坐了三個人。他們都正在低頭狂點手機,肯定是在玩某種手遊沒錯。


明明中間還有一堆空出來的桌子,我卻在白髮少年的眼神引路下走到三人組那一桌。說也奇怪,明明是三個人,桌上卻有第四個一口都沒動過的甜點,綿密的綠茶慕斯包夾著海綿蛋糕和一層桃紅色的果醬,那就是店門口看板上宣傳的初春限定品嗎?好想吃呢。


「啊啊啊我撿到尾刀了!」少女突如其來的喊聲把其他二人都嚇了一跳;此時她只顧著在屏幕上狂掃,大概是尋找自己的最新排名。從她笑容滿臉的反應來看想必進補不少。

她的夥伴紛紛送上祝賀:「這是最後一次boss會戰了,要是你沒跟上我都不知道怎樣辦好呢。」「這是最後一次boss會戰了,要是你沒跟上我都不知道怎樣辦好呢。」
「這遊戲的ping太玄了……我們也不好放給你,好在你剛好撿到呢。」
「這下要衝1000位應該穩了吧?不想收藏想轉手記得找我啊~」

她滿足地拿起叉子正欲狠狠戳向自己的檸檬派時,終於抬頭看到了我:「你,你是……」


「呃啊……我、我不是來等位子的……外面還有好多空位我先出去了……ごめんなさい……」


「咦不對,我聽說今天有個強力隊員會加入我們,說的該不會就是你吧?」

「我沒有,我不是--」
「別管那麼多了啦~反正你現在正好有空,不如坐下來一起玩遊戲吧!」

我半推半就地被按在桌子上,被喂了一口名為春綠的綠色甜點(好吃),還有手機被掏出來下載了「逆戰幻想」。


一款即使我之前沒玩過也略有耳聞的手機遊戲。


與禁止交易讓大家各抽各的主流剛好相反,逆戰幻想採用完全開放交易的制度;遊戲內的稀有卡片以一天兩張的速度增加,交易恰好滿足了收集型玩家的收集欲望,土豪資金的流入反過來也刺激了大量「農民」玩家進坑將競爭性抬上去。同時營運方則巧妙地保持兩邊的平衡,以適當的通漲確保了遊戲的活力,使遊戲長期待在課金榜前五名。


遊戲性固然能吸引不少硬派玩家,但真正讓它成為頂級吸金遊戲的是每張卡背後的詳盡背景設定:每張四星卡背後至少有一大段角色的故事,每張五星卡更自帶劇情關卡。就像拼圖一樣這些角色將整個幻想世界每一個村、每一個城市、每一個種族一一拼出來,成為一個真正意義上的「世界」。有些沒法達成全收藏的玩家也會嘗試集滿一個種族的角色,除了能把故事補完外也能在戰鬥上拿到額外加成。


遊戲裡的活動形式也是五花八門,他們告訴我這個叫訓練型活動,是最早期的活動之一。玩家帶領各色清除一路上的怪物,途中首領的級數會一直上升。由於活動可以快速將角色等級衝上去所以被稱為訓練活動:玩家消耗體力在活動副本裡冒險,沿途一邊對戰活動指定的怪物一邊刷等級。雖然一直按「前進」鍵是略無聊,但是將沒用角色刷到滿等可以作為提升稀有角色經驗的飼料在市場上販賣,所以吸引了不少免費玩家投入刷怪的行列。這活動也不是單純連按了事--怪物的等級會一直提升,後期想提升刷怪效率就只能動腦思考打法或者抽活動限定卡,否則就只能投降將等級降回去。


嗯……遊戲數據已經下載好了。新手教學的關卡是遊戲的主要戰鬥形式:塔防戰。實力碾壓對方的話只要算好輸出就可以了,不過據他們說高難度的關卡要利用對手屬性跟我方技能的連動,這樣聽上去比新手關有趣多了。


快速通過教學關卡,拿到的除了並沒有甚麼存在感的主角御三家之外,還有活動共享獎勵的記念角色卡一張。這次的活動是「萬聖Parade」,這張角色卡當然也是對題的「人狼」。與其說是滿月發作的半獸人還不如說是參加派對的妙齡少女:破布剛好從豐滿的胸部蓋到大腿根部,皮帶隨意地掛在柔軟的腰肢上;棕色的長髮上配上同樣顏色的獸耳,獸爪拳套跟黑絲長腿再加上一個人畜無害的表情實在讓人忍不住在她臉上狠狠捏一把。


這樣一張四星卡隨便送出去真的很佛心啦,不過這也代表著活動的真正獎勵會比這張更萌更強不是嗎?我把人狼的背面翻開,揭示出一個完全不同的答案:背面除了角色屬性外還有這樣一段故事:


在那瘋狂的盛宴之後

在不見月光的森林深處
欲望比以往更為熾熱
她要的是,比糖更甜的--

因為只是四星卡,故事只有短短幾句,不過大概會在其他獎勵角色把故事補完的吧?隨便掃了一下這次的排名獎勵,嗯……六星吸血鬼、五星科學怪人、五星小紅帽、五星魔物獵人--人狼所渴求的大概只能是「那位」吧?想到這裡,未真正玩過這遊戲的我竟然有刷分的衝動。


少女彷彿看穿我刷分的欲望一樣:「嘻嘻,一上來就投身這種硬派活動可不好呢。萬一還沒進坑就把熱情刷光了可就難辦了~剛好我已經有功能相近的卡了,這張五星小紅帽我送你吧。」


「等等……這張不是排名獎勵嗎?現在就能送我了?」


「我現在可是排第1050位,前三千名都能拿到小紅帽呢。這個活動還有一個半小時就結束,我這張小紅帽可說是穩到不行呢。不過想衝上一千名拿吸血鬼可就有點難度了,大家都在最後衝刺的話能不能把五十個玩家擠下去實在很難說……」她一邊回應著我的問題,手上刷活動的步伐也沒落下,旁邊的人也在適當的時候給予支援。

說罷她接過了我的手機,幾下操作後小紅帽就轉到我的帳戶下了。據她所說交易系統本來是限制30等才能使用的,不過經玩家建議後改成一開始就能使用,不過要等到30等才能取出使用。就這樣小紅帽就被封印了在我的收件箱裡,不過我還是可以翻到背面看看她的故事--

好吃嗎?

