A Block of Unmilled Zestria Organicum
Zestria? Banana week? Lusipurr Towers 1 and 2? Who even knows? Who even listens?
TSM Episode 308: Zestria!
29 Comments
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Wolfe
This chapter was well worth the listen. Absolutely mesmerizing. You mentioned last week, Lusi that Rice’s writings were uneven. Are there others in the series that compare to this one? You sir, have done me a great favor by re-introducing me to a series I had written off after a bad experience in my early youth.
In relation to the gaming news, I must confess that I have no interest in Amibos, but I agree with the notion of ‘put it to use’. I have kept myself exactly two old figurines in their original packing, and both are Japanese imports from the late 90s, which I kept not because I think they’re going to increase in value, but because I really like the Japanese packaging. It was a novelty to me back then, before the internet made everything immediately accessible, and I still smile when I look at them. An Amibo on the other hand? That’s a gaming accessory intended to be used, not treated like an antique.
Lastly, I shamelessly state that I’m very interested in Zestiria. But I can’t hear the name without singing the Zestfully clean jingle.
Great show once again guys.
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SiliconN00B
BOOM!
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Bup
Haha, this episode was very [INSERT COMPLIMENT HERE]! I can’t believe [STAFF MEMBER NAME] said [CONTROVERSIAL STATEMENT]! Who knew [HE/SHE] was so racist?!
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DiceAdmiral
Info Blast Escapes the Cursed Temple
This week’s panel
Silicon Noob
Mel
Lusipurr
Also featuring:
BupUpcoming Features
Written Review
-Eternal SonataTales of “Zestria”?
I think SN meant this and not Xillia. He only forgot an i. (Looks like they noticed later in the show).NEWS
Molyneux on over-promising, pot, kettle, etc
I find this amusing. On one hand, who knows more about overpromising than Peter Molyneux? On the other, he has never demonstrated any improvement on the matter. It’s like a fire giving advice on how to not burn things.New Selection of Amiibos
I said last week I might get Charizard and will probably get Toad (Though I wish that he had the Captain Toad headlamp). Mewtwo and Robin would also fall into that category I think. Come to think of it, I’d love some Advanced Wars Amiibos, and I don’t mean like Andy, I want an Amiibo Tank and an Amiibo Artillery. OOH and a Bomb-omb! OH OH and some of the Djinn from Golden Sun.Airships pulled from FFXV? “Too Hard”
I read a story with a sentient airship once. It’s called The Long Earth (LINK). It was co-written by Terry Pratchet and is about how the world reacts to the invention of a device that allows instantaneous travel between millions of parallel-universe Earths.Bup Talk
What Amiibos do you want?Imitanis Literature Corner
Interview With A Vampire by Anne Rice
I find it amusing that Lusi’s interpretation of the Englishman is Irish.
As Lusi mentioned, it’s awesome that Rice put the old world vampires into her literature. I really want to know more about how these creatures come into existence.Imitanis Gaming Moment
This week I played Escape: Curse of the Temple, a game about running out of an ancient temple before it shuts and locks you in. The game is played in 10 minutes real time as timed out by a soundtrack of thematic ‘adventuring music’. Players will rush around the temple to try and find the exit and the crystals required to unlock the exit. If any players are left in the temple after 10 minutes then everyone loses. The board is constructed out of separate tiles that are laid out as the game goes, so the temple will be different every time.The snag, is that players can’t just walk around the temple as they please. Every player is given 5 dice and must roll certain faces in order to move into other rooms, flip over new rooms, or take crystals. Players can roll their dice as fast or often as they want, there are no turns. Unhelpfully, one of the faces is a black curse mask that cannot be re-rolled until you roll a golden mask, which unlocks 2 black masks. Other players in the same room as you can use their golden masks to help you out if you get totally locked up. Additionally bad is that there are two gong sounds on the soundtrack. Once one of these sounds plays every player has 1 minute to get back to the starting room. Any player that doesn’t make it back will lose a die for the rest of the game. This leads to fun scenarios where you may be forced to leave a locked player behind in order to save yourself. This game is LOUD, players will constantly have to be communicating about being locked, needing help in a crystal room, the gong sounding, or finding the exit.
If you’re confused at all this video explains the game perfectly: Shut Up and Sit Down Review Escape: Curse of the Temple
I like this game a lot. It’s great it a lot of ways. It’s easy to learn (you already know how after reading this), it plays in a super short amount of time, doesn’t require much setup, and really plays differently from anything else I’ve played. Recommended if you can handle a bit of stress and aren’t in an environment that requires quiet.
