Gaming thoughts, bite-size chewables - new orange flavor!

[MiguelMC]

And then there's some others that really try hard to cheat the players, like the mobile game (made by EA, IIRC) that changed the payout tables if you ever spent money on the game... making it worse for the suckers, and not-so-subtly encouraging them to spend more money to get those rare things they thought they deserved. I wish I could remember what that game was...

I used to play RealRacing 3 (by EA( on my phone, until 2 years ago. This is a F2P game, with progress limited by artificially scarce "gold", one of two in-game currencies. Of course, the game constantly tries to fool you into spending gold on non-progress things. At the time I left, the most efficient way to get money was to race and win, with the daily bonus, a ~30 minute race. This most efficient race gave you, IIRC, about 0.3 gold per minute. But you also earn gold by watching ads! One gold per ad, maximum 30 seconds, so no less than 6 times more efficient than actually "racing".

It turns out ads were limited to 10 per day (yes, limited ad watching, who'd have thought). But if you had the temerity of buying _anything_ the game limited your ad watching to 2 per day! Result? Buying "gold" was a surefire way of stalling your progress for good.

EDIT: I have also played the heck out of the Dots series: Dots, Two Dots, and Dots & Co. In the year or two it took me to go through the Dots & Co levels, Two Dots went from a very pleasant, pretty much unobtrusibe "pay to increase win%" to the most egregious sort of mobile game. I was flipping pissed to see such a change for the worse.

 

[MiguelMC]

It turns out ads were limited to 10 per day (yes, limited ad watching, who'd have thought). But if you had the temerity of buying _anything_ the game limited your ad watching to 2 per day! Result? Buying "gold" was a surefire way of stalling your progress for good.

Are you in Europe ?

I get something like this

5 Gold ads - 20 R$ ads - 5 Gold ads - 50 R$ ads - 5 Gold ads - 100 R$ ads - 5 Gold ads.

I have actually played 30 ads one day just to see what happened. Got 10 gold. Didn't bother going higher.

Got annoyed with the auto playing ads after each race and bought the lowest cost IAP using expiring google rewards money. Nowadays I run through 5 ads per day on the background while working on the computer.

The ads are not even useful. Often they are for shitty mobile games that is 30 seconds video and then 15 seconds interactive screen which is supposed to allow you to play a demo but which often takes you straight to play store. Or they are ads for shady stuff like binary options -- not even sure if they are legal for me. On the rare occasion I get a local ad, it will be for 15 seconds or less and will always allow me to skip after 5 seconds.

I like the game, with new tracks, M$ and F1 racing, it is interesting. Fixed maximum M$ per day has made it easy for getting new cars. But IAP costs are still wacky with some IAP purchases costing more than my entire monthly spending for everything.

I am, but I stopped playing a couple of years ago, shortly after the "retro" events and the fully upgraded series were introduced, having made it to the Ferrari 412.

To be honest, I found the driving dynamics _a lot more fun_ than Grid Autosport on the switch.

 

[MiguelMC]

Just finished up GreedFall. It was pretty much exactly what I expected out of the game.

Started in on Dragon Quest XI S 2V: The Enlengethening Title - Definitive Edition. I don't know who was responsible for the interface abomination when playing with KBM, but someone needs beat with a stick.

Out of curiosity, are the PC graphics the ones from the original DQXI, or did Squeenix lower the graphics to Switch's level? I played DQXI:S on the Switch, and the graphics were perfectly fine, but they were a clear notch below PS4 levels. I think Hero's hair moves in the original PS4/PC versions?

It doesn't helpt that the graphics comparisons tend to be before the "PC Definitive Edition", or that most videos show the (lovely!) cinematics.

 

[MiguelMC]

Are there HDR monitors like TV's? As in, OLED quality pitch blacks plus HDR.

That, coupled with raytracing, has the potential to dramatically change graphics, because lighting is everything. Sure you can achieve great results now, but I believe raytracing has the possibility to play with lighting artistically in ways unconcievable today.