糖果也好、餅乾也好,你所愛的我都可以給你
越發沉重的身體,累了的話躺過來就好
柔軟的肢體、溫曖的爐火
放鬆、放鬆--
「……晚安。」

唉呀好黑。


把卡送我以後她趕緊切回活動繼續衝分,只見她俐落地把幾隻角色召到場上後便將注意力轉移到我們身上。據她說這種等級過高的怪物都要花三四次打死,與其每次都花心思將可以完美相互配合的角色擺上去,用最快速度將排序頂端的角色放上去還能省過幾秒,途中一分鐘的戰鬥時間還能讓自己喘息一下。「對了,我們還沒自我介紹吧?」就趁這一分鐘的空檔,她抬起頭來向我介紹著同桌的三人組。


一直刷分的少女叫小雨,大家都叫她rain。貼身的西裝外套和薄薄的白襯衫足以證明她是個十足的OL,加上精致的五官加上柔滑的黑長髮會讓人懷疑她應該在酒吧裡等著別人獻殷勤而不是在甜品店裡打手游。


她旁邊的中年大叔名叫Alex。微胖的身材、油膩的臉龐加上彩色的條紋襯衫也掩蓋不住他眼中的精芒。據小雨說他是一位古董商人,經常來回歐洲做生意,不過每次都會趁回來把大家叫出來一起衝活動。


在Alex對面的是一位眼鏡男子名叫阿飛,身穿時下動畫相關「I♡人類」的T恤配上黑色外套。雖然看上去有點胹腆,不過一說到他對遊戲的愛他一點也不輸其他兩位,工程師的身份也讓他有辦法投入足夠資金在有愛的活動上狂衝猛進。


這時小雨「哇」的一聲指著屏幕,原來是因為角色成功觸發了幾次暴擊導致隊伍剛好三輪就把怪物刷掉,這就能省去數十秒刷第四次的時間和喝水回復行動力的成本。每次打敗怪物所得分數也不是固定的,而這次拿到的分數也剛好是隨機範圍的上限。可以說她取得了她能力所及可能得到的最好結果。果不其然,排名跟小雨相近的阿飛用他手刷新了一下排名,她立刻就從1052位衝到1037名。


「啊……還是不行呢。」小雨驚喜的表情維持了三十秒就消失無縱。


「現在從差50名變成差35名不是好事嗎?還有一個小時多點,足夠我們衝進一千名內了吧?」


「你在最後衝刺,別人也在衝剌啊。在一千名附近的玩家全都在拼了。分數線上的人不想掉下去,分數線下的人想爬上來。要進一千名不光要刷分,還要比別人刷得快呢。」


的確,排名活動本質上就是一種PVP對戰。比的是你能投入的時間、投入的資金、能抽到多少活動角色和策略安排。現在是活動的最後階段,在大家都拼命衝、投入資金再也沒法回本的前提下比的就剩誰衝得快了。


「那你平均有刷得比人快嗎?」


「唔……是比平均快一點,不過能不能在活動結束前趕上還是未知之數呢。」


根據Alex的統計她現在大約190萬分,還落後一千名線大約兩萬分左右。在同一時間950、1000、1050名的分數線都大概以每分鐘2000分的速度飆上去,也就是說這個分數段的玩家已經全部動員起來衝分了。小雨的衝分速度則大約是每分鐘2200分,按這個速度來說活動結束時她可能會以數千分飲恨。


「……等等,你們衝分的速度是固定的嗎?如果怪物的等級一直升上去的話衝分的速度應該是線性成長才對。」每隻怪物所得分數可以理解成[常數x怪物等級x隨機系數],如果等級上升的話每次得到的分數應該會長上去才對。


「沒有呢。首先小雨能衝的等級已經到頂了。如果我們沒法四輪擊破怪物就會逃掉,那我們就拿不到分數,所以我們會停在這裡一直刷分。其次就算我們能應付更高等級的怪物,我們所得分數的速度還是固定而非線性增長的。這是因為怪物的分數與等級成正比,等級又與血量成正比,所以我們打出的傷害與我們所得的分數也成正比。等級提高了,我們用更多時間去取得更多分數,平均算下來效率還是不會變。」Alex給出了一個詳盡的解釋,似乎他對這位新人對遊戲優化的重視感到很滿意。


「……」一時間甜品店陷入寂靜。前面的情侶已經結帳離去,蛋糕師傅消失在廚房的深處,白髮少年偷偷地把給客人享用的大吉嶺茶葉舀出來給自己泡一壼茶;rain正專注於眼下的活動,Alex跟阿飛也一動不動地盯著她的手機……或者她本人。我則低頭望向甜點的殘骸,努力地用叉子把那僅餘的綠茶慕斯刮出來放進嘴巴,然後靜靜地想著提升效率的方法。


剩下的綠茶慕斯……剩餘……餘數……


「!」靈機一動。

「小雨,你這等級一般都是四次打通嗎?如果每次你把菜單拉下去選戰術上最強角需要多花幾秒?」想從細節提升效率就必須從玩家的的習慣開始。不知道本來如何玩就不可能知道從何改進。


「唔。這個等級我打四次剛好清完,之後我就要手動掉級了。剛掉級的時候大概剛好是三次打不完、第四輪秒殺的程度吧。要我從角色列表拉下去選角的話大概一隻會花我三到五秒這樣吧。」當玩家認定自己沒法刷過某個等級的怪物時可以選擇手動投降,這樣下次遭遇到同樣怪物時怪物的等級會降低。玩家會一口氣從極限等級降到比較好刷分的等級方便刷分。小雨選擇的是在四次能清完的等級範圍刷分。她不加思索就給出了答覆,顯然她已經考慮過各種不同的衝法策略。


「要不要試試降級後拉一隻強角出來爭取三次清完?降級後第二次改用兩隻強角應該也能三次清完吧?這樣會不會比較快?」我拋出一個聽上去頗為複雜的建議,她卻心領神會地點了下頭:「我試試。」


先前她「哇」一聲的時候正好是這個升降級循環的一半,打到現在差不多就該手動降級了,這樣她恰好就能實踐一下我提出的建議。只見她以誇張地把手指從屏幕底部一口氣劃到頂,隨後快速連點兩下,先把滑動中的選單停下來再快速選出她所要的角色。一個Q版的紅色重甲女騎士被放到了怪物正前方。


小雨興奮地指著女騎士說:「她也叫rain哦!她的四連擊CD長度剛好與其他傷害輸出重疊,這樣就可以靠她的特性將怪物的技物發動時機拖住,這樣我就使用技能輸出而不用擔心被打斷了~」我本以為所謂強角就是製造出更高的輸出,或者是簡單的屬性相剋,沒想到是如此複雜的連鎖機制。


她再次「哇」一聲叫了出來。三輪通關。不過這次她的叫聲顯然沒有上次來得大,因為這次三輪通關靠的不是運氣,是實打實的戰略安排。


「哇喔~」怪物比剛降完級後又升了一級。小雨下拉菜單放上了兩隻強角,三次通關。其實我想吐糟一下,玩家動輒幾百張的卡庫,用表格檢視真的好嗎?每次選別的角色要拉下去都覺得很痛苦……


大家緊盯著小雨的手機屏幕,只見四人浸沈於連續三輪通關的驚奇和喜悅當中,一個升降級的循環眨眼間便完成了。一共花了十三分鐘,比上一個循環足快了十分之一有多。這樣她的平均刷分速度不再是2200分而是2400-2500分,要在指定時間內衝上一千名易如反掌。阿飛再刷新一次他手機上的分數榜,小雨已經升到1022位,離一千名只有一萬一的距離。


