Glass ampoules definitely still exist for smelling salts and similar. Honestly I assumed it was because they'd eat through most other viable packaging, now I dunno. But they definitely still exist. My roommate has some.
Or, just make multiplayer (competitive, anyway) locked out if you're using certain options. If you're struggling and using accessibility options such as stat buffs/nerfs, you proooooobably don't want to engage with invaders. And who cares if a friendly summon gets pulled into a slightly easier world? Oh no, I get easier souls, the horror. Now, everyone can play, AND we're not interfering with anyone else's gameplay in a meaningful capacity. Win/win.
Not the guy you replied to. I think I've looked up guides or tips for bosses like... 3 times in all of the from soft games. Bosses are largely puzzles to be figured out. They're some of the most engaging moments of gameplay, and, barring gimmick bosses, reading a guide for them still doesn't do the work of beating it for you anyway. They'll just give you some things to look for and some general advice, then the rest is on you.
Think of it less as "at the 20% mark you'll need a guide" and more "you'll probably only FIND 20% of the game your first playthrough without a guide" - you'll find the critical path, you'll beat the game, but without a TON of tenacity, you won't complete a lot of the side quests, and probably won't even find some. You probably won't really have a grasp on what conditions you need to get an ending you like, etc.
All of it CAN be found, can be done, without a guide, and you'll probably have a blast doing it, it's just a matter of the time and commitment you want to/are able to put in.
Yeah, a guide will say like, "okay, first go to stormveil. To do that you'll have to kill Margit. Go more or less north from the start."
Between the start and Margit is like, easily 5+ hours first time for a decently experienced player. There are tons of caves and miniature dungeons and other cool things to explore. The individual challenges, you're more or less doing yourself. Unless you're watching a video walkthrough. No comment there. Imma let people enjoy their way. Some guides include tips for certain particularly brutal areas, or build ideas of you're struggling, but those are absolutely not required to play the game, and if anything removes some of the sense of satisfaction from overcoming.
Then, there are things like the interactive map. Elden ring is a huge open world. Really all of the souls games are open, non-linear, and thoughtfully connected worlds, but elden ring is the only one of call " open world". If you really want to see just how dense the world is, and how little using a general route guide actually ruins for you, I encourage you to take a gander at it before playing. The world is FUCKING HUGE.
I think one of the coolest things with FS games is, the level of hand holding you get is pretty much what you want to look for. You CAN watch a video walkthrough and follow it step by step, sure. You can read a general route guide to have a bit of bearing. You can just use the interactive map, to uncover things you may not otherwise. And, if you're so inclined, you can raw dog the Panda Between, just you and your own wits.
Think of guides in FS games more like MapQuest directions. It'll tell you to take a left at a certain exit, but not all of the traffic between here and there. You gotta navigate that bit on your own, just here's a sign post to follow.
As far as lore goes, that's one of the most compelling things about the games. They're absolutely oozing more from every possible orifice. The worlds are so dense and thematic, and the lore isn't spoon fed with excessive cutscenes and talking, it's largely given to you environmentally. Placement of items and enemies, item descriptions that feel like they're telling you bits of legend. Stuff like that.
Not inventory load, but equipment load. You can carry whatever you want with you, but each piece of armor, each weapon, and each ring has its own weight. You have an equipment weight value, and you can go up to a percent (different in every bloody game, it feels like, but usually around 50%) that you can "light roll", then another threshold between the two where you can "medium roll" - a bit slower, less invulnerability, less movement. Over that you fat roll, and no one likes fat rolls.
Essentially, you can carry the whole world with you, you just have to pick what you're actively using.
It's not about REQUIRING a guide to do anything, it's that if you're trying to do one specific thing, or have a bit of assistance navigating exactly where you're supposed to go next, they're indispensable.
I definitely could have played elden ring without a guide. Problem is, the world is HUGE, and there are many endings with specific requirements. I don't have hundreds of hours to pour into one game, even one I'm quite enjoying. I also want to see more of the plot, and that tends to require seeing multiple endings or other specific, exclusive, quest lines. All of which is just more approachable with a guide.
Some of the fun in from soft games comes from the exploration, but a lot of it is mechanically focused. Git gud. That, and being steeped in a fascinating, dark world, tend to be what keep me coming back. A guide helps keep me from feeling too frustrated just wondering where I should go.
I used to think my desire to play female characters was a "closeted trans" thing. It's not. I'm definitely a cis gendered male. I've realized, at least for me, it's more of a self worth thing. I don't want to play as something I don't particularly like, such as me, and so I play something as opposite as possible. I'm working on that, tho.
No? No elaboration? Afraid to say the quiet parts? Ok I'll say them for you.
This line of thinking is disgusting. You're saying that because these girls will* partake in drugs and other "uncouth" behavior in the future, them getting it now isn't a big deal.
Just in case anyone couldn't read between the lines. If we're going to be gross, let's just cut the pretenses and just say it, eh?
*Nevermind that you know nothing about these kids now, let alone their futures.
Yeah, I don't think anyone is arguing they shouldn't. It just seems really counterproductive to ever talk to a father as if he's a babysitter. As long as we're assuming Mom doing all the child rearing work is normal, and Dad's just a babysitter, we're leaving the door open to normalizing deadbeats.
Boeing has MASSIVE government contracts, and does a ton for both the military and NASA. They're absolutely bailout material, as much as it hurts me to say.
Glass ampoules definitely still exist for smelling salts and similar. Honestly I assumed it was because they'd eat through most other viable packaging, now I dunno. But they definitely still exist. My roommate has some.