Episode #95: Cram Your Face Full of Chunks

Merve and The Kappa talk about the road ahead for Nintendo and Sony, Unity’s fee restructuring debacle, and Bethesda’s latest RPG, Starfield. [Recorded September 17, 2023]

Podcast Header 95

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
9:05 – Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play
18:20 – Unity’s Fee Restructuring
47:05 – Starfield: Intro and General Discussion
1:00:45 – Starfield: Characters
1:10:55 – Starfield: Combat, Part 1
1:18:30 – Starfield: Some Criticisms, Part 1
1:34:35 – Starfield: Exploration and Setting
1:41:25 – Starfield: Some Criticisms, Part 2
1:47:05 – Starfield: Mixing Genres and Aesthetics
1:57:30 – Starfield: The Main Quest
2:04:40 – Starfield: The Discourse
2:17:45 – Starfield: Exploration and Setting
2:25:20 – Starfield: Tone, Writing, and Quality
2:34:55 – Starfield: Combat, Part 2
2:39:55 – Starfield: Food
2:45:35 – Starfield: Ships
2:50:15 – Starfield: Quest Flexibility
2:53:10 – Starfield: Inclusion and Its Controversies
2:58:30 – Starfield: Amount and Depth of Content
3:00:45 – The Rest of the Year
3:03:25 – Starfield: Final Thoughts
3:05:05 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep95

Podcast header image from Starfield. Podcast header font is Gruppe A. Major story spoilers for Starfield (main quest up till end of “Into the Unknown” and early missions of each faction quest) from 1:47:05 to 2:34:55 and 2:50:15 to 2:53:10. Linkdump after the jump

Introduction (0:15)
  • Wikipedia article on avocadoes.
  • Clarification: Legumes are botanical fruits. (Source: Wikipedia)
  • A botanical berry is a fleshy fruit without a stone, produced from a single ovary. (Source: Wikipedia)
  • Wikipedia article on Mountain Dew.
  • Mountain Dew Wiki article on VooDEW. (Source: Fandom)
  • Wikipedia article on Swedish Fish.
  • Wikipedia article on the lingonberry.
  • The regulation forbidding the addition of caffeine to non-cola soft drinks in Canada was repealed in 2010. (Source: CTV News)
  • Wikipedia article on Kinder Surprise.
  • Clarification: Surprisingly, Merve was not mistaken about Canadian energy drink regulation, but he missed some important context. (Merve also repeatedly conflated regulation and legislation, but who’s keeping track?) Up until late 2012, caffeinated energy drinks were regulated not as food products, but as natural health products. This meant that they could be sold in the country, even prior to 2010, when non-cola soft drinks not marketed as energy drinks were prohibited from containing caffeine. In December 2012, caffeinated energy drinks were brought under the food regulatory framework, which put them under the same regulatory regime as other soft drinks. But by this point, non-cola soft drinks were allowed to contain caffeine, so as long as energy drinks’ caffeine content didn’t exceed regulatory limits, this didn’t affect their ability to be legally sold. (Source: Health Canada)
  • Clarification: Jolt Cola was discontinued in 2019, so it’s not just unavailable in Canada; it’s unavailable everywhere. (Source: Wikipedia)
  • Music video for “Intergalactic” by Beastie Boys. (Source: BeastieBoys on YouTube)
Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play (9:05)
Unity’s Fee Restructuring (18:20)
Starfield: Intro and General Discussion (47:05)
  • Steam store page for Starfield.
  • Correction: Merve had actually been to Cydonia at this point, because going there is necessary to complete The Old Neighborhood. (Source: Starfield Wiki on Fandom)
Starfield: Characters (1:00:45)
Starfield: Combat, Part 1 (1:10:55)
  • Correction: Merve was talking about the Equinox, and it is classed as a rifle, not a pistol. There is no weapon called the Eclipse. (Source: Starfield Wiki on Fandom)
Starfield: Some Criticisms, Part 1 (1:18:30)
  • Starfield Wiki article on outposts. (Source: Fextralife)
  • Steam store page for Grounded.
  • Clarification: Golf Club Wasteland was forced to change its name to Golf Club Nostalgia earlier this year due to a legal claim. It was still called Golf Club Wasteland back when Merve played it, but it had already changed its name to Golf Club Nostalgia by the time of recording. (Source: Steam)
  • Wikipedia article on Aaron Copland.
Starfield: Exploration and Setting (1:34:35)

No links here.

Starfield: Some Criticisms, Part 2 (1:41:25)
  • Mass Effect Wiki article on the M35 Mako. (Source: Fandom)
  • Elite Dangerous Wiki article on the Scarab. (Source: Fandom)

— SPOILERS BEGIN HERE —

Starfield: Mixing Genres and Aesthetics (1:47:05)
  • Fallout Wiki article on the Dunwich Building from Fallout 3. (Source: Fallout Wiki on Fandom)
Starfield: The Main Quest (1:57:30)
  • Correction: Merve’s correction of the pronunciation of Inon Zur’s name wasn’t wholly correct. It is pronounced more like “yee-non tsoor,” with “oo” as in “book” and “r” pronounced gutturally as in the French language. (Sources: Wikipedia)
Starfield: The Discourse (2:04:40)
Starfield: Culture and Politics (2:17:45)
  • The XKCD comic that The Kappa was referencing about digital infrastructure. Correction: The person in the comic is from Nebraska, not Akron, Ohio.
Starfield: Tone, Writing, and Quality (2:25:20)

— SPOILERS END HERE —

Starfield: Combat, Part 2 (2:34:55)
Starfield: Food (2:39:55)
  • Correction: The barbacoa-containing food item is a wrap, not tacos. (Source: Starfield Wiki on Fandom)
  • Wikipedia article on tourtière.
Starfield: Ships (2:45:35)

— SPOILERS BEGIN HERE —

Starfield: Quest Flexibility (2:50:15)

No links here.

— SPOILERS END HERE —

Starfield: Inclusion and Its Controversies (2:53:10)
Starfield: Amount and Depth of Content (2:58:30)

No links here.

The Rest of the Year (3:00:45)
Starfield: Final Thoughts (3:03:25)

No links here.

Conclusion (3:05:05)

No links here.

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