Alex見狀也鬆了一口氣:「嘛,既然追上去只是時間問題,那我們輕鬆一下好了。吃好喝好才有辦法進行最行衝刺嘛!嗨~卡羅,我要追加一份柚子千層、一份法式蘋果派。還有一開始那壼果茶再來一壼吧。」


原來他叫卡羅啊。


玩手機被打斷的白髮少年隨口答道:「Very Autumn(*)吧?等一下哦……還有蘋果派現烤也要等一會。焦糖雪糕今天已經賣完了。蘋果派配上普通的香草雪糕也沒問題吧?」「沒問題,你一小時後端上來我還能當是慶祝我們衝活動成功呢。」「好啦好啦。等一下我盡快做。」


(*: Very Autumn為Mariage Freres旗下果茶之一。以青蘋果、梨、榲桲等秋季水果加上橘系風味而成。)


一個小時很快就過去了。早已達標的Alex和阿飛不時檢查著分數榜再三確認自己不會被刷出去,而我則趁這個時候刷過幾隻怪物,把最低級的活動活動獎勵拿到手再說。畢竟不拿白不拿嘛。小雨則是越刷越放鬆,顯然新的戰法讓她不再拘泥於隨機系數帶來的額外獎勵,因為效率強化後一千名早已是她的囊中之物。


「噹~」鐘聲標示的是晚上十點鐘,也是活動的完結時間。遊戲彈出伺服器維修中的字眼,無間斷刷了老半天的小雨終於把手機放了下來。她一邊把留給她的柚子千層蛋糕掃進口裡一邊向我道謝:「多虧了你呢!我最後把刷分速度降了下來還是順利穩定在980名前後了,這下吸血鬼跑不掉了啦!」五飛則冷靜的提議道:「我剛看reddit不少人想搶都搶不到想高價收呢。我猜這樣大概能賣40美金吧,要不要先賣掉以後收回?」「不要!難得辛苦刷回來的卡當然是自己收藏囉。你開100美金的話我就考慮賣給你再去外面收回來,哈。」


「啪」一聲Alex拍了下手掌打斷了大家的對話:「難得今天大家這麼開心,不如趁時間還早轉戰拉麵店再吃一回?我知道附近有一家雞白湯做得很不錯,大概還有45分鐘last order,要去的快就要趁現在了。」甜點之後是拉麵嗎?真是奇怪的組合。不過這樣也好,剛來的時候小炒店看的到沒的吃,那種纔吃多少甜品都補不回來的。


白髮少年目送著他們離開,唯獨把我留了下來。我轉身時只看到他瞇起了左眼擺出一個惡作劇般的表情:「今天做得很好呢。」


這麼說,上次在機廳暗中讓我過來這邊的就是這位卡羅?雖然今天玩得蠻開心的,但被帶來還是有點莫名奇妙。「所以你讓我過來就單純把我推進遊戲坑而已?恭喜你,你成功了。不過我可不敢肯定這種爆肝遊戲我可以撐多久呢。」


「嘛~相信很快你就會享受在遊戲裡玩優化的樂趣了。說實話你的解法我完全沒料到呢。將餘數最小化,相當於打三輪還是四輪都能維持一樣的效率。我本來還以為你最後會借Alex手上的六星活動卡衝一波呢。」沒看清Alex手上的卡組真是抱歉,我根本不知道他有六星卡。「他們經常會有這樣的聚會,不過這種事讓他們直接邀請你就好了啦。至於下次我們倆的約會--就由我親自帶你玩遊戲吧。」


他胸有成竹地微笑著,帥氣的臉越湊越近。


「妳一定會同意的吧,小紅?」


----


雖說是夢但也亦真亦假。是九真一假、半真半假還是九假一真就留給各位判斷了。


離上一篇隔了超過一年,但我始終沒有落下過這邊的構思。這篇一共六千多字,有超過一半都是半天之內一氣呵成的。說實話我也很驚訝自己能一口氣寫這麼多,大概就一整年累積下來的想法早就在我腦裡搓成一篇完整的故事了吧。


這個遊戲到底是那個遊戲我就不多說了,隨便搜一搜都能找到。不得不說將將卡片譯成中文的譯者實在廢到有剩。還好我從頭到尾都是玩英文版。


這個遊戲到現在還是我所認定的手遊RPG巔峰之作。在活動玩法與策略成本廣度上至今是無人能及的。對比起偶像大師、PAD這種活動衝到手腕發炎、短暫性失明的所謂非金錢競爭,這遊戲所有的策略都是非即時性的--退一步才看到海闊天空,容許預先計劃才能讓玩家玩法百花齊放。


希望下一篇會是出現在2018而不是2019呢。然後如果我在12月發出來的話背景說不定是東京。


就這樣。

Sunday 29 July 2018

FE Heroes: Arena Tiers 2.0

A year ago I analysed the tier distribution in FEH and now with the v2.8 update we are going to have a twist, with the new tier 21 [a.k.a. the WHALE TIER] introduced. It is no more than a simple application of queue theory and matrix diagonalization....well no, just solving linear equations to get the new distribution. Just a quick reminder, we can generate the ratio by the following equation

$p_{k+1} = r_{-1, k}^{-1}(\sum _{d =1,2,3} r_{d,k} p_{k-d} - (1-r_{0,k})p_k)$

from the bottom, where $r_{d,k}$ stands for the ratio of going up by $d$ tiers from tier $k$, and $p_k$ stands for the proportionality constant of players at tier $k$ in an equilibrium state.

Quite surprised that they looked extremely similar, right? If you look deep into the chart you will found that to be unsurprising at all. You may even wonder why are they different...

...that's because tier 20/21 are the only tiers with $r_k$ changed, after all.

(Apology for the stupid y-axis.) Numerically with the introduction of tier 21, players moved upward by 2%. There will be 2% more tier 18+ players [tier 18 is important due to the 4 orbs reward], and 2% more tier 20 players, which we, infantry lovers, do not care at all.

So here is the counter-intuitive part: why is there a difference on tiers below tier 20, given that the parameters were not altered? If we hide the flow between tier 20-21 and call the two tier 20+, this new tier actually has the same parameter as the old tier 20:

Old tier 20: 30% stay - 70% down 1

New tier 20: 20% up 1 - 10% stay - 70% down 1
New tier 21: 30% stay - 70% down 1
New tier 20+: 30% stay - 70% down 1

...or is it?

For sure that's not correct - by combining two tiers we brake the memoryless feature of the promotion system: if one stays in tier 21, he will 100% stay in tier 20+ in the next season, and that is not consistent with the global parameter for tier 20+. We can't really solve a set of linear equations correctly without the memoryless feature so the idea of tier 20+ does not really work. One simply go back to tier 20/21, do the math and 2% is really an existing difference.

...but why?