 

[MiguelMC]

Ah Skyrim. I beat Morrowing somewhat before Oblivion came out. Beat Oblivion right before Skyrim came out. So I'm now feeling itchy with Skyrim. So... what's the current consensus on it? More concretely:

1. PC vs Console: I played TES III and IV on PC, but would play Skyrim on a Switch (my laptop's a Mac that cannot run 32 bit apps). Ergo, controller + unmodded. Good enough?
2. Levelling. I found Morrowind good in that aspect, but hated Oblivion. Essentially, realizing that even daedric relics would be levelled pretty much ruined exploration for me. Is Skyrim more tactful? UESP seems to suggest it is.
3. Is magic a truly viable path? Bloodmoon creatures with 50% reflect plus serious absorption made magic not all that great at very high levels. Oblivion lost the flexibility, but perks plus magicka recharge (except I loved being the atronach breton) seemed a net improvemnt. However, I didn't get the feeling I could scorch Tamriel (maybe my fault, mind you...) the way a Baldur's Gate 2 high level wizard felt.
4. Is there a way to deactivate the gore? I wouldn't mind playing with a 10 y.o. without beheadings and all sort of blood squirting, but there is a limit to my flexibility.

 

[MiguelMC]

Finished Subnautica (Switch port) today. Found the combination of survival, plot, and scary critters thoroughly enjoyable. Highly recommended (if you don't fear the sea, and don't hate survival games, that is).

 

[MiguelMC]

Witcher 3 - bounced off it pretty hard, but I’d rather play it on PC anyway.

DQ9 has some promise, but I’ve not really enjoyed my previous attempts to get into the series.

Witcher 3 actually syncs up with your PC save so you can go back and forth. I get that it might not be as comfortable to play on Switch though.

And the DQ I was recommended is 11, not 9. It's widely considered one of the best JRPGs out there. The definitive edition, which is the only one available on Switch, has a 2D mode, so you can play the whole game as if it came out in mid-1990s. It also plays significantly faster in 2D because the maps are less complicated and combat feels faster. And topping it all off, you can swap back and forth between 2D and 3D in any town or campsite in the wilderness.

If JRPGs aren't your bag, DQ:XI is not going to change your mind but if you like them, it really is one of the most polished ones I've ever played.

Finally changing things up with another recommendation, there's always Smash. The story mode of it takes a long time to beat.

Doesn't changing 2D/3D modes essentially restart the "chapter" whatever that is internally? I seem to remember switching to 2D right before entering Gallipolis for the first time, and being moved back to not having set foot on Hotto (a couple of hours of progress).

 

[MiguelMC]

I've just started playing Civ V (plus expansions). Purchased years ago on the very cheap, with the expectations that my next laptop would play it well.

I must have played about 150h in Civ IV until about 5 years ago or so. Gosh, this thing is so different! Spacing of cities, appearance of horses/iron, barbarian encampments progressing through the ages... the hex grid...

Anyway, so far the same thing happens in 4 and 5. I can sort of start playing, but there is a lull in which I don't really know what I'm doing. I feel like going through the motions rather than having a grand plan of world domination, as that seems sooo far away. As you can guess, I'm not a very good Civ player.

I'll give this a few dozen hours and a few easy games to see if I get it.

 

[MiguelMC]

I'll give this a few dozen hours and a few easy games to see if I get it.

If Civ5 really grabs you, you might want to keep an eye on Steam for the next time the Civ6 Anthology goes on sale.

Civ6 -- in my 1006 hours of /played experience -- is all the best stuff from Civ5 done better, and expanded upon in all the right ways.

The Civ6 Anthology Collection was just introduced in June for $35 and includes the base game, both major expansions, and all the DLC. I bought all this stuff retail (cumulatively around $150) and have no regrets. The Anthology sale is over now I think but no doubt will be back before long.

Civ6 is often on sale for the switch. Never played online, so it might be worth it on that platform! Surely the compliation will be there soon too. Still, Civ is the sort of game that I like, but somehow realise that I suck, don't stick with for as long as I should... and still fall prey of "One... More... Turn..."

 

[MiguelMC]

Played through the recent remaster of the OG Quake. Interesting to see how things have moved on in 25-ish years, across the board.

It still sounds absolutely epic and having the NiN soundtrack present is part of that; but let's not forget how tough you felt once you got the super nailgun and 200 nails, a lot of which was down to how great it sounded. Still not sure what that shotgun sound is supposed to be

I've seen a couple of short videos of the remaster, while thinking to myself "How the heck did I beat this in Nightmare back in the 90's?"

