Defiance Reporter Episode 030

Defiance Reporter – MMO Reporter

Defiance Reporter Episode 030 - Frontier Truth

March 11, 2014

Reliving Defiance with Michelle (@WomenofDefiance) and Jules (@Hellbugsinlove) has brought with it new insights and analysis upon re-watching Defiance, which lends an appreciation to its writing, creation, and its portrayal on screen. Join Michelle and Ben as they share their appreciations of the latest #ReliveDefiance episodes as well as details of the new Gunslinger Trials DLC due to launch today! Listen after the break.

Listen now:

DRAMA IN DEFIANCE

Relive Defiance Ep 7 and 8 recap

â€œGoodbye Blue Skyâ€

This re-watch night also coincided with Jesse Rath live tweeting Being Human, so it was quite a task to keep up with both (heâ€™s the hardest working actor on Syfy).

This episode can be summed up with one tweet from Daz Watford:

Daz Watford â€@ThatsWhatUGets Â Feb 25

Zombie Sukar! :D #ReliveDefiance

I always think of this as the gaylien episode, but re-watching it definitely reminds me that this episode is totally owned by Sukar – and I like that it doesn’t actually end on a paranormal note. It may be spiritual on some level, but the actual actions and what takes place are all explained by mechanics.

If there was ever going to be a spinoff of Defiance, or if I ever wanted to read novels about the series, I would want one of the main characters to be Sukar. I canâ€™t tell if itâ€™s Noah Danby or the character, but something about him just sticks.

This episode is one of the finest ensemble episodes of the season. It doesnâ€™t feel clunky as it goes from story to story like some episodes and it still fuels the larger plot lines for the season.

Watching Cougar Nicky lurk around the McCawley household was very entertaining. The whole pillow rouse was amazingly well done, which just shows that she is quite weasly in getting the information she wants (why do they kill off the best characters? and how did she cover up her Votan disguise all the way through an affair with Rafe?). We can only imagine how things may have turned out if Nicky stayed a Votan and ended up teaming up with Stahma. Look out, world. And speaking of Stahma, fans may not like me for saying this, but her whole opening up to Kenya and showing up at the NeedWant at exactly the same time that she knew a razor rain storm was coming just hints even more at her Machiavelian character, doesnâ€™t it? She had this sort of interaction up her sleeve the whole time? Or didnâ€™t she? Or, does it not matter at all, because according to the Casti saying, â€œseeming is beingâ€… so intentions actually donâ€™t count for much.

And a few tweets from some re-watchers (which, if you havenâ€™t noticed, most of our re-watch tweets come from the same dedicated fans each week):

Bunny â€@bunny_summers Â Feb 25

Little Wolf and Big Zombie’s Grand Day Out. Defiance spin off coming soon…. #ReliveDefiance

â€œI JustÂ Wasn’tÂ Made for These Timesâ€

Hands down one of my favorite episodes. The world-building in this one is exquisite with back story, factoids, and just all kinds of things that give you some insight into the post-post apocalyptic world (this is especially good for those that donâ€™t play the game – does this episode have the same feel for those who do play the game?)

I love Gale Harold, but Connor Lang is just a testament to the idea that Amanda is a little vanilla – she dated a bureaucrat, they were both going to rise up together, etc. Thank goodness sheâ€™s getting some new action in season two.

One concerning point is that when I first watched this episode, I was incredibly surprised by Jamie Murrayâ€™s attire (or lack thereof). Upon the re-watch, though, I didn’t blink an eye – which means I have built up a tolerance to the nudity on Defiance, and will need for it to now be broadcast on HBO or Showtime. ;)

Exactly how did they program McClintock to go after Rosewater? He was programmed to go after Mayors, but how does the robot identify them? Especially seeing as Amanda was just elected? Do Mayors put out a sudden, automatic pheromone once theyâ€™re sworn in?

And a few tweets from some re-watchers:

Daz Watford @ThatsWhatUGets

Does Charlie Rivers appear in the game? #ReliveDefiance

Bunny @bunny_summers

I hope McClintock makes a season 2 appearance. #ReliveDefiance

Bo-Tan-O-File @thebotanophile

Rafe, Doc moves between Sarcasm, Cynicism, and Disdain. See? CHANGE. #ReliveDefiance

Jesse Does Defiance

Syfy has released a couple short featurettes starring Jesse Rath that explore what happens off the set if Defiance.

Set TourÂ http://youtu.be/tpLGgJBCxDk

The entire Tarr house is two rooms that they just rearrange to fit the scene, which is a feat because the scenes in the Tarr household feel rather vast (there was a whole hellbug fight in the living room, remember?).
We did see a glimpse of a somewhat new setup when Jesse seems to be sitting on a bed; incidentally, that bedroom is also used for the bath scenes (which seems to fit the Tarr sensibility just fine)
At this point, everyone, men, women, aliens, etc. should have a crush on Jesse Rath. But who else would we like to see lead these tours? And are these part of the promised â€˜webisodesâ€™ or are these just bonus behind-the-scenes extras?
The McCawley set is actually much bigger than I expected – maybe this means weâ€™ll have more scenes set there this coming season.

