Contest Stats and Discussion - Part 1342

I'm only rooting for octopath because I figure less picked it. I miss that one regardless of which one wins it. Speaking of octopath, though, I can't ever decide whether or not to buy it. I have so many games I don't even start because I am never in the mood to game anymore.

Primrose and gang are going to bang.

guesswho33 posted...

I'm only rooting for octopath because I figure less picked it. I miss that one regardless of which one wins it. Speaking of octopath, though, I can't ever decide whether or not to buy it. I have so many games I don't even start because I am never in the mood to game anymore.

I'm often in the "not in the mood to play anything" as well. You know how to get rid of that? Playing. Trust me, it fades away.

Octopath is great, but it is a different type if RPG to what some expected. It is about 8 distinct character stories that are loosely connected and tie into an endgame, not one story about s group of characters like most Final Fantasy games for instance. It is also quite gameplay focused but the gameplay is best in class for the genre.

Man, easily best match of the contest so far.

Well, if I ever bother to buy a Switch I'll check it out. As of right now, I have no reason to buy one

Octopath is just ok

Combat is pretty good, but it's setup so that even basic encounters take three times as long as a standard FFVI encounter, and it's not like they're less frequent.

It's just the game is so pisspoor at structure. Only like half the stories are interesting, and it's impossible to get fully engrossed in any of them. And 95% of the chapters have the same damn sequence, it's almost comical

Wrong way on that update

guesswho33 posted...

I'm only rooting for octopath because I figure less picked it. I miss that one regardless of which one wins it. Speaking of octopath, though, I can't ever decide whether or not to buy it. I have so many games I don't even start because I am never in the mood to game anymore.

I can totally relate. I was in that mood throughout almost all of 2018 and 2019. It's funny, though - between the stay-at-home orders and this contest, my gaming itch has come back with a vengeance.

This contest encouraged me to revisit Splatoon 2. It's been great playing with all the new content that's been added since I last played. I'm also staking out eBay for a reasonably-priced Switch copy of DOOM, and plan to try some of the indies in the bracket that I missed. Bastion, Night in the Woods and Slay the Spire caught my eye in particular.

We have an amazing match, entirely because of dueling rallies mind you, and people are still arguing about whether or not rallies are good.

Still not sure who to actually root for here.

Ah yes because it wasn't close at all before rallies

UltimaterializerX posted...

We have an amazing match, entirely because of dueling rallies mind you, and people are still arguing about whether or not rallies are good.

Nope

UltimaterializerX 2 minutes ago
#210
We have an amazing match, entirely because of dueling rallies mind you, and people are still arguing about whether or not rallies are good.

The ends do not justify the means. This match would be equally close without bulls*** rallies, fortunately the rallies are weak enough to not be contest ruining like Undertale/Draven

Lightning Strikes posted...

Still not sure who to actually root for here.

If SK wins it might be the only indie in round 3!

Shovel Knight needs to cut 0.48 votes per update to win

Octopath Traveler by the hour:

time | percent | gain/loss | lead/deficit
21:00 | 48.21% | -125 | -125
22:00 | 48.29% | -80 | -205
23:00 | 48.12% | -68 | -273
00:00 | 47.98% | -67 | -340
01:00 | 51.18% | +35 | -305
02:00 | 48.05% | -49 | -354
03:00 | 51.76% | +39 | -315
04:00 | 52.77% | +50 | -265
05:00 | 52.35% | +36 | -229
06:00 | 53.58% | +49 | -180
07:00 | 54.88% | +78 | -102
08:00 | 52.47% | +46 | -56
09:00 | 50.51% | +10 | -46
10:00 | 52.15% | +46 | 0
11:00 | 54.88% | +110 | +110
12:00 | 51.69% | +35 | +145
13:00 | 50.59% | +11 | +156
14:00 | 49.48% | -9 | +147
15:00 | 47.08% | -42 | +105
16:00 | 44.11% | -83 | +22

Another huge hour for Shovel Knight.

Nooooooooooo, Octopath Traveler....!!!

BlAcK TuRtLe posted...

Good to see Shovel Knight pushing through here. It legitimately is one of the best games I played this decade, definitely top 10, probably top 5

Based on the things you've said over the past month, I cant believe you've played more than 10 games from this decade.

Even if shovel knight loses after all this, please play this game if you enjoy action platformers (mega man, zelda 2, castlevania, etc) at all. You're doing yourself a disservice if you skip out on it.

cmon Octo

Everytime it gets close Octopath takes like 10 votes back. Can't get over the hump.

Rooting for SK to bring it back, but this is a good match either way.

UltimaterializerX posted...

