2026/10/28 Karmelita's still got us

Hivesteel needle, no tools, etc etc. I feel like I'm playing a fighting game: My brother was cheesed that the AI in UFC 5 was quite seemingly input-reading—which, since it's the computer, you can't rule that out. But the other half of "input reading" is input prediction. And that can be done by humans. Still I'm pretty sure even then our reaction times are fast. We've like, we can deal with the crap she throws. As usual it's a matter of composure. I'll say it again, I love how much of a dance Karmelita gives. There are so many movements which are the wrong movement and put you into the path of a move you already know she's doing, and it's so satisfying to take a path that doesn't kill you, instead. But easier said than done. Also soooo much of this fight is measuring distances and reacting to the gap between you suddenly being closed - or expanding - in ways you actually can't predict. Karmelita literally does dance. It's kind of ridiculous. But you usually have like a quarter of a second to recalculate and it's generally enough because Hornet is nimble, but you have to be doing the right inputs at the right moments. Game is really generous with its invulnerability time after you've taken a hit, so there are a lot of opportunities to recenter and learn from mistakes, as the battle goes, at least. Well, "generous" for Karmelita's stages. We messed up bad with the arena mobs - especially the small ones - a lot. Miserable TBH LOL. But we're having a lot of fun practicing with them. It's hilarious having a lot of moving parts going at once and the schmovement is arguably a lot more open-ended than vs. Karmelita proper. It's more than a warm-up - it's training. If you're bored of fighting them then you aren't pushing yourself hard enough, you're not learning - of course you're bored. They don't have to be boring. (But I'm not sure anything can stop the two big ones from being frustrating.) (Frustration is part of fighting Karmelita too, so maybe they're just as much training in keeping a cool head, like it or not.)