Last Post Standing, the sequel

[papercoffee]

I'm not participating

...but wanted to note that those are some nice read @Neon_Knight.
Keep it up and fill this stupid game with semi needed knowledge

[EvilGrins]

I'm not participating

Oh, that's good to know. I was worried.

[Neon_Knight]

Pike are a species of carnivorous freshwater fish found in Europe and North America. As an aggressive species prone to cannibalism, they're often used as a rivergoing threat in animal-centered works. They aren't usually depicted as a threat to humans, but they will often be shown as a Super-Persistent Predator towards smaller animals. In works that take place in saltwater, barracudas may fill this role, although (despite looking a lot like pikes, and even being referred to as "sea pikes,") they aren't related.

Sub-Trope of Fiendish Fish. Compare The Catfish (where the fish's size makes it a Worthy Opponent to fishermen), Piranha Problem for the tropical equivalent, and Threatening Shark for saltwater dangers.

See Blade on a Stick for a differently-dangerous kind of pike (both come from a word meaning "pointy").

[Gustavo6046]

I'm also not playing! Sheesh. *whistlewhistle*

*sneaks away with da CROWN*

[Neon_Knight]

"What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, three legs in the evening, and no legs at night?"

The classic riddle presented to Oedipus Rex by the Sphinx in Greek Mythology. He was the first one to solve it—all the others who failed were eaten by the Sphinx—after which she threw herself down a chasm. This is one of the oldest Stock Puzzles out there, going back to the Greek writer Apollodorus in the second century AD.

The answer? "A man." As a baby, a human goes about on all fours ("four legs in the morning"; morning = childhood), until he learns to walk, which he does so well into adulthood ("two legs in the afternoon"; afternoon = adulthood), until old age requires him to use a cane to support himself ("three legs in the evening", evening = old age), finally he dies ("no legs at night", night = death).

Versions of the story itself was told by oral tradition long before Apollodorus, and in the earliest versions, the exact riddle asked by the Sphinx was not specified by early tellers of the stories, and was not standardized as the one given in Apollodorus' version. (An additional part of the riddle, "The more legs it has the weaker it is", is usually omitted now.)

This trope is about the riddle; it may or may not be delivered by a sphinx. The more general trope for sphinxes that ask riddles is Riddling Sphinx.

Also see Riddle Me This, These Questions Three....

[EvilGrins]

"What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, three legs in the evening, and no legs at night?"

A man, 4 legs as a baby, 2 legs as an adult, 3 legs as an old man with a cane, and no legs when dead.

[Neon_Knight]

Next Tier Power-Up is an item, power, or transformation gained by a main character to drastically increase their abilities. Most commonly it's some sort of "special ability" or "new move," like a Super Mode. It sometimes appears as an 11th-Hour Superpower, a Dangerous Forbidden Technique, or, rarely, I Am Not Left-Handed.

The Next Tier Power Up usually involves more than "just" training; there's always some exterior source for the power, like a magic weapon, a Transformation Ray, or having a dying character transfer their powers to you. One variant is that the character always had these extra powers, but doesn't learn about them until they're awakened by a moment of extreme danger or trauma. Many of the more powerful Next Tier Power Ups have some sort of downside attached, such as risk of a Heroic RRoD (if no worse) if used too much, or a risk of losing yourself to The Dark Side.

All true Next Tier Power Ups bring a shift in the status quo, a handoff in the caliber of villain the series will deal with. Villains of the past will now be entirely outclassed on their next appearance, if they even get one. Most should just take some time off, and find some low level monsters to beat up, or train, generally for a story arc or two before they come back. The status quo is reset to a new higher level compared to previous parts of the story, and the character grows.

One variable is when the upgrade happens. The upgrade could happen early in the arc/season, to give the hero a fighting chance on the new big bad, if so it is likely to have serious downsides that the hero must struggle with that prevent it from being used to its full potential until an important climax moment. Or it can happen at the end of an arc/season. When the next arc rolls in, the new big bad outclasses the old one in every way. Either event it marks a shift from a previous era of the series. Or it could come right before the arc's final battle, to let the hero defeat the Big Bad who's been outclassing the hero up til then.

Done well often results in a Moment of Awesome; however, if the new ability is poorly introduced, lacks proper build up, or is forgotten about after one use and this happens too much it risks mutating into New Powers as the Plot Demands. The mecha series equivalent is the Mid-Season Upgrade. This trope is the greatest weapon of a Small Steps Hero. Contrast One Super One Powerset, which is more common in Western media than in the East.

[Gustavo6046]

But you ARE left-handed! >:D

Now, I wonder where all the furries went to hide. .-.

[Neon_Knight]

The gamer equivalent of the Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy. He's a Hard Core gamer, plays in all tournaments, and knows everything about how to play. He knows all the secret moves (even the glitches), the most effective strategies, and the quickest ways to completely destroy his opponent. He's completely "above" the mantra of casual play: He doesn't play just for fun, he plays to win. He's good, and he knows it. There's nothing wrong with that.

However, he's also extremely arrogant. He's completely intolerant of play styles other than his own. If you challenge his beliefs, he'll automatically call you a Noob, a Scrub, or something similar. As far as he's concerned if you don't play like him you have only your inferior skills to blame, because obviously you would if you could.