Even though the idea of tier 20+ does not help mathematically, it is true conceptually. Players are allowed to stay in tier 20+ longer [for those in tier 21] comparing with the old tier 20, hence expending the capacity at the top.

And, well, for me I do not bother getting top ranks anymore. I'm happy with my tier 19.5, or even 18.5 teams...

Wednesday 25 July 2018

25/7/18

~10年後の私へ~

今は幸せでしょうか?
それとも悲しみで
泣いているのでしょうか?


2008-2018,不多不少就是十年。最近在我身邊剛好出現了各種以十年為單位的懷舊復刻;
比如余兒<<九龍城寨>>的前傳<<龍頭>>在本年書展首發。
比如The World Ends With You的續作TWEWY -Final Remix-會在九月開賣。
比如RPG Maker VX的續作RMMV即將移到Switch上。嘛,我還是喜歡RMXP就是了。

仔細一想,現在的人生似乎也是以2008為轉捩點開始的十年所鑄造出來:
比如從公共圖書館轉戰書局和網絡文學。
比如從仙俠類MMORPG轉戰音游。
比如開始理解PHP,還有Discuz!架構。
比如那一狗票的八號風球。
政治經濟等等就更不用多說,怎樣看都是風雲突變的一年。

其實也沒甚麼啦。差不多的論調在2017還是2019一樣能用的上。不過等了好久的TWEWY終於出來讓我不感概一下不行如此而已。


啊,順便慶祝一下500道達成。算上DDR X3/13/14/ITG的話大概快破千,不過官方的500道就是500道啦。上面截圖的日期是7月2日,不過此刻[24/7/18]我都過550道了。之前順手打了一篇17譜面簡評不過還是吞回去好,都把18清了一大半還回去說17全破怎樣怎樣實在不怎樣,尤其在今天看到有人4miss過掉IX之後。

要加強的東西還有很多呢。

Saturday 26 May 2018

DDR, the 4th year

Some references:
[5/2016] DDR the 2nd year
[2/2017] DDR the 3rd year

Oh my. Just take a look at the screenshots in the above entries and look at the scores that I have now...

ちくわパフェだよ☆CKP Challenge Lv14
2016 - 881970 1 miss [That's really a fluke - I can't even consistently 4 miss Lv14 maps]
2017 - 918640 1 miss [That's more like regular performance]
2018 - 938370 GFC [without proper warm up so that's an underperformed play]


MAX300 Expert Lv15
2016 - ~890000 (ITG converted into DDR A scale) [again fluked somehow]
2018 - 912380 [not like I seriously grinded since I play 12-14-16+ these days... didn't even bothered to screenshot that]

嘆きの樹 Expert Lv16
2017 - 557020 Failed [Can't even make it to the laddery stream part]
2018 - 833420 [I think I'm hitting that stream too fast nowdays]


恋する☆宇宙戦争っ!! Challenge Lv17
2017 - 780660 [After playing BPM200 for a whole day]
2018 - 884020 [Playing BPM200 is almost natural for me now]


Oh and of course, I can barely handle some 18s now.

Great improvement comes from consistent targeted practicing just like what happened in 2016. In 2 months I improved from being able to marginally pass 16s to clearing some of the nastiest 17 [Tohoku Evolved, Spanish Snowy Dance] and even some 18s [Egoism, Mei, and almost Dead End Groove Radar mix].

I think that comes from a general theory that I believe to be true in explosiveness demanding sports: strength comes first and accuracy follows. Strength and accuracy is the eternal dilemma in sporting and improving one will inevitably sacrifice another expert for those chosen geniuses. Now you are an ordinary player and you have to decide which is more important to be focused and I will definitely go for strength.

Since we are not talking about pure fitness that puts excessive muscles into no use, we can generally say that greater strength allows stronger explosiveness and hence a larger margin for flexibility. That means you can sacrifice your strength [speed] to gain higher accuracy [firmer stepping that gives higher accuracy]. And more importantly you have the stamina to keep your performance and strength to fix your mistakes whenever necessary. It does not work the other way round however. Stamina and strength is the correcting factor while you do not get either if you focused on accuracy only.

It's not surprising to find players who can often pass 15-16s focused on steamrolling 12s regularly and never gain the ability to clear high 16 or 17s. Strength based players however, managed to raise their accuracy naturally by adopting their ways of advanced maps onto easier maps that are more stable and more easily corrected. Wind Fairy is a good example: it's a very simple Lv15 but with some serious 1/3 streams. There's even a vertical stream at the last which is extremely hard for Lv15 newcomers. Higher players however, can apply the dense jumping skill they gained by playing maps like MAX period or London Evolved [I hate this thing so much] so get it passed.

This theory is general in the sense that it applies to more sports other than DDR - and baseball is my favourite example. While weaker CPBL pitchers are still trying to pitch slower in order to pitch into the zone, MLB is exhibiting why the other way round is the correct way to grow a prospect: throw hard, throw fast. That's your true potential and you should try your best to grind the best out of it.

So that's my little thoughts on how to get better when you play these games/sports. I'm not saying that keep on AAA 12s are bad, nor that people have to do it in that way to be good. There are all different kinds of players in the world and there are millions of optimized way to improve the skills -- but I will keep my way playing DDR while enjoying all the songs you get there.

Statistics, mid 2018:
409 credits accumulated since DDR A
20 credits per week
Clear attack: 14~15-[2016] → 15+~16[2017] → 17~18-[2018]
AA Attack: 11~13-[2016] → 14~15-[2017] → 15~16[2018]
Lv 16: 29 Cleared / 4AA
Lv 17: 25 Cleared / 10A
Lv 18: 3 Cleared

Tuesday 22 May 2018

10 years of Osu! 雜談(2) - pp篇

寫雜談~遊戲篇時突然想把一個問題單獨拿出來寫一篇:到底pp系統是好是壞?雖然作為分數時代#1引入pp系統我一定是受害者,不過都退隱了再追究排名的話實在有點無聊。不得不承認,pp系統比起單純ranked score更能準確反映實力。

這個系統大部分設計都沒問題:當然要弄一個star rating才能計算那張圖比較難,打難圖當然比易圖更能反映高層次的實力;二次方收斂的速度也沒問題,大概pp排位前20才對整體pp有較大的影響力,跟同期頂級圖包的數量也算吻合。

我最在意的是,SS所給予的pp會比非SS高一大截--以連續性來看這無疑是不合理的,但將統計模型套進去則可以得到一個更有趣的答案。

先把問題簡化為SS跟1 100 2種結果好了。我們將圖的難度跟玩家程度配對,假設每一個note的誤差都呈正態分佈$X\sim N(0, \sigma ^2)$。我想看到底標準差$\sigma$要到多少,拿到SS的機會才會比1 100更高?這個問題可以看成likeihood estimator的簡化版,利用標準差選出較大可能的結果。定義$p,q$為拿到300, 100的機會:

