Note: This is an app version update, so check your device's store for the update an hour or so before the usual update time (ie approx 23 hours from the time of this post), and of course make sure you have storage space and data allowance for the update....
So my SDE pick is gonna time out soon, and I'm kind of at a loss for who to pick. I've narrowed it to the three mentioned, but am unsure which way to go....
lol. It kept telling me it 50x'd out and the threads weren't updating either. I'll see if I can fix it.
Thanks for the advice. I did do the survey, but haven't gotten the pull yet. I've been trying to get Sesta to no success. Iphi giving you extra chances is REALLY tempting. Maybe that's the answer right there.
EDIT:
So the multiple posts were in my user view, but still not in the magazine for me. Oh kbin. :]
Okay, extras should be deleted. Hopefully. Maybe. I think...
Yeah, I'm thinking Iphi is probably the better choice for me. The extra lives alone is really hard to ignore. Once you add in the synergies, she's probably the character with the longest life of the three from a meta perspective.
Note: This is an app version update, so check your app store for the update to access the new goodies, and of course make sure you have data coverage and device space....
*Added the ability to obtain the items received upon defeating the pre-Ver 3.2.100 boss by defeating it in the rechallenge. Players who have already obtained the rewards will not obtain them again.
*The amount and type of rewards have not been changed between versions.
I think this means that if you didn't get the hardest difficulty items the first time, you don't permanently miss out since you can re-challenge. However, if you have already gotten them, you can't get them again on a re-challenge. That is, win them once, but no rush.
The catch up stuff is awesome, but I don't have the time to play regularly so it's not as big for me personally. The permanent relaxing of Noaxhis requirements is very, very welcome.
All in all, I'm happy to be seeing regularly update messages. The monthly letter is very nice to have.
Okay, I'll admit it, I'd lost track of time and thought this was coming next week, so seeing the Twitter notification come through took me by surprise, ha....
Is anyone really looking forward to the Astral Archive Challenge? I feel like there's already a ton of min/max content, but maybe people are just finishing it all so they need to add more.
I have mentioned before how extremely impressed I am with pages such as the Japanese SDE guide that has not one but several "Meta" lists, including an environmental characters and equipment summary that lists excellent characters across sensible roles such as general DPS, attribute-specific attacker, support, and even "tank"....
Are you putting the url into Google Translate? Every time I do, I get a "page doesn't exist, do you want to create it" link. Something to do with the site's URL resolver, I'd guess. I'm on Firefox, by the way.
Kbin has been... something... lately. Their feature work has been very busy so there's a number of things that are gonna wobble.
Figured your answer would be to use Chrome. I use it at work, but avoid the Big G when I'm able in my personal usage. May have to break out my dirty box that I don't care what is on it. lol
I work in software dev, and supporting random things is a nightmare. And with agent strings, it's meaningless since antagonistic devs can basically just kill your browser. It's frustrating.
As for kbin, I get the feeling the dev team is a bit overwhelmed. They released when they did because of Reddit, but saying it was in beta was a bit on the generous side. At the least they should have hidden non-functional controls and did some UI tidying. Instead, they pulled off the alpha sticker, slapped on beta, and YOLO'd it, IMO. I don't think it was a wise move.
This was a collaboration with NoWaifuN0Laifu based on his design, where he wrote a character quest for ES Hozuki and imagined her as a crystal element hammer user - "I made ES Hozuki’s quest (feel free to use WFS)". On a whim, I offered to draw his design for him....
Thank you for the comments about leadership. As for my concerns, it's not just this week; there are ongoing life and health concerns that make me a bad SPoF. This past week just reminded me of them since I didn't come to the magazine even once in almost 7 days. Having some sort of back up to make sure things keep ticking along is a long term must have to ensure the community can keep functioning.
To be clear, and I should add this to general "rules" in the welcome post, illegal content is not allowed. Full stop. Territoriality for some of that sort of content is beside the point. It's a good idea to make that clear (and what content it is) in the welcome post.
Mods tools are basically non-existent. I can pin tabs, and that's about it. Editing anyone else's post doesn't work last I checked, nor does deleting posts. Badges and tags don't seem to populate as expected.
I've been tempted to dig into the kbin source and maybe help, but I don't particularly care for PHP as a language.
Very good suggestions all-round. The Contributor covenant is actually intended for OSS communities, so the professional elements are situational. Your modifications are good ones. Mostly, I suggested it as a starting point (I find it helps discussion to start from something).
I'll take some time to collect the suggestions and come up with something simple (another good suggestion). I'm feeling energetic and want to make hay while the sun shines. No telling when that'll fade away. :lol:
Yeah, I've been trying to figure out spoilers, and it's not a "thing" with kbin yet.
You could edit the post and add a bunch of blank lines after the first paragraph and write SPOILERS BELOW. At least people can enjoy the (awesome) art but avoid the spoilery bits.
You've done an excellent job of calling out a lot of the thoughts in the episode, and I'm gonna try not to dig into those too much. Mostly, I'm gonna put out some of my thoughts around a few items and the series in general. Also, a caveat, I haven't done the true ending, and I ended up avoiding the reset when picking between Aldo and Mariel, so I don't have the whole story.
This is, frankly, the heaviest story we've gotten out of Another Eden yet. Sure, some have pushed the boundary on philosophy and identity, but they've implied most of the darker elements. Here, they are front and centre. I think of this episode a lot like I think about literature and analysis. There's so many ways to read things, and so many perspectives on how to read it, you'll find a bunch to chew on (#notSorry).