We have an amazing match, entirely because of dueling rallies mind you, and people are still arguing about whether or not rallies are good.

You're a coward

Shonen_Bat posted...

Rooting for SK to bring it back, but this is a good match either way.

Thank dueling rallies another classic!

It’s cute watching people who loved Luigi v Tifa pretend this match is bad.

@pjbasis posted...

You're a coward

And why is that?

Oh wow it's close

Go overpass, it's in my bracket

UltimaterializerX posted...

@
And why is that?

Lmao shut the f*** up

Dont take it too seriously. You just talk bro. Talk and talk

How is the duelling rallies better than 0 rallies?

Not seeing it.

Is there even a second rally of value? I dunno, maybe @SBAllen could come tell us how many voters came from each subreddit, but it seems like you're pulling hot air right now Ulti.

Shovel Knight slowing down a bit. Octopath has been holding steady at +30 for a while now

UltimaterializerX posted...

Thank dueling rallies another classic!

It’s cute watching people who loved Luigi v Tifa pretend this match is bad.

It's not nearly as cute as you acting like rallies are the only reason this match or that match were good. You're just so desperate to be right it's palpable.

If I didn't have a over-the-phone doctor's appointment in the next few minutes, I might just blast this for the rest of the afternoon.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGBFDut-MgI (click to expand) 

Games in the bracket I have played

BotW - Played it for about 8 hours, got sick of it real quick. Weapon durability just f***ing killed it for me
Halo: Reach - Fantastic game, beat it and played a pile of multiplayer
FFXV - Awful game, got about 6-8 hours in before giving up. Battle system was terrible
Hollow Knight - Fired it up and played for an hour or 2 and enjoyed it, I need to get back to it
Mass Effect 2 - Beat it, one of the best games in the bracket
Horizon Zero Dawn - Got about 3/4 through, I need to circle back and finish at some point
Fortnite - Downloaded it and tried the BR mode, probably the worst of the mainstream BRs (Warzon > PUBG > Apex > Fortnite)
DOOM - Played and beat, top 5 game of the decade
CoD: Blops - Played and beat, one of the better CoD games
SSBU - Played with friends, its a Smash game
Zelda: LBW - Played and beat, fun handheld Zelda
Minecraft - Tried it, was bored to tears
Dota 2 - About 2000 hours in it from 2012 - 2016, GotD contender
Undertale - Beat it (just a normal playthrough), had some interesting mechanics, but I found the characters and the "culture" of it grating as hell
Shovel Knight - Played and beat, another GotD contender
Super Mario Odyssey - Played for a couple hours at a friend's house, terrible game, Mario Sunshine levels of lame
GTAV - By the books GTA, couldn't get into it
Baba Is You - Been playing through with a friend, fun little game
Cuphead - Got about 3/4 through over Christmas when it came out with a friend (co-op), lots of fun, would like to get back to it but I don't have an Xbone
FTL - Fun game, I got to the last boss a couple times but couldn't beat it
Red Dead Redemption - I think I got a little bit into Mexico before I got bored with it (GTA style open world games have never been my cup of tea). I did enjoy what I played of it
Overwatch - I enjoyed Overwatch for a hot minute, I got back into it when they added a more traditional DM mode
Ori and the Blind Forest - About 1/2 through a playthrough, ran into a wall where playing with a keyboard got difficult, i need to set up a controller to get back into it
Mass Effect 3 - Great game, s***ty ending
Starcraft 2 - I spent a lot of time with SC2 this decade
Destiny - I played a bit of Destiny, but way more Destiny 2. I enjoyed the game for the most part, because the shooting was smooth as butter, some of the "live game" garbage drags it down though
SMG2 - Not a huge fan of the Galaxy games, they never really did it for me
Civ 5 - Its a Civ game, I enjoyed it
Sonic Mania - A diamond in the rough for sure, I really enjoyed playing and beating this game. Hit all the right notes and I want them to make a follow up
Super Meat Boy - I enjoy SMB, can't remember if I finished it or not
Portal 2 - I liked the original better, but the game is fun as hell
Street Fighter V - I only played it after all the launch issues, its a perfectly cromulent Street Fighter
Dark Souls - I only played this for a bit before I got bored and turned off the franchise
Hotline Miami - I enjoyed the puzzl-y aspects of the game
Rocket League - One of the best "mindless fun" games on the list, still fire it up here and there when I don't have a lot of time to sink into something
Dragon Ball FighterZ - I really enjoyed the game, it's a lot of fun
The Witness - I really liked The Witness until I got to the colour based puzzles that my colour blindness didn't agree with
MGSV - Hell ya, MGSV was a masterpiece that was unfortunately stopped 3/4 of the way through. I really wish they let Kojima finish the game, because what's there is some of the best gaming ever
Dead Cells - Got about 3/4 through before I got bored of repeating the same dungeons over again. There's a good game here, just wish it moved forward a bit faster
CK2 - of the Paradox strategy games, this is probably the one I spent the least amount of time with (Stellaris and HoI4 are f***ing classics though)
Skyrim - Got a few hours in before I got bored, this style of game isn't for me
FFXIV - Hell yes, game of the decade here for me. I was never into MMOs (I dabbled in FFXI and WOW but FFXIV got me hooked)
MK8 - Probably the best Mario Kart (although 64 will always have a place in my heart)
Hearthstone - Utter trash, f*** card games
NieR Automata - A contender for GotD, this game hit all the right notes for me, which was a surprise given my usual aversion to anime bulls***

