Zodi Plays: Custom Robo (Redesign Your Robo, We Know What We're Doing)

[Ninja_Prawn]

Good fights in this one. Is it me or is the metal ape significantly better in 1v1 than in 2v2? It seemed like it traded really well in a straight brawl, but when there are bombs going off everywhere in 2v2, it didn't have the manoeuvrablility to get free.

As a services engineer, I feel I should point out that plumbing systems of the sort featured in the video a) break down over time and b) require power supplies. There need to be pumps and water heaters at the very least, and you need functioning water treatment works somewhere to keep the systems running. Then you've got valves that seize up, pipes that get rusty and crack (especially if they're not being kept at a stable temperature), water tanks that get colonised by bacteria, drainage systems that get clogged... I mean sure, some parts of the system could happily keep working for 50 or 60 years without maintenance or power, but over multiple centuries? I'm with Sergei; there should be no difference between those restrooms and any other pile of rubble in the area. Also, how are the parts machines still working out here?

[LaZodiac]

Good fights in this one. Is it me or is the metal ape significantly better in 1v1 than in 2v2? It seemed like it traded really well in a straight brawl, but when there are bombs going off everywhere in 2v2, it didn't have the menoeuvrablility to get free.

As a services engineer, I feel I should point out that plumbing systems of the sort featured in the video a) break down over time and b) require power supplies. There need to be pumps and water heaters at the very least, and you need functioning water treatment works somewhere to keep the systems running. Then you've got valves that sieze up, pipes that get rusty and crack (especially if they're not being kept at a stable temperature), water tanks that get colonised by bacteria, drainage systems that get clogged... I mean sure, some parts of the system could happily keep working for 50 or 60 years without maintenance or power, but over multiple centuries? I'm with Sergei; there should be no difference between those restrooms and any other pile of rubble in the area. Also, how are the parts machines still working out here?

Yeah, Metal Ape seems way better in 1v1 scenarios.

Well, that's a lot of really cool information! Thank you for telling us, that rules. As for the parts machines... I imagine they were set up by Zee and Zed for their own use?

[tyckspoon]

Also, how are the parts machines still working out here?

They're actually secretly Rahu seeds; the new parts are the incentive to continue bringing your new battle data back and feeding it into the next generation of Rahu. It's using Custom Robo battlers as a sort of genetic algorithm to determine what the most effective way of defeating Custom Robos is..

[LaZodiac]

I'll be honest Tyckspoon I don't remember enough about this game to remember if that's true or not. Anyway... Halo time.

Zodi Plays: Halo [19] The Maw

Video Length: 23:32

Oh hey the video length is a palindrome. Neat! Anyway hey it's time to begin the final level of Halo, in which we... do genuinely try to be more positive about Halo, and we succeed because for the most part this level is actually a pretty good final level! It's SOMEWHAT going through stuff we already went through, but with new things this time and also everything is destroyed and ruined so it feels more appropriately like it's riffing on that first experience. It actually has a degree of sense to it.

The only real important part of this video story wise is Cortana informs us politely that we need to blow up the engine to stop Guilty Spark from getting all that precious human knowledge, because he also somehow turned off the self destruct. What an annoying orb! I'm... questioning how fragile and finicky these engines are if three grenades are effectively all it takes to ignite the ship into a chain reaction that'll destroy the entirety of the precurser structure it's currently crash landed into, but I mean if you have a spaceship this large "catastrophic failure" tends to actually BE catastrophic... though it still feels a little silly.

That being said, we'll actually figure out how the grenade dog-and-pony-show goes next time, since for some reason I was able to cut right before we started it and still have enough footage for two full videos. Funny how that goes huh? Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, take care!

[tyckspoon]

I'll be honest Tyckspoon I don't remember enough about this game to remember if that's true or not. Anyway... Halo time.

Well, I said it as random bull, but at this point I.. like, would not be surprised if it turned out to be true.

[DataNinja]

I liked this level, though with 2 players it has some... issues. The cutscene at the bridge doesn't play unless both players are at the front of the ship, so, uh, I may have fallen down the hole a few times trying to proceed.

The reason why there are so many Hunters, even without other Covenant, is because they're immune to the Flood. And the reason the Covenant is here in the first place is, yeah, to try and find... well Cortana's what they actually need in this case, but anything that can help them find other human colonies.

