Sylph the Inkling

in which @sylphidscastle writes about Splatoon and Super Mario Maker

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zero button mario kart

found a new self challenge: no buttons. along with auto accelerate and tilt steering, so i don't have to use the sticks, either. consequently:

no drifts

no items

no tricks

i played on VS mode, 150cc, normal COM, and i ended up having to choose mushrooms-only items to allow the CPU to keep up with me. i was able to take #1 overall, just not with 60 points.

i haven't messed too much with the builds, but the Yoshi Bike (a sport bike) seemed to work pretty well?

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at this point i would pay a lot of money if anyone made, like, an arcade stick controller but there are two sticks and they're analog, so i can play normal switch games with them

because the thumb sticks really stress my RSI. it's an "i learned to use tilt controls in mario kart so i can at least play something" level of desperation. i can't even play animal crossing, and there's like, no fast action in that game.

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RIP Gohma

I discovered that one does not need Yunobo for the Gohma rematches in the Depths.

Recall the bomb boulders.

Ascend.

Smash the eyeball!

This is both easier and faster than picking a specific sage out of a roving group, aiming, and waiting for recharge to do it again.

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rocket science

I launched a Zonai platform a few times for science! I think it's the South Hyrule Sky Archipelago. Testing proceeded by attaching a device to the center of the platform, or symmetrically, and waiting until the platform came to a complete stop. All devices were oriented for direct ascension, so only the third/Z coordinate (altitude) are reported.

Base elevation: 0859 One rocket: 1088 = +229 Two rockets (together): 1094 = +235 Two rockets (sequence): 1273 [first: 1042] = +414 Balloon & Flame Emitter: 1512 [1 recharge break] = +653

"Two rockets (together)" indicates both rockets being directly attached to the platform, firing together. "Two rockets (sequence)" is where I glued one rocket to the top of the other. This only fired the lower rocket; when it burned out, the upper rocket fell to the platform, so I set it up and made a second launch from there.

"Balloon & Flame Emitter" ran until the balloon timed out. Although this achieved more height, it was very slow; the process appears to have taken three minutes of real time. It takes only 20 seconds to use a rocket and wait for the platform to stop.

This is all because my wife mentioned, "I don't know if more rockets help." It turns out that she was on to something.

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Tears of the Kingdom sure has been a game. It feels much more grind-y. I’ve run out of bows; I’ve nearly run out of arrows. (Recovered from both, obviously.)

It’s been four weeks (70 hours or more), and I have barely any rupees and I don’t know if I want to sell any of my four diamonds. (I have avoided any and all item duplication glitches.)

I’ve collected memories but not the reward; I’ve lit up 91 Lightroots, filled out the map above, and opened, but not completed, a dazzling number of shrines. I have crafted 5 more Energy Cells and opened two Great Fairies. I (briefly) explored Gloom’s Approach.

I’ve done one of four regional quests, and earned a Solemn Vow for the best bird.

That didn’t seem difficult; it’s just gathering resources feels so slow. I haven’t mysteriously ended up with “more amber than I could ever possibly use” here.

(Not tagging because I am tired of being pestered by tumblr about that as I write. I am THINKING here.)

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the final fantasy randomizer is pretty nice

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i don't think i have enough AP to play metroid dread

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The GameSpot flower guide did not have any graphics associated with rose breeding, so here’s an attempt.  It’s definitely not as simple as the other chains.

(That said, the guide isn’t 100% complete and accurate, as I carefully bred seed windflowers and got a purple from my “hybrid red” plants, that were absolutely certainly not contaminated with random island DNA.  This is not indicated as possible.)

Back in text: seed white with seed white makes purple.  Seed white with seed yellow makes white special-1.  Purple and white special-1 have a 50% chance of yielding a special purple.  Special purple can breed with itself to form white hybrid, or breed with seed yellow to create yellow hybrid.  Yellow hybrid can also breed with itself to form white hybrid.  Another leg joins in here: seed red and seed yellow make orange, which can be bred with the white hybrid to make special orange.

Special orange bred with itself makes blue with a 6.25% chance.  Or, when special orange is bred with white hybrid, the result is red hybrid-2.  Red hybrid-2, bred with itself, makes blue with a 25% chance.

I hope this is helpful, and good luck to anyone breeding roses!

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one night, waiting for stars, i found out the fountain does a thing on the hour

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I’d been wondering about that...

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NINTENDO! THIS IS NOT A TOY

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i gotta hire better bouncers

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We gave Olaf a new catchphrase... and he wants to make a good impression on our new smug villager, Raymond.

[Image ID: a screenshot of Animal Crossing New Horizons, on the beach at night.  The player character is wearing octagonal glasses, a leaf-print wet suit, striped socks, and black shoes.  He is talking to Olaf, an anteater with reddish skin and brown hair, who is wearing a red fedora and green sweater-on-shirt.  Olaf has a thought bubble, and is saying, “Should I lead with ‘girlfriend’ or wait five minutes to start sprinkling it into conversation?” End ID.]

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Fairwinds (ACNH)

Since the beginning of August, my wife and I have been playing Animal Crossing New Horizons together. If you wanna see what random crap we’re up to on our “deserted” island, the dream address is:

DA-4698-9026-2580

I have the west half; she has the east half with a ton of flowers from a friend who has had the game for much longer.

[sylph-inkling]

Strange physics in Breath of the Wild

In the volcanic region, the air itself burns.  Wooden items will catch fire if exposed to it.

When Link boards, the Divine Beast Vah Rudania sits inside the crater of the volcano.  Once he gets the map, the doors all open, and the interior is literally open to the air… but it’s not burning.  Link can pull out a wooden torch, and it’s fine.  It’s a regular torch in there.

He can light it with blue flame and take it outside, into definitely burning air, and the torch is fine.  It just stays lit with blue fire.

Only when he finishes with his torch and puts it away does it suddenly burst into normal, red flame on his back.  To keep it from burning up, he has to switch to a different weapon, thus shoving the torch into the Inventory Dimension where it doesn’t burn.

Also, none of this process of using the torch or having it catch fire on his back affects its durability.  As long as it doesn’t burn out in his hand or get used to slap a monster in the face, it never seems to lose the “full durability” sparkle in the inventory list.