No checkpoints means you can abuse the fuck out of the QS/QL system.

Oh, that's how I did it.

 

[MiguelMC]

Re game manuals: largest one I've owned is, by far, Falcon 4.0. Darn the memories.

 

[MiguelMC]

Got Skyrim for the switch last Xmas. I must admit that the quests I've done feel much better, and less of a filler, than those in Oblivion and Morrowind. Really a different level.

On the other hand, me w/ a controller & marksmanship... I just suck. Yeah yeah, motion controls, yada yada. I grew up with KB+M.

 

[MiguelMC]

The Witcher 3 has a fully voiced, complex side quest about retrieving a lady's precious cast iron pan.

It's.... not quite like most open world games.

I love my cast iron cookware. I fully agree with that lady, and I would also get in touch with a hero if my stuff got lost.

BTW, one crucial difference between Morrowind - Oblivion - Skyrim is how, without the compass, Morrowind gave you decent directions (especially with the updated journal of the expansions). Oblivion sort of worked, as it sort of kept the pretence of being beatable without the compass. But Skyrim? Characters will drop names of locations without blinking, and assume you know it all about the land. What do you mean you don't know where the grove of the random druids is? Just check the compass!

 

[MiguelMC]

BTW, one crucial difference between Morrowind - Oblivion - Skyrim is how, without the compass, Morrowind gave you decent directions (especially with the updated journal of the expansions). Oblivion sort of worked, as it sort of kept the pretence of being beatable without the compass. But Skyrim? Characters will drop names of locations without blinking, and assume you know it all about the land. What do you mean you don't know where the grove of the random druids is? Just check the compass!

Skyrim was the first of the games that actually put the location they told you about on the map. Morrowind it was "Go north then look for the tree with the diddly bit hanging off of it then kind of go to the left of that and find a rock with a painting on it and the cave will be 3 miles to the right of that" all without batting an eye that if you came upon those things from the wrong direction then the directions were worse than useless to you. A character actually pointing out on the map where you're supposed to go is the equivalent of actually stopping and asking for directions. To Morriwind's credit: at least they left the directions in the (bad) journal unlike other RPGs of the era which just told you once and expected you to remember/write it down.

I originally played Morrowind on Xbox... It was my first foray into The Elder Scrolls. That journal became so frustrating once I got over 50 pages; once I found out about the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages Wiki, I went through the journal and noted down every single quest name in my own notebook to try to keep track of everything.

I did enjoy playing Morrowind! I often got lost in the Ashlands though. And so much lore was thrown at me that I could not keep track of it all.

I now have Morrowind on my PC but I'm not sure I can bring myself to deal with that journal again.

The thing with the Morrowind journal is that Tribunal & Bloodmoon expansions made it usable! Entries were grouped by quest, and you could go through the active quests. So you wouldn't need to go back and forth through zillion pages trying to figure out if a particular entry is relevant to your quest.

On the positive, Morrowind's interface is designed to show you info, not just how cool your character looks. Sadly, I know which one my 10 y.o. prefers. DAAAD DAAAAAD LOOK HOW COOL THE MASK OF CLAVICUS VILE LOOKS! (caps absolutely necessary)

EDIT: Not having to hunt for left/right pauldrons is a total win, even if I miss wearing luxury robes to cover my glass armour

 

[MiguelMC]

Been chopping logs in "A Monster's Exhibition". I'm pretty much finished, having discovered all but 3 of the exhibits, and about half of the friends. It's a great little puzzle game, if you're into those things. The mechanics are sokoban-like, except the asymmetry of rolling logs gives the grid a "parity" (not quite!), and where different mechanics grow up organically. What happens when you think you're making it to the windmill is a thing of beauty.

I wouldn't call the game "easy" or "short" by any means. Every friend is an acomplishment in its own, with very very few being "easy". It has a reasonable path to the main ending, without hitting the truly hard bits, but hinting there is more to see. However, once you're off the main path, the difficulty increases quite substantially. I'm not sure I'm fond of the reset mechanic needed for some of the advanced puzzles.

Apparently I've put about 40h+ into it, although I was playing mostly after dinner, with a tired brain, when probably going to bed would have been better. Getting to the ferry in 10-14 hours feels about a right estimate.