Breaking BreadÂ http://youtu.be/o-OfcRRUwEM

This was the least informative of the two, but it was certainly entertaining because we get a glimpse of that wonderful Grahame Green/Jesse Rath rapport. It also makes me wonder how people in Votan makeup manage to eat salad – I would have to drink all of my meals through a straw
One more thought as to why season two will be even more exciting than season one – we get to see these people adapt all over again to a shift in paradigm. In season one, we were introduced to them at a time when everyone was just getting used to living with one another and really settling into their social roles. In season two, this has completely shifted, so we get to see all of the characters go through some dramatic shifts.
We also got to see a short scene from season 2 that showed a couple of interesting things: 1) Jesse Rath is dressed in suave and swanky clothing, probably denoting his current role in the family business, 2) that Rafe McCawley is back in the McCawley family house, and 3) they are celebrating with an old Earth tradition of smoking cigars. Could it be because a baby was born?

In Other News

Julie Benz was at the Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con this past weekend, March 7 – 8 and had a panel with Aaron Segers, who also hosted the Defiance panel at DragonCon. If we find video of this, weâ€™ll make sure to share it. You can see her next at Fandom Fest in Louisville, Kentucky, August 1 – 3

Tweets for Thought

These are just a few tweets from fans that made me pause and think for a moment, so maybe theyâ€™ll entertain you all as well for a few minutes.

Â Andrew Langerman @AndrewLangerman

@DefianceWorld @menofdefiance I think #defiance has a chance to explore how Nolan deals with PTSD. It could be interesting to the plot.

(I completely agree – we havenâ€™t seen much of that from Nolan yet, partly because the war is far enough behind him that he has dealt with some major issues, but still it would be nice to hear him talk about it)

Defiance World @DefianceWorld

And bacon was never the same. RT if you wouldnâ€™t mind giving â€œpowâ€ a try. #Defiance Returns June 2014. pic.twitter.com/4OKfByyuSM

This is another example of what Defiance does best with its promotional material – giving us fun glimpses into how things have changed in the world of 2046, but never taking things too seriously, even when things do get a little serious.

NEWS FROM THE BAY AREA

The Trials and Tribulations of Gunslingers

http://community.defiance.com/en/2014/02/28/new-scoring-system-co-op-arenas/

Release date March 11, 2014
Public Test server is up
Group Arenas
- You can battle through any arena as a group, sharing kill scores while receiving individual rewards for skill shots and special events
- The new arenas also present a wider variety of challenges and environments and give opportunities for all types of players and play styles to shine.
- On top of all this, they also contain story elements and objectives. Theyâ€™ll feature all-new combat encounters in environments both new and familiar, from the interior of a newly crashed arkfall to a fateful showdown with Dekuso and his newly upgraded Raider minions.
â€œImprovedâ€ scoring
- Improved Leaderboards
  - Instead of sorting players by damage done, Gunslinger Trialsâ€™ leaderboards will sort by revamped score values that translate directly into rewards. Each point earned will contribute to XP, scrip, and keycodes.
  - scoring gives us the opportunity to present moment-to-moment feedback about success (and failure). While you will earn a â€œHard Resetâ€ bonus for stunning a Dark Matter Bulwark, you will also suffer point penalties for extraction and incapacitation.
- New Incentives
  
  Another reason we implemented scoring so broadly was to provide rewards for behaviors we had no other way to reward. Key to this strategy are two scoring events: â€œTeamworkâ€ and â€œOpportunist.â€
  - Teamwork rewards players for dealing damage to the same target.
  - Opportunist is a bit different, rewarding bonus points for dealing damage to an enemy that is debilitated by a nano-effect. This even extends to bio grenades and pyro grenades.

Q&A with Trick Dempsey on the Friday Livestreams

Scoring

Does grouping have an impact on score inside Gunslinger?

Groups have no impact on score.
Does the new scoring system in Gunslinger punish solo players?

We are actively punishing players who die a lot, so if you are a person who died a lot regardless of the strategy, it will be a painful update for you and you will have to get good at surviving.
Is kill stealing an issue with the new scoring system?

Much like it does inside of sieges and the live game, every time you do damage to an enemy they reward you with a portion of their bag of points, 10% of the enemies total score value is given as a bonus for getting the killing blow. We’ve since added a little bit more nuance to that, 30% if there was a critical kill, if you had a nano effect on them at the time you’re getting another 20%, its possible to milk an enemy for a lot of points from a kill.

With smaller enemies kill stealing is still an issue that you can have simply as a result of them having a short time to kill, but if you’re facing an enemy with a larger stack of hitpoints you will earn teamwork points for shooting them and you will get chunks of points every time a damage threshold is reached. opportunist is when you have an effect on an enemy they allow you to get persistent drops of points by keeping people under effects.