Hello, everyone. I'm back with another weekly update. Happy Sunday and happy March. I hope you guys are warming up, because Spring is around the corner and Daylight Saving Time is exactly a week away.
Let's start with the elephant in the room, an update regarding Skullgirls followed by my long rant about the director of Lab Zero Games who sexually harassed his employees and destroyed the company by laying off his staff.
The Annie update has came out couple days ago, along with the balance changes during Early Access on Steam. The devs stated that her full release is set to happen in May, for Steam and PS4. Nintendo Switch players, however, will have to wait a while longer due to technical issues. Other platforms like PS3, PSVita and Xbox 360 won't get the update and once the PS4 version has the update which should've been had in the first place, it won't cross-play with PS3 and PSVita.
I am beyond stoked to see Annie in action, but apparently, there was no Skullgalz Showdown last week, which sucks like heck. But on the upside, the upcoming Skullgirls Slapfest is set to go live Tuesday and I will see Annie in action, and experiencing sexual themes won't be a problem when it comes to sexual harassment. Anyway, I have exciting news to make, so listen up. *ahem*
Alright, so you know how Skullgirls stayed alive depite that fiasco so that we can still get Annie and that 16th playable character, but could probably still need more characters after them to expand the roster even further? Well, that's where the Season 1 Pass comes in.
That's right. Annie won't be the only new character because not one, not two, but three more TBA characters are coming to 2nd Encore through its very first Season Pass that is intended to extend the roster to 18 playable characters and it's available now on Steam and it gets available on PS4 in May and on Switch at a later date. Accordingly, the second character will be out this year while the last two characters will come out next year in 2022. I seriously hope the next character is Umbrella because not only she and Annie are spotted in the PS4 theme art. It's also because she is getting saltier as time goes by. Forgive me if I pulled a Nevercake.
Not only that because Hidden Variable is working with Future Club on the development of Annie and the upcoming characters and content included in Skullgirls' first ever Season Pass. Future Club is basically the same Lab Zero Games without Mike Z and they can work with Hidden Variable without experiencing that crap he has pulled. This is why sexual harassment has no place in their environment, but sexual themes have a place in some video games.
Did I forgot to mention? Remember the campaign that given Skullgirls five 2nd Encore DLC characters? They did an offer that they are gonna be free for a limited time. But on the Season Pass characters, it'll be a different story because once Annie and the TBA characters are released, they will be priced regularly.
The remaining three mystery characters will also make their playable debut to the Mobile spin-off. Plus, a 5th character to expand the roster to 19 playable characters will be revealed if the Season Pass sells well, but due to Lab Zero Games' fallout and 505 Games not hiring Future Club, the 5th character in the Season Pass won't be Indivisible's Ajna.
I wanted her to be in the Skullgirls universe, just like Es from Xblaze in the BlazBlue universe, the Joker in the Mortal Kombat 11 universe, etc., but all hope for it is now scrapped and Ajna is no longer in my wish list because of it. I even assigned her to conciliation, Es' theme. But despite that, I am still buying the Season Pass on day one the moment it gets available on PS4 if it means trying Annie and the TBA characters out.
In short, Annie will fully release on PC and PS4 in May and on Nintendo Switch in a later date due to technical issues, but the PS3, PSVita and Xbox 360 versions won't get it. I sincerely hope they release Skullgirls 2nd Encore on the Xbox One so that all four consoles have it and we can get full cross-play between all platforms as a cherry on top if Hidden Variable confirmed it because it has been stuck in limbo on the Xbox 360 version for almost eight years as you are still seeing the Xbox 360 logo on the website.
Once she does, I will do a degree that I will explain in a later blog post.
If case if some of you are out of the loop, during the Once More Once Top 8 tournament streamed by BG Calisto, Mike has made a joke about George Floyd's death at the hands of Derek Chauvin on stream and the "he can't breathe" phrase was his last words. A white cop killing a black person is not something to joke about. It is dark and sacred that if you make a joke about a white cop killing a black person on stream, I fear that it will cause people to uninstall the game.
But he immediately apologized about making an egregious joke and after overlooking the message, I understand what he meant by "much too soon." He meant that he should've waited until after the stream before making that joke. In fact, making an egregious joke about a white cop killing a black person is dark.
I was thinking of listening to BBTAG music while playing and spectating 2nd Encore and watching streams and after mentioning that I have assigned Ajna to conciliation, I am debating that if I should play BBTAG music, as an occasion to spice up the ongoing Skullgirls launch party or not now that the game is continuing development under the Hidden Variable and Future Club umbrellas following the disbandment from Mike Zaimont. Both for 2nd Encore and Mobile. If confirmed, I will assign the characters, stages and canon solo matches to the themes and a full chart will be provided later on. But here's a sneek peek.