 

[MiguelMC]

I really really want to play "Tunic". However, it's either wait for a switch release, or take a punt that my 2020 13" MBP (Intel, not M1) can play it gracefully. :/ Any of you has experience on how it plays on integrated graphics?

Oh well, there's alwas BOTW2... wait!

 

[MiguelMC]

Subnautica Below Zero. $12. I just finished the first game. It seems the second is as good as the first, but smaller. At $12 it's a steal.

BZ is good, but IMHO not as good as the OG Subnautica. The game's more history-driven, but it ends up being, somehow, worse than the OG. Solid-ground exploration is pretty much mandatory. The ocean is definitely less expansive, but substantially more multi-layered (this is different rather than worse). The main vehicle is modular, and goes from not-quite-as-fun as the Seamoth to not-quite-as-useful as the Nautilus. On the other hand, the core gameplay is as good as ever. The pr0n suit still rocks. There are some scary fish, and some amazing biomes. You'll be a lot more efficient due to experience, and will likely build a decent starter base pretty much straight away.

Note performance on the Switch is much worse on BZ than on OG. May not apply to other systems.

Despite that, to me it's well worth $12.

 

[MiguelMC]

Oh, gosh, lol at the scrawlings of a madman. I "beat" Tunic last year except for two trophies. The ones that almost certainly require reading the language. I never translated the language, though, as it felt like a very onerous task for little gain. I've finally decided to give this a go, and it's even worse than Fez numbers plus tetrominoes were for me.

And some spoilers regarding Tunic's language: I'm a native Spanish speaker, and unsurprisingly poor at English vowels or the more subtle consonants. Coupled with some variability in my pronounciation, it means that translating the language requires checking the phonetic pronounciation of suspected words, clearly lengthening the process. I hope the end result is worth it. Plus, I realised I never pronounced "heir" correctly.

 

[MiguelMC]

OT, but mHz and MHz differ by 9 orders of magnitude...

 

[MiguelMC]

I am finally playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 after owning it for a long time. I notice that it does not often get dark till 21:00 or 22:00 in game. Can European gamers confirm if it is like that in real life or is it a gaming convenience.

Others have said it about the summer. Conversely, sunset in places like Edinburgh (almost 56 degrees north) in December is at, like, 15:30. Not that you'd realise, given how shitty it is while "the sun" is still out.

Adding to that, some countries, like Spain, have an official timezone that does not match their longitude. So sunset in Spain happens about 1h later than you would expect, given its position.

 

[MiguelMC]

Hello, my name is Miguel, and I don't think I would have discovered the "good" Hollow Knight ending without (my wife) checking the wiki.

It's the one thing we checked, to the point that, after beating the Watcher Knights and making it to Lurien the Watcher, I turned back because I was afraid of an even tougher fight, not realising I'd killed "the boss" already

 

[MiguelMC]

Time for another AGDQ - kicks off today with the pre-show at 1030 CST and the first game at 11. I’ll have it on in the background for most of the week but I always look forward to these, even if it isn’t as exciting/novel as it used to be.

Schedule is here: https://gamesdonequick.com/marathons/cm06694cj010zw401cwatx1zo

I got to watch an Ori & the Blind Forest randomizer. Brilliant. Any similarity between what I saw and the way I play is mere coincidence.

 

[MiguelMC]

Still slowly working on Skyrim. I keep telling myself it's a ten year old game, and having to do things like save-scum and just look up solutions. Mainly because I want to move through this more quickly than usual because I have Astro-World and a couple other Christmas gifts waiting.

I don't know how soul gems work, I suppose I should go do the wizard college storyline for that. I figured out you can use them to charge up staffs that shoot magic. I also got offered to be a werewolf but I politely declined for now. I thought it in poor taste since I had recently killed a werewolf guy because a voice told me to.

Skyrim isn't really a game you rush. In any case, UESP is your friend: Soul Gems

Yeah, OG Skyrim would glitch if the FPS were higher than 60. Unsure if the Anniversary Edition has fixed that.

I'm (almost) willing to buy the PC version of Skyrim just to try that. And I'd wager a tenner the bug still exists.

