Topic: The Trophy Discussion Thread

@graymamba I've developed much faster building techniques, it's sort of become auto-pilot and second nature especially once you've built one hundred or so structures previously. Also most people sleep and I don't always, that helps. I could technically just build all day until I was told to stop, but I prefer to do other productive things too like study and have tutors etc. I don't have responsibilities, no Adult schedule and my last job wasn't even real, I thought it was. Just nepotism, the word Tjuz gave me. All I have is what you called spare time and I have to do something productive with it. That's one way, I have ten or so other hobbies, my charities etc, stagnation doesn't exist not even at night time, I keep going until I'm sent to bed or pass out. Anything other would be entitlement and that doesn't sit well with me when there are always things I could be doing or something I could be learning. I like doing three things at once, it's possible with building, hence four screens at once. Or, this might be funny but I'll run exercise machines while I game. I only met one other person on here who does that. They game and use an exercise bike at the same time. On party chat people used to ask what the 'whoosh whoosh' was, that was the bike or a treadmill. They thought the bubbles of a hot-tub were that glass cylinder people use with weed, also funny.

It only gets complicated with newer developments. That one on the left had to be built diagonally which gets really tricky and that one to the right the circular one is sort of a puzzle. Herzog & de Meuron were not playing around when they designed that tower, and then of course everything has to be 1:1 which meant getting satellite imagery to measure the entire docklands including the water. The depth is custom too and all of that water had to be carefully filled in. What's even crazier (I know) is I put weathering under the surface so the brick looks faded and worn down but only I'd know that because only I'm there and who's going to be diving under South Dock. I saw some police diver footage then knew what was down there. I watch DLR train driver footage to see if I've missed anything on the train lines too.

There's all kinds of custom weathering throughout the map, tiny details. I even put a little memorial that was there in real life when someone fell off a building while doing some urban exploring. His candle etc is still in my world, it's not in the real world, they removed it. I still have his jersey number etc where it was in real life. Anything that was there I've saved as a kind of virtual time capsule.

Then there are the (housing estates?) like in the movie Harry Brown, I've built those too. I don't discriminate when it comes to accuracy and representation, if it's there in real life I add it to the virtual. That for sale sign was there when I saw that building, so it's there virtually too. I've programmed in dustbins too, I need to start adding those, someone made the proper English dustbins for me. I've wanted dustbins for a while, they seem to be outside a lot of homes like that. I've no idea where we keep ours, I've never seen them before. I haven't seen a lot of things but in Minecraft I can build them then see them. Different reasons restrict me from ever seeing certain parts of the city, that's why I started building, I'm curious about what's out there even if I don't understand it. I've never been to most of the places I've built, never been anywhere alone etc, but I can do both in the game and that's why I keep building, I safely see a little more each time.

Most games with cities have NPCs, that makes them harder to play, my city only has myself, that kind of anxiety just gets worse as graphics improve and as A.I. gets better, if it gets too real I can't play those games. I know they aren't real but my mind says something else, then I tap out and go back to simulators or Minecraft or my literal desert island in Deep Stranded. I tried to live solo in the hills of Fallout76 and that didn't work either, it's like I told Tjuz I don't know how anyone does it. I've lasted two minutes on a London street then I was back in a vehicle and we were gone, my builds offer a little more than that. The English term would be a coping mechanism, but it's one I built myself block by block and it seems to help.

@GirlVersusGame so impressive! Ball-park figure… when do you think you’ll finish it (if it’ll ever be finished)?

@graymamba Thank you, not to be morbid, but when I die. It's a kind of life line, it wasn't at first but it's become really important. I'm not sure what I'd do without it. I've tried a custom VR set-up that they use to treat agoraphobia. That was a lot like a game but it never took, it was too real, too loud and too fast. I get anxious even typing the words. It's a strange illness and I never thought I'd have to build my own world from the ground up to combat it. I think I've been building for six to eight years on and off, I have no track of time so I can't be certain. I'm going off of various events that caused it and amplified it. I'm not a member of the Minecraft community, other than this site I've never shown anyone. I wasn't sure sure if people would get it.

Right now my big goal is to finally ride a train, maybe the Underground. I've been practicing by playing Train Simulator and watching drivers videos of each line. Sometimes I'll watch videos that people make when they walk the streets too, it all builds up to that something. If it gets worse I'll have to stop building, I had to step away from street view a few times and those are only pictures. That set me back a couple of weeks. I want to try that Spiderman game but I'm not sure, it looks very realistic and populated. I'm hoping Everyone's Gone to The Rapture means they actually are, I do want to try that game hopefully after this second The Invincible playthrough. I should have one hundred percent tonight if I read the guide properly. It's a bit convoluted and probably why platinum is still ultra rare. I had to have someone else read it and see if they thought it was worded weirdly too. If all goes to plan I'll start the next game tonight.

@GirlVersusGame I have The Invincible in the backlog as it goes, though know next to nothing about it… I think I just liked something about the cover art if I’m honest. Walking-sim, or something different?

@graymamba I knew nothing about it too, I'd heard of the writer who's work it was based on but never read any of his books. That's why the cover art pops, the Devs went for that old Sci-fi book/cover aesthetic and that's not something I've seen much of with new games. It's a walking simulator but really engaging, there's no worrying about enemies or dying. The navigating isn't at all boring and the story hooked me within the first half hour. Platinum might make you work for it but it does have chapter select and that helps with the endings too. Technically you don't have to play the whole game twice, you could start a second playthrough around chapter 5. I've seen maybe four endings now and I'm typing this as the last one plays out. Hopefully that will be one hundred percent and I'll get to bed. I'd seen it on Steam a couple of times, then saw it on Plus+ but skipped it until Th3Solution mentioned it. If you like intelligently built games you'd enjoy it, the writing feels timeless which is probably down to the author.

Platinum # 76 - The Invincible

The guide puts it at about ten hours for two playthroughs and I'd say that's accurate. It's also ultra rare but I think that's because of a specific ending that a lot of people seemed to miss then never realized they could just use chapter select to speed it up. Pong was the most difficult, you need to get a score of 20 but I was too sleepy, the next day I got it first try. Nothing else is difficult. The story was fantastic, the world design really slick, most of it was relaxing and care free. I saw no penalties from going at my own pace. The guide lists two trophies as buggy and I didn't have problems there. I'm going to buy a physical copy to support the Devs and probably give the audiobook a listen too. I stayed up until four in the morning tonight going after the last few trophies and skipped none of the dialogue, it's too well written to cut corners even if I've heard it four or five times already, great voice acting and score too.