mbnet.witch.tv/f00tsies

[knux400]

(A first-person shooter of some sort is being played on the screen, with a stylized mint green overlay adorned with f00tsies' logos. In the corner is a feed of a grey and mint armor type tapping on some kind of mat with their feet, almost too fast for the eye to see. A chart on the left side of the screen contains a list of controls for the game and a sequence of Ls and Rs next to each of them.)
 

Hey, welcome to the stream! Today we're playing- shit.

(The character is shot by some unseen adversary.)

I swear to Stope they peek that corner every fucking round and I keep walking into it like an idiot Today we're playing some CrossFire matches, you know how it is. Still stuck in Vitreole II because I keep getting paired with complete nitwits. I am literally playing with my feet and I can still land nades more consistently than these people. I don't know who carried them past Graftelle but holy shit learn some basic fucking physics.

Anyway, uh, feel free to chill in the chat. Don't be a jerk and all that stuff.

[skinstealer]

[TASTY_TREAT]: never seen this game before, thought i'd stop in!
[TASTY_TREAT]: how's it work?

[Shifter55]

[PAIN_STATION]: walking into shit like that will get anyone
[PAIN_STATION]: can't you use a grenade or at least toggle crouch for that shit? youre going to be slower than a prepared shot even without the dancepad.

[knux400]

(f00tsies is in spectator mode for the moment, as they're waiting for the round to end. They flick between teammates, silently judging their every move.)

There you go, bud. See, they can be taught.

Hey Tasty! It's pretty simple. Basically for every button on the keyboard, there's a specific set of inputs I need to press. I've got two buttons on this pad; left and right. So for each input I need to hit left and right in a specific pattern, and then both at once to confirm. It takes a while to learn, but I've been doing this for a while now, so... I'm pretty quick at it.

Yeah, thanks, Pain. Figures I'd get a bunch of newbies popping in right when I make one tiny mistake.

[molasses]

[GEAR_TRAIN]: What is the Name of that Gun?
[GEAR_TRAIN]: I want to know what the Lever on the Side is for.

[knux400]

(They stop and switch to a teammate using a large bolt-action rifle.)

This thing? That's the HN-12. I don't know much about firearms, but the lever on the side is a mechanism for reloading the weapon. See, every time they fire it, they-

(The teammate dies, and the round ends.)

-Oh. Well, I'll buy one this round and you can see it in action. Full disclosure, I am slightly rusty with my quickscoping.

[skinstealer]

[TASTY_TREAT]: huh, neat!
[TASTY_TREAT]: more was meaning the mechanics of the game though
[TASTY_TREAT]: i'm new to gaming

[knux400]

Oh! So the way this works is you're on a team of 5 against another team of 5, and one team is supposed to be planting a scrap charge and the other team is defending it. I'm a little fuzzy on the lore, but I think it's something about being in a giant brain and implanting a certain memory into the being by putting a scrap in a certain place? There's a story mode, but it's been years since I've played it. Most people just play Ranked.

Uh, so every round you earn money by completing the objective and some other stuff, and then you can buy different guns and equipment for the next round. Different guns do different things, so what I've got is your basic sniper rifle type deal. There's also a ranking system that makes it so people are matched against people that just as good at the game as they are- you rank up by winning, and rank down by losing. This game's got heavy ties to Monte, so the ranking system is the same as the one De'moneres use. It goes Zootsuit, Graftelle, Vitreole, and the highest is Octoliere. Within each rank there's five tiers, so the lowest rank in the game is Zootsuit I.

When you first get the game, you start off in Zootsuit I and advance as you start winning games, so after a while you're playing against people that are more your skill level. Right now I'm in Vitreole II and have been for the last few weeks because I keep getting matched with, ah, sub-par teammates. The game itself rewards good tactics, team coordination, and careful planning rather than just running in guns blazing. You can see I'm checking my corners instead of just running in, because- there you are you little shit- there could be someone peeking around any corner.

(They nail a headshot on the person crouched behind a wall as they round a corner.)

It's pretty fun if you don't mind the occasional toxic asshole. Most of the community is pretty chill, though. I mean, there's always the little kids who barely know how to play and the people who take things way too seriously, but for the most part, everyone's nice.

(They briefly stop at the opponent's corpse and approach a nearby wall. A cute, stylized picture of them appears on the wall. In the ingame chat, a new message appears.)