 

[MiguelMC]

In completely unrelated news, as our TV remote has stopped working, I'm now at the mercy of a Sony bug that costs me about 0.1 seconds in lag. That amount of time has turned me from a mediocre Hollow Knight player (107% completion, missing Fools and the 4 pantheons) into a total noob.

In a trial run for the 100% in 20h achievement I lost a good 30 minutes to the White Defender, time in which my frustration was growing as I was sure I'd triggered Descending Dark and its invincivility frames well before being hit. Again.

And only somewhat related, while I had never really appreciated accesibility options, Prince of Persia has totally changed my perception. Optional checkpoints, high contrast/colour blindness modes, parry timing options, multiple damage multipliers... You know, the day when I'll need all of those, except perhaps colour blindness, is coming fast!

 

[MiguelMC]

Yikes. I think I'd either quit or figure out how to avoid the input lag.

I am not as good at Mario 64 on any modern TV setup as I remember being when playing it on an N64 hooked up to a CRT. I figure it's because of input lag. I'm sure it has nothing to do with me being decades older and comparing my reflexes now to those I had when I was a teenager.

Thankfully, I've found an app that mirrors the remote, so now I can engage "game" picture mode. Every time I switch on the switch. Because the TV forgets the setting when entering standby. So I could finally beat the white defender, even if it was the 5th or 6th try.

I think the first game where I noticed TV lag to be terrible was... Animal Crossing. With my parents' old TV, fishing sharks was pure guesswork when docked. Undock the console, and suddenly I'd get close to 100% success.

And regarding Mario 64... I'm with you. It's the LED vs. CRT. I'm sure we have nothing to fear in a couple of decades; our reflexes will be just as good

 

[MiguelMC]

Nintendo has entered the chat:
"Our games are £50 today, £50 in a year, and £50 for as long as we're selling. You may get them 33% off during limited sales at some point."

It's a bit weird, because I won't flinch paying full price for the next Zelda/Mario if it reviews well... but I sure as hell won't pay full price for, say, an Ubisoft title.

Similarly, I am keen on Civ VII, but suspecting it'll get must-buy expansions, and knowing I won't play online, well, there's another year of Civ VI waiting for me, which may actually play better on the switch 2.

 

[MiguelMC]

Ok, I just finished Metroid Prime and Tinykin, so it’s time for a new game Prince of Persia Lost Crown! Right off the bat, it asks me to choose difficulty mode and adventure or guided mode. Honestly, these kinds of choices are always a little paralyzing because I’m worried I’ll miss out on something. I played a bit of the game, and it looks amazing so far. So, what option did you all select?

I'm late to the party, but I went with all the "standard" bits. So no signposting, and "warrior" difficulty, IIRC. As others have said, all the toggles can be granularly toggled at any point.

PoP: The Lost Crown has some absolutely amazing accessibility options, from enhancing visual clues, to colour blindness friendly modes, to reflex timing, to fine-grained difficulty. Truly great. My parents were visiting at the time I was playing it, and the contrast with my retired father struggling with Hollow Knight (which I find more difficult thant PoP:TLC) couldn't be starker. While "git gud" is a thing, I really wish HK would have been a little bit less frustrating to him.

 

[MiguelMC]

I own both Raymand Legends and The Lost Crown on my switch. I love both of them. Even my kids love Rayman! However, I'm possibly almost a bad client for Ubisoft. After seeing several recommendations here, I snagged Rayman on an e-shop sale for, what, £7.50? And with the Lost Crown, knowing it was Ubisoft and not Nintendo, I was happy to wait for a sale. I paid £15 for my physical copy.

I would probably never have bought Rayman at full price, as it was my first foray into it, but with Ubisoft strategy, there was a clear message for PoP: wait and get it cheaper.

On the other side of the coin Nintendo got my £60 for Tears of the Kingdom... but not yet £50 for Metroid Dread, which I feel is a tad too much. At £35 for a physical copy, I'd jump.

 

[MiguelMC]

Regarding annual sports releases, I wonder whether companies wouldn't make more money if they had a bi-yearly or ti-yearly release, coupled with DLC season upgrades. You're enticing players that wouldn't to otherwise purchase updated rosters, and have more time for bigger, better "new releases", which could sell better.

But what do I know, I don't have an MBA

 

[MiguelMC]

How would that work? Most sports team rosters only change in any significant way maybe once a year. Anything else is a few trades and injures/bumping someone up from the minors. Anything more than once a year would have the same rosters for the most part.