Ah, dang, I think you skipped the arrow leading to the Armory. I think that's before the engine room. Which has a bunch of rockets and grenades and other guns. And also invisible Flood Elites.

[LaZodiac]

Ah, dang, I think you skipped the arrow leading to the Armory. I think that's before the engine room. Which has a bunch of rockets and grenades and other guns. And also invisible Flood Elites.

Ha ha ha.

Yeah we did.

wait what invisible Flood Elites?

[DataNinja]

Ha ha ha.

Yeah we did.

wait what invisible Flood Elites?

Hahahaha, yep. They're cloaked combat forms that ambush you in the Armory. So the tough whack-y boys. I'd assume infected elites that had cloaking abilities on their armour, and they've evolved to use it. Pretty sure they appear zero other places in the games. But, kinda nasty if you're oohing and aahing over the 12 rocket launchers or whatever, because the door they're behind doesn't open immediately. Waits for a moment for you.

Granted, you also have twelve rocket launchers and shotguns and pistols, and they do not, so...

We were just lucky because I was looking at the door at the end of the armory at the time... took a bit to realize exactly what'd happened.

[LaZodiac]

Oh. A new Custom Robo. That's coming.

Zodi Plays: Custom Robo [24] Shoryuken

Video Length: 30:14

In this episo- EAT MY DRAGON PUNCH.

[Aeson]

I suppose it is not too unusual for this sort of game, but it feels quite late in the game to still have so many parts to unlock, especially since it has not looked like you've skipped anything on the way.

[Ninja_Prawn]

In the description for the video, it says you "go a little made". Is that the new 'based', or is the madness affecting your spelling?

Little raiders, other robos and dragon gun are kind of like rock paper scissors, eh?

[DataNinja]

Everything's better with dragons, so I look forwards to this.

Well, you know, curves are indeed sexy.

Geez, yeah, that is... very potent.

That's... a lot of fight, and a lot of parts. And there's still more to go.

[Qwertystop]

I suppose it is not too unusual for this sort of game, but it feels quite late in the game to still have so many parts to unlock, especially since it has not looked like you've skipped anything on the way.

There's a postgame. You unlock all the non-Illegal parts by the end of the main game and then start unlocking Illegal parts in the postgame.

[LaZodiac]

In the description for the video, it says you "go a little made". Is that the new 'based', or is the madness affecting your spelling?

Little raiders, other robos and dragon gun are kind of like rock paper scissors, eh?

Typo, which I will go fix. Oops!

[Lord Raziere]

On Halo Episode 19:
*pauses as Zodi switches to HD for a sec* aaaaah, thats better no blurry greyness.....ok I'm done.

Yeah I agree with M hen it comes to toad's voice, I go on Zito's streams on twitch and have to endure his impression of toad's screechy voice between all the better stuff he does. I think people just like the voice for the memetic goofiness, but its not that funny and I don't much like memes anyways, or at least the overuse of them? they're better when used rarely in my opinion

On the Covenant being here: I think not knowing what my enemy is doing is an excellent reason to go and see what they're doing and thus potentially stop what they're doing, because what they're doing probably isn't beneficial to me, they are my enemy after all and if the situation was otherwise my enemy would not be my enemy because they'd communicate that they don't want to be. always assume your enemy is out to kill you in war unless proven otherwise.

On Episode 24:
Well of course the left hand trick is going to work, because its basically treating the maze not as a bunch of passages go through but as one big thing that wraps around, because the way mazes work is that they're basically just a really complicated rectangle: you go around the corners of the inside of the rectangle you'll eventually end up where you need to be, because its a shapey thing with.....borders and whatnot that....agh I cannot find the words to express this. I hate it when that happens.

"did you get into any fights?"
"No I didn't"- after all, they were so weak, you could barely call them fights, more like beatdowns that they ask to receive.

[Qwertystop]

Well of course the left hand trick is going to work, because its basically treating the maze not as a bunch of passages go through but as one big thing that wraps around, because the way mazes work is that they're basically just a really complicated rectangle: you go around the corners of the inside of the rectangle you'll eventually end up where you need to be, because its a shapey thing with.....borders and whatnot that....agh I cannot find the words to express this. I hate it when that happens.

