On The Twelfth Day Of Christmas Break~
Jan. 1st, 2024 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crossover_chickHappy New Year, everyone -- my first day of 2024 was reasonably good, even if there was a bit of a damper over it just because I have to go back to work tomorrow. *sigh* But I got a lot done, including some things that I've been meaning to do for a WHILE --
Tumblr: Had a pretty good day over here –
Victor Luvs Alice – Spent the time before lunch keeping up on my dash and tracked tags, then proceeded to follow The Satirical Demon (author of “Beneath A Broken Sky” and an occasional RP partner), GayDragonWizards (tumblr friend who got me into BGIII and whom I do a lot of VTMB RP with), and Knickynoo (poster of BTTF things I enjoy reading) because all three are blogs I visit on the regular and I figured it was about time I just put their posts on my dash already. XD And THEN I stuck a reblog of a post featuring “This Year” by The Mountain Goats into my drafts for Song Saturday this week (everyone on tumblr posts this song a LOT around New Year’s as an anthem for getting through tough times thanks to the chorus, and I’m jumping on the bandwagon), and drafted out my Fic Resolutions for Wednesday (keeping it simple this year – edit and post “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland” and start my official “Valicer In The Dark” series). Meaning that, paired with some CB and Alice fanart, I should be good for the upcoming week, queue-wise! Just gotta set it all up tomorrow afternoon once I get home from work. . .
Valice Multiverse – While normally I don’t do anything on this blog on Mondays (it’s one of my “break” days), I had an idea for a New Year’s post from the Valicer In The Dark gang, so I quickly popped over there and had the trio wish people a happy “Moonturn” (their name for New Year’s), with Alice reminding everyone in our reality that, if nothing else, we should be grateful we get to enjoy sunlight. XD It’s the little things, you know?
Baldur’s Gate III: Welp, it took me most of the afternoon (after finishing making some backups, see below), but I FINALLY figured out how the hell to actually mod this game! Most of that was spent tracking down the damn folder that the actual mod files are supposed to go into – it’s in “AppData,” which is normally a hidden folder, which did not help matters. (Also not helping matters is me realizing after the fact that the BG3 mod manager actually has a SHORTCUT to that folder as one of the buttons you can press – would have LOVED to have noticed that earlier!) But I did find it, and I downloaded and installed all the mods I wanted (including a new hairstyle for Smiler that is at least somewhat closer to their Sims 4 hair; a new Artificer class to play with (it includes an Alchemist sub-class, which, given how I always characterize Smiler as an amazing chemist, felt right); more spells and the scrolls for them; a level uncapper that lets characters level all the way to 20 like in the tabletop game; a mod that lets you know when you have scenes waiting for you back at camp; and a mod to increase party sizes so you can have everyone running around with you for large chunks of the game if you like (some stuff is hardcoded to only be for four people)). I popped into the game and faked that I was making a new save to check that the hairstyle and the Artificer class were correctly loaded –
Then returned to my save-in-progress and ended up running Smiler, Us, Shadowheart, and Lae’zel through the final fight on the Nautiloid, taking a few potshots at the big Cambion devil threatening the one surviving mind flayer just because I could (damn thing is resistant to everything, AND made its saving throw against Tasha’s Hideous Laughter – I was so hoping I could put that off). I got Smiler to the transponder in time, though, and the ship successfully made it back to Faerun!
Where it promptly crashed on a beach. XD Smiler survived thanks to a mysterious glowing blue light stopping them from smashing into the ground head first, but they’re not sure where the hell they are just at the moment, and there’s a ticking time bomb in their head in the form of a mind flayer tadpole that WILL transform them if they don’t get help. . . Next time, they go find Shadowheart among the wreckage and start exploring!
Writing: Got another chunk done on “Start At The Beginning. . .Sort Of” – Victor has been sat by the fire while Smiler sells some Joy Serum to one of Nanny’s prostitutes, Nanny goes to get him a blanket, and Alice goes to get him some mushroom soup. Taking the opportunity to chat to her Wonderland hangers-on about how she’s a bit worried Bumby hasn’t bothered feeding the children in her absence. . .it occurs to me that I’m writing her a bit like her “Londerland Bloodlines” counterpart, but I don’t think it’s out of character – hell, most of my Alices tend to talk to Wonderlanders who hang around them. And I’m going to be getting back to “Londerland Bloodlines” tomorrow, so I guess it’s fitting to keep my hand in. XD Anyway, Victor will soon be delivered his soup, and I think I’ll let him get through half of it before Emily comes floating in through the doors. . .