$p = P(|Z|\leq \theta _{300}/\sigma )$

$q = P(|Z|\leq \theta _{100}/\sigma )$

二次分佈可得 $P(SS) = p^n, ~P(1\times 100) = np^{n-1}(q-p)$

可得比例為 $LR(\sigma) = \frac{p}{n(q-p)}$。留意右方為homogeneous polynomial,所以我們可以用$p/q$對應$\sigma$。嫌太複雜的話可以考慮$n=500, OD=8$的狀況:

$\theta_{300} = 31.5, \theta_{100} = 75.5, n=500$

$LR(\sigma) = \frac{p}{500(q-p)} = 1 \Rightarrow \frac{p}{q} = \frac{500}{501}$

不難證明$\sigma \mapsto \frac{p}{q}$為單調函數,所以用電腦做二分法即可得到$\sigma \approx 10.1ms$。Unstable rate = 101是甚麼概念?大概就是4.5*上下的跳圖很難達到,串圖很好達到的準確率。這個數字正好證實了我的看法:擁有可以制霸某一層級的譜面的實力時,能否SS還是打出一兩個100只是機率問題,並無實力高下之分。

那麼打出一堆100機率又怎樣算呢?當$k \ll n$時
$P(r\times 100, 1\leq r\leq k) = \sum _{r=1}^k C^n_rp^{n-r} q^r \approx \sum n^r p^{n-r}q^r = p^{n-1}n(q-p)\frac{p^k-n^k(q-p)^k}{p^k-np^{k-1}(q-p)}$

誠然$C^n_r\approx n^r$是一個很粗的估算,但我們放大這個機率時所得$\sigma$的臨界點會向下,這樣我們仍然能拿到一個有效的下限:

$LR(\sigma) = \frac{p}{n(q-p)}\frac{p^k-np^{k-1}(q-p)}{p^k-n^k(q-p)^k}$

設$LR(\sigma) = 1$再化簡後神奇地得出以下等式:

$n^{k+1}(q-p)^{k+1} -2np^k (q-p)+p^{k+1} = 0$

當$k=1$時上式化簡為$(n(q-p)-p)^2 = 0$跟我們上面計算一樣,但當$n\geq 2$時上式則可以給予$\sigma$的下限值。上式除以$q^{k+1}$再將$x = p/q$代入後可得

$f(x) = n^{k+1}(1-x)^{k+1}-2nx^k(1-x)+x^{k+1} = 0$

看似複雜的等式其實有非常漂亮的解--首先對於所有$k$我們都能拿到一個實根$x_1 = \frac{n}{n+1}$:

$f(\frac{n}{n+1}) = n^{k+1}(\frac{1}{n+1})^{k+1} -2n(\frac{n}{n+1})^{k}(\frac{1}{n+1}) + (\frac{n}{n+1})^{k+1} = 0$

然後第二個實根約為$x_2 \approx \frac{2n}{2n+1}$而且$\lim _{k\to \infty}x_{2,k} = \frac{2n}{2n+1}$[雖然因為$k\ll n$這個並沒多大意義]:

$f(\frac{2n}{2n+1})=(\frac{n}{2n+1})^{k+1}-2n(\frac{2n}{2n+1})^{k}(\frac{1}{2n+1}) + (\frac{2n}{2n+1})^{k+1} < 2^{-k-1} \to 0$

計算$f'(x)$易得以上就是$x\in [0,1]$區間所有的實根了[然後還有$k-1$個在1附近的複根,k為偶數時會在$2-x_1$附近有第三個實根]。這跟上面$k=1$的結論一致:只要達到某個準確度,打出SS跟打出幾個100的差距並不大。

不妨看一下$n=700$的情況




留意$\frac{700}{701} \approx 0.99857, \frac{1400}{1401} \approx 0.999286$,當$k=7$時$x_2 \approx 0.999283$。來到這裡我們可以直接計算$n\mapsto \sigma$:


可得$\sigma \approx 31.12(-\log (1-\frac{p}{q}))^{-0.605}$,代入$\frac{p}{q} = 1-(dn+1)^{-1}$ ($d =1,2$)得到$\sigma \approx 31.12 (\log (dn+1))^{-0.605}$。巧合的是31.12這數字跟OD8的$\theta _{300}  = 31.5$非常接近。更神奇的是這對其他OD值也同樣成立:

$\sigma = (\theta _{300} - 0.4)(\log (dn+1))^{-0.605}$

回到OD8這個預設值,以主流長圖頂多1500combo上下來說unstable rate在100上下剛好夠用[如果取第二實根$x_2 = 1-(2n+1)^{-1}$則unstable rate需要在90上下]。這也跟主流SS紀錄的unstable rate相近[我是拿我2012年的圖出來看就是了...]。

上面的模型假設了每個note的誤差是一樣的,在實作當然不一定為真。引入數個不同的標準差$\sigma _1,..., \sigma _n$再計算二次分佈也可以得出相近的結果。另一個做法是將一個難的note看成若干($j$)個「標準」的note且假設在$k\ll n$時我們在這$j$個notes裡面頂多會打出一個100,那這個note的誤差標準差將為$\sigma ' = sd(jX) = j \sigma$。這個方法的缺點是只能考慮每個note的誤差標準差為$\sigma$的整數倍,不過將所有notes一起剁碎考慮就沒問題了呢。

TL;DR SS所給予的PP獎勵在連續性和數據上毫無意義,夠準的話SS就自然會出來 佛系SS

當然上面說了一大堆只是因為這邊有計算的空間,但更多的爭議點是在各種mod的PP加成,或者更一般來說pp系統算出來難的的圖是否真的難,打出高pp的玩家是否比低pp的人更強?這才是當初沒法量化的東西,也是設計pp系統的初衷。

我的看法會是偏向用大數據用玩家表現反饋譜面難度,因為玩家打不好是結果上的難,肯定比理論上的難更為直觀和準確。這樣做還有一個好處就是不用一直修--最近Osu才將不同mod的pp加成修過一次,但用結果論去看就不用進行人手調整了。即使公式當下是準確的,玩家的難所還是會隨時間/科技[例如從滑鼠改成繪版,從60Hz屏幕改成144Hz]改變,只有利用玩家數據自動調整有才辦法隨時反映出真正難的譜面和打到難譜面的玩家。

上面說到了一個重點:Osu最近才修過一次加成比重--修改的源頭是Sotarks也好,不是Sotarks也好都顯示出pp系統的問題:有公式就有法子濫用,結果就是大家為了pp被逼打性質單一的譜面。先不說濫用機制的人是不是智障,在部分玩家有pp的需求下供應跟上是遲早發生的事情。比較糟糕的是現在事情變得一發不可收拾:頂級玩家的小圈子從來不太在乎排名更迭,這下直接表示不玩了;剩下一堆中產玩家望著那虛偽的pp值死命衝刺,osu這個圈子似乎喪失了往日的創意和活力。