Note that:

1: Following the right hand side works exactly the same way, for the same reason, just in reverse.

2: It is possible to make a maze for which it doesn't work. Specifically, if a maze has walls that aren't connected to each other, you'll never go from one to the other with the left-hand (or right-hand) rule. This could prevent you from reaching the exit if, for example, the exit is an elevator in the middle. Or if there's a bridge or tunnel involved, or if you start out not following the rule and then begin following it after having become separated from the original wall.

[LaZodiac]

Yeah sorry no update this monday guys. Feelin' a bit blegh health and mentality wise, just wanna relax a bit. Things have been fairly hectic. Friday'll have an update, and of course Wednesday will too.

[DataNinja]

No worries, Zodi! We understand the doldrums and the health-doldrums. Stay healthy!

[LaZodiac]

Time for some... halos. In fact, time for THE Halos.

Zodi Plays: Halo [20] [FINALE] Combat Evolved

Video Length: 28:37

A thing that is missed here, due to my creative editing; Em spending around ten+ minutes trying to find the gods damned armoury.

So. The final challenge of Halo. Push a button, open up a vent, chuck a grenade in. All while surrounded by weapon wielding zombie boys and rude, loot less Sentinel drones, and Guilty Spark occasionally insulting you in his mad rambling. This... COULD have been an interesting final challenge.

The fact that the vents open and close, and are so finicky, makes what could be neat into an utter nonsense garbage contest of luck and survival. Now yes, getting the Rocket Launcher makes it way, way easier. But they don't make the actual armoury stand out, they don't give it a way point, nothing. They could easily have done all of these things, to ensure the player gets ta hold of the tool that'll allow them to actually beat this in a way that is reasonable. But they did not do this. Instead they shuffled it off the beaten path, decided Cortana didn't actually care that much about showing you were it was on your HUD, and also put invisible enemies in the room that we somehow avoided!

So yeah. Not a big fan of this finish. It goes to show how ground breaking Halo was; it even has the typical ****ty FPS final boss. I digress, AFTER dealing with the engine room (which really should get a redesign in universe as well, three grenades should not be enough to destroy a ship this big, and ESPECIALLY shouldn't be enough to trigger such a powerful chain reaction it destroys a Halo) we have our Halberd Escape Section, and that part is actually pretty fun and good. It also leads to the only death that actually matters in this game; Foehammer gets shot down! That means Halo (and Linda and Cortana) are the only survivors of this accidental road stop... except for that one guy. And probably other things.

I do feel kinda bad about us talking over the ending as we did (and for the game not having credits to give us time to decompress and talk about the game more) because... like, here's the thing. Cocky though it was for Bungie to have Cortana tease that This Is Only The Beginning, this ending was actually pretty solid. There's some interesting stuff to consider with it, the idea that Master Chief was destroyed from ice just to watch every single other person around him die, being left on a space ship alone with a sassy AI core that also kind of lowkey hates him. It speaks to a kind of poignant darkness that is typical of Sci Fi stories, but not so much FPS games. Even if... none of the plot really gets across in the gameplay at all, this moment in the ending exists as a sort of reminder that this world has had effort put into it, and that there is supposed to be something meaningful to John Spartan lightly arguing with Cortana over whether that was at all justified... and it's clear from the voice acting that even Cortana doesn't actually believe what she's saying. It's neat, and I look forward to seeing if Halo 2 addresses or continues any of this.

And so Halo one closes, for now. We'll be back once having beaten all the Halos to get the terminals, since apparently they spoil future games oopsy doopsy. Next Wednesday we'll have... something else in this slot, maybe two weeks in a row, but then it is back to shooty go blasty time with Em and Halo 2! I hope you all enjoyed, I'll see you all next time. Take care.

[DataNinja]

...huh. I don't remember the panels opening and closing at all. Granted, we were also armed with rocket launchers for most of them, but I remember chucking a grenade into the last one no issue. I remember this area being frustrating, mostly because of the vertical platforming and annoying enemies, but I don't remember the vents themselves to be the issue. Just getting up to the control panels... and then having to go up again.

Yeah, it is unfortunately a tad unclear with the armory. My friend and I saw the arrows and looked... but, if nothing else, game, have it on the wall, too. But... ah, yep, you weren't in there for long enough to run into the invisible flood elites that come in through the door at the other end of the room.