YouTube: Ended my time off with a double-dose of GrayStillPlays –
A) First up, yesterday’s offering: “How many dummies does it take to stop a car in BeamNG?” BeamNG being a game where you can torture crash test dummies in a variety of ways to see how badly they can be beaten and/or glitch out the game. XD In addition to answering the question in the title (it’s 50 dummies, though how badly they get beaten up depends on how fast and powerful the car itself is), Gray also took a look at what planetary body’s gravity is best for doing epic jumps over a broken bridge (Mercury – you have enough downward force to get some good speed, but you land really lightly; if you want to get bisected, though, you go with Uranus); if a bathtub can save a dummy from injury when it’s riding on the front of a car into a concrete wall (hell no); if a small hydraulic press is more dangerous than a big one (yes – the smaller surface area means it bisects any dummy it smashes); and how many nukes it takes to wipe a dummy completely from existence (360!). This was apparently one of Gray’s go-tos back before I subscribed, and the commenters are hopeful for more dummy disasters – I mean, I’ll watch him beating up crash test dummies! I imagine it’s very cathartic after all the Alex challenges he’s had to complete. XD
B) And second up, today’s offering: “Busting impossible vehicle myths in GTA 5!” Speaking of Alex Challenges, this video was all about testing the various ridiculous “myths” people offered up in the comments and seeing if they were true or false! Because sometimes Gray likes to vary up how he is tortured. XD The myths tested in this episode included:
I. You Can’t Toss A Human Over 4 Savage Helicopters Using A Hydra Engine – False! Gray tested this from a variety of angles (running both in front of the engine from the side and dropping down from the top), and while most of the time he got minced by either the third or the fourth helicopter, he discovered that if he got his phone out right before jumping in front of the engine, he suddenly flew farther for NO REASON, allowing him to hit the target and pass the challenge. It was bizarre. XD
II. The Cargobob Cannot Pick Up The Largest Or The Smallest Cars – True! Gray took a cargobob helicopter, a Bandito RC car, and the dump truck down to the beach and tried to hook the Bandito and the dump truck with the cargobob to see if it could pick them up. The answer was no, because for whatever reason the hook won’t connect with them – they’re just not considered hookable vehicles for whatever reason. *shrug* So yeah, if you need your dump truck or your RC car airlifted, you’re gonna have to find another method.
III. No Weapon In The Game Can Pop The Ruiner Parachute – False! Gray tested this by taking the Ruiner up to a high building, jumping it so the parachute came out, then bailing onto the roof and shooting the parachute with a variety of weapons, from missile launchers to miniguns. None of the conventional weapons made a dent in the parachute. . .but the flare gun popped it right away. Like, no problem. So if you need to take down a sailing Ruiner, pull out the flare gun!
IV. A Tow Truck Can Tow An Unlimited Amount Of Tow Trucks And Not Lose Speed – True! Gray went to the airport with a whole bunch of tow trucks, hooked them together, and ran a little obstacle course before attempting to jump the back end of a plane – only a tow truck going full steam could make it. To his great shock, whether it was towing one tow truck or five, the lead tow truck drove exactly the same and easily got itself and its brethren over the plane. And watching the little squirming worm of tow trucks in the obstacle course was a lot of fun. XD
V. There’s No Vehicle In The Game That Can Do A 6’ Wide Wall Ride – False! Alex set Gray up with a super-skinny six-foot wall ride (though I THINK he meant six INCHES, as this was a hell of a small wall ride) in the middle of the wind turbine field, and Gray tested two cars – his typical supercar and the Bandito RC car. The supercar, naturally, couldn’t do it, as the wheel well was too wide. . .but the Bandito, being much smaller, COULD. It just took all of the tries because the Bandito kind of drives like shit (the steering is SUPER sensitive). But Gray made it, and thus the myth was busted.