All that said, I found it to be very biblical in nature. There's salt pillars, parables, Christian communion, Garden of Eden (location and the pursuit of food/knowledge), saviour sacrifice, and so much more. Then it layers in psychological elements with Marie and it gets very interesting to see all these parts come together.
What does stand out to me, at least as far as the other episodes are concerned, is the amount of self-reference. The other episodes connect to the larger AE story because of their central character (even in Road to Thunder with the fangirling by Miyu, and Fatum with Alma and Lele's friendship). Babylon stands out for two reasons, though: there's a TON of references to other bits of AE lore (clock tower, Ivan/Phantom, guardians, etc) and the lack of connection between Marie and Mariel. Marie isn't explicity Mariel, isn't from the same time period (maybe; see below), and Marie isn't explicitly a religious figure like Mariel. Mariel doesn't fulfill the central connection we've seen from the previous four episodes, and I think that may be telling.
Again, even though I don't have all the details, I'm gonna go out on a limb - and probably fall flat as a result.
So, what could it be telling us? Time for some head canon: What if Marie isn't Mariel? There's nothing in the story, that I saw, that actually connects them. The story even implies a break since the story they both relate is different. They have different experiences. All of the Vortex stories until this point have been historical; they lead up to the modern world of AE. If that's the case, this story shouldn't be about a parallel Mariel. So who is it? I think we get a hint on that, as well. Those references to the Guardians and Tower are intentional, as is the state of the modern map: Babylon is Zerberiya, the religion is the Sword-wielding Savior, and Marie is Thillelille. Basically, between Antiquity and Modern there's been a massive collapse in Zerberiya (not surprising based on what we know) and so over generations there has been decline. Thillelille is actually the reborn Sword-weilding Savior, maybe even born yet again, and the sword Ivan leaves directs us that way.
I can't remember if that came up in the story or Mariel's CQ. If so, I'm happy to take it - my theory is kind of off the wall. The lore of AE is pretty huge at this point, and we don't really have a resource to look at for all the different bits.
Out of curiosity, what teams are you all currently running for general use? So not for superbosses, etc, but what do you have set up for running around maps, or running keys?...
I am SUPER casual, F2P except the occasional SDE, and my patterns reflect that.
Mostly I do passive leveling of characters with a level 80 to do the work. Right now that's May (to get frog stomp) and Joker (for double attacks on weakness).
For dungeons, I don't really run them. I find the grind feels too much like work, and I have focus problems so doing them while watching a movie, for example, doesn't work for me. As a consequence, I haven't side-graded many characters, don't have much grasta, struggle with current content, and pretty much ignore super bosses.
Amy as a nod to Tifa is definitely in the realm of homage, and I'm guessing intentional. My point here was more about the composition (it's a slightly modified mirror flip).
That said, as you point out, this could also be an homage moment. I know mangaka and anime makers see "borrowing" very differently than litigious North American media companies, so I would figure this is that.
Update notice: Version 3.3.100, AS Orleya, Tsukittyha cat set, more Catch-up Campaign! (api-ap.another-eden.games)
Note: This is an app version update, so check your device's store for the update an hour or so before the usual update time (ie approx 23 hours from the time of this post), and of course make sure you have storage space and data allowance for the update....
Update notice: AS Melody, AS Noahxis, new Wanderer in the Binding Night content! (api-ap.another-eden.games)
Title screen update - Will be available for download within the app from approx 24 hours after the time of this post....
SDE choice - Iphi, Sesta, Yakumo
So my SDE pick is gonna time out soon, and I'm kind of at a loss for who to pick. I've narrowed it to the three mentioned, but am unsure which way to go....
Update notice 3.2.100: Felmina ES, Myrus True Manifest, Claude cat gear! (api-ap.another-eden.games)
Note: This is an app version update, so check your app store for the update to access the new goodies, and of course make sure you have data coverage and device space....
September dev letter! (api-ap.another-eden.games)
Update notice: Ensemble - Commander and Sheep, 5* Benedict, New Character Elseal, added Challenge Mode to Astral Archive! (api-ap.another-eden.games)
Okay, I'll admit it, I'd lost track of time and thought this was coming next week, so seeing the Twitter notification come through took me by surprise, ha....
I continue to upgrade my assessment of the Seesaa wiki: in particular I find the writer akashic_lin to be worthy of high praise!
I have mentioned before how extremely impressed I am with pages such as the Japanese SDE guide that has not one but several "Meta" lists, including an environmental characters and equipment summary that lists excellent characters across sensible roles such as general DPS, attribute-specific attacker, support, and even "tank"....
OC [Fan Art] Fan-made design for Hozuki ES
This was a collaboration with NoWaifuN0Laifu based on his design, where he wrote a character quest for ES Hozuki and imagined her as a crystal element hammer user - "I made ES Hozuki’s quest (feel free to use WFS)". On a whim, I offered to draw his design for him....
State of the magazine - July 2023
We are one month in on the Another Eden magazine, and I think that's a good time to take a moment and check the temperature....
Livestream summary
OC [Disc] Wanderer in the Vortex Chapter 5 - The Undiscovered Babylon (spoilers)
Note: Spoilers discussed in this thread....
Team talk
Out of curiosity, what teams are you all currently running for general use? So not for superbosses, etc, but what do you have set up for running around maps, or running keys?...
Something something flattery
I'm glad the AE artists are getting work. At least, I hope that's the case....
Another Eden Live #25: Wanderer in the Binding Night (www.youtube.com)
Go click the buttons that make Scott happy! Livestream coming up next week, 11am 11th July UTC (click link to find out what that is in your timezone).