I also played Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. I’m on the second book and still quite enjoying it. I don’t have all of the stamps, but I’ve been getting all of the gems.
DiceAdmiral Travel Moment
No travels this week. Looking like I might travel for some nicer weather this weekend.Final Notes
New Theme Song? How long will this last? I liked the classical stuff, but I also miss the X (cast member) is Y (podcast reference) thing.
“Be a banana republic. Bananas are resistant to potato famine” – Lusi
“Literally good for everything” should be on the site header rotation.
“Paytents” Sounds like a place where you fork over cash to sleep in the woods.
“I did Adventure Time with Imitanis” – Lusi
“He diddled me out of 5000 gold” – LusiDonators
Cumulative total record holder: Imitanis
Single Donation record holder: ImitanisDonators eligible for end of year drawing: 2! I’m glad to hear that there are more donators because that keeps the site going, but now I have competition, so that stinks.
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Mel
Of course you’re interested in Zestria, Wolfe, that’s part of what it’s used for—generating interest in Zestria.
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Dancing Matt
I bought Link, Zelda and Samus amiibos, and got Mario and Donkey Kong for Cristmas. In the future, I want a Mega Man, but nothing else really takes my attention. Maybe a Fire Emblem guy. I just like having Nintendo figurines on my shelf. They don’t seem all that useful in the games. I might be interested in like a Goomba, or a Shy Guy, or Wart, or even a Cheep Cheep or Blooper (although I don’t know why they would make them). Actually I’d totally dig a series of enemies from the Mario, Zelda, and Metroid games just for figurines’ sake. And then a radio-controlled model Arwing and Samus’ ship. And a real, working Hookshot. And a gold Triforce. And a bag of mushrooms. And a cloud that would fly me right across levels I didn’t want to go to. And a wind-up Bob-omb. Nintendo should make toys like there are for Ninja Turtles and Spiderman instead of producing these stationary models ad infinitum. Samus Arm Cannon, Pit Bow ‘n Arrow, Link press-on Ear Points and Power Bracelet, the possibilities are endless. What was the question?
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Lusipurr
@Wolfe:
“You mentioned last week, Lusi that Rice’s writings were uneven. Are there others in the series that compare to this one?”
In my estimation, yes. The Vampire Lestat is excellent, and I enjoyed most of The Vampire Armand as well. My opinions of the other books in the series are not quite as positive, I fear.“Lastly, I shamelessly state that I’m very interested in Zestiria.”
Of course you are. Boom! -
@DiceAdmiral:
“who knows more about overpromising than Peter Molyneux?”
LITERALLY NOBODY.“Come to think of it, I’d love some Advanced Wars Amiibos, and I don’t mean like Andy, I want an Amiibo Tank and an Amiibo Artillery. OOH and a Bomb-omb! OH OH and some of the Djinn from Golden Sun.”
Ask someone what ‘one’ amiibo they want, and watch the avalanche begin. The only thing that’s amazing is that they didn’t come out with this sooner than they did.“about how the world reacts to the invention of a device that allows instantaneous travel between millions of parallel-universe Earths.”
In Pratchett: Probably humorously.
In Reality: BADLY.I find it amusing that Lusi’s interpretation of the Englishman is Irish.
’twas m’best shot atta Northern accent wit’out trying t’overplay t’accent. I didn’t want to sound like Michael Parkinson. Result: vaguely scots-irish. Ah well. Morgan’s dead anyway.” it’s awesome that Rice put the old world vampires into her literature. I really want to know more about how these creatures come into existence.”
This is actually explained. Some of it is explained here (not only Claudia’s conjecture, but later), and some of it is explained in the other books.“a game about running out of an ancient temple before it shuts and locks you in.”
This is a Nickolodeon TV show.“Unhelpfully, one of the faces is a black curse mask that cannot be re-rolled until you roll a golden mask”
Yeah, I’ve seen this show before. The mask talks and introduces the prizes.“Other players in the same room as you can use their golden masks to help you out if you get totally locked up.”
Right–they’re hidden, and there’s not a whole lot of time on the clock.“it plays in a super short amount of time”
30 minutes with commercials.“Recommended if you can handle a bit of stress and aren’t in an environment that requires quiet.”
Agreed–but who has the room for that board? It’s like the size of a television studio!“New Theme Song? How long will this last? I liked the classical stuff, but I also miss the X (cast member) is Y (podcast reference) thing.”
In line with many, many other podcasts that we’ve done, the use of the occasional different piece of music does not automatically signify that we’ve changed the theme tune. Fear not.““Literally good for everything” should be on the site header rotation.”