So there you go, a bit more than 10

Leonhart4 posted...

Shovel Knight needs to cut 0.48 votes per update to win

Entirely plausible.

I like it.

BlAcK TuRtLe posted...

Well, if I ever bother to buy a Switch I'll check it out. As of right now, I have no reason to buy one

What about its smashing (no pun intended) catalog of games?!

A 57% update for Shovel Knight brings the lead down to 18.

By the way, this particular match is nerve-wracking for the worst reasons, and it's one of the worst (if not the worst) match of the contest because of that.

If you want great close matches, look at Rocket League/DBFZ or Celeste/Rayman.

the rallies on those subreddits likely ran out of fuel a long time ago btw. the votals have fallen off a cliff for a good while. we're likely just seeing natural trends.

BlAcK TuRtLe posted...

Well, if I ever bother to buy a Switch I'll check it out. As of right now, I have no reason to buy one

Are you talking about Octopath Traveler?

It's on Steam as well
https://store.steampowered.com/app/921570/OCTOPATH_TRAVELER/

pjbasis posted...

Lmao shut the f*** up

Dont take it too seriously. You just talk bro. Talk and talk

The top thread on r/shovelknight: https://www.reddit.com/r/ShovelKnight/comments/g13wpc/shovel_knight_is_up_for_game_of_the_decade_over/

The top thread on r/octopathtraveler: https://www.reddit.com/r/octopathtraveler/comments/g1601r/octopath_is_up_against_shovel_knight_in_a_round/

Instead of using baseless ad hominem, you have to argue against actual data. Try again, pjbasis.

Furthermore, the Octopath thread had an early spike and quickly died down, while the Shovel Knight thread has slowly gained traction all day. These are the same trends happening in the match itself.

So no, I do not "talk and talk". There is actual data that matches the update chart.

I also believe I'm one of only 7 gurus that picked Shovel Knight > Octopath specifically. I'm not going to win the guru or even come close, so I might as well enjoy the one good fourpack I've got! ;P

If this match never has another lead change I swear

Sharinnegan posted...

the rallies on those subreddits likely ran out of fuel a long time ago btw. the votals have fallen off a cliff for a good while. we're likely just seeing natural trends.

The Octopath one did. Reddit doesn't work like GameFAQs does.

Stop being disingenuous.

I emphatically agree with BT that Portal > Portal 2. Also, that MK8 is the best Mario Kart.

Portal 2 is way better

Hahaha this match is excruciating.

A 64% update!

Could this next update finally be where Shovel Knight takes the lead?

Leonhart4 posted...

Stop being disingenuous.

Citation needed. Post 241 is literally comparing two rally threads to matching match trends.

I use Reddit a lot more than GameFAQs and probably know how it works better than 95% of this board or more. You can have two threads at the top of two different subreddits and have one with little to no engagement on it.

Octopath Traveler by the hour:

time | percent | gain/loss | lead/deficit
21:00 | 48.21% | -125 | -125
22:00 | 48.29% | -80 | -205
23:00 | 48.12% | -68 | -273
00:00 | 47.98% | -67 | -340
01:00 | 51.18% | +35 | -305
02:00 | 48.05% | -49 | -354
03:00 | 51.76% | +39 | -315
04:00 | 52.77% | +50 | -265
05:00 | 52.35% | +36 | -229
06:00 | 53.58% | +49 | -180
07:00 | 54.88% | +78 | -102
08:00 | 52.47% | +46 | -56
09:00 | 50.51% | +10 | -46
10:00 | 52.15% | +46 | 0
11:00 | 54.88% | +110 | +110
12:00 | 51.69% | +35 | +145
13:00 | 50.59% | +11 | +156
14:00 | 49.48% | -9 | +147
15:00 | 47.08% | -42 | +105
16:00 | 44.11% | -83 | +22
17:00 | 49.32% | -9 | +13

A much more even hour.