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

[hotflungwok]

Guy made a 1P Battlefield game using Unity.

Ravenfield.

It's still rough, but quite good.

 

[Diabolical]

Since I'll be going onto mid shift or to Colorado in a few weeks for a month or so, I'm finally going through my Steam library and playing some games I really should have finished.

First: Event[0]. It was... odd. Kaizen tried to kill me. Twice. Interesting game.

Second: Doom. I'm about midway through. I stopped playing it early in the year when Overwatch and a bunch of other stuff came out. Getting back into it. Still awesome.

 

[C_MacManus]

On my drive home last night I saw a couple people pulled over by police and it got me thinking - I miss police quest. How has that not been remade? Same with SWAT. I played LA Noire awhile ago, but don't remember that having much in the way of regular police type missions. That's the only police simulation type game that I can think of coming out in a long time. Anything I'm missing that can give me that type of game again?

 

[Virogtheconq]

IIRC, Jim(? I forget his first name) Hall tried to do a spiritual successor to PQ on Kickstarter (after trying for years to get it developed elsewhere), but it didn't succeed.

I think it's because police procedure doesn't really make a good modern adventure game, and/or folks are too used to police == shooting these days.

 

[krimhorn]

C_MacManus[/url]":1jgfr8gy]I played LA Noire awhile ago, but don't remember that having much in the way of regular police type missions

I thought LA Noire was the closest to Detective Simulator 20xx that any game's actually come. It was a bit lighter on the investigation elements than a traditional police adventure game might have been but the focus on the interview elements (which, when I took a criminal investigations double course, was the focus of about 75% of the two courses) felt spot-on.

 

[MichaelC]

krimhorn[/url]":3p6ale9s]

C_MacManus[/url]":3p6ale9s]I played LA Noire awhile ago, but don't remember that having much in the way of regular police type missions

I thought LA Noire was the closest to Detective Simulator 20xx that any game's actually come. It was a bit lighter on the investigation elements than a traditional police adventure game might have been but the focus on the interview elements (which, when I took a criminal investigations double course, was the focus of about 75% of the two courses) felt spot-on.

There is a police procedural on Steam right now.

This is the Police
http://store.steampowered.com/app/443810/

I have this on my wishlist. Has positive reviews in general. though read some of the negative ones... there is some useful decision making info there. IIRC something about at some point, you have to cross a line in the game even if you had played it straight from the beginning. Have not looked at in awhile so not sure if that's still an issue. Initially when I looked at it, I think the reviews were mixed because of that and a few other issues. Now it's swayed toward generally favorable.

 

[C_MacManus]

MichaelC[/url]":3ajs1rja]
There is a police procedural on Steam right now.

This is the Police
http://store.steampowered.com/app/443810/

Nice. That looks like it hits a lot of what I'm looking for. Will have to get it during the holiday sale.

 

[J^M]

I just discovered how much I suck at Ikaruga after not playing it for >10 years. I still have my save data that gives me infinite continues and I needed pretty much all of them.

 

[MichaelC]

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (All CG Cutscenes HD)

A Collection of every CG cutscene in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

https://youtu.be/AiKooyv9gcI

 

[bluesdrivemonster]

So I've just finished Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. By the end I was pretty much an unstoppable sorcerer. I got tired of the game midway through the map but when I focused on the factions and the main quest, the game became much more enjoyable. Sure, I was playing on hard mode and it was like playing on easy, but it's not everyday you truly get powerful in a video game.

As for the ending, I thought it was bittersweet. I chose to

Spoiler

keep Tirnoch a secret just so Alyn Shir wouldn't hate me

, and the resulting cinematic was pretty hopeful. I guess I'll give it a 7/10.

By the way, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, do I really need to kill some bosses? Because I'm playing as a pacifist and this boss, let's call him Arny, didn't seem to have a no-fight option. Because if so, my build and my inventory is woefully unprepared for boss fights.

 

[breubreubreu]

Ardax[/url]":338p33fe]Vivendi trying to buy Ubisoft?
Eww. I'm not sure that this is good thing.

Not a good thing, not at all.

Vincent Bolloré, the current owner of Vivendi, is not well liked here in France. He focuses on short-term profit, to the detriment of the long-term viability of the companies he buys. And he also likes to exert direct control on the creative production of his media companies.