VI. If You Pick Up A Car With the Cargobob And Dip It In The Water It Will Still Work – False! Gray got himself another cargobob and a test car, used the cargobob to hook the car and drown in the water for a bit, then deposited the car on the nearby roadway, crashed the cargobob into the water because he could, and went to see if he could turn on the car. Hilariously, he discovered that no only could he not turn on the car, he could not even get in the car – and the car was now impervious to damage, as it didn’t blow up even when shot with a missile launcher. It got flipped into the water again, but it did not blow up. Myth inside of a myth, as Gray called it!
VII. The Deluxo Can Drag A Tow Truck If You Switch It To Hover Mode – True! Gray got a Deluxo, a Draugur, a six-wheeled truck, an electric supercar, and a tow truck, then proceeded to demonstrate how most cars, when attached to a tow truck, can either barely drag it a few inches (Draugur) or not drag it at all (electric supercar, six-wheeled truck). The Deluxo couldn’t move the thing with its wheels on the ground. . .but the minute Gray switched the car into Dollar Store BTTF II Flying DeLorean mode, it towed the tow truck slowly but steadily to the finish line. Gray was pleasantly surprised. :D High five for the Legally Distinct 80s Sports Car! XD
VIII. You Can’t Do A Spiral In A Car While You’re Sick And Tired – False! Gray got Alex to build him a spiral, then made himself sick (which makes the screen wobble and go in and out dizzyingly) and tired (which occasionally triggers an “eyeblink” effect on the screen, during which the car will randomly jerk to the side) before attempting the spiral! And while it wasn’t easy, he showed that if you let up on the acceleration every time you saw the blink effect, the car wouldn’t jerk quite so hard to the side, allowing him to recover and – after a few tries – actually make it to the end and the winning circle! So that’s five out of eight myths busted, and three proved true. *nod* Not bad for the first day of the year!
Workout: Back on the bike today, with the latest from Red Plumbob – “♦ Apartments ♦ Sims 2 vs Sims 3 vs Sims 4!” An exploration of how apartments have worked across the series – how you move in, how much you can alter them, how rent works, how much interaction you have with your neighbors, etc. All with VOICEOVER this time, which threw me a little when I first put it on. O.o But yeah, it was a pretty interesting watch – for all people complain about Sims 4 apartments being limited (at least before you could build your own “residential rentals” with For Rent), it seems like Sims 3 apartments were WAY WORSE. You couldn’t even go inside your neighbors’ apartments! Anything that wasn’t the main lobby and your own residence was just a black void! And while Sims 2 probably has the best roommate system (in that treating your roommates poorly would actually cause them to move out, not just leave passive-aggressive notes), I think Sims 4 actually did pretty good in having Sims react to lively neighbors (and then annoy their neighbors in turn), having consequences for missing rent (getting shit repossessed AND having the landlord go “you want shit fixed, pay your rent” in regards to broken stuff in the hall), and changing up the apartment itself (you can mess with the interior walls and paint and stuff, and with the latest update even change the exteriors just a little bit). And, obviously, For Rent makes living in a Residential Rental apartment lot even more interesting with all the various maintenance events and such that can happen. So yeah – go Sims 4 in this case! Congrats on not being totally awful!
Other:
-->Made a full backup of my computer today, because I’m trying to be better about that (and also I wanted backups of stuff before doing any BG3 modding, as stated previously) – my most recent shit is now protected!
-->Downloaded a “Sketchbook” app for my phone so I had a dedicated drawing app where I could play around with my new stylus and see how it works (just doodling stuff at the moment, but that’s all I really want it for, so. . .). We’ll see what happens artwise!
-->Updated my Crossover Chick profile on AO3, changing up my links so my “Victor Luvs Alice” tumblr is noted and making a few tweaks to the other items listed – it was due for an upgrade!
-->. . .and if you’re reading this directly on my journal, you’ve probably already noticed that I changed my DW theme! Yeah, I’ve been thinking for a while that the old one, while it looked cool, was probably hard to read, so I swapped over to one that still has my favorite colors, but not the swirly background. Should be easier on the eyes now! I also updated my links to prioritize my AO3 page, as that’s where pretty much all of my fanfic goes these days (either that or tumblr), and I updated my bio to be a little more relevant to the present day (updating favorite movies and video games and such). Again, due for an upgrade! New year, new look!
