#baz thoughts

[bazidazz]

You know ANOTHER thing I love about Grimshire is the crops.

Specifically the growing dates. The crops aren't confined to a specific season. They have a date range instead, rolling into the next season (or the previous one, for winter/spring crops).

But if you have those plants planted and producing when the growing season ends for that specific crops, the plants don't immediately die. They will eventually, but I find it's more scattering. One or two here and there until they're all gone, vs most farming games killing them all off right away.

There are a lot of little things in this game, like edible tree seeds or butchering and having things like hides and guts and blood as byproducts received-

There are a lot of little things in this game, that despite it's clear fantasy nature, that really ties it into something real.

This world feels alive and real in a way that no other farming game ever has for me. All the stakes feel so real, and daunting. It's incomparable to any other farming sim I've ever played.

I think the only one that comes close is Fields of Mistria, and THAT'S purely on how fucking AMAZING all the NPC's are, much less their interactions with each other that we get to see/overhear.

Stardew Valley deserves its farming sim reputation. Harvest Moon and Stardew spend decades paving the way for other farming Sims to really burst into the mainstream, which in turn prompted more and more farming games to start coming out.

And Grimshire and Fields of Mistria, in my personal opinion, are the shining stars inheriting that on going legacy.

[bazidazz]

Sitting here thinking about Fin. About Poppy and Jack. And boats floating on a cold winter's sea.

Fin is Dudley's cousin, and Poppy's Uncle. But he's not her father. He's Poppy's cool trader Uncle to Jack, but he's not family to him, is he? Not more so than any other villager in Grimshire.

But when the world around them all is burning, while the temple is being stocked and prepared for The Last Stand...did he carefully prepare 2 little beds? Trying to carve space on his ship for these little kids so they could be safe?

Did Poppy or Jack crawl into his bed at night, seeking comfort from the only parent-adjacent figure they had for their nightmares?

Fin says he's glad they all lived, he's not prepared to be a father- But he clearly thought about didn't he? Some part of him knew if the village didn't survive their last stand, that he wouldn't give those kids up for anything. He would have to be their family in full, whatever semblance of a Father he could be.

And Poppy- And Jack-

Two kids with their only same age friend in the world, on Uncle Fin's boat. Learning to fish with him and help out around the boat. He's trying, so hard, but you didn't wanna go. You want your Dad, and Mom and siblings and your home and Teacher Adeline with her stories and lessons-

But it's almost 2 weeks on a boat on unfamiliar waves, watching the the village in the distance as a ship gets ever closer, not knowing who will live or die.

I wonder, if after those 2 weeks, as short as it was, if sometimes Poppy and Jack wake up from a nightmare and look for Fin, but cry in relief when their parents come instead.

[bazidazz]

We finished Winter in Grimshire. In the aftermath, I'm speculating again on the goals of our future Year 2.

I like to think the Spring mission will be the rebuilding. Donating materials like quartz and iron, wood and stone, so the homes and businesses can be repaired. Maybe they're also reinforced a bit. For the piece of minds of those inside.

I wonder if our farmers feel a mix of relief and guilt, when they return to the farm to find it wonderfully intact. The Lynx brothers home was similarly intact, perhaps they feel it too.

Walking past homes in town, careful paws avoiding broken glass in the dirt and grass. So many whose entire lives are in shambles, and yet so so few who get to return home from a hell they can barely describe, to unbroken windows and a solid door.

I wonder if the farmer, if the Lynx brothers, feel a mix of guilt and relief.

[bazidazz]

I love Grimshire so much. So so much.

I can't wait for the full game to release, for Year 2 and beyond.

I hope Year 2 is about recovery. As individuals. As a community. As a whole people. I know it must be, but I hope anyway.

I wonder if we'll have other Soldiers or Pirates trying to extort us. I doubt it. I think the Village will stockpile food anyway. I wonder if we'll see more heavily preserved foods on the cellar than before, when it comes to food donations.

Will Gruff and Rowan repair the village buildings together? Reinforcing them all as best they can, fearful of another siege?

Will some of the villagers ask Gruff for weapons? Starting to train together in an attempt to feel like they can protect themselves?

How long before they can bare to enter the Temple again? Does Edgar hold sermons outside instead? With fresh air and birds calling and no scratching at stone walls to phantom echo in their ears?

I remember a post speculating about Year 2 possibly seeing Grimshire, instead of paying off Soldiers and Pirates, instead sending food and support to surrounding villages. Or taking in refuges. I'll have to find it again.

But I hope they are right. I hope we hear more of the villages that survived the winter. (A moment of silence for those that didn't.)