(DEAD) [HEAVY_PETAL_927]: wow
(DEAD) [HEAVY_PETAL_927]: ofc u would switch to the hen
(DEAD) [HEAVY_PETAL_927]: rage much bro

...I did say 'for the most part'. The HN-12, or Hen for short, has a bit of a stigma to it as being too easy to use since it instakills on headshot. But it reloads slowly and it fires slowly, so it's harder to hit with. Buuut that doesn't stop people from being a butt in the chat. Hang on a sec.

[f00tsies]: not a bro, pal
[f00tsies]: and didnt i see you with a hen like 3 rounds in a row
[f00tsies]: with the cheap-ass edgy skin on it too

Theeere we go.

[Lilium Mortem]

(There's a gunshot and f00tsies goes down, a player walks up and puts a spray over f00tsies', a busty catgirl.)
[VOID_COWBOY]: What's up fucker?
[VOID_COWBOY]: git gud lol.

[Lilium Mortem]

[VOID_COWBOY]: What's up fucker?
[VOID_COWBOY]: gg my dude, lol.

[knux400]

...The fuck?

(f00tsies takes a moment after dying to read the chat.)

Ah. So Tasty, I don't know if you're still here, but this is a bit of an educational opportunity. This is known as 'stream sniping', or the act of finding a Witch streamer and using the information from their stream to get an unfair advantage against them in the game they're playing. It seems Void Cowboy here knew exactly which corner I was peeking since they were watching my stream, and headshot me instantly. Typically the way I deal with these people is to kick them, and ban them if they try that shit again because it gets pretty fucking annoying after a while. I'm trying to rank up here, bud, I don't need your bullshit.

(You get the sense that f00tsies' words shifted from addressing Tasty to addressing Void towards the end there...)

Still not a dude, by the way.

(f00tsies does an extra-long sequence of taps on her pad.)

[VOID_COWBOY] has been kicked from the chat.

[skinstealer]

[TASTY_TREAT]: wow, that's really rude of them!
[TASTY_TREAT]: seems like a really cheap way to get a win, wouldn't you want to use actual skill instead?

[knux400]

Some people just like getting a rise out of others, I guess. I try not to get too angry since it only encourages people to do it more. But hey, if they decide to show up again, you can ask 'em yourself!

[skinstealer]

[TASTY_TREAT]: sure, i /will/!
[TASTY_TREAT]: genuinely interested in the logic there...

[Lilium Mortem]

(Dead) [VOID_COWBOY]: Can't silence me, footsies, as long as we're playing the same game.
(Dead) [VOID_COWBOY]: To answer Tasty treat's question, If an enemy is stupid enough to give away their position, why not take advantage of it?
[Brad_bowl]: Who the fuck are you talking to?
(Dead) [VOID_COWBOY]: footsies is livestreaming this on mbnet.witch.tv/f00tsies
(Dead) [VOID_COWBOY]: anyway there's nothing in the rules about stream sniping, and it's pretty fucking fun for me personally, so what the hell? why not?

[skinstealer]

[TASTY_TREAT]: just seems like kind of a cheap way to get your kicks!
[TASTY_TREAT]: doesn't take a whole lot of skill to just sneak a peek like that
[TASTY_TREAT]: just seems like you're being a poor sport about it

[AceOfNothing]

[OSPY_POPSY]: Oh cool, hope I'm not to late joining the stream!
[OSPY_POPSY]: Stream sniping is dumb, what's the fun in it honestly >:-P
[OSPY_POPSY]: Honest win or not a win to me.

[Lilium Mortem]

(Dead) [VOID_COWBOY]: @treat you're right that it's cheap, in the sense that it doesn't cost me much to get a laugh.
(Dead) [VOID_COWBOY]: Anyway I've had my fun, later fuckos
[VOID_COWBOY] has disconnected...

[knux400]

Oh hey, welcome Opsy! Hope I'm pronouncing that right. Nah, I've still got a few games in me, I think. My legs are starting to get tired but they're not too sore yet. I'm trying to get my stamina up so I can play actual tournaments and whatnot.

(As f00tsies speaks, they type in the ingame chat.)

[f00tsies]: uhh
[f00tsies]: thanks for the free advertising i guess
[f00tsies]: feel free to hop in, if youre chill ill let you stay

[King-Clod]

[_chill_] aw sweet thanks man
[_chill_] and here I thought I'd never be invited to anything :p
[_chill_] nah but in all seriousness I'll check your stream out
[_chill_] mbnet.witch.tv/f00tsies right?

[knux400]

Wow, seriously? I mean, I'll take it.