And on that note, I have to go hit the hay. Because I have to start getting up at 7 AM again tomorrow. *grumbles* I mean, I know there's nothing for it and I do have to go back eventually, but that does NOT mean I have to like it. Meh. Night all!
Tumblr: Had a pretty good day over here –
Victor Luvs Alice – Spent the time before lunch keeping up on my dash and tracked tags, then proceeded to follow The Satirical Demon (author of “Beneath A Broken Sky” and an occasional RP partner), GayDragonWizards (tumblr friend who got me into BGIII and whom I do a lot of VTMB RP with), and Knickynoo (poster of BTTF things I enjoy reading) because all three are blogs I visit on the regular and I figured it was about time I just put their posts on my dash already. XD And THEN I stuck a reblog of a post featuring “This Year” by The Mountain Goats into my drafts for Song Saturday this week (everyone on tumblr posts this song a LOT around New Year’s as an anthem for getting through tough times thanks to the chorus, and I’m jumping on the bandwagon), and drafted out my Fic Resolutions for Wednesday (keeping it simple this year – edit and post “Londerland Bloodlines: Downtown Queensland” and start my official “Valicer In The Dark” series). Meaning that, paired with some CB and Alice fanart, I should be good for the upcoming week, queue-wise! Just gotta set it all up tomorrow afternoon once I get home from work. . .
Valice Multiverse – While normally I don’t do anything on this blog on Mondays (it’s one of my “break” days), I had an idea for a New Year’s post from the Valicer In The Dark gang, so I quickly popped over there and had the trio wish people a happy “Moonturn” (their name for New Year’s), with Alice reminding everyone in our reality that, if nothing else, we should be grateful we get to enjoy sunlight. XD It’s the little things, you know?
Baldur’s Gate III: Welp, it took me most of the afternoon (after finishing making some backups, see below), but I FINALLY figured out how the hell to actually mod this game! Most of that was spent tracking down the damn folder that the actual mod files are supposed to go into – it’s in “AppData,” which is normally a hidden folder, which did not help matters. (Also not helping matters is me realizing after the fact that the BG3 mod manager actually has a SHORTCUT to that folder as one of the buttons you can press – would have LOVED to have noticed that earlier!) But I did find it, and I downloaded and installed all the mods I wanted (including a new hairstyle for Smiler that is at least somewhat closer to their Sims 4 hair; a new Artificer class to play with (it includes an Alchemist sub-class, which, given how I always characterize Smiler as an amazing chemist, felt right); more spells and the scrolls for them; a level uncapper that lets characters level all the way to 20 like in the tabletop game; a mod that lets you know when you have scenes waiting for you back at camp; and a mod to increase party sizes so you can have everyone running around with you for large chunks of the game if you like (some stuff is hardcoded to only be for four people)). I popped into the game and faked that I was making a new save to check that the hairstyle and the Artificer class were correctly loaded –
Then returned to my save-in-progress and ended up running Smiler, Us, Shadowheart, and Lae’zel through the final fight on the Nautiloid, taking a few potshots at the big Cambion devil threatening the one surviving mind flayer just because I could (damn thing is resistant to everything, AND made its saving throw against Tasha’s Hideous Laughter – I was so hoping I could put that off). I got Smiler to the transponder in time, though, and the ship successfully made it back to Faerun!
Where it promptly crashed on a beach. XD Smiler survived thanks to a mysterious glowing blue light stopping them from smashing into the ground head first, but they’re not sure where the hell they are just at the moment, and there’s a ticking time bomb in their head in the form of a mind flayer tadpole that WILL transform them if they don’t get help. . . Next time, they go find Shadowheart among the wreckage and start exploring!
Writing: Got another chunk done on “Start At The Beginning. . .Sort Of” – Victor has been sat by the fire while Smiler sells some Joy Serum to one of Nanny’s prostitutes, Nanny goes to get him a blanket, and Alice goes to get him some mushroom soup. Taking the opportunity to chat to her Wonderland hangers-on about how she’s a bit worried Bumby hasn’t bothered feeding the children in her absence. . .it occurs to me that I’m writing her a bit like her “Londerland Bloodlines” counterpart, but I don’t think it’s out of character – hell, most of my Alices tend to talk to Wonderlanders who hang around them. And I’m going to be getting back to “Londerland Bloodlines” tomorrow, so I guess it’s fitting to keep my hand in. XD Anyway, Victor will soon be delivered his soup, and I think I’ll let him get through half of it before Emily comes floating in through the doors. . .