That's not a controversial opinion at all. Foehammer is a fan favourite, even if you never actually meet her in person. Easily one of the standout characters of Halo.
(Also, fun fact, if you just... ignore the scene of her getting shot down here, you can get a jump on the timer.)

You did way better than us. We reached the ship with, uh... seven seconds to spare? Three? Something that shouldn't have worked because the ship woulda blown up around us.

Yep, the terminals are spoilers for all games. They were a teaser for Halo 4, and assume you have played all other games up to that point, and know everything that has happened, and go into the background behind plot points.

*******

But, yeah... you basically had the same feelings on Halo as I did playing it. There are solid fundamentals for good stuff, and it's fun in a lot of places... but it has aged. They saw what needed to be fixed, and proceeded to work on fixing it... but it did still have those flaws. No question about it. It's a good historical note... but I'm happy to leave it at playing it once.

[Ninja_Prawn]

It took me ages to get the grenades into the vents - I never knew until today that there was an armoury full of rocket launchers! It was like 18 years ago now, but I think I actually needed multiple attempts over several days until I got it. The vents were the only part of the game I didn't enjoy back then - the other parts you complain about didn't really trouble me as a kid.

[DataNinja]

It took me ages to get the grenades into the vents - I never knew until today that there was an armoury full of rocket launchers! It was like 18 years ago now, but I think I actually needed multiple attempts over several days until I got it. The vents were the only part of the game I didn't enjoy back then - the other parts you complain about didn't really trouble me as a kid.

Yeah, it feels like the armour definitely needs to be better signposted. As the only indication of where it is is when the path splits and there's an arrow in both directions. I was just thankful that I like to read all the text, and stopped to actually look at why there were arrows going in two directions.

But if you don't notice both sets, that's an issue...

[Lord Raziere]

On Halo Episode 20:
Yeah, Halo hasn't aged well. In a way it was too influential, it inspired everyone to copy it or improve, then when Halo kept improving itself, other games kept updating themselves, then Halo after Halo 5 went off the radar. whatever happened we never got a Halo 6, and everyone else just kept improving after it. shooters didn't really stagnate, because Borderlands started being a thing, Destiny and Destiny 2 are things, the Bioshocks, we got Portal one of the most creative shooters ever made, like technically Halo never got into the looter-shooter craze that innovated shooters into combining with rpgs and now all shooters have health bars and you have to upgrade your stuff to up your damage. and of course, a recent innovation is the Battlegrounds game like Fortnite which are shooters at their base level, they are just a different kind of versus mode than usual.

like I don't get people saying Doom Eternal was the one, there is a lot of stuff outside of that that innovated thing direction or another, Doom Eternal just made innovations that no one else did so far.

and really its good that Halo never got into the looter-shooter trend, because it would never fit its universe or how Master Chief operates. Sure he picks up guns all around him to fight, but they are all the same and all disposal for the next gun he finds with more ammo, and as a character he is so disciplined and trained to be a soldier in every aspect of his life that being so greedy is pretty much unthinkable to him. like even if you gave him a million dollars he wouldn't know what to do with it because his existence has been nothing but fighting his entire life, and its likely he'd just hand it off to Cortana or some UNSC superior instead then await further orders. One of the sadder aspects of his character is that if peace was ever achieved in the Halo universe, he wouldn't know what to do it.

[LaZodiac]

I would argue that looter-shooters and Portal are different genres from The First Person Shooter, as an ideal. Borderlands is a First Person MMORPG, Portal is a puzzle game with FPS mechanics. I'm talking about raw, story driven and multiplayer having shooty go blam style games, and it wasn't until Doom 2016 that we got something that really innovated on it.

[Lord Raziere]

I would argue that looter-shooters and Portal are different genres from The First Person Shooter, as an ideal. Borderlands is a First Person MMORPG, Portal is a puzzle game with FPS mechanics. I'm talking about raw, story driven and multiplayer having shooty go blam style games, and it wasn't until Doom 2016 that we got something that really innovated on it.

Borderlands is an MMO? strange definition. pretty sure its single player with co-op up to four people/multiplayer, thats far cry from an MMO.