(Rapid tapping ensues)

[f00tsies] yup thats the one
[f00tsies] glad i got something out of a fuckin stream sniper lol

Everyone be nice to them when they get here. Unless they're not nice, in which case destroy their very soul.

[skinstealer]

[TASTY_TREAT]: oh, nice!
[TASTY_TREAT]: more friends for the party!

[King-Clod]

[_chill_] my go to user wasn't taken, nice
[_chill_] dw, I won't backseat game or anything, just here to lurk probably
[_chill_] pretty nice setup you got though
[_chill_] do you have StreamBasics installed? that can let people donate money and stuff
[_chill_] it also enables tts and emotes, but you can turn that off in the menu

[knux400]

Yup! I've got a pretty standard StreamBasics setup with emotes and donations on and tts off. I had someone keep making $1 donations over and over again with the tts set to say shit like 'aeiou', so that's staying off forever now.

(The round ends and a ranking screen is shown. A little progress bar inches forward by a negligible amount- on the left side is a stylized heart with a numeral II on it, and on the other end, where the bar is crawling towards, is a similar stylized heart with a numeral III on it.)

Sigh... Well, decent progress. Should I switch to a different game or keep grinding my rank in Crossfire? I'm open to suggestions.

[King-Clod]

[_chill_]: whatever you wanna do, honestly
[_chill_]: I did already play Crossfire for like, 8 hours straight before watching this stream though
[_chill_]: it'd be interesting to see what other games you got

[skinstealer]

[TASTY_TREAT]: i'm still learning about a lot of videogames!
[TASTY_TREAT]: i never looked into them much when i was "growing up"
[TASTY_TREAT]: so i'd like to see what else there is i think

[knux400]

(as f00tsies speaks, they close out of the game and return to a cluttered desktop screen, complete with an image of a stylized boot in the center.)

Well, there's always Arc Caste, of course. That's your typical one-on-one fighter, you pick a guy and then try to beat up someone else's guy. I play that one a lot, I'm a Jackie main.

There's also Skirmish- that's a much slower game, it's turn based as opposed to real-time, so I generally wind down or warm up with it. You get two players, each one has a bunch of pieces, and they fight each other. Lots of strategy involved.

Uhhh... I've got a few Penultimate Dream playthroughs going right now. 3, 4, and... 7, I think? I'd have to check. Those are old-school RPGs, uh, games where you play as a hero in these different kinds of stories. I hear 18 is out now, but I haven't picked it up yet. I hear it's kind of crappy anyway.

If you want a complete tonal shift, I just picked up Beach Stepperz III the other day. It's the first game I've gotten that you're actually supposed to play with your feet! Basically there's music and you have to hit the arrows at the right time. It's got kind of this tropical theme to it.

[King-Clod]

[_chill_]: have you ever tried any challenges with your games?
[_chill_]: like a speedrun, or a no damage run?
[_chill_]: or in Penultimate Dream 4, the challenge where you only use your starting weapon for the entire game? that one has an easter egg in game if you do that (I won't spoil it for you dw) since the company heard of a lot of people doing that challenge in 3. it's the last good easter egg of that sort imo though, they tried to do the same thing in 5 and it just kinda got old.
[_chill_]: it was popular enough that they brought it back in 6, but this time they made it required to get the "true ending," which I just think is stupid to lock behind a challenge like that
[_chill_]: especially one as grindy as the starting weapon challeng

[skinstealer]

[TASTY_TREAT]: beach stepperz sounds fun!! i'd probably really like a game like that...

[knux400]

I think for 4 I'm going for a no deaths run, so if I lose a party member during battle I restart from scratch. 3 I'm not familiar enough with to do challenges yet, and honestly it's been so long since I've picked up my playthrough of 7 that I don't even remember what I'm doing.

Beach Stepperz, huh? I mean, sure! Compared to most of my library it's actually pretty easy to play. But I may have an unfair advantage.

(f00tsies navigates to an icon with a silhouette of a dancing figure in front of a tropical background. She opens it, and the title screen for Beach Stepperz III appears with a funky electronic theme.)

[King-Clod]

[_chill_]: ooh looks rad
[_chill_]: I haven't researched this game at all yet, what are the characters you can play? and what sort of songs are available? I don't play rhythm games all too much, but I know the music in them can really vary in quality and relevance
[_chill_]: I think I have a record of some of the songs from another entry in this series, actually. Might be a different one though, I'd have to check
[_chill_]: oh, and more importantly, how many hours have you put into it?