YouTube: Ended my time off with a double-dose of GrayStillPlays –
A) First up, yesterday’s offering: “How many dummies does it take to stop a car in BeamNG?” BeamNG being a game where you can torture crash test dummies in a variety of ways to see how badly they can be beaten and/or glitch out the game. XD In addition to answering the question in the title (it’s 50 dummies, though how badly they get beaten up depends on how fast and powerful the car itself is), Gray also took a look at what planetary body’s gravity is best for doing epic jumps over a broken bridge (Mercury – you have enough downward force to get some good speed, but you land really lightly; if you want to get bisected, though, you go with Uranus); if a bathtub can save a dummy from injury when it’s riding on the front of a car into a concrete wall (hell no); if a small hydraulic press is more dangerous than a big one (yes – the smaller surface area means it bisects any dummy it smashes); and how many nukes it takes to wipe a dummy completely from existence (360!). This was apparently one of Gray’s go-tos back before I subscribed, and the commenters are hopeful for more dummy disasters – I mean, I’ll watch him beating up crash test dummies! I imagine it’s very cathartic after all the Alex challenges he’s had to complete. XD
B) And second up, today’s offering: “Busting impossible vehicle myths in GTA 5!” Speaking of Alex Challenges, this video was all about testing the various ridiculous “myths” people offered up in the comments and seeing if they were true or false! Because sometimes Gray likes to vary up how he is tortured. XD The myths tested in this episode included:
I. You Can’t Toss A Human Over 4 Savage Helicopters Using A Hydra Engine – False! Gray tested this from a variety of angles (running both in front of the engine from the side and dropping down from the top), and while most of the time he got minced by either the third or the fourth helicopter, he discovered that if he got his phone out right before jumping in front of the engine, he suddenly flew farther for NO REASON, allowing him to hit the target and pass the challenge. It was bizarre. XD
II. The Cargobob Cannot Pick Up The Largest Or The Smallest Cars – True! Gray took a cargobob helicopter, a Bandito RC car, and the dump truck down to the beach and tried to hook the Bandito and the dump truck with the cargobob to see if it could pick them up. The answer was no, because for whatever reason the hook won’t connect with them – they’re just not considered hookable vehicles for whatever reason. *shrug* So yeah, if you need your dump truck or your RC car airlifted, you’re gonna have to find another method.
III. No Weapon In The Game Can Pop The Ruiner Parachute – False! Gray tested this by taking the Ruiner up to a high building, jumping it so the parachute came out, then bailing onto the roof and shooting the parachute with a variety of weapons, from missile launchers to miniguns. None of the conventional weapons made a dent in the parachute. . .but the flare gun popped it right away. Like, no problem. So if you need to take down a sailing Ruiner, pull out the flare gun!
IV. A Tow Truck Can Tow An Unlimited Amount Of Tow Trucks And Not Lose Speed – True! Gray went to the airport with a whole bunch of tow trucks, hooked them together, and ran a little obstacle course before attempting to jump the back end of a plane – only a tow truck going full steam could make it. To his great shock, whether it was towing one tow truck or five, the lead tow truck drove exactly the same and easily got itself and its brethren over the plane. And watching the little squirming worm of tow trucks in the obstacle course was a lot of fun. XD
V. There’s No Vehicle In The Game That Can Do A 6’ Wide Wall Ride – False! Alex set Gray up with a super-skinny six-foot wall ride (though I THINK he meant six INCHES, as this was a hell of a small wall ride) in the middle of the wind turbine field, and Gray tested two cars – his typical supercar and the Bandito RC car. The supercar, naturally, couldn’t do it, as the wheel well was too wide. . .but the Bandito, being much smaller, COULD. It just took all of the tries because the Bandito kind of drives like shit (the steering is SUPER sensitive). But Gray made it, and thus the myth was busted.
VI. If You Pick Up A Car With the Cargobob And Dip It In The Water It Will Still Work – False! Gray got himself another cargobob and a test car, used the cargobob to hook the car and drown in the water for a bit, then deposited the car on the nearby roadway, crashed the cargobob into the water because he could, and went to see if he could turn on the car. Hilariously, he discovered that no only could he not turn on the car, he could not even get in the car – and the car was now impervious to damage, as it didn’t blow up even when shot with a missile launcher. It got flipped into the water again, but it did not blow up. Myth inside of a myth, as Gray called it!