DONE.“Donators eligible for end of year drawing: 2!”
Nope!“but now I have competition, so that stinks.”
;) -
“Lastly, I shamelessly state that I’m very interested in Zestiria.”
How many pounds can we put you down for?
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Note: it only comes in 50lb. blocks.
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““Donators eligible for end of year drawing: 2!”
Nope!”
Did I miss hear/count or has someone donated since the podcast? -
@DiceAdmiral: You’ll just have to stay tuned to find out!
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Why are quotes being right justified? That’s weird.
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@DiceAdmiral: They’re not. :o
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Oh, I didn’t look up far enough. The first line of every comment is being pushed to the right. That’s worse, but I’ll take it if it means that you’re in the process of making links less invisible.
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@DiceAdmiral: No, they’re not. This seems to be a problem on your end.
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Huh, you’re right. Super weird.
http://imgur.com/bIDv53C -
That looks ridiculous. I wonder if your browser or a plugin is parsing a quote mark somewhere oddly. I’ll look over the comments to see.
If would help me if you can tell me:
– Is it true for every comment? Or does it start with one of them and then persist?
– If it is true for every comment: Is the post itself affected in any way?
– Is the main index affected? -
– Is it true for every comment? Or does it start with one of them and then persist?
All comments on all posts
– If it is true for every comment: Is the post itself affected in any way?
Posts do not seem to be affected
– Is the main index affected?
No.I’m on Firefox if that matters. but it appears to be a zooming issue. If I zoom in then it looks normal, but if I zoom one step back out, then it gets all wonky again.
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@DiceAdmiral:
Thanks: Can you also tell me the earliest moment that you can be certain this was happening, and the latest moment when you can be certain that it was not happening?
(Note: I am not having this issue in Firefox or Safari.)
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I only noticed it this afternoon. I’m certain that it looked normal when I posted the Info Blast yesterday. It may have been a problem longer and I just today zoomed for some other page today.
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That is extremely odd. Regrettably, I can’t seem to find any cause for it on our end, and I can’t seem to replicate the behaviour with my copy of Firefox.
Clearly, you should format your hard drive–if not buy an entirely new computer.
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Huh, I’ve gotten it to happen on two different computers with Firefox. I’m holding control and using the scroll wheel to zoom if that makes a difference.
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Java
So very late to the conversation
@Imitanis: I have mixed feelings about Escape, however, I should also confess that I have a strong distaste for dice games. If I’m to play Yahtzee, then I will play Yahtzee.
However, Escape does bring the fun. I always reluctantly agree to play it with my gaming group, thinking that it will not be as enjoyable as the last time, and I am proven wrong each time. Still, I have not topped the very first time I played it. I was the last one out, needed a single key to exit, and the soundtrack had about two seconds left. My last remaining die spun for what seemed like an eternity, and landed on a key roughly seven picoseconds before I was to be locked in. I’ve never seen our entire group collectively hold their breath, then shout a triumphant cheer over a board game before.
@Lusipurr: I love board games. Love them.
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@Java:
“@Imitanis” Huh? He hasn’t posted on this page. We you intended to reply to me? -
@DiceAdmiral: I was wondering that, too. I think Java was briefly decaffeinated, with startling consequences. We’re working to resolve this at once.
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@DiceAdmiral: I done goofed. Sorry about that, but yes, that was intended to you.
Status: Caffeine levels restored. Acceptable brain activity steady. Fingers operating at 92% and rising.
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@Java:
I was a bit skeptical of real time dice rolling as a core game concept too. I tend to dislike games that are lucky and not upfront about it (Firefly). I think what makes this game different is that you’re usually not stuck with crumby rolls and even the black masks can be mitigated pretty often just by rolling your own golden masks. The game ends up being more about communications and cooperation where the dice are the obstacle that stands in your way by design. The luck of the dice is a known factor and they built the rest of the game around that. -
@DiceAdmiral: When it comes to dice, I usually prefer games that I have some control over them, such as Castles of Burgundy, which I only mention because we played it last night. There are multiple ways you can change your dice rolls, and on the other side of the coin exists possible strategies where you play them straight as you receive them.
Escape, or for different example, Elder Sign, both make me feel like the game is playing me, not the other way around. However, where Elder Sign has you mistakenly thinking you have more control over what happens than you do, Escape is far more honest about it, and the frantic atmosphere it creates is absolutely a ton of fun. I suppose that is why Escape is quickly becoming an favorite opener of the night. Gets the juices flowing!