And, once upon a time, Mondays were for conversation topics, fanfiction writing tips, and convention talk. Of course, naturally, everything started to fizzle because of the following:

1 - I haven't played First Departure, Second Story/Second Evolution, or Blue Sphere. I'd have a wealth of more ideas if I'd played those games already. Sadly, I do not have the following to make any of this happen:
a convertor for the SNES - I own the original Japanese version of Star Ocean, but the cartridge doesn't fit my console. I also don't speak or read Japanese just yet;
a copy of Second Story - you might think I need the PS1 or a PS3 (if the game can be downloaded from the Sony website) but I don't. I'm pretty sure I could play the game on my PS2 as long as I have a PS1 memory card (which I do have) so all I need is a copy;
a copy of Blue Sphere - I could play this on my sister's Nintendo 3DS. Alas, like with the original copy of Star Ocean, I do not speak or read Japanese;
a PSP - I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I own the PSP versions of the first two Star Ocean games. I just need a PSP to play, and I'm not required to speak or read Japanese to play.

2 - There are only so many fanfiction writing tips that I can write without me sounding like an overbearing, bossy brat on how to write an excellent fanfic. At some point, those who want to write fanfiction need to just start writing. Star Ocean fanfiction, as a whole, is only going to be moderately received, even with the release of a new game, if there is a release of a new game.

3 - There's only so much that can be written about conventions as well. I've not been an avid con-goer for the last several years so I'm pretty much new to the whole thing once again. I'll be learning as I go once more.

Now, with all of that said, time to resume everything once more.

*************************************************************************************

Fanfiction Writing Tip #6 - Trust Yourself and Your Instincts

Recently, through a different account, I had someone contact me about idea and character sharing (which I'm not necessarily interested in doing - I'll turn on my diva side here in a little bit). Some time passed, and the same person contacted me again about reading over the initial fanfiction idea to see if it passes whatever because I happened to be something of a Star Ocean something. (I forget the exact phrasing. It was a compliment, I'm sure, but I'm already wary of this person as it is.)

I am going to take this moment to reiterate another tip from last October: Do not compare yourself to someone who is already established as a fanfiction author, more than especially if you're going to run on the self-deprecating side instead of the more positive side of writing. I cannot press upon the importance of this enough. Yes, this author may have a great following of readers. Yes, that author may produce wonderfully written pieces that stir great emotion within your heart and inspire you to do the same thing. But this author and that author have done ONE thing that you, as a new writer, may not have done: they started to write. They trusted their abilities well enough to open that word document and start an outline, start the first chapter, or whatever approach s/he finds best. At some point, all of the best advice in the world is going to screw with your head, and you're going to doubt yourself and your abilities.

Just start writing.

If you're a review whore, here are some things to take note of: The Star Ocean fandom is small. You're not going to receive a crapload of reviews, no matter which fanfiction site you post your stories to, be it FFN, AO3, deviantArt, adultfanfiction, or your own website. There are also no guarantees that if you chose to write in a larger fandom - Hetalia, Final Fantasy VII, Inuyasha, Gundam Wing, etc . . . - that you will receive a crapload of reviews because of the volume of stories either being updated or added on a daily basis. You might get lucky and gain five reviews and two followers. You might not gain anything at all. That's just how fanfiction works.

That said, just keep writing. No one else is going to tell your story the way that you want it told.

Trust yourself and trust your instincts.

*************************************************************************************

The Diva In Me

Now for my diva side when it comes to fanfiction: Yes, I am something of a snob from time to time. I do not like being approached by others with things and characters they think will enhance my stories. I used to listen to others and politely reject their ideas because said ideas just didn't jive with what I was doing. Heck, I really don't even like people asking me to read their stuff because I often have a feeling I know what they're after from me: reviews of praise and glory and not necessarily the constructive criticism I tend to hand out if I review at all.

( Read more... )
*************************************************************************************

Conversation Topic - Why Did It Take Symbological Genetics So Long to Become a Field of Study?

I'm not sure I've touched on this before (I really need to go through and compile a list of all the conversation topics I've done since 2012) so if I have, I apologize. But has anyone wondered why it took a little over seven hundred years for Symbological Genetics to become a field of study? Not just for humans but for the entire universe? Remember, Robert Leingod is the leading authority on the subject and the pioneer of the field. They establish as much in the game with the Vendeeni taking him (and Sophia) hostage and hunting Fayt from one end of the universe to another.