Yep, that's right, he's the exact opposite of the Scrub...but just as annoying.

This kind of player takes the "pro" mentality to an annoying extreme, generally giving other tournament players a bad name (while his counterpart, the Scrub, takes the casual mentality to an annoying extreme and generally gives other casual players a bad name). In the real world, there's room for both, and game companies generally try to put something in their games for both Player Archetypes.

In the end, what makes a "Stop Having Fun" Guy isn't the rule-setting, it's the attitude. While regular competitive/tournament players simply like playing to win, the "Stop Having Fun" Guy believes that this is the only right way to play the game.

The SHFG is a specific subspecies of Fan Haters, who dislike/condescend to "casual" gamers who don't play the same way they do. It also overlaps with Complacent Gaming Syndrome, where the players use only one or two characters/strategies/levels to make winning easier.

See also: Scrub, Serious Business, Fan Dumb, The Killjoy and Internet Backdraft. The larval form of the SHFG is the Munchkin. See It's Easy, So It Sucks! for the mentality that sometimes results from the single-player form of this. When the game itself has this mentality, see Easy-Mode Mockery.

[EvilGrins]

Now, I wonder where all the furries went to hide.

Well...
https://weirdfolks.livejournal.com/1993525.html

[Neon_Knight]

Authority means a lot of things: Sure, when everything's going well, everyone has to listen to what you're saying; you don't need to do the stupid parts of whatever your group is doing; you're probably less poor than your underlings; and you get to look fine in your boss garb.

But, when things don't go quite as well — which can easily be a permanent state — it results in one side effect above all else: stress (which also happens to be loaded with side effects). That is, if you actually care about the people you're leading.

High-ranking characters can be full of angst. They feel lonely, because strict protocol has to be observed — they want to beware of showing bias to friends and family, after all — and because no one acts natural around them. They have to make the Sadistic Choice and can't always Take a Third Option; they may need to make plans that allow for their friends dying. If they overlook something and can't adjust to it in time, they may get their people killed and feel that It's All My Fault, and end up with incredible guilt. For every failure they have to be willing to be held accountable publicly when others are looking for someone to blame. They worry about the neighbors invading, about marrying for strategy, about breeding an heir, about the natural disaster that destroyed half the crop, about that backstabbing relative of theirs eying the throne on which they sit. The worst part is that they shouldn't even complain aloud and should reject any sympathy, as that would leave them looking weak. Not that that notion is always obeyed.

This can be the consequence of Be Careful What You Wish For. If they crack under the stress and are usurped as leader, they'll frequently cry "I'm Still the Leader!" The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask and some Wise Princes are royals who suffer a lot from this trope. Sometimes the reason for Prince and Pauper, if the ruler decides to escape and leave a double to bear the burden.

Not to be confused with the chain I beat you with till you understand who's in ruttin' command here, nor is it the same as the Chain of Command, which was renamed to Slave Collar (and is completely unrelated).

See also Being God Is Hard for the chains of being in charge of all Creation. Compare to The Perils of Being the Best.

[Gustavo6046]

Wow TVtropes politics is sure a wild ride innit

[Neon_Knight]

Some software glitches are so weird and wonderful that everyone likes them and looks back upon them fondly, either because the glitch is funny, or because the glitch can be exploited to help the player and make the game easier.

There are two common breeding grounds of popular bugs. One is 8-bit and 16-bit consoles where the code, data and game state are stored in one homogeneous block, and a single misplaced pointer can read sound generation code as level data or write the graphic memory to the player inventory. The other is cutting-edge 3D games where half a dozen third-party renderers, physics engines and net codes can conflict with one another in freakish ways.

While professional players of single-player games like speedruners are usually allowed to use glitches to clear games faster, they often have a sort of code of honor of making a separate category where you're not allowed to use glitches to skip parts of the game, although discerning glitches from unmentioned game mechanics can sometimes be controversial. In online multiplayer games, exploiting glitches for your advantage is often considered the same thing as cheating and in some cases may even lead to your account being banned, but in other cases glitches may instead be treated as unintended but fair mechanics. Opinions about these bugs are often controversial and can easily cause a Flame War.

If a Good Bad Bug is liked enough, it may become an Ascended Glitch. In some games, the bugs are a major draw for the game, which can lead to claims the work was So Bad, It Was Better if the bugs are removed. Subtropes include Minus World and Glitch Entity. Compare Artificial Stupidity and A.I. Breaker, which are more to do with how the game's processing handles (or, sometimes, can't handle) playing the game itself.

[Gustavo6046]

Explain why nobody found all the cool exploits in UT!

Doom had the straferunning techniques (SR40 and SR50) and a plethora of other exploits, Quake had ezpz bunnyhopping whereas UT's is frame perfect and rarely worth it... Or maybe I'm a noob?

Yeah, I think I'm a noob. Have been around this game since I was like 5 but to be honest I never quite pushed myself so.

[Neon_Knight]

Just today I've learned of the shenanigans with the Feign Death function. There's a lot of stuff to be uncovered in a 20+-year game.