The Constant Cycle of "Not Real AC"
It is incredibly draining to watch the same cycle repeat for over twenty years. Seen this play out from the "clunky"/"stompy" (I know.. 😁) transition of the PS1/PS2 era to the high-speed blitz of the 4th Gen, and again with the tactical shifts in 5th Gen. Every time the mechanics evolve, a segment of the community treats the change like a betrayal rather than an iteration.
The "tourist" and "larper" labels are especially exhausting. They create a gatekeeping culture that ignores the fact that a franchise must grow to survive. If you’ve been around since the 1997 demo disc (like me), you know better than anyone that the "soul" (pun intended) of the series isn’t tied to a single control scheme or a specific physics engine or game mechanic, it is much greater than that.
Do yourself and everyone else a favor, stop equating 'different' with 'wrong' and stop treating your personal preferences as universal law.
Don't get me wrong, none of this is to say Armored Core VI is perfect. I have my own list of gripes with the game, and constructive criticism is how the series stays sharp. But there is a massive gulf between discussing mechanical flaws and declaring a game 'isn't AC' because it doesn't fit your specific view.
You can be critical of a game without being toxic to the people enjoying it. Let’s focus on the actual design instead of trying to poll-test who is a 'real' fan. We’ve been fighting this same "flame war" since the early 2000s. It’s time to finally eject from it.
@GrimGriz Don’t you dare bad mouth my one true joy Grim
When I had nobody to talk to I always knew that I could fill that void with a grilled cheese burrito and a large blue raspberry freeze. After I would realize that my depression was just actually just hunger and I really have friends
@CleverGull@kalezelden Chesterton gets at this in his critique of the “Will worshipers” in Orthodoxy. Focus on action itself will not bring about desirable ends.
@CleverGull@kalezelden Part of what I want to get at is sometimes the focus on action itself is part of the rumination loop.
I’m still working on the way out
@MourningTalk Post-modernism is based
Whenever I hear people complaining about it, I just know it means we will be in exile for another 40 years until we learn our lesson