Annie = Justice Sword
Umbrella = Active Angel
Minette = Crystal Forest
Yu Wan = STAND UNRIVALED
Hubrecht = The Tyrant
Roxie = Seeker of Truth
Aeon = Snow Sisters
Since Skullgirls has a different situation, it stays alive because Autumn Games is the critically acclaimed publisher that owns their critically acclaimed IP, not Lab Zero Games nor Mike Z, which is the only safe indication that we are still getting Annie and the TBA characters regardless of the dissolution of Lab Zero Games.
Personally, I am pretty darn glad that Skullgirls gets to stay alive so we can still get Annie of the Stars and other characters and it has given me the golden opportunity to debate on deejaying BBTAG music or not to spice up the launch party and support not only Umbrella, but also Minette to get her playable debut. But pretty darn sad that Indivisible couldn't and won't receive a major update ever again. All because one bad apple has destroyed the whole company. The 15 characters were actually done, waiting to be implemented after years of hard work, but Mike just... killed it? What a freaking absolute piece of crap of a scumbag.
Despite Lab Zero Games' fallout, the Skullgirls launch party never ends so we can keep getting new content for years to come. So will playing the music of Arc System Works' acclaimed and magical 2v2 all-star fighting game, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, if I confirmed it.
And Mike, what the heck. What the heck. Seriously, though. You should've resigned so Lab Zero would go back to normal. You have earned an indefinite ban from all commentary positions and a two year ban from competeing in future Skullgirls tournaments. Are you kidding me? You have been banned from commentary indefinetely for sexual harassment? I don't believe this. A two year ban from competing is reasonable, but a permanent ban from commentary? That's just too extreme.
Not to mention that you implemented much improved netplay and lobbies to PC, and that's something we console players should've gotten when you resigned. I mean come on, it allows us to play online with players from farther away and provided us completely clean lobbies. We console players should've gotten that when you resigned. But no, we couldn't.
You also have implemented the patch to PC that is inspired by last year's Combo Breaker, which didn't happen because of the pandemic. The Combo Breaker thing contains death noises for when they are KOed in the air, mobile spin-off intros for the rest of the characters, a new stage from the mobile spin-off, No Man's Land, new and returning palettes to make a total of 40 additional palettes, including the ones on the Switch version and the ones on the mobile spin-off and tons of balance changes. So yeah, yeah, we console players should've gotten that update too when you just resigned.
I mean, come on, you confirmed rollback netcode to be implemented to Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core Plus on Steam. You should've done that in the first place before you committed sexual harassment to your darn staff. You blatantly started this fire. Why are you implementing it after you sexually harassed your employees then? Why not just be a craphead to ArcSys, like your retarded stupid butt does?
I mean, seriously, you should've at least implemented rollback netcode to Accent Core Plus on Steam before you committed sexual harassment. You should've at least... at least resign so we console players can get everything implemented on PC. This is bull! This is straight up bull! And... I guess the process of bringing the stuff implemented on PC to consoles is put on hold until Annie comes out in May on PS4 and in the later date on Switch because Lab Zero has gone defunct.
Seriously, Mike, what the heck. I kept looking at it and... we Skullgirls console players should've gotten a ton of stuff you implemented on PC if you just cut your losses and resigned from Lab Zero Games. In fact, if you can't say anything nice and pleasant to anyone to avoid sexual harassment, don't say anything at all, instead of frequently spouting your stupid little "oh, listen to me, I have penis and vagina memes and sales" thing. You have been indefinitely banned from commentating in future Skullgirls tournaments. There is no excuse.
Indivisible's production has been kaput? Are you kidding me? This is just freaking ridiculous. Seriously, Mike, what the heck. I keep thinking about it more. You should've at least put a big middle finger on your employees and resigned from Lab Zero Games so Indivisible would continue getting future content. Guest characters, backer-created characters and so on. Where is your freaking respect? I mean, seriously, the devs confirmed that 15 characters that ware waiting to be implemented were finished, but because of your actions, all of their hard work that took blood, sweat and tears has been kaput. All because you refused to leave the game industry.
That also includes the TV show adaptation exclusively on Peacock, and that's something that should've stayed in production if you resigned. I mean, come on, it's only based on the game. It should've stayed in production when you resigned. But no, it's no longer in production because your staff cut ties with you and formed Future Club, a new development studio, which 505 Games have no interest in hiring them.
In fact, Lab Zero was not the first company that is in partnership with Autumn Games to go defunct because Reverge Labs have went defunct and Konami doesn't have any intentions of being involved in their IP. You are one of the alleged people who have caused sexual harassment and it's not an excusable behavior. There are others that have been alleged for sexual behavior if you look up examples of those cases.
A former EVO president, Joey "Mr. Wiz" Cuellar has been arrested for sexual exploitations on little boys, being a pedophile from messing with little boys' ineffable body parts. Now he is no longer welcome at EVO in any capacity while he has been replaced with Tony Cannon to act as CEO for this year and beyond after he put a huge hamartia on EVO by being a pedophile that people has claimed. Now don't give me that bullcrap because it's true. I witnessed it firsthand since sexy fighting games like Dead or Alive 6 have elements that are NSFW and the stream has temporarily ended for their safety and they don't want their streams to be in an NC-17 territory.
