It doesn't seem that long but the other day, I was finding when I only had three Hunters and was struggling every time I played.
The 16.0 live was just a few hours ago and you'll find the codes here, if you didn't watch.
More changes have been added and you'll see them when you enter the game. The game is still a bit broken on Windows.
They pushed my character level up twice, but I didn't really notice the maximum. It's usually extended outward, as well.
Nothing much has changed with the hosts.
Have you tried this game?
I've been playing off-and-on for a few days and I'm starting to understand the complicated battle strategy. Button mashers beware!
The developers, the artists, and everyone putting the game together have put their best into it. It's obvious that they've worked hard on it.
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The worst thing I've seen is the reaction to it. People try to categorize it. Don't! It does so many things and you can do so many things that you should just enjoy it. One moment, I'm in a battle. The next moment, I'm solving puzzles. That sounds like Genshin Impact or Wuthering Waves but it doesn't feel anything like those. I even saw something about building a house.
I've been playing a bunch of games from China, South Korea, and Japan. However, it's surprising to me that I'm seeing or hearing some of the same places mentioned.
I seem to find that playing one game that leads to another gives me a versatile viewpoint and I can switch to another game and find my way more quickly. Then, I can return to the earlier games and solve problems that gave me headaches.
This game has a Solo episode to start. Apparently, there are co-op episodes. It's funny how it feels a bit like real life. However, I never thought that I'd play Mah Jong as a dog, but that has happened. One thing I did was to activate all of the teleport/fast travel locations as soon as possible. Trying to find the resources to finish a quest may require something far away.
Hopefully, I can make some progress. I've been spinning my wheels a bit on Wuthering Waves because the ability to level up the 5-star characters is a bit much using 4-star characters. Solo Leveling: Arise is still interesting. Finishing the stories can sometimes be too easy, especially since I've been playing from the first day.
Upgrading weapons and armour in WWM can require additional resources.
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I haven't seen a need to buy anything. I usually don't, but I did it for a while with Solo Leveling: Arise. It made sense for a while. However, WWM is something new and whether I will last or it will last are yet to be determined. They supposedly had over 250,000 players on Steam at one time, but the average is lower.
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There is a test of ascension via combat. Making it past level 20 is the trick right now. I missed some snakes and was defeated.
Update 2025.12.14: Got through the ascension test and I'm at level 25 now. I would tell you about what's happened but all I can say is that I'm not going to Kaifeng City yet.
Oh, a couple of hours later, I'm at level 31 and had another ascension (breakthrough) test. It's still weird seeing/hearing Qinghe because that's been mentioned in two other games I've played. I've been able to tie up some loose ends and finish quests.
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They sent me a survey request and I was pleased that the survey was so precise. They asked me if I had any other suggestions and I mentioned that I'd like the iPad version to be modified to work on Mac, as Wuthering Waves is.
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Update 2025.12.16: I finished another breakthrough last night. This time, it used the mausoleum trials. I wonder if I finish trials levels 3-5 early, if it will help. The latest only grants access to levels 50-55.
According to Steam, I have got 8 of 34 achievements.
Draining a lake was interesting.
Update 2025.12.18: I have another breakthrough/ascension test to handle. At this rate, I should be at level 1300 by next year (with only two weeks remaining) as long as I can surpass the tests. I never expected that my knowledge of Daoism, Buddhism, and astronomy would be helpful in a game.
I'm not as slick with the battles and I have one battle with an angry woman in the lowest level and she isn't about to be beaten.
Update 2025.12.24: This game is a bit of everything and should be game of the year. It requires so much of a player, as it calls on knowledge that westerners might not have, and some extra keyboard combinations (macro time?) that I don't have in muscle memory.
It's beautiful and sometimes disgusting, but you can see that the artists went 100% to get the look and sound that make you feel something. Then again, I'm seeing a lot of that in the free-to-play games.
I bought a Panasonic G97 and received it yesterday. Previously, I've had the GH3, GH4, GX8, and GM5 micro Four-Thirds models from Panasonic, plus the Olympus E-M1. Of all those, I've only kept the GM5.
The GM5 is a tiny marvel of a camera body, but it doesn't have much to offer but its size. While it is quick and easy, it's sometimes frustrating. The G97 is a bit like a GH4.5--a hybrid hybrid camera body.