I bring this up (again, possibly) because symbology does appear in The Last Hope. The first human to (allegedly) use symbology is Edge. Now I understand why symbological genetics may not have taken off in the new calender year (by this, I mean the year ending in S.D. instead of A.D.) - with Edge as the only human capable of using symbology, he may not have told anyone about it. I don't think he'd relish the idea of being a guinea pig once more (though the injection of alien D.N.A. explains how he's able to use and learn Symbology). Not helping this is Lemuris being declared an underdeveloped planet along with Roak, the Eldarians forsaking their technology to live there, and the Morphus disappearing into space once more. It isn't for another three hundred years, when the stone sickness returns on Roak, that symbology even becomes an issue once more. (Ronyx apparently learned it when he's tossed back into the past to defeat Asmodeus - that's according to the Star Ocean wikia so if that's incorrect, someone please let me know.) The first three hundred years are covered, providing Edge and Reimi after their nuptials (yes - that's apparently canon if you get Reimi's ending) never have any children (and I have my doubts about her ability to conceive) and providing the human race doesn't encounter any more symbologically-inclined alien races.

But what about after those three hundred years? Yes, it is mentioned in Till the End of Time about books on symbology - if you talk with the flirt on the beach and either claim to not know Sophia or say she's like your little sister, you find out the title of at least one well renowned book because it's something Sophia is "lusting" after because Fayt offers to give his dad's copy to her - but still Robert Leingod (along with his wife) is the leading and only authority on symbological genetics.

Till the End of Time's in-game dictionary does give some insight as to why no one else has touched the subject of symbological genetics - religious and ethical groups. These are also the same people who are responsible for why Robert's experiments on Fayt, Maria, and Sophia are forbidden: They don't want "super" humans to be created and thus perhaps bring down the wrath of God/the Creator/what-have-you upon them. (The reason for their reasons, I'm inclined to believe, have nothing to do with the experiments done on Crowe, Edge, and Reimi as only a select few seemed to know about that. Those experiments were such closely guarded secrets, I'm surprised Reimi's parents had the courage to tell her when they did and under those circumstances.)

This isn't to say symbology wasn't studied over four centuries. The more space is explored, new races encountered, and new tech developed, the exposure symbology gets. All Robert really did was combine the study of symbology with genetic-engineering, which took a lot of years of studying, I'm sure. It just amazes me no one does it sooner.

Thoughts on how come this took so long?

*************************************************************************************

Convention Talk - Going it Alone

If you've never gone to a convention before but would like to, you may want to make your first venture to one a solo one. There are some good reasons behind this:

1 - You won't feel obligated to hang around the people you may end up carpooling with. This gives you the opportunity to explore the hotel/convention center where the event is being held without influence from others.

2 - You can talk to other people without feeling rushed.

3 - You can attend the panels you want.

4 - You get that newbie's first time experience without influene from others.

Now, this isn't to say you can't do that if you carpool with people you've known for a very long time or have just met over the internet. Because, really, you can. But traveling by yourself can free things up for you if you're unsure of what to do. Yes, there are risks to traveling alone, the least of which is incurring all of your travel and hotel costs. In this day and age, though, most people who are traveling tend to have cellphones.

Of course, how you travel to a convention is entirely up to you, the new con attendee. The size of the convention also makes a difference. Over the course of the next few weeks, I'll weigh the pros and cons of traveling with others for first time attendees as well as the larger vs. smaller conventions for first timers.

*************************************************************************************

The PS4 Release

One of the last times I mentioned a new release for Star Ocean, which is currently a mobile phone game for Japanese residents, I commented on how the release of the PS4 could mean a new Star Ocean game. This is something we've looking forward for since the last game's release. I know I am, but, at the same time, I'm experiencing some trepidation about the new system's release. Here's why:

According to what my brother has heard (and he's not heard any differently as of yet), it will cost players $5 a month to play the games for the new PS4 console. From the sounds of it, Sony is going to require all players to connect to their server in order to play any games, be they downloaded or an actual hard copy. This is in addition to paying for the console itself.

This isn't striking me as necessarily a good thing because gamers are already paying close to $400 for the console. This doesn't include the average price of $40-$60 of brand new games. (New consoles don't have used games out until a few months or so into sales.) If a player only earns X dollars per month, the cost of the console and the games are nothing to sneeze at. Add onto that another $60 per year just to play however many games a player decides to buy on top of the cost of the games? It does add up, and, for me, that $60 could go for something else - like a brand new game, the registration cost of a convention, etc . . . To me, it feels like gouging the customer, and no console is worth an additional $60 a year just for the privilege of playing.

