iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

the game has a lot of anti-war/disavowing of the MIC esque-segments and I think those are really effective to remind you how much war fucking sucks and so many people are affected by it. but the dissonance is insane

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like, I'm flying around in officially licensed aircraft in a game endorsed by companies that actively engage in the genocide of palestinians meanwhile the game will remind me that those engaged in corpocapitalist ventures are fucking evil and can't be trusted. it's so jarring that it warps my head

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-and doesn't ever really hit the same highs and lows that I felt in 7. The soundtrack for 8 is a total fucking banger though and I'm gonna play a lot of AC Online, but idk. I don't really see myself revisiting 8's story unless they add story DLC 🤷

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-cause the game makes you feel like you might have fucked up, that you're responsible for something bad happening and you're punished for it. But you rise beyond the punishment, become an inspiration to your allies, and are emotionally and literally absolved for your 'crimes'. AC8 falls flat there -

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I didn't really feel much personal (or emotional) investment in the story this time around, compared to AC7 for example. Like, there's still moments where you're let off the chain to be the Apex Predator of the Skies but that's just not the same for me. I love the Mage > Spare > Strider storyline -

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve

I feel like Wings of Theve is the most western (hollywood) inspired Ace Combat game in terms of it's overall storyline and vibes, but there's one specific thing that happens in it that feels distinctly NOT that and after sleeping on it I think it's maybe now my favourite part of the game.

static.klipy.com

ALT: Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve

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julie muncy @julie.radiantarray.io · 01/10/2026

i believe in rehabilitation and redemption and change but i also believe in the victims in my life and have to put them first. that's really all it is.

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Digital Landmine LLC @digitallandmine.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

To go beyond is to #believethedream. FIRST LOOK: AERIAL VANGUARD HUMMINGBIRD OCTOBER 10TH 10 AM PST www.youtube.com/@DigitalLand... Please look forward to it!

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So! If any of my mutual 2D artists on here were wondering why the project disappeared, what happened behind the scenes - it took Halo Studios cancelling their shitty GenAI crunch project based on the same book for me to finally talk about it. And after this, I won't bring it up ever again 🙂

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By the end of 2023, I'd nuked the project to bedrock, walked away from the group, and then ended up living through another (albeit unrelated) emotional hellscape. But it really damaged my belief in my creative potential, and laid a lot of groundwork for my eventual disconnect from Halo overall.

I'd like to say that there were people who stood up and shut those people down, or tried to have my back - but that never happened (at least until after I'd left). I don't know if I'll ever properly be able to clear the air with them (as I still share mutuals/friends with them), and that sucks.

so, in-between commissioning 2D artists (or recruiting them entirely) to help concept out certain events, locations, characters, I'm receiving insults and demeaning 'jokes' daily. demeaning my capabilities, making fun of my disabilities, and treating me like everything I was doing was pointless.

I (and others in that group, unrelated to FS) experienced humiliation, disparagement, and horribly abusive behaviour from individuals in that group, which were (and still are) held in high regard by the community. They were remarkably talented, capable people, but extremely toxic and very unkind.

Toussaint Egan @thesaintoftous.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

the basic gist of that First Strike story, because some folks expressed interest; mid-late 2023, I tried establishing the project in cooperation with a now defunct modding group. in that time I had my creative capabilities, mental health and overall willpower grinded into near-total nothingness.

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NOT WHILE IN STORY AREA

A person shouting inside another person's head while shouting

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anyway, Control Resonant is fucking awesome, Marathon continues to have some of the most amazing community members, developers and cool shit that's ever hit peoples screens, and I'm looking forward to AC8 next week. Onwards and upwards! well, except for Halo fans I guess

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then the community, oh man. the most toxic, vile people I've ever had to deal with. I made so many good friends, met my fiancée, but it is FILLED with nazis, racists, transphobes, the worst people ever born. not a tolerant or inclusive community (though there's some good folks trapped there sadly)

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to find out they were gonna do a First Strike standalone release next year, almost entirely reliant on GenAI, with just 5 missions and firefight for $50USD is the most batshit insane thing I've ever heard. and to think I wanted to make a fan mod that did 7 missions (but that's another story)

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I've been holding off saying anything about the Halo situation because honestly I have nothing pleasant to say about it, but fuck it. It's criminal that they will lay off some of the most talented artists, engineers and writers just to keep their most corrupt and problematic employees is so typical

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Jack | Strider @striderau.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Marathon bringing the Pfhor back and introducing UESC Mecha, Control Resonant being fucking awesome and the cancelled First Strike project under Halo Studios being revealed today legitimately has me giggling like Luthen here

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My bare minimum is often times a fraction of another persons morning/evening routine, and somehow the thought of that being so hard is just a foreign thought to them, almost impossible to conceive or understand. Utterly infuriating behaviour and I wish people could learn to be better.

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Jack | Strider @striderau.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I can't count the amount of times I've had people say shit like this person has either to my face or behind my back, and every time they're the kind of individual who genuinely has no empathy or understanding of how other peoples lives can be different to theirs. But they loooove to pretend they do

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Jack | Strider @striderau.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

it shouldn't be controversial to say this and if you think it's 'bad timing' or 'not a fair assessment of the community' you really need to re-assess how this all came about, how long this type of behaviour has been happening for and the amount of damage it's done

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Jack | Strider @striderau.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

as a result, there's a massive vibe shift/effort to try and forget that some of that happened. I don't think anyone should be forgiving, nor forgetting the comments that streamers, influencers and other vocally loud persons made towards the studio and its workers, their projects, or their politics.

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Jack | Strider @striderau.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I have a lot of feelings about today's news (re: D2), and while I'm glad that it's being supported again, some of the folks (I say some, but I mean a lot of people) who made this possible have no real understanding of how tech debt, crunch, online harassment and bullying can affect a life;

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☾ Avery @dredgenaves.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

>:// Every runner has a place on Tau Ceti. 🩷 #Marathon #Marathonthegame #Marathonfanart

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Stellbound: Stellraiser II @antlervel.vet · 20/09/2026

I would simply like to live my quiet little life as a trans woman and buy fruit and sing and walk my dog and wave to my neighbors and watch movies and use restrooms without being the subject of a culture “war” where both political parties agree I’m a disgusting freak who doesn’t deserve civil rights

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Jack | Strider @striderau.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

finally finished porting these two to Blender and uploading them to MMR, now it's time for me to watch my mandated YouTube Movie Clips and then go to bed

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Jack | Strider @striderau.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

hangbrain (some work in progress stuff for a Marathon TTRPG I’m helping out on!)

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can bluesky add an edit post function for the love of god i cant keep embarrassing myself like this

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fuck it i stand by this misspelled statement

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ALT: Marathon Marathon Game

you have to actually engage with this stuff! read the OG terminals (in-game or on marathon.bungie.org), immerse yourself in www.ishtar-collective.net. read up on Michael Moorcock. You are doing yourself a disservice (and the theories themselves) by not engaging in this craziness the right way 🙌

static.klipy.com

Marathon Marathon Game

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tracking the roots of this rabbit hole has been my passion for like 4 years, i'm not as supremely qualified as others, but I fear people just 'hear' about the connections and make up their mind about how it is, and it's not really the best way to go about it. watching a video/reading a tweet = 👎

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