Also don;t give 2k Games any ideas, as those bastards will be shutting down their online servers for any given game in like 4-5 months. I'm still sore that wwe 2k3, released in late 2023, has already had it's servers shut down

The idea, which may not be very good, and I may not have worded it well either, would be that you buy ${SPORT}ball 25, which gets the minor roster updates during the 24/25 season, as normal. Then, the 25/26 rosters are a DLC rather than a full game. Meanwhile, the developing team is focused on doing a 26/27 brand new release with (hopefully!) more features and less bugs, because they've had more time and one less critical deadline.

Not sure how you'd deal with, e.g. people buying the game a year and a half. after release. DLC 80% off for those buying after a given date? Code included in the box?

Regardless, you're right that these companies don't need help to pursue further monetisation.

 

[MiguelMC]

I got RDR (1) on the Switch a couple of months ago. It clearly had grand aspirations, but I felt the game did not respect my time. Or my son's. As mentioned before, the unskippable animations are such a PITA and, if you're aiming to get most/all outfits, you'll end up wasting probably well north of 15 minutes just on the pick up flower/skin animal animation. Its death system also meant lots of stupid backtracking were needed if you died in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

We built a PC over Xmas (will those "mid range" GPUs ever be released), and took the bait on the steam RDR2 sale from a fortnight ago. I can confirm:

• Somehow it's playable on low settings at 720p on the Ryzen iGPU, but it ain't nice
• It's not steam family friendly...
• ...because it requires a R* login

I'll pick it once we get the GPU, unless I'm swallowed by BG3, or the Switch 2 is out with a brand new Mario or maybe we're all dead by then. Just hope RDR2 is a little bit friendlier with a dad's time.

 

[MiguelMC]

Here's a thought / asking for a friend-type scenario.... Has anyone re-bought a game they currently own, lets say from Nintendo Switch to XBox / PS5 / Steam, for the mere purpose of re-playing the game and trophy hunting?

I've got Skyrim on the Switch (since ~2022). We've built a PC, and my son was asking to get the Anniversary Edition. Got it for under a fiver.

Mind you, in this case access to mods makes a radical difference. Heck, just SkyUI alone makes a massive difference. WTF has Bethesda been doing since Oblivion?

 

[MiguelMC]

Last night, on Prince of Persia's Lost Crown (yes I'm still playing that game; it's taken me this long to put 16 hours into it), I started in on what presented itself as a side quest but I think is actually the DLC. Based on what I read here I expected exceedingly difficult platforming challenges, but so far it's been fine. The platforming in this game is very forgiving.

Not so with the combat. It's showing me just how lazy I've gotten with combat, relying on upgrades that have been stripped away. I mean, I don't have a ton of upgrades, but my handful of extra health potions and health bar segments, combined with damage-enhancing amulets, mean I haven't had to try nearly as hard as I do here to beat bosses (or even ordinary enemies).

I thought the hard platforming challenges were part of the base game, in the room next to the old lady in the main hub?

While I 100% the main part, I tried a few times the first platforming challenge (the one that has to be beaten in essentially one go), but nope out. Especially for a costume reward.

 

[MiguelMC]

I have also tried a few of those challenges. Haven't beaten any of them yet. I think I'm pretty close to beating the first one. There actually is a checkpoint in the middle that gives you a single health potion. But yeah, I'm unlikely to beat them all; those challenges are this game's White Palace, and I didn't beat that either.

There is a second checkpoint later on, with another health potion, and I can assure you it doesn't finish after two-three jumps . I made it there twice, and said eff it.

Didn't know about the new platforming in the DLC, so thanks both to you and Diabolical for mentioning it!

Changing topics, I'm now going through BG3, and gosh I feel half lost. I sort of know what stuff does, but I am missing a manual that really explains to you how the game actually works. And this is having played BG2 (and then 1, on the BG2 engine, through BGT) ages ago, although that may be as much a blessing as it is a curse, as I'm lacking imagination in my approach.

 

[MiguelMC]

So I got Black Mesa in the latest sale, not having played HL1 before (but having finished HL2 -> HL2:ep2). My first issue is the difficulty: Normal, Black Mesa, Hard. Which one am I supposed to choose? Normal as the default? Clearly not hard... (I'm no longer in my 20's...)

