The Giant Beastcast: Episode 37

Mothertrucker

God. I love this site...

my SON

my BOY

\o/ Just what the doctor ordered.

@xanxus:

There's always time for Beastcast.

I'm here to listen to Alex finally get his Big Rigs Over the Road Racing Redemption.

I am so excited about Trucking in America.

Also, Vinny's "You Should!" reading was intense.

EDIT: Couple of notes of interest.

I'm really interested in the potential disconnect a game like The Division has with "spongy" enemies because they are human. In Destiny there are a ton of one-shottable foes but it also seems okay to have enemies that eat up a bunch of ammo because they are crazy aliens. When you see a human also doing that, it can feel super weird. There's definitely something interesting to be explored there.

On cards like Black Lotus, thought it'd be worth noting that Magic's two "biggest card pool" formats are Vintage and Legacy. Both allow pretty much any card ever printed, with just a few notable exceptions. As a general rule, Vintage bans some and restricts others to one copy per deck (instead of the usual limit of four). Legacy has no restrictions, only bans. Black Lotus, as the example card, is restricted to one copy in Vintage but banned in Legacy. It's valuable partly due to rarity but also because it is such an iconic and powerful card. Really more of a collector's item than one you're going to bust out and play.

Sweet, even more Witness stuff to avoid! I'll stick around for the bathroom talking etiquette though. That shit is whack!

It's always strange to hear the guys talk about the weird Euro\Japanese versions of America in games when American made media does the exact same thing.

And not least from the East, it's time for BEAST!

I want to hear Dan and Austin talk about how The Witness is and isn't pretentious.

@dougfunk15: I know. No matter how vague the talking is there's always some hint. I guess not spoilers, but clues. I don't want clues. Dan did a real bad one for the greenhouse puzzles this week.

Yaaaaay!

Beastcast time! Second best time after Project B.E.A.S.T. time.

Bakalar is totally right about that new Star Trek movie.

Would be a nice surprise if Prey 2 made an appearance at Bethesda Press Conference. But that's wishful thinking.

@themaxdaddy Yep. Dan was just spouting off spoilers and they had to reign him in several times.
I -might- get the game, but I don't really enjoy the puzzle game genre myself. Along with avoiding potential spoilers (if I get it), I'm also pretty fatigued of the hyperbolic fervor that's been surrounding its coverage.

i'm not sure how Jeff couldn't get the Division UI, seemed pretty easy to me to navigate. I'm freaking dying to play that game, pre-ordered the gold edition (which I normally never do)

BEAST ME.

How far should I fast forward to avoid The Witness spoilers, if any?

SLEEP!!

HE HAS RETURNED.

@eosino: Nothing in there I'd consider a spoiler. They mention what happens once you complete an area, and make some gestures toward there being a larger narrative in the game, but nothing else spoiler-y.

Will Jeff Bakalar storm out on this too?

Wait...Last week Vinny wonders if you can trademark something as vague as "You Should" and now Squarespace is using it?

Is Vinny some sort of marketing genius?

This should help me get through the day...Need to get back to XCOM 2 asap!

Square Space has been "You Should" since 2016. That's why Vinny said that last week.

Also... what a dumb tagline. They can't say it, so I can.

IRL truck driver here. Actually rolling up I-10 towards Baton Rouge this morning listening to the podcast. I'd really like to try this truck sim, but I'm not sure if my PC is up to snuff. Also, not super interested in paying $20 to play it. It would be cool to see what they get right and wrong, though. I'd be willing to participate in a stream, as a professional consultant.

@austin_walker I'd love to see that article on the Witness that you mentioned starting. My own perspective is that The Witness has a lot of commentary about religion, from someone I get the distinct impression is an atheist. That eventually began to bug me as I listened to the audio clips.

Though, I do like the New-Agey Buddhist stuff in the game.

I'm SHOCKED that Vinny doesn't like The Witness. I thought it would be up his alley. I LOOOOVE that game.

Ironically, Austin and I have 100% diametric views about games, art, and pretty much everything else. It's funny to hear him talk about The Witness because everything he seems to potentially dislike about that game and it's philosophy is 100% why I couldn't wait to play it after the interview Ryan and Brad did years ago and it's why I love the game now.

I think Jonathan Blow is one of the few developers out there who GETS video games right now.

Haha, but every time you hear "you should" you now think Squarespace... even if you think it's dumb, right?

Marketing. It works.

Wasn't it a colour-blindness issue?

Can we get an Alex "Papa Smurf" Navarro photoshop?

@heatdrive88: Bakalar in the podcast Jeff, Gerstmann seemed to really like it.

@doncabesa: Haha, oh right, whoops.

Talking about fainting is one of my favorite past times because the sheer amount of hilarious visual images and scenarios pop into my head.

"you are about to go unconscious whether you want to or not" - Alex Navarro

Should I?

I'll be waiting on the expose where @austin_walker calls out Harmony Gold.

I get super frustrated every time I hear someone suggest Fez and The Witness hook into the same things since I thought Fez was... not good and really love The Witness, but I have been unable to fully articulate what makes them different, partly because I didn't spend enough time with Fez as I was just not having it.

<-- On fire

@slaker117: I feel the same way. For me, it's because the Witness has its roots in logic where Fez is more like "traditional" video game puzzles. To me, at least.

@dougfunk15: as soon as i heard dans greenhouse clue i just skipped forward until there was no more witness talk. Same with this episode. If you're told how to solve all the puzzles there is no fun. I am surprised by how much I like it myself. Haven't played any of the other puzzle games people compare it to, so I can't compare it. Its been all I've been playing since I bought it last week though, so that's saying something. Staying up way too late.

I agree with austin, FUCK HARMONY GOLD

Can the East or West crew do an episode on The Witness? Or both? I'd like to hear about what puzzles they hated / liked and the narrative stuff Austin is talking about. Right now I've found a few pieces here and there. It seems at the moment like he's showing opposing views and views in between, but maybe I'm reading it wrong. Haven't wandered over to the end game yet. Also a weird video with the guy walking with the candle that definitely has a puzzle in it (that you can solve?). It's funny, I could tell that the video was Russian in moments.

My feelings on The Witness are exactly the same as Alex. I really want to play it and figure out what it's all about but I know that I just don't have the patience for it.

Really looking forward to the Witness piece. I haven't played the game yet, but listening to Austin tease what he is going to write, I have a feeling I'm not going to agree with him. Can't wait to find out though!

I'm of the exact same mindset as you. I am not enjoying some of the atheistic viewpoints of The Witness, but the thing is... with as much as I've played of that game... there is definitely a *thing* that would, intentionally or not, undermine any strictly atheist interpretation of that game. I don't fully understand it yet because I haven't had enough time to play, but there are a FEW hooks in that game that I am really, really interested in.

The bottom line is that there are a bunch of people who are saying the game has no story, and I think those people are just missing it because the game doesn't explain it to you with a voice over.

I see people say this, but the thing about the WItness is that it's not REALLY a game that requires a ton of patience.

It's true that I'm a very patient person, but I have not felt like I had to use it at all. I've been frustrated exactly once, and it drove me to look up an answer. I was immediately glad I did because I NEVER would have figured it out.

Rather than not play the game, I would just say "know yourself". Get a guide, try not to use it, and just have fun. Maybe even give yourself a hard limit where you say, "If I can't figure something out in an hour (or 15 minutes, whatever) I will look up the answer."

Did Vinny just "Volgarr" Bakalar?

@aegon: that's a sort of famous scene from the film Nostalghia by noted genius director Andrei Tarkovsky.