It's great that you apologized for making an "I can't breathe" joke while saying inappropriate things to Bunny and Grey isn't that bad. I can understand that, but sexual harassment against your staff is just freaking unforgivable and too extreme, enough to put an Achilles' heel on the company. And now, they left and pledged not to work in a company where you'll have any part of because of your sexual offense. In fact, people, including myself have pledged to keep supporting Skullgirls on the behalf of your employees who left Lab Zero and formed Future Club, Hidden Variable and Autumn, not on your behalf. So don't even give me that bullcrap that I shouldn't be dissing on you because if this is something we must boycott, I have rights to diss on those who committed such extreme actions. Don't even think for a darn second that you are cool.
Dignified companies like Hi-Rez Studios and others didn't have a single person that has committed sexual harassment and abuse. Don't even stand a freaking chance because of the way they bring upcoming and continuous updates to live servers on both PC and consoles simultaneously. And that's the truth that until Annie comes out, we Skullgirls console players are behind, and that just ticks the heck out of me.
Nothing to do with the fact that Tiamat has came out on SMITE, on both PC and consoles simultaneously and I get to put her in action after my God Wheel has landed her name for the first time. Just because all of their games are so free-to-play that a paid membership isn't required for them on consoles and they give us new characters continuously doesn't mean they can absolve you of being a jerk. Everyone has the right to work in a safe environment and sexual harassment is an unforgivable offense to make people uncomfortable.
I can understand that you are autistic, but just because you're autistic doesn't mean you are excused because autism is not an excuse for egregious actions, like sexual harassment, child pornography, bullying, plagiarism, copyright infringement and others, just like with egregious fouls on the NBA, like pushing, blocking, reach-in and charging. Heck, SonicFox is autistic and he has not sexually harassed a single person. That's proof right there that people who are sexually harassed has pledged not to work with the person that created an Achilles' heel on the environment.
So yeah, yeah, I hope you're happy with the way you wanted, Mike; sexually harassing your employees to create a hamartia, an unsafe environment that made them uncomfortable on Lab Zero, leaving us console players behind until Annie comes out in May on PS4 and in a later date on Switch, getting banned from commentating permanently and banned for two years from competing in Skullgirls tournaments and killing Indivisible, just by laying off your employees instead of resigning like you promised. Now you look like a darn loser all alone out there working in your little studio that nobody will ever work in with you.
You can just go frick yourself until you learn not to say anything at all if you can't say anything nice, instead of just frequently mentioning ineffable body parts to anyone on the country, including Bunny, Grey and your employees who left Lab Zero and started their fresh new development studio where you won't be a part of. Don't give me that bullcrap.
Now with that rant out of the way, let's talk Nintendo. I was in the middle of playing Super Mario 64 on Super Mario 3D All-Stars. It is a collection that contains three full games, 64, Sunshine and Galaxy. There are a couple of flaws to it, though. The collection lasts for a limited time and will go away in the end of March and neither one of them are fully remastered in HD like the Crash Bandicoot N-Sane and Spyro Reignited Trilogies.
Currently, I'm on 64, getting every Power Star. The left analog stick of my Joy Con has a little problem. It keeps drifting on me, meaning that the cursor and the characters move on its own without me inputting a direction. I think it's a technical issue for some Switch owners on Nintendo's end. I used rubbing alcohol on a q-tip and did exactly what the instructions told me to do. Apparently, this method has made the drifting issues worse. I'm down to only one option; ordering a replacement kit I need to replace my drifting analog stick. So until I get the drifting issue resolved, I won't be playing on the Switch. In fact, I won't get to try out the Bravely Default II Final Demo before playing the full game.
That's all I have to say for this update to let you guys know what's going on this week with my angry rant about how angry I am about Mike Zaimont's sexual harassment behavior that spiraled out of madness and caused Lab Zero to go defunct. Except that I don't use bad words like they do. As always, the moral of the story is, never sexually harass your friends and family, by frequently mentioning ineffable private parts or making jokes about them to anyone. That's the definition of sexual harassment and that egregious behavior could get you boycotted.
As I said before, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all to avoid making inappropriate sexual comments. In fact, future Skullgirls tournaments are starting to boycott Mike Zaimont of his commentary position because of sequences of sexual harassment and disrespectful and abusive actions, but next year, his suspension from competing will be rescinded.
Basically, I will start assigning BBTAG songs to Skullgirls characters, stages and certain solo matches to spice things up and it could circle around the Earth, even though we console players behind until Annie comes out in May on PS4 and in the later date on Switch. All because the employees of Lab Zero cut ties with Mike after they claimed him as a sexual harasser and left the company to form Future Club. Not to mention he scrapped my hope of Ajna from Indivisible to be in the Skullgirls story. It just ticks me off. So freaking retarded.