不過退一百步來說,有個完美準確的實力估算系統又如何呢?只要指標一天還在,主流玩家就會變成實力導向,非實力相關的譜面始終還是難以抬頭。要我說的話還不如回歸分數系統,實力指標乾脆不做也好,反正場外的人會自己做一個。就算想做官方實力指標也不應該放在當眼位置,最好跟排名剝離一下:只有當官方將遊戲樂趣定位在硬實力以外的東西,這遊戲才有辦法吸引各種不同的玩家,才有辦法多元化發展下去。

本來遊戲篇想說一下這幾年遊戲管理的危與機,不過眼下的Osu也沒過得有多好,所以那篇就留到我10+n年紀念時再發出來吧。[另外我好像已經寫不出很中文的中文了...]

wmfchris
21/5/2018 [剛好十年又兩個月]

Saturday 28 April 2018

10 years of Osu! 雜談(1) - 個人篇



九龍灣地鐵站,B出口。其實到現在大家都記不清那是B出口還是C出口,只知道大堂的另一邊是A出口,所以大家都管叫它CBB出口。不過它還有另一個好認的特徵,那就是長年不變的批&撻專門店。所以大家說CBB出口等時還會說在批&撻對面等。

所以我今天來這邊到到底要做甚麼呢?德福商場跟那些領匯改裝過的商場一樣走高檔路線,裡面除了不怎樣大的商務印書局和不怎樣好吃的甜點店之外其實沒有甚麼好逛的地方。唯一的例外,二期頂樓的機舖Virtual Zone從認識到消失也只有短短三年時間而已。伴隨著VZ一併消失的,還有旁邊的冒險樂園這個小朋友最後的淨土。

牛奶撻早就從$6漲到$9,那堆用料比較豐富的批的價錢更是一律雙位數。$6在另一邊A出口某包子店剛好可以買個新鮮出籠的芋頭包,所以這家批&撻的生意似乎也沒以前好了。不過我想了想還是點了一個牛奶撻,在這種咋暖還寒的春日拿來做下午茶實在再好不過了。極速把牛奶撻清進胃裡,我就趁這個空檔拿出耳機,在手機上打起Groove Coaster來。

十年前智慧型手機還只是剛冒出頭來,在軟硬體雙重限制下實在不可能有甚麼遊戲能搬到手機上,音遊的話只有十分粗糙的osu專用app,osu太鼓專用的t!aiko和超級山寨版jubeat而已。十年過去,商業性質的精美音遊早就遍地開花,連本來做街機的廠商也要盤算著反攻手機市場,Taito出品的這個Groove Coaster就是很好的例子。當然,如果說街機移到手遊上的話我最期待的還是Beatstream,好可惜啊。真他媽的可惜啊……FYK。

咦……?我剛才說等人?

我以前的確經常在這邊等人。那是每年春秋二祭……啊不對,每年兩次的CW同人展,再加上RG的話大概每年有三四次這樣。我們每次都相約在這裡集合,上去美心MX吃個早/午餐,然後向九展出發。現在所謂兩大同人展都因為不同原因衰落,同人圈子不是跑去更小眾的場地,就乾脆跑到台灣FF或者日本Comiket去了。

正好打Groove Coaster打到手酸(不得不說,狂點屏幕真的會很累),我抬起頭看剛好有三四個人正圍在一起打jubeat plus。該不會他們就是我要去找的人……?我這樣想著湊了過去。

「俄羅斯雪舞在平板上打真的好累。」
「在平板上沒辦法滑呀。不過習慣了平板打法可以逆向輸出呢。」
「我還是打rb算了……」
「所以我們還要等誰啊……?」
「主角還沒到呢,來慶祝的人還有幾個。」
他們其中一個人發現了我:「你也是Osu玩家吧?是來慶祝wmf註冊十週年的吧?」

我……十週年……?「我……就是本人啊……」

-------------------------------------------------------

好吧,我編不下去了。說編也不太準確,因為同人展和九龍灣對我來說幾乎可以跟osu畫上等號。自己的帳號十週年了,大概也是華人活躍圈子第一個,怎也要寫點東西紀念一下。

關於我

人生有幾多個十年?我現在的人生過了兩個多一點的十年,而其中一個十年塗滿了Osu的印記,如果說人生沒受到影響那是不可能的。趁這個機會我就在這邊數一下自己的改變。

首先當然是對音樂的理解。在接觸Osu!之前我對音遊也有一定興趣,以太鼓-太鼓同人為主,但在web1.0世代下始終沒有一個整合的平台,我終究還是沒有深入鑽研類似的遊戲,直到DS遊戲應援團的出現,然後便是這個惡名昭彰的Osu!。

在機廳看人玩跳DDR,明明是白癡一樣的Level 4也跳得東歪西倒,苦撐半首歌之後還是failed的情況時有發生,現在的我可能難以理解,卻沒想到十幾年前的我其實也差不多:太鼓夏祭勉強過、應援團幾乎沒S過……在接觸了Osu以後有了刷分的需要,每首歌只能聽個一兩次下如何快速掌握一首歌就很重要,不是依靠反應而是用理解去打音遊。現在的我可能在這方面可能做過了頭:每次恍神就會自動按自己的理解打下去,然後理所當然的打得亂七八糟。

做圖對音樂的理解度當然又比做圖深了一層。我很享受那種用耳機loop三千遍抽絲剝繭將自己的看法寫出來(Holy Moon, Dreamenddischarger, それは花火のような恋)或者那種觸景生情的作品(Babylonia 我有說過我是淋雪寫出來的嗎?)。雖然在13-16這幾年在忙別的遊戲把做圖放下了,不過去年又回來做了2張,希望今年也能繼續做下去。

我自己一向跟別人說現代線上遊戲,享受玩樂只是次要,認識到志同道合的朋友才是更重要的事。Osu在社交性上比我主力玩過的其他遊戲都要強:除了遊戲內IRC跟論壇的雙平台外,遊戲會半強逼做圖的圈子進行交流。輕鬆聊天也好,正經討論規則也好,因為mod而打架也好,經常交流的人才有可能成為自己的好友。在本地我們有沙包群HKOSP不在話下,在CWRG衰落前幾乎都是指定的聚會日子(所以九龍灣那個鳥不拉屎的工業區都快被我們走到熟了);外地的話在台大打麻將、在涉谷唱K、在倫敦的同人展上……類似的異地交流幾乎數不完。當中不乏有更多共同興趣的朋友,但對我來說每個可以交流的都能算做朋友了呢。

*

上次總結寫的是我玩滿四年的時候,正好是我上BAT後不久、卻大概也是投入Osu時間逐漸減少的時間。要歸根究抵的話大概就是TWC發生的一連串不愉快事件跟上mod圖的無力感,再加上2012下半年推出的Fantasica把我能肝的時間都搶走了吧。這六年我的Osu帳號當然沒前四年精彩,不過免不了還是要在這邊細數一下:

