Suggestions for Sneasel shrine

Planning to create or to revamp a shrine and need some help or a second eye with your content? Post away!
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dubiousdisc
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Suggestions for Sneasel shrine

Post by dubiousdisc »

I'm currently working on a massive overhaul of a site of mine that has been archived and untouched for years now - Dark Claws, my shrine to Sneasel. So far so good, I'm having great fun and I think I'm writing something that I really like! But I wanted to ask for some input on a few points:

1 - I would like to talk about other characters which are similar to Sneasel in concept or design.
Does anyone know of any other characters which are based on scary dark weasels, or on the kamaitachi, or who just look a lot like Sneasel?

2 - I had to explain a few things about the gameplay mechanics of Pokémon, and I've realized that at this point they are so ingrained in my head that I might not know how to explain them. I'd like someone to beta read this passage and let me know if it's easy to follow and understand, or what to change to improve it. Tear it apart if you have to.
For this I would particularly enjoy the input of someone who does not know much about the inner workings of Pokémon.
So, if even getting a Sneasel is such trouble, one has to ask: is it worthwhile? Well...Yes because it counts towards the completion of the game - and no because, in spite of its appearance, Sneasel makes a rather underpowered fighter in Pokémon Gold and Silver. This is mostly because of a problem in the way the game itself works. An important mechanic of all Pokémon games is that, when a Pokémon attacks using a move of its same type, the move's power is boosted by 1.5x. This is popularly referred to by the fandom as the STAB, acronym for Same Type Attack Boost. Another important mechanic of the game is that each Pokémon species comes with different abilities, which the game displays through a number assigned to attributes such as Attack, Defense, and so on. This value plays together with the STAB: up to the third generation of Pokémon games, it is the type of a move that determines which Attack statistic is used in the damage calculation - whether a Pokémon's move is based on its Attack or its Special Attack. For instance, with this mechanic all Psychic-type moves are based on Special Attack, and all Fighting-type moves are based on Attack.

Sneasel happens to have high Attack and low Special Attack; however, its type is Dark/Ice - both of which were designated as based on Special Attack (until the revamping of this mechanic in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, two generations later). This means that Sneasel can't count on using moves of its type effectively, which puts it at a disadvantage. Sneasel has access to a few decent moves of other types that make use of its higher Attack, but, overall, it is rather impaired by the poorly designed STAB mechanic. One might even be disappointed to finally catch a Sneasel and discover that it is not as powerful as expected.
Thanks to everyone who will help!
Lethe
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Re: Suggestions for Sneasel shrine

Post by Lethe »

I can't think of anything re: 1), but in response to 2):

... I'm not new to Pokémon and I'm tired right now so that might be a reason lmao, but I don't understand this sentence:
Another important mechanic of the game is that each Pokémon species comes with different abilities, which the game displays through a number assigned to attributes such as Attack, Defense, and so on.
The "different abilities" part. I assume by abilities, you mean "moves" (since that's how move effectiveness is rated)? But I'm not sure. If you do, I think it's better for those unfamiliar with Pokémon and those familiar with Pokémon to use the terms consistently, since they're technical. (There's also the fact that "Ability" itself is a Pokémon term with different meaning.) Sorry, correct me if I'm wrong.

I think the "number assigned to attributes" part might be throwing me off because it makes it seem like there's more to just stats being stats. I would have written it was "comes with different [moves], the effectiveness of which is calculated based on the Pokémon's stats, such as Attack, Defense, and so on". This seems like a preference thing though, so ignore this part if you prefer the way you put it!

In the same paragraph, it might be useful to put in parentheses which games make up the "third generation" that you mention, just in case someone doesn't know or isn't familiar with the term. You did that in the second paragraph with the fourth generation.

The rest is easy to follow, but as you put it, it'd be nice for someone not familiar with Pokémon mechanics to give input on this!

(lol this is so interesting omg!!! Damage calculation being based off one stat depending on the Pokémon's type what. I did not even remember. SIMPLER TIMES.)
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Robin
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Re: Suggestions for Sneasel shrine

Post by Robin »

Will try to help out where I can! ^O^

1) Possible similar characters: the weasels in the story The Wind in the Willows and the Redwall novels. Tangential at best, but might be interesting to research!

2) HOMG finally my lack of knowledge lack of shits to give about technical details of Pokemon battle is good for something!
dubiousdisc wrote: So, if even getting a Sneasel is such trouble, one has to ask: is it worthwhile? Well...Yes because it counts towards the completion of the game - and no because, in spite of its appearance, Sneasel makes a rather underpowered fighter in Pokémon Gold and Silver. This is mostly because of a problem in the way the game itself works.* An important mechanic of all Pokémon games is that, when a Pokémon attacks using a move of its same type, the move's power is boosted by 1.5x. This is popularly referred to by the fandom as the STAB, acronym for Same Type Attack Boost. Another important mechanic of the game is that each Pokémon species comes with different abilities **, which the game displays through a number assigned to attributes such as Attack, Defense, and so on. *** This value **** plays together with the STAB: up to the third generation of Pokémon games, it is the type of a move that determines which Attack statistic is used in the damage calculation - whether a Pokémon's move is based on its Attack or its Special Attack. For instance, with this mechanic all Psychic-type moves are based on Special Attack, and all Fighting-type moves are based on Attack.