The GH4 was known as the best camera for 4K video under US$10,000 when it was new. However, it was a bit under-powered and lost focus occasionally when shooting video at 1080p. Add to that the original Lumix X 35-100mm f/2.8 that had a myriad of problems from OIS stutter to severe lens flare and the combination seemed a good reason to throw it far away.
The G97 is more powerful, but has to shoot 4K30p video at a crop. It can also shoot 1080p video at 120 fps, but it isn't the greatest. That's a shame.
The 5 stop IBIS is good, especially at the US$849 price point. When you combine it with a lens that has Mega OIS or Power OIS, things become better, as the Dual I.S. combines the stabilization. The viewfinder is another surprise at this level. You can get an OLED display at 0.74x magnification, which is the same as the GH4 has.
First impressions
After charging some batteries (without the USB cable and AC adapter that they don't include), I took the G97 and some lenses for a walk. The body is very small, even though the controls are the same size as the GH7 and G9 Mk II. Then again, I found the GH4 small, and it wasn't quite large enough for a good balance with some of my Four-Thirds Olympus lenses.
Controls on the top are in the same place as the GH4 but controls on the back are not. Labeling is very different but it seems as Panasonic wanted to push flexibility and allow buttons to be re-mapped. I tend to use controls as they come from the factory.
The internal structure of the G97 may not be as strong and light as the GH4, but it feels just as sturdy. Using aluminium and steel instead of magnesium alloy works just as well and costs less. I was surprised to learn that the G80/G85 and G90/G95 were weather-sealed. Having photographed in hurricanes and sports events where rain was sudden, I want to feel comfortable that my equipment can handle it.
There are a couple of settings I change right away. I turn off the Beep. I set the photo style to natural and the file to Raw. I usually set the focus point to pin-point but I set it to Face Detection, although I wonder if it's a combination of two settings to make face detection work. On the GH4, it was a disaster compared to the Olympus E-M1. I want to learn if this version of Face Detection works.
Walking at night makes for difficult photography. Film cameras didn't work well, especially when film was rated at ASA(ISO) 100 or even 400. Sensors in 2004 weren't that good. In 2012, I was photographing regularly at ISO 1600 or even 3200. In 2025, it's less of a problem. Sensors have become better and image processing has become much better. Having strong IBIS can save a situation that a tripod can't. I can hear how hard the IBIS is working to keep things steady. The EVF can show me things that my eyes (or an optical viewfinder) can't see in the dark.
The camera body didn't let me down. I'm sure I still have settings to find to fine tune my experience. However, the G97 is quite capable, and coming from the GH4, etc., it's an easy transition. Contrast that to my occasional frustration with the S5 Mk II and S-series lenses. Auto Focus locks quickly and the shutter engages quickly. In the dark, AF goes down to EV -4, just like the GH4. There are only 49 AF areas, just like the GH4, but it works well so far in stills mode. I doubt that DFD on video is any better than it was.
The 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 Power OIS lens that came as part of the kit seems good. At 5x reach, it's the longest zoom kit lens for micro Four-Thirds. The FoV is like a 24-120mm lens on a 135 Format camera. On the S5 Mk II, the kit lens was 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6 without OIS, which seems strange for a lens of around US$600. The Dual I.S. was activated and I'm sure that I got shots that wouldn't have been usable otherwise.
IBIS on Four-Thirds was not very good. I had the Olympus E-5 and couldn't tell that the IBIS was working. My best lenses were heavy. On micro Four-Thirds, Olympus had IBIS and Panasonic had OIS. Of course, they would not work together. If they had, micro Four-Thirds would have been more compelling. IBIS in the G97 is not Panasonic's finest, being about the same as the GH5 but the Dual I.S. functionality extends that stabilization, much like Sync IS works on Olympus equipment and makes it possible to get shots handheld that were never possible. Back in the film days, I remember standing against a tree or a wall to get certain shots when light was scarce.
Firmware updates
Naturally, it's a good idea to have your equipment up-to-date and when I was photographing sports most every day, I'd be ready. Both the body and the 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 lens needed updates. As well, I checked my other lenses and my Panasonic/Leica 15mm f/1.7 got an update back in 2022. It's the lens I use the most on the GM5.