2012-13:偶有佳作,但作圖有種劍走偏鋒的感覺。鋼琴獨奏連打變成了我的標記。有效果好的(Ubertreffen - 這首DDR也不容易;Faith is for the transient people - 早苗就是棒)也有效果一般的(加速する恋は誰も止められない - 也不是說差,但就不像是最佳解,跟前面比起來轉變太急了)。比較遺憾的是我的超大型企劃Touhou Last Boss Rush最後還是沒能成事。

2014-2016:完全是空窗期。地城、黑貓(英文)、日麻加上其他手遊把我的遊戲時間全佔去了。

2017- :機緣巧合下我透過discord又回到比較活躍的osu圈子裡,然後在2017年也做了兩張圖:Sakurairo Dairy 會接這張不消多說當然因為對路人女主的愛,穩穩地做一張TV size Muzu對我也是小事一椿。それは花火のような恋 女裝是萬惡之源 又是Beatstream(啊啊啊Konmai還我BS)又是Prim(或者senya或者moimoi或者...)豈有不接的道理呢?比較有趣的是我、nardo跟aabc三位對歌曲的解讀完全不同:可能我過度loop導致對自己理解太過深刻,我幾乎打了他們的圖10次以上才開始習慣他們的圖……



這邊帶出了一個有趣的事實:在音游的領域上不論是做圖或者打圖我都是用感性行事。做圖當然沒問題,出了問題也可以在mod的過程中補正;打圖一直過份依賴自己的理解大概是我沒法取得高命中率的原因?在osu如是,在jubeat更如是(當然也有自己手勢過於花巧有關),DDR也是。即便將動作修正幅度變小,我也只有在專心數拍子時才能取得98以上的分數;在其他時候隨性的數拍子則總有跑掉的時候。不知道我繼續把DDR練下去這方面會不會修回去,修回去又會是好事還是壞事呢?我可沒興趣知道--打音遊只要享受過程就好了。

*

本回主要是Osu在我身上發生的事,下回我們會來回顧一下這六/十年Osu或者相關遊戲的發展。

Wednesday 4 April 2018

Two little math questions

I get math questions day in and out and some of them are quite interesting that I considered to put it here.

1) Consider the following nutrition label:

per 200g: 17.1g of carbohydrates with 17.1g sugar
per 100g: 8.6g of carbohydrates with 8.5g sugar

Can you approximate the sugar content in the carbohydrates?

If it's an olympiad question (junior level of course), we will probably end up with the sugar content being a fraction p/q for integers p and q, then you are asked to minimize q...

2) Consider the space of continuous functions $C(\mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^n, \mathbb{R})$, and the subset:

$K = \left\{ f(x,y) = \varphi (x) \varphi (y) \mid \varphi \in C(\mathbb{R}^n , \mathbb{R}) \right\}$

where the kernel can be separated. We want to see if it is possible to relate the space $C(\mathbb{R}^n , \mathbb{R})$ with $K$ so that we can have some linear structure on it.

Define a mapping $r: C(\mathbb{R}^n , \mathbb{R}) \to C(\mathbb{R}^{2n} , \mathbb{R})$ by $\varphi \mapsto f(x,y) = \varphi (x) \varphi (y)$. Let $A \subseteq C(\mathbb{R}^n , \mathbb{R})$ be an independent set. Clearly $r(A)$ is an independent set in $C(\mathbb{R}^{2n} , \mathbb{R})$. To see this consider the equation

$\sum _{i=1}^n a_i \varphi _i (x) \varphi _i (y) = 0$

for all $x,y\in \mathbb{R}^n$. Now note that by definition $\varphi _i \neq 0$ so they do have non-empty support. If the supports are all disjoint then clearly we conclude $a_i = 0$. Otherwise pick a point $y_0$ in the intersection of at least the supports of two $\varphi _i $'s, then we have

$\sum _{i=1}^n (a_i \varphi _i (y_0)) \varphi _i (x) = 0$

for all $x$, and from the independence of $\varphi _i$'s we conclude that $a_i = 0$.

On the other hand $K$ is not a subspace of $C(\mathbb{R}^{2n} , \mathbb{R})$. To see this lets assume we can find a function $\varphi $ so that $r(\varphi ) = r(\varphi _1 ) + r(\varphi _2)$ for $\varphi _1, \varphi _2 \in C(\mathbb{R}^n , \mathbb{R})$.

By setting $x =y$ we know that $\varphi (x) = sgn (\varphi ) \sqrt{\varphi _  1^2 + \varphi _2^2}$. Substituting back to the original equation we have

$\sqrt{(\varphi _1 ^2(x)+\varphi _2^2(x))(\varphi _1^2(y) +\varphi _2^2(y))} = \varphi _1(x)\varphi _1(y)+\varphi _2(x)\varphi _2(y)$

$\varphi _1^2(x)\varphi _2^2(y) + \varphi _2^2(x)\varphi _1^2(y) = 2 \varphi _1(x)\varphi _2(x)\varphi _1(y)\varphi _2(y)$

which is the equality version of the AM-GM equatity! We conclude that $\varphi _1^2(x)\varphi _2^2(y) = \varphi _2^2(x)\varphi _1^2(y) $ and so

$ (\varphi _1(x)/\varphi _1(y))^2 = (\varphi _2 (x)/\varphi _2(y))^2 = c$

being constants for all $x,y$ in the support. Hence they must be constant functions. [I have missed the details handling the sign of $\varphi$ but it can be verified that it does not matter due to the square].

so we can actually assign a rank to $span(K)$ to the minimum dimension of $\varphi$ required so that the kernel separation trick works.

Sunday 18 March 2018

Recent gaming status: FEH, DDR and TWEWY2

It seems like there are more gaming content than ever on this blog, and this entry is no exception. I planned to write something about travelling some time soon...eventually (like undertale on switch).

So again, here goes my thoughts on 3 of my beloved games.

Fire Emblem Heroes

The best way to comment on this self-evolving game is to count the major changes over the past two months...



Main plot development: it's certainly good. We get longer and deeper story that describes the characters in a better way (redditers are certainly worrying about the general who knows nothing when her sister was captured). And we get many good banners (that sucked our money) too. We got lots of good banners: fallen heroes created a shit ton of memes on literally every characters (Grima who is afraid of children of course), and the Morgans are too adorable for every Fire Emblem players (including those who have never played Awakening). (oh. who's Chrom? I don't even know he's here...)

Blessed garden: ok I got the idea that IS wants people to utilize the elemental mechanism, but giving out more of the blessings is not going to work super effectively because it's relatively restrictive to use. You need to be on the right season, you need to bring another legendary hero (which you don't always like), and the whole process is pretty much irreversible. It's a pain for me to assign blessings to characters so that they can enter the garden -- I ended up assigning into characters that make a balanced team and benefits from the associated bonus stat of that elemental type. I will just take the bonus as it is right now, but I am also looking for some more meaningful features as one of the "big 6" on the battle menu --- for example --- the town!