Sneasel happens to have high Attack and low Special Attack; however, its type is Dark/Ice - both of which were designated as based on Special Attack (until the revamping of this mechanic in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, two generations later). This means that Sneasel can't count on using moves of its type effectively, which puts it at a disadvantage. Sneasel has access to a few decent moves of other types that make use of its higher Attack, but, overall, it is rather impaired by the poorly designed STAB mechanic. One might even be disappointed to finally catch a Sneasel and discover that it is not as powerful as expected.
*: A paragraph break would be good here for readability.

**: As Lethe said, perhaps further explanation or a different word choice would help clarify this. Perhaps "strengths and weaknesses represented by higher or lower numbers of Attack, Defense, etc."?

***: Another paragraph break for us poor souls with ADHD and low technical knowledge, LOL

****: Instead of "this value," perhaps a little more explanatory phrasing like "the number value for Attack or Special Attack".

Really, these are the only four points I've found that need some fixing in this excerpt. The extra whitespace will help with content digestion, because it breaks down important information into bite-size chunks, and it will also provide more room for concept clarification. Other than that, your examples are great, and the section provides a good overall critical look at Sneasel. :)
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dubiousdisc
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Re: Suggestions for Sneasel shrine

Post by dubiousdisc »

Okay, good, I thought something was fucked up there XD

Lethe: I did not realize that I used a reserved word, dang. I'll fix it the way you said. :D Thank you so much!
And yeah! Actually, I keep forgetting that now the moves no longer work like that. I'm too old for this...

Robin: OMG I ACTUALLY KNOW THE WEASELS OF THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS
I don't think they're really close enough, but I should re-read that regardless! Thank you :D

I wouldn't worry too much about the paragraph breaks because the text is going to be much bigger (probably 20px or more) and with more air than how it looks like here in the forum (where, to be honest, I can barely read anything, I am always zooming all over the place, lol). There will also be pictures to break it. But I'll keep in mind, because I agree with where you'd break. I might do it anyway because it's sensible :D

Alright, I'll add that on the stats! Thank you so much :D
Robin
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Re: Suggestions for Sneasel shrine

Post by Robin »

^O^ glad to help! :D
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dubiousdisc
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Re: Suggestions for Sneasel shrine

Post by dubiousdisc »

In the end I went mostly with Robin's suggestion, removed any mention to abilities as per Lethe's suggestion (Lethe: actually, looking at it as I was editing it, I realized that I didn't mean moves, I meant stats - anyway, I dropped it, as it was confusing), and switched around the generation thing (moved the fourth generation mention sooner for clarity).
So, if even getting a Sneasel is such trouble, one has to ask: is it worthwhile? Well...Yes because it counts towards the completion of the game - and no because, in spite of its appearance, Sneasel makes a rather underpowered fighter in Pokémon Gold and Silver. This is mostly because of a problem in the way the game itself works. An important mechanic of all Pokémon games is that, when a Pokémon attacks using a move of its same type, the move's power is boosted by 1.5x. This is popularly referred to by the fandom as the STAB, acronym for Same Type Attack Boost. Another important mechanic of the game is that each Pokémon species comes with different strengths and weaknesses, which the game displays through higher or lower values of Attack, Defense, and so on - the so called statistics, or stats for short. These stats play together with the STAB: until the revamping of this mechanic in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (2006), it is the type of a move that determines which Attack statistic is used in the damage calculation - whether a Pokémon's move is based on its Attack or its Special Attack. For instance, with this mechanic all Psychic-type moves are based on Special Attack, and all Fighting-type moves are based on Attack.

Sneasel happens to have high Attack and low Special Attack; however, its type is Dark/Ice - both of which were designated as based on Special Attack. This means that Sneasel can't count on using moves of its type effectively, which puts it at a disadvantage. Sneasel has access to a few decent moves of other types that make use of its higher Attack, but, overall, it is rather impaired by the poorly designed STAB mechanic. One might even be disappointed to finally catch a Sneasel and discover that it is not as powerful as expected.
THANKS TO BOTH OF YOU SO MUCH! :D

As a side note, wow, this site is ending up much longer than I expected. I can't believe I'm writing a historical retrospective of a fucking Pokemon.
Lethe
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Re: Suggestions for Sneasel shrine

Post by Lethe »

omg lol no wonder I had such a hard time figuring out what you wanted to say. XD Yay, much better now! :D
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Robin
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Re: Suggestions for Sneasel shrine

Post by Robin »

Excellent! I followed the logic very easily this time. I'm glad my (newbie) feedback helped! xD
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