Update 2025.11.15: It's been about a month since I've had the G97. Using the lenses I have, it's worked well. I ordered the Panasonic/Leica 9mm f/1.7 just a couple of weeks before the G97. Both are on the Amazon 5 payments plan.
I already had the 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6 Mega OIS lens with the GM5. It's a collapsible kit lens that does an amazing job at a tiny size. When I bought the GM5, I also bought the 42.5mm f/1.7 Power OIS lens. The other Panasonic lens was the Panasonic/Leica 15mm f/1.7. I also have three Olympus lenses: 25mm f/1.8, 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6, and the 8mm f/8 (almost) fisheye lens cap lens.
Since I don't have reach past (135 Format) 300mm, I bought a 2.2x screw-on tele-converter for a 58mm filter thread. It should be good enough for a while. I noticed on Amazon that the Panasonic/Leica 100-400mm f/4.0-6.3 Mk II version is available on 5 payments. That will change by the time I'm ready. That lens will give me a 135 Format effective 800mm reach, and you can use a tele-converter for even further reach. However, that tele-converter is a bright light solution.
It's been 40 years since I first saw Serif Publisher. At the same time, I saw Timeworks Publisher, Ventura Publisher, and Adobe PageMaker. I ended up using Calamus on the Atari ST but I became familiar with practically any available graphics software and even designed some of my own.
Today, Affinity announced that they are combining everything into one application, including Canva AI. You can mix things a bit through Personas, but I don't know if it's going to be so capable. What I know of all-in-one graphics software is that it has never worked well enough.
I'm skeptical but I don't have any huge projects. After the announcement that they were to be acquired last year, it was obvious that changes were on the way. If you want the Premium version, there is a subscription, as I understand that there has been with Canva.
For typical users, it's free. When upgrades are available, what will happen?
Update 2025.11.18: I downloaded the Windows version. They actually had four different downloads and I downloaded one of the x64 versions. Hopefully, I got the correct one.
In any case, it's installed and I took a look at the first tutorial, which was way too small to be useful.
I tried to bring up a raw photo that I had and tried to re-size it after expanding the application's window. The frame for the photo went one way and the image stayed where it started when I tried to increase the magnification past 25%. Maybe, it will be ready in a few months.
Unfortunately, going back to Affinity Photo didn't work. I still have the version 2.x Affinity applications on my Mac, and Affinity Photo worked on that machine just fine.
Update 2025.12.19: Got the first update and it looks better. I'll make an effort to test and hopefully, I'll be able to transition to the new application.
The latest live stream was almost two hours.
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You will see the codes, of course. There are new Hunters and new Weapons. There is a collaboration with Frieren.
In November, there will be a 1.5 year celebration.
How is everyone keeping up with all of the changes? I feel as though I play regularly, but not as much. I have characters at level 115 and a few weapons at level 120, with more at level 110. Most of the skills are at level 7, and the level within Armory is level 7. Finding resources is the main thing still. I tried to keep everything balanced.
I'm feeling a bit ridiculous.
I've got a Panasonic GM5 from my old days with a P/L15mm f/1.7, O 25mm f/1.8, P 42.5mm f/1.7, O 40-150mm f/4.0-5.6, P 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6, and a 46mm screw-on focal reducer.
I've also got a Panasonic S5 Mk II with a P 20-60mm f/3.5-5.6, P 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, P 50mm f/1.8, and a Tamron 180mm f/3.5 macro lens on an EF->L-mount adapter.
For years, I spent many days each week photographing at skate parks or earlier, photographing at high schools. I photographed many sports. I'm not quite as active or able, but I'm missing the ability to do more.
Purchases too many?
Purchase number one:
I've been photographing the night sky and I was looking for a very wide lens and there was a Brightin Star 11mm f/2.8 fisheye lens for US$259 for L-mount, except that the deal was US$40 off, not tariff, taxes, or shipping on my end.
It's not electronically connected at all. It's completely manual. It's also coming from a Chinese brand that I haven't tried, but as long as it focuses to infinity and doesn't fall apart, I'll be okay. It looks as though the optical quality is quite good, especially for the price.
It arrived today. Packaging from shipper looked a bit ragged but inside, the box was good. They even sent me the correct lens mount. You probably haven't seen how many people complain about getting the wrong one. I've been holding my breath for a lack of problems.