Tap Battle: well...that's interesting. The game design is certainly good -- it has a widespread difficulty spectrum and a rather relaxing rewarding system so that all players can enjoy the event in the way they liked. In the MUG aspect some may complain those randomly wandering wyvern knights but those are nothing compared to the W-shaped hitting zone in MUSECA (which then got fixed in the 1 1/2 gen). The timing difficulty is alright, though the setting that late hit is more favorable than early hits itches me slightly.
What can be improved is the storyline. They definitely filled some memes into it (Bartes and Fir; and Fae) and the spring reactions from bonded heroes are super adorable, but is it possible to have some minimal conversation pre-/post-event? That would improve the event significantly. Even a random masked Marth bullshit request works -- some is always better than none.

Rival Domains: that could be a turning point on the development of this game. This is much closer to the original franchise which I called the battle royle - a much larger map with forts and camps included as game target. Whether it's permanent or not it widens the possibility of the game and I now have even higher expectation on the game.
Controversy appears when official announcement told players "to try autobattle if you can't do it". Some thinks that the mode is flawed if the game tells players to autobattle. Well for sure the complexity is a lot higher (particularly with all those teleportation), so why not learn from the AI before battling fluently?
It sounds like another ideological battle between authentic FE players and FEH players -- the AI (both player and the enemy) showed that forcing a clear with 8 units is difficult; on the other hand playing aggressively and sacrificing units when needed turned to be an effective strategy. To FE players this is unacceptable as a no death clear is an essential part of the game, in contrast to repetitive, exhaustive usage of characters in FEH. The death of characters is worthless -- you know that since day 1 of assault-type missions are pushed into the game. It's just the official announcement and the elevated concentration of deaths from 20 in 7 battles to 20 in 1 battles that triggers the flames on reddit. Solving such dispute could be a big plus for me, though I doubt if there's any real solution, given the nature of handheld games.

Dance Dance Revolution

The biggest news in the town must be the brand new DDR A cabinet in Auckland which seemed to stay for a large period of time. And damn I never meet such a large group of DDR players here, some of which can play the 15-17 range proficiently.

I finally recharged my e-amusement card and get my 573 subscription going. It's extremely disappointing that you can't even find the DDR pentagon with subscription...while I am now fully confident to get some 100+voltage plays going I can never access my own pentagon again.

With limited practices I managed to tip-toe a bit better and hopefully I can steadily tackle most 16 now (except those stupid BGM changes like Pluto, Osaka evolved, Fascination ~love mix~...).

The World Ends with You 2

Oh.
My.

This is the sole reason of buying a brand new switch with no games (not even kirby -- unless it's a mirror labyrinth remake). It is finally coming after 10 damn years.
I am of course a big fan of it, which can be seen from my praise/comment entry on the blog 10 years ago. I now disagree with some of what I wrote, but my rating on the game only raised with time.

Solo remix is the reason I bought my first pad, and I went hard to get the game finished in no time. I again managed to complete 100% pin collection on the pad even with all those stupid controls without a second monitor. I saw hype-chan and got hyped since 2015, and till 2018.

I visited Shibuya and traveled around the first time with no difficulty, just as being a JK visiting all the trendy shops twice or thrice a week, My local friend even got surprised when I show unusual familiarity to the area.

And now, it's the time for the final remix.

To me, TWEWY is the best ever RPG fully exploiting every single possibility as provided by the console (DS here). That did not ended well while exporting to pad, but I have very high expectation on this final remix. I call TWEWY ARPG of the DS generation -- and I want TWEWY2 to reach the same bar. Labo is probably better when it comes to possibility exhibition, but we can still fight for ARPG of the generation :D!

And please, don't make "available in 2018" into "available in December 2018" lol - we have been waiting too long.

Thursday 18 January 2018

The development of Fire Emblem Heroes

The identity problem of FEH as raised in reddit.

A very interesting and critical viewpoint that explains perfectly on what happened. Not going to analyse in detail (because you can see some wise comments on reddit already), but this is what I think as a FEH player since launching.

-Past-

I joined FEH because of my love on the FE series as well as the advertised low-effort gaming as compared to other well-known CCGs (FGO, Fantasica etc). Things came better than what I expected (I liked their overall money-attracting strategy as expected). Didn't really feel the salt from reddit but what started to itch me is the Ayra pool (although I wanted her much and got her eventually), and IS really underperformed before the v2.0 change.

-Present-

The first Tempest trial is interesting as it's also the hardest consider and without considering powercreeping. It was then just a matter of endless grinding and pain in selecting the right seal to give out.

The two arenas are definitely much of a pain. The two meta units B!Lyn and Rein not only destroyed the balance but more importantly diversity within the battlefield. In the past Takumi was once considered a meta but you don't see them that often and you have multiple and creative ways to counter him. B!Lyn and Rein, on the other hand, is damn annoying to counter if you meet them consecutively in the assault. As much as you don't much to give out easy defense point, it's more like an offense for me to use those annoying units to steal a defense victory.

Voting gauntlet...this is the most interesting one that I have ever seen. It worked in big teams (instead of scattered teams like Fanta) yet super balanced with extremely balanced mechanism making it tense and fun (see my previous entries on the mathematics behind). And ever better, it gives out super generous prizes with less effort required comparing with the TT mode. Judging from the tier composition as from the reddit survey reddit players definitely represents a large chunk of top players from the west --- and the tactical battle against the will from the East (i.e., Japan) is simply delicious. The only downisde is perhaps the choice of the participants knowing that there are too many popular characters. (Or bias on male characters. But well...)

The difficulty of the game is alright as they keep adding hard challenges, in which some are really challenging without using those metas/+10 units. (Got to admit that Genny is destroying every GHB/BHB recently...). Chapter 11&12 is of course the hardest and takes a lot of tactical consideration due to the turn limit -- those alternative goals can sometimes be interesting and challenging, and we might find more later.

-Future-

What do I want from the game?

It's very interesting that they asked as for that straightaway, i.e. they probably had nothing to serve right away, but that allows greater flexibility as well. Idle game is of course my favourite, but I don't mind trying out other modes as well.

Bias in characters pushed out is definitely one of the main problem to be resolved. While promoting new games, it is important for IS to realize that a major part of the fans came from the GBA era where they played the first 7 franchises of the series (by means of emulator etc) and old heroes is highly welcome. Not only that they tame those old fans, but it also solidifies the big picture of the FE history which is certainly attractive to new comers.

And more good artwork please. FE Chiper set a high standard in illustrations, and yet FEH somehow come short -- some are certainly cute/moe/lewd/sexy/pretty/... (Ayra!) but some simply failed to illustrate the character of the characters. Lachesis and Ursula are two obvious examples, and they are unfortunately two of my favourite heroes from the original series.

But well. Again I'll put my faith on IS and FEH, who won the 2017 best game award :)




And happy 2018.