Example: he bought Canal+, a well known paid channel, in 2015 (think French HBO plus high quality journalism). One of this channel's most popular programs is "Les Guignols de L'info", a comical news show with puppets, known for its strong and satirical humour. When Bolloré bought Canal+, he wanted to cancel the show, even with its popularity, because it was too satirical. He ended up firing the program's four writers, and it lost a lot of its edge in the last few months. He also forbid the diffusion of a documentary made in-house about fiscal fraud.

Even if tries a more hands-off approach with Ubisoft, it will no longer be the same company as before. He already "bought" Ubisoft's sister company, Gameloft, and I've heard from friends that several of the developers were fired or jumped boat - either because they were afraid of the direction the company would take, or due to "loyalty" to the Guillemot brothers (founders of both Gameloft and Ubisoft).

 

[Genome]

By the way, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, do I really need to kill some bosses?

If you have the Director's Cut, you can stealth your way around them and solve the battles in a no-kill way, but the cutscenes haven't changed accordingly, so it'll still look like you killed not-Amy.

If you don't have the DC: nope, have to kill them.

 

[bluesdrivemonster]

Do you recommend the Typhoon ability? It seems like the most powerful. I'm playing on Gimme Deus Ex and Arnie, not Amy(sorry about that) took quite a lot of grenades, bullets, and exploding barrels before going down.

 

[krimhorn]

So I've just finished Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. ...As for the ending, I thought it was bittersweet. I chose to

Spoiler

keep Tirnoch a secret just so Alyn Shir wouldn't hate me

, and the resulting cinematic was pretty hopeful. I guess I'll give it a 7/10.

You know, I played that in 2014 (I think) and those words you used are like gobbledygook to me.

By the way, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, do I really need to kill some bosses? Because I'm playing as a pacifist and this boss, let's call him Arny, didn't seem to have a no-fight option. Because if so, my build and my inventory is woefully unprepared for boss fights.

Are you playing the Director's Cut? If not then, yep. You've got a stand up fight ahead of you. Look for some strategy videos on Youtube if you can as there are some tricks to cheesing that fight in the base game. If you are playing the DC then look for vents.

Do you recommend the Typhoon ability? It seems like the most powerful. I'm playing on Gimme Deus Ex and Arnie, not Amy(sorry about that) took quite a lot of grenades, bullets, and exploding barrels before going down.

Typhoon is #1 Boss Killer.

 

[Chito]

I picked up the Zubmariner expansion to Sunless Sea and rejoined my game after not touching it in 10 months or so. Sunless Sea has oodles of atmosphere and is just the thing for a bit of narrative fiction in the cold, dreary winter months.

The fate of my current captain (my 5th) will most likely be death, but he is more suited than ever before to face the horrors of the Unterzee. I've mostly remembered the state of my various quests and such, and am enjoying diving back into the world.

 

[Griffehpoo]

Do you recommend the Typhoon ability? It seems like the most powerful. I'm playing on Gimme Deus Ex and Arnie, not Amy(sorry about that) took quite a lot of grenades, bullets, and exploding barrels before going down.

If I remember correctly, the upgraded revolver with explosive rounds was a solid boss killer. It's been a while and the last time I beat it was before Director's Cut, so I'm not 100% sure, but I remember being able to kill at least a couple of them with 1-2 cylinders. I may have been on Normal, too. Still, I remember putting away the heavy machine gun in favor of the revolver for bosses more than once. Bonus points for the gun not taking up much space.

 

[bluesdrivemonster]

Thanks @krimhorn and @Griffehpoo. I maxed the Typhoon, I'll try and keep my eyes out for the revolver.

 

[Ardax]

If I remember correctly, the upgraded revolver with explosive rounds was a solid boss killer.

It's not a proper Deus Ex game if there isn't a handgun that's wildly overpowered once you upgrade/mod it.

 

[ATP]

Nekojin[/url]":360ovl0t]My friends play list is a little different:

Got two people who are absolutely dominating the Clicker games.

I see myself there! A few weeks ago I was playing a ton of Civ VI. Now, sadly, life has gotten in the way. Also, oranging this thread.

 

[JeffQyzt]

Chito[/url]"l1roo34]I picked up the Zubmariner expansion to Sunless Sea...and am enjoying diving back into the world.

I see what you did there!