Purchase number two:
I went out with my GM5 the other night and was hoping for something very wide, missing my Olympus 8mm f/1.8 fisheye lens. I saw an Amazon 5 monthly payments deal and bought a micro Four-Thirds Panasonic/Leica 9mm f/1.7. It was full price, but for US$99 something each month, it's agreeable.
It has arrived. It's as big as the GM5 and currently, it's the only weather-sealed micro Four-Thirds lens I have. It used to be that all my lenses were weather-sealed. Using Four-Thirds equipment, I photographed outside during hurricanes, so having weather-sealed equipment was important.
Purchase number three:
Amazon has a habit of showing me deals on equipment from 2016. I've also been looking at (used. new) micro Four-Thirds camera bodies from around that time. The E-M1 Mk III was interesting to me, but the EVF is low on resolution. The GH5 Mk II looked interesting, but the lack of PDAF made too much of a compromise and with the tariffs, etc. a new one is just too expensive and good, used ones are difficult to find.
So, Amazon pushed a Panasonic G85 after the lens purchase. The G85 is a sufficient camera, much like a cut-down version of the GH4 that I owned, but with really good IBIS. Amazon had a 5 payments deal but it just wasn't a step up. I looked at the G97, which is somewhat more advanced, not unlike the 2019 G90/G95/G99. The EVF and back panel use OLED technology. The menus are more like my S5 Mk II than the GH4 menus. In a lot of ways, it's a better GH4 with IBIS. The trouble was that there was no 5 payments plan offered. 12 hours later, there was a 5 payments plan.
The G97 is here. It only comes one way--with the Panasonic 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6. Strangely, it didn't come with a USB cable of any kind or an AC adapter. However, it instructs the user to attach both pieces and connect to an AC outlet to charge it. The box doesn't have anything to indicate that those two items would be included. I happened to order a separateUSB-connected battery charger with two batteries. (Wasabi has been reliable as a third party battery provider.)
I got some of the quick settings changed straightaway. I moved most of my equipment into an older backpack and went out to get pizza and take a long walk with the camera.
It's a but smaller than the E-M1 and smaller still than the GH4. I wonder how it would be with larger lenses. Except for the 12-60mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, every micro Four-Thirds lens I have is rather tiny.
Now, I have three pieces of equipment on the way.
Google keeps sending e-mails about their new watch, their new phones. I'm not buying them. The Pixel 10 is apparently less fast than the Pixel 9, even with an expensive foundry change to 3nm process.
Why does Google bother? My Pixel 6a was a good three years behind the competition in power. Since the Pixel 9, they were only a few months behind the rest. Now, they're further back again.
I've gone through a few Android devices:
There is more history in that list than I care to remember. The bright spots are the OnePlus devices.
The OnePlus 8T used the Snapdragon 865. I heard about the Snapdragon 888 overheating and didn't want to deal with that. The good thing was that the 8T was smooth and configured as if it meant to get an iPhone user to like it. It had a beautiful display and smooth scrolling.
The OnePlus 13R is a lot like the 8T in my mind. The big difference is that time has brought more powerful processors. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC is quite powerful and includes Adreno (Radeon?) 750, which is reasonable. Heat is a slight issue but it never shows a "cooling down" message as the Razer Edge does with its Snapdragon G3X. Having UFS 4.0 storage is good and 12 GB of RAM is enough. I haven't tried to use Gemini or Copilot, even though they are pre-loaded. I have used Google Assistant in the past, especially when I couldn't see the Pixel 6a display outside.
Playing games with either is satisfying but obviously, the extra power of the 13R helps. The Razer Kishi V2 works with the 13R, but not the 8T. However, the Razer Kishi V2 Pro does not work with either. It doesn't work with my overheating, then melting Razer Edge, either.
I have not tried the cameras but I'm sure that they're more than adequate. I have a micro Four-Thirds camera body, as well as a 135 Format camera body, so phone cameras are adequate to more than adequate.
These are phones that would have me switch from iPhone to Android. However, my iPhone 15 is my current phone and it's a good size for me to carry.
Update 2025.12.19: The OnePlus 15R is ready to be ordered. I might consider it in a couple of years. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is switched to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5.
I noticed that my 13R has been updated to Android 16. It's been working so smoothly that I didn't notice the transition.