I hope we see new villagers showing up at the shores or on Fin's boat. I hope some of them are kids, shy and scared and just like Poppy and Jack. I hope to see the Tavern have Inn rooms start to fill. Maybe a seasonal quest to expand the Tavern even.

I want to see Grimshire grow. See them recover. See them stronger, emotionally and mentally, and spines cracked under the days spend inside the temple or on a boat heal like Mirthal steel.

I hope Year 2 is about recovery.

[bazidazz]

Waiting to cycle laundry and working on stuff before stream later. Want to make a new "starting soon" screen....hmmm.....what is realistic with my limited abilities is the question

[bazidazz]

Deep in the trenches at work today. The body is bruised and bitten. This is not figurative btw this is literal.

Plus stuffy nose and foggy head, ABSOLUTELY have a cold and the way my ear is feeling funky I hope it doesn't expand there.

I could be playing Coral Island rn. I could be playing Grimshire rn. I could be playing Fields of Mistria rn. I could be laying face down on cold basement concrete rn.

ʕ⁠ ಥᴥಥ⁠ʔ

[bazidazz]

so I forgot to post that I was streaming on Sunday. Oops.

I don't think anyone reading this will care but it's the principal of the matter.

Anyway in Grimshire we've reached Winter. One last sacrifice of food to the Pirates. One last time to fill the cellar and see it ripped from our paws unjustly.

Our beloved Mayor Theo, knowing he MUST save us-

Has bared his teeth. Finally stood tall in front of us all on that pier, where so many times before he has been scorned and despised by the villagers as they all suffered under the threat of soldiers and pirates.

And the villagers, just moments before speaking to each other in hushed voices thinking of ways to fight back, kill if they have too-

They are not the same villagers who stood on that dock and carried my prone form to Hazel's healers hut. They are all still kind, and giving. But they are stronger now. Have gone through more than they thought they could bare and still kept going.

(They have more left to go. They do not understand the scope.)

A cold winter's chill is creeping up our windows, autumn has passed, and soon we will stock our cellar for the last time this year.

But I have to wait until Sunday.

Next Sunday we will finally face winter in its entirety.

[bazidazz]

I made my new schedule. I had to delay starting a little bit on the first day of said new schedule.

I'll be honest. Going into stream tonight, I briefly thought to myself that I wished I hadn't just made my new schedule official.

I was tired. I was drained emotionally. 15 minutes prior I was laying on my floor with my dog and I didn't really wanna get up. I've been burnt out and angry and sad and a million other cracks forming inside me.

But I wanted to play Grimshire and couldn't unless I streamed and I just made my schedule, so off I went.

I sent a coworker friend the link cause she streamed in case she wanted to swing by, but to be honest I didn't expect too much from it.

I made my posts announcing stream, and got on...made tea..

And then she showed up! I suddenly had someone I knew to talk to and got comfortable.

And then more of my IRL friends showed up. I didn't expect them too. I would never have asked them too, even if I know they would of if had.

But they came anyway. It was so so nice. I got more comfortable. My friend Fluff Lion then asked me to tell a story, so started telling my favorite one-

And then I restarted said story. Because my FAVORITE streamer showed up in my chat. She was happy she caught me streaming! I was happy she caught me streaming at the best I ever had- chatting and happy talking to my friends.

And more people I knew from her stream showed up. One who had even been the first person to ever raid me.

And by the end, one person I didn't know showed up. Chatted. I started going really into why I loved Grimshire. I talked so much I made barely any in-game progress.

And then I raided out, my very first raid. Something I hadnt wanted to do before because it was always just me and MAYBE 1 other person. It's stupid but, I felt like I wasn't a good enough streamer to raid.

And I did tonight. I did.

This is all to say tonight is perhaps the first time Ive ever REALLY got it

Got why people stream. You can know something, but not truly understand until you experience it yourself.

I didn't want to stream tonight because I was tired. I was drained emotionally and all I wanted was to sleep.

But I did. And I felt such a rush of joy. Some piece of me that still worried that people don't actually like me that much, or I'm not actually that interesting when it's just me-

My IRL friends showed up because they love me and want to hang out with me. Because of them I got that first spark, got comfortable and got to start being me again.

And then people I knew from communities I'd become apart of on twitch came. Because they liked me enough to wanna listen to me and watch me play a game and hang out.

And someone new came, and stayed cause it was fun and I got to talk about how much I loved the game and deeper thoughts and-

I ended stream. I raided out and then left that stream to get ready for bed.

And I tried not to cry. Because I was happy. Stress had melted away. I felt (and feel!!) so warm inside.

I get why people start streaming and stay streaming.

I'm really excited for next time.