*************************************************************************************

The Thirty-one Days of Halloween

This is very tentative on my part. As of right now, I would love to do something I'm calling the 31 Days of Halloween. What does this mean, you might ask? It means that, starting on October 1, I will post a Halloween-themed one-shot all the way through to the end of the month. I am not taking requests, and if I gift-fic a piece for someone, it will be posted as to who it's for in the author's notes. This is tentative and all dependent upon how much time I have to focus on writing as well as inspiration. Sometimes it's real easy to knock out a one-shot, sometimes it isn't. It really can be a hit or miss.

And that concludes today's entry! Have a wonderful Monday evening!

Correction for yesterday:

When I spoke of Peppita and said to use her to make the Potion of Youth (Fake), I was mistaken. You need her for the Philospher's Stone to recruit another inventor. Someone on deviantArt asked me about that today, and I realized my error on the item but not the area of item creation.

Also, when inventing something, if you can, look at how much a given person affects the cost and time for item creation. Peppita affects inventing costs by an additional ten percent. Some have negative costs, meaning it takes less fol, and others affect the time. This includes the inventors.

Thank you.

***************************************************

Conversation Topic - Why Releasing Star Ocean: The Last Hope was a Good Idea

Several months ago, I wrote my thoughts on why I thought releasing Star Ocean: The Last Hope wasn't such a good idea. There were some plot holes in the storyline, the game play didn't last quite as long as I'd like, and it didn't have my favorite characters from Till the End of Time in it. I was really looking forward to seeing Fayt again.

In retrospect, I didn't cover every aspect of The Last Hope's release. I wrote about the bad. Now it's time to write about the good.

First up on the reasons why it's a good thing it was released: Symbology. The Last Hope covers how humans were introduced to the concept of symbology. It gives us the foundation for Robert Leingod's research seven hundred years into the future and how he is able to turn his son into a lethal weapon of destruction. While I've not played the first two games, in going over walk throughs and the Star Ocean wikia, I've discovered that symbology can be passed on to the human characters - according to Star Ocean wikia, Millie teaches Ronyx symbology, which, if I interpret events from Till the End of Time and The Last Hope correctly, the latent ability must be there, or the character just can't cast (case in point - Reimi). Edge is the first human in Star Ocean history to have that ability, and this is after he and Reimi see Faize use it against the first boss of the game.

I like the different spells in The Last Hope. I wish Symbolic Weapon was available to me in Till the End of Time or something very similar to it and the vile goop with the same effect. It would make it much easier to keep certain people from dying all the time from loss of magic points.

Second, I like that I can go harvesting and mining for materials. It adds to the experience earned for all of the teammates available at the time of harvesting or mining, and it helps to increase the fol. It makes shopping for items like blueberries, blackberries, and fresh sage rather obsolete (unless you're making things like the resurrection elixir and mist . . . then you buy and make until you have enough of both to take down whichever boss you're gearing up to battle).

The second good thing about The Last Hope is more of a bonus for me. So are the simplicity of item creation, the four member battle party, not being incapacitated when magic points hit zero, and being able to switch a dead person out for someone in reserve to keep the battle. Tri-Ace changed up the game play to make it more interesting, more engaging.

Third, the storyline connects the dots for the Star Ocean fans, and there is a sense of familiarity with it. Roak is a familiar name. The Calnus is a familiar name. While there are some differences between the games, there's still plenty to connect them to still make it Star Ocean, and the cast of The Last Hope is fun, entertaining, interesting, and annoying all at once. Releasing this game has kept the flames alive for many Star Ocean fans, and it is my sincerest wish that Tri-Ace and Square Enix continue to release games for this series. (And it is my sincerest wish to see more of Edge and Fayt, maybe even in a game or two together. Ah, the fangirl in me just sighs in happiness at such a thought . . .)

*************************************************************************

Gaming Tips - The Best Way to Utilize Spellcasters and Leveling Up

Today, I'm going to write two different gaming tips, only because one is really short.