[Ninja_Prawn]

MMO is a frame of mind!

Portal is definitely a puzzle game though, no question about that.

[LaZodiac]

Borderlands is an MMO? strange definition. pretty sure its single player with co-op up to four people/multiplayer, thats far cry from an MMO.

Having beaten BL2 solo I can tell you definitively that it is NOT a single player game. You are expected to have at least a partner, otherwise it is near impossible. It is absolutely an MMO, it's just a little lacking in the massive part.

[LaZodiac]

Oh hey it's time for Custom Robo once more! Sorry about the missed update!

Zodi Plays: Custom Robo [25] Rahu III

Video Length: 29:34

In this video, we confront the horrible truth; the Zee Syndicate leader has a twin, and now we have to do a double-battle against two illegal crime robos with Harry as our only back up. Sweet. After dealing with that we descend one floor lower... to Rahu III's nest.

I'll be honest here; the end of the game EXTREMELY snuck up on me. I don't remember ANY of this happening so soon, so quickly. But now it's hear, and it is time to fight the meat robo in it's ultimate muscle form! And it is... not a great boss fight. I understand that a 3v1 is hard to make exciting, Oboro made it clear such a thing is rather anti climactic. But making the enemy immune to status effects, have an instant rebirth period, and just not be flinched AT ALL by ANY damage at all is... kind of nonsense. It doesn't help that the sheer size of the arena, done so to ensure Rahu II doesn't overwhelm YOU, makes it that some parts just aren't viable at all! Of course, given that bombs and pods require the enemy to be playing by the same rules as you to actually be good, the only part that really matters is your Gun. So yeah, not the best boss fight in the world.

But, we do manage to beat it. And um... Rahu dies after we beat it? It is unclear and a rather anti climactic actually, so oops! I guess we can be safe to say that Rahu is destroyed for good, but... I don't buy it. Regardless, Sergei drops us one last dad message, wherein he talks about how the government was ill prepared for this and how it stole curiosity from people (which is actually a pretty solid line, truth be told). We give over the memory erasure device to Sergei so he and Linda can work the best way to use it, and then we all go home as the credits roll... and over the credits, we are introduced to First Person Mode, a method of playing the game that as a kid I fell in love with because it's just so... like look at it. It's rad as hell. Maybe it's just me but I love it!

And so ends Custom Robo...'s first campaign. We've still got the Grand Battle ahead, though what actually happens there I don't recall because it's been forever and apparently everything I THOUGHT happened in the regular campaign happens here instead so... look forward to that, I suppose! I hope you all enjoyed, see you all next time.

[DataNinja]

Oh boy. Twins. It makes sense, but also... geez, really guys? I mean, I guess if you're trying to hide it while going around, it makes sense, but why in the world are you dressing alike in your own base.

Oh boy. That sure was... a battle.

There was no real joke option in the final choice. It was "Yeah" and "Uh-huh." No "Uh-uh." Just different degrees of assent.

I'm sad that "seeing the look on Ernest's face" didn't cut to a jaw-dropped version of his face.

I know it's not over yet, but... the game was neat. Maybe a few too many tournament arcs, but.. eh. The story and writing was really good overall, and that was such a pleasant surprise. I was always sad that I never was able to pick this game up after hearing the concept, so I'm glad I got to experience it here.

[Lord Raziere]

On Episode 25:
Eliza and Isabella are twins and now they're in the same room together, imperious "OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOOO" energy intensifies.

Yeah you lost your hopes and dreams privileges when you started wanting to conquer the world. that voids the anime warranty.

I wonder if Rahu is trying to restore nature now.....probably not.

Yay Harry's dead along with Rahu, the correct timeline has been achieved. Harry's sacrifice will not- what I am talking about again?

Well yeah, that is why Rahu III is the final boss- is because its not a fight you want to do normally. its a threat you cannot possibly let continue, so it has mechanics that make it a threat that lesser fighters can't go through. it makes sense, because Rahu III was a playable robo it'd steamroll everyone and be the new optimal robo to have, being essentially a new paradigm of combat. its mechanics reflecting the threat something is supposed to be, because if Rahu III went down easy like Oboro.....then why would everyone be so afraid of it? all the hype and build up would be meaningless if it wasn't a little tough even 3 v 1.