Whatever. I went with Normal. And things were "normal", and things were progressing OK... until I came to the surface for the first time ("we got hostiles"?) I may have used a lot of ammo to fend off the marines... and now I'm running seriously low. I've progressed quite a bit, to the point of lighting up the rocket, and I haven't found a single Glock magazine. I'm out of MP15 ammo, too. I'm only finding shotgun pellets, which is the only thing that keeps me going, other than my crowbar.

Is this normal? Is this how HL1 was, too? Will I need to "restart" once I enter the next chapter? I've read that BM essentially halved the total ammo you could keep, but maybe it's a balance thing.

 

[MiguelMC]

Use your crowbar against headcrabs and lone zombies.

Bat the crabs across the room as they jump toward you.

Rush forward to knock the zombie in the head , back up to dodge their arms, repeat.

That saves a lot of ammo, and overcomes the most frightening, frustrating moments in the game (shooting at flying crabs)

Thanks all for your comments! My next two chapters were essentially what Distraction above says, and I've recovered pretty much all ammo. I'm now in "on a rail", and we'll see how it fares.

Somewhere in this forum there have been threads on the typical "save all resources if possible, then end the game with too much". I'm not surprised this happens when the past approach was "save all possible ammo on zombies & head crabs".

 

[MiguelMC]

Or magic is science... As in, cell phones are powered by magic. Same with cars and other things. There is a Dimension 20 series where they do that. I feel like I read a book where they had something like that as well.

Physics PhD here. I doubt there is a single person in this world that truly understands how a cell phone works. From data reception/transmission, to battery technology, to semiconductors, to circuits, and then displays. I feel confident I wouldn't have to move the goalposts adding the OS to the list.

Plenty of people expert in one item, but only really being able to hand wave their way through the others.

And in cars, I'm not 100% sure someone like Adrian Newey would be able to do a 1990's car justice.

Note I mean proper, full explanations. Not another 10-minute YT video for laypersons.

So, yes, magic.

 

[MiguelMC]

I put some time into PowerWash Simulator. Playing it with a podcast running is pretty zen for me. Also, it doesn't matter how badly the TV is washed out by the sunlight. Baldur's Gate 3 is pretty much a nighttime only game due to this.

I got that with Skyrim on the Switch. Dwemer ruins weren't that bad, but nordic ruins were terrible even with candlelight. And, as we all know, Skyrim has you a wee bit of time in nordic ruins getting to know all its draugr variants...

 

[MiguelMC]

I misread this and thought you were powerwashing ruins for a second. "Wow, that game has more depth than I guessed!"

Admittedly, those ruins do need a good cleanup...

Back on topic, on my own end, I'm comfort-gaming Tears of the Kingdom, looking for koroks here and there (and save-scumming for lizalfos tails, because fuck the RNG after >200 h). I'm not really aiming for 100%; just chillaxing and gathering the strength needed to decide what I do near the end of my first BG3 playthrough (I'm at the house of Hope, with the orphic hammer being pretty much the last side quest currently available to me)

 

[MiguelMC]

Snagged Rayman Legends the other day on Steam for a few bucks. We have the first in the series on Wii and its pretty good. I figured this one at 1080p/144hz on the TV would be even better.

The graphics are indeed better. The gameplay is pretty great so far.

F#%ing Ubisoft though. I need to have a login to pair it with my steam account. And it the Ubisoft app needs to be open and booted up every time. Oh and guess what? Windows is going to ask for permission to allow it to make changes to my PC every time. And I can't manipulate any of those windows with a controller.

It seems like 1 out of every 10 games reminds of how much more polished the gaming experience is for console players.

I've got "Rayman Legends" on the Switch. It may nag you about an account once for whatever reason or so, but at no time did I feel bugged by it. Launch the game and that's it.

That game has a variety of amazing levels. The ones in 20.000 lums under the sea in particular have a fantastic progression. Water levels that don't suck! And of course every world ends with a musical level.

This is one game where unlocking the last world is worth it, because the 8-bit musical levels are awesome (maybe even the toady one). Note that, unlike the normal musical levels, the final ones must be completed in one flawless go unless you do them co-op.