I mentioned this in my very first gaming tip for the Star Ocean games, and that's utilizing the main characters, or the heroes, wisely. It's a rule that applies to all AI controlled players in the battle party on the field. In the games where magic hitting zero means incapacitation, don't let your characters waste time and restorative items doing stupid stuff. If you have two characters out, both of whom have attac and healing spells, set one for healing (and shut OFF the attack spells) and the other for attacking.

Also, pay attention to which spells can do what and which ones are the most useful. If the enemies are not casting buffing spells - increase intelligence, attack, defense, etc . . . - then characters like Myuria, Lymle, and Sarah shouldn't be casting void. They're wasting their magic and their time. Shutting the spells off isn't hard. Just head into use skills or use symbology and use whichever button on the controller is needed to shut the spell off. If you have the battle trophies option turned on, you get battle trophies for long or how quickly a battle ends. Keep that in mind.

Second tip - leveling up.

Leveling up can be the pain in the butt of game play. A player can spend hours and hours just doing this alone. I rather like leveling up in the games. I like heading into the next area, able to take on the enemies and not die within one or two hits from my opponents.

In games like Star Ocean, leveling up is quite necessary and sometimes still not enough. It's a matter of what you want to do when it comes time to fight certain bosses. If the player goes up against a boss that is either taking way too long to defeat  and ultimately kills the entire battle party or that kills the characters off within a matter of a minute, it's time to walk away from those fights and level up. Don't be afraid to take the time to increase experience points to the necessary levels. Increasing levels means an increase in a character's base attack, hit points, magic points, defense, intelligence, agility, etc . . . The more those are increased, the better chances the characters have of surviving the more difficult fights.

If you're at max level and the boss is still defeating you rather soundly, that's an equipment and accessory issue. I will write about that next Saturday.

That does it for today. I now leave everyone with a link to pictures of a Lego Level 255 Robo Gunner from Till the End of Time as done by rougeshell on deviantArt.

http://rougeshell.deviantart.com/gallery/40851395

The upload feature - not working. Not happy about it, either. But please head to that gallery and check out those photos. That is some serious Star Ocean geekery to be appreciated!

There is a belief among people that time perhaps isn't quite so chronological but perhaps more linear in nature. In fact, according to this belief, at the same time we carry about our lives, the French and Indian, Revolution, and Civil Wars are being fought simultaneously. Whether or not this is true for real life, I can't say. I find it to be a fascinating theory, one that could be explored for decades and centuries to come. I bring it up for the Star Ocean community because of how the differences in the flows of time between the 4-D realm and the Eternal Sphere may not, in fact, perhaps mesh.

For the denizens of the 4-D realm, Luther especially, the realm of the Eternal Sphere is one massive, interactive MMORPG, like World of Warcraft or Dungeons and Dragons. Time is linear for this particular (fictional) gaming program, much in the same way people in real life believe that time is linear. Here's how I can best explain it:

There are five people in the 4-D realm with whom Fayt and Co. interact, starting with Flad, moving onto Azazer then Blair, Belzeber and Berial, and finally with the end battle against Luther in his own Workspace. These five characters (as well as any NPCs spoken to in Arkives, Gemity, and Sphere 211) are able to create an ID, or character, for the Eternal Sphere. At the same time they're able to create this fictitious persona, they're also able to choose which point in the Eternal Sphere history where they wish to game.

For example, let's say Luther wants to test a new line of code for the Eternal Sphere. In order to test this code, he either enters the Eternal Sphere as he is (but not acting so pretentious, high, and mighty) or creates an alter ego. Depending on what era the code is for would determine when and where Luther enters the Eternal Sphere, be it when Edge Maverick is alive or when Fayt Leingod is alive. After all, it's how come he's still in his mid-twenties when he issues the proclamation of death to Professor Leingod and his research team and when the final battle with Fayt, Maria, and Sophia occurs.

As for the flow of time within the 4-D realm itself, I'm not entirely sure how it goes. I have no doubts it's chronological in nature for the people going about their daily lives (just as it is for us). People do age. Children are born, they are educated (to some extent), they grow so there is some indication that time does pass. However, compared to the Eternal Sphere, I have no comparison. Is it six months passing in 4-D for every two years in the Eternal Sphere? The game designers never really gave an indication so it's really speculation on the part of the player/fanfic writer.

Finally, for the denizens of the Eternal Sphere, time is absolutely chronological for them. Of course, since their world is based upon our world, there may be some who also believe that time is linear as well as chronological. Unfortunately, there are only five games so everything is mere speculation.

At least, we can always hope for more games in the future. :)