VII. The Deluxo Can Drag A Tow Truck If You Switch It To Hover Mode – True! Gray got a Deluxo, a Draugur, a six-wheeled truck, an electric supercar, and a tow truck, then proceeded to demonstrate how most cars, when attached to a tow truck, can either barely drag it a few inches (Draugur) or not drag it at all (electric supercar, six-wheeled truck). The Deluxo couldn’t move the thing with its wheels on the ground. . .but the minute Gray switched the car into Dollar Store BTTF II Flying DeLorean mode, it towed the tow truck slowly but steadily to the finish line. Gray was pleasantly surprised. :D High five for the Legally Distinct 80s Sports Car! XD
VIII. You Can’t Do A Spiral In A Car While You’re Sick And Tired – False! Gray got Alex to build him a spiral, then made himself sick (which makes the screen wobble and go in and out dizzyingly) and tired (which occasionally triggers an “eyeblink” effect on the screen, during which the car will randomly jerk to the side) before attempting the spiral! And while it wasn’t easy, he showed that if you let up on the acceleration every time you saw the blink effect, the car wouldn’t jerk quite so hard to the side, allowing him to recover and – after a few tries – actually make it to the end and the winning circle! So that’s five out of eight myths busted, and three proved true. *nod* Not bad for the first day of the year!
Workout: Back on the bike today, with the latest from Red Plumbob – “♦ Apartments ♦ Sims 2 vs Sims 3 vs Sims 4!” An exploration of how apartments have worked across the series – how you move in, how much you can alter them, how rent works, how much interaction you have with your neighbors, etc. All with VOICEOVER this time, which threw me a little when I first put it on. O.o But yeah, it was a pretty interesting watch – for all people complain about Sims 4 apartments being limited (at least before you could build your own “residential rentals” with For Rent), it seems like Sims 3 apartments were WAY WORSE. You couldn’t even go inside your neighbors’ apartments! Anything that wasn’t the main lobby and your own residence was just a black void! And while Sims 2 probably has the best roommate system (in that treating your roommates poorly would actually cause them to move out, not just leave passive-aggressive notes), I think Sims 4 actually did pretty good in having Sims react to lively neighbors (and then annoy their neighbors in turn), having consequences for missing rent (getting shit repossessed AND having the landlord go “you want shit fixed, pay your rent” in regards to broken stuff in the hall), and changing up the apartment itself (you can mess with the interior walls and paint and stuff, and with the latest update even change the exteriors just a little bit). And, obviously, For Rent makes living in a Residential Rental apartment lot even more interesting with all the various maintenance events and such that can happen. So yeah – go Sims 4 in this case! Congrats on not being totally awful!
Other:
-->Made a full backup of my computer today, because I’m trying to be better about that (and also I wanted backups of stuff before doing any BG3 modding, as stated previously) – my most recent shit is now protected!
-->Downloaded a “Sketchbook” app for my phone so I had a dedicated drawing app where I could play around with my new stylus and see how it works (just doodling stuff at the moment, but that’s all I really want it for, so. . .). We’ll see what happens artwise!
-->Updated my Crossover Chick profile on AO3, changing up my links so my “Victor Luvs Alice” tumblr is noted and making a few tweaks to the other items listed – it was due for an upgrade!
-->. . .and if you’re reading this directly on my journal, you’ve probably already noticed that I changed my DW theme! Yeah, I’ve been thinking for a while that the old one, while it looked cool, was probably hard to read, so I swapped over to one that still has my favorite colors, but not the swirly background. Should be easier on the eyes now! I also updated my links to prioritize my AO3 page, as that’s where pretty much all of my fanfic goes these days (either that or tumblr), and I updated my bio to be a little more relevant to the present day (updating favorite movies and video games and such). Again, due for an upgrade! New year, new look!
And on that note, I have to go hit the hay. Because I have to start getting up at 7 AM again tomorrow. *grumbles* I mean, I know there's nothing for it and I do have to go back eventually, but that does NOT mean I have to like it. Meh. Night all!