 

[bluesdrivemonster]

So in a mission in Deus Ex: Human Revolution where you had to collect money for someone, I opted to get that person off the hook. When I saw the price, which was 5000 credits, I said to myself, there goes my Praxis kit money. Then what a surprise, the guy that I paid gave me a free Praxis kit! No way. That costs 4000 credits on a LIMB clinic. Sometimes it pays to be the good guy

 

[Interactive Civilian]

So in a mission in Deus Ex: Human Revolution where you had to collect money for someone, I opted to get that person off the hook. When I saw the price, which was 5000 credits, I said to myself, there goes my Praxis kit money. Then what a surprise, the guy that I paid gave me a free Praxis kit! No way. That costs 4000 credits on a LIMB clinic. Sometimes it pays to be the good guy

Sounds like it cost you an extra 1000 credits. :eyebrow:

Or am I misreading that?

Anyway, I 100%'ed Darksiders: Warmastered Edition this past weekend. Sure, it can get a bit grindy if one is going for all of the achievements, but otherwise, still such a fantastic game. Apart from the ability to set a custom FOV, I didn't really notice all that much difference from the original, but it has been a few years since I played that.

It makes me sad that there probably won't be more Darksiders games (unless I missed some good news on this front?). Darksiders II wasn't as great as the first one, but still decent enough, especially when they fixed all of the glitches and UI problems that plagued the game on release. I'd still love to see Famine and Pestilence fit into the story, and I'd absolutely love to play a game with all 4 Horsemen facing off against the Charred Council to close out the story.

Ah well. What to dig out next from my immense backlog, I wonder...

 

[bluesdrivemonster]

I maybe misremembering its price from the previous city, but the current city sells it for 5000 credits. It's a steal at that price. I get to save someone from extortion for their whole life, and I get a Praxis kit. Praxis kits, if you haven't played the new Deus Ex titles, are what's needed to unlock augmentations, and it's the most important item in the game.

Is Darksiders really like Zelda? My preconception of the game is it's in the vein of DMC or God of War.

 

[LordDaMan]

bluesdrivemonster[/url]":3gigeo7w]Is Darksiders really like Zelda? My preconception of the game is it's in the vein of DMC or God of War.

It's in the vein of DMC.

 

[Interactive Civilian]

I maybe misremembering its price from the previous city, but the current city sells it for 5000 credits. It's a steal at that price. I get to save someone from extortion for their whole life, and I get a Praxis kit. Praxis kits, if you haven't played the new Deus Ex titles, are what's needed to unlock augmentations, and it's the most important item in the game.

Did you get your numbers reversed in your post I replied to, or am I having a massive failure of reading comprehension (which is very likely; I haven't had enough coffee today). Because, it looks like you said you paid the quest dude 5000 credits and he gave you a Praxis point as a reward, but that the Praxis point would have cost you 4000 credits at a LiMB clinic.

Either way, no worries.

Anyway...

Is Darksiders really like Zelda? My preconception of the game is it's in the vein of DMC or God of War.

It has a similar feel to Legend of Zelda in the way you explore dungeons to get gear and abilities, and then also use your new gear and abilities to go back to previously visited places to access things you couldn't access without those abilities to get some secrets and power ups and stuff.

I just find it to be a really well put-together game that is fun to play, has an interesting take on Bible-style Armageddon and Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse mythology (while playing very loosely with the source material, which may offend one's religious sensibilities if they are overly sensitive to things like that) to make an interesting story with interesting characters. The gameplay is fun without being too tedious (except if you decide to grind for some of the achievements). Despite often being over melodramatic, the voice acting fits the style of game and story very well. Bonus: Mark Hamill voices one of the characters, and of course nails it.

Anyway, the game is relatively cheap, and probably going to be extremely cheap in sales, so definitely worth a look if you think it might strike your fancy (and if it doesn't, you'll only have wasted the price of a cup of coffee or a few ).

 

[PhantomLord]

LordDaMan[/url]":1gam67qu]

bluesdrivemonster[/url]":1gam67qu]Is Darksiders really like Zelda? My preconception of the game is it's in the vein of DMC or God of War.

It's in the vein of DMC.

I think the Zelda comparisons come from the fact that there are some similar abilities and the way certain area unlock after getting certain items. Plus the dungeon/overworld structure is very Zelda like. Combat is more like God of War though. You could also argue it has a Metroidvania feel as well.

The second game was good, but I got bored halfway through. A weak story, random weapon drops, and very little world building killed it for me. I loved how the first game was the modern world mixed with fantasy, while the second going full fantasy made it pretty bland.

 

[krimhorn]

Interactive Civilian[/url]"4xkbs4u]
Did you get your numbers reversed in your post I replied to, or am I having a massive failure of reading comprehension (which is very likely; I haven't had enough coffee today). Because, it looks like you said you paid the quest dude 5000 credits and he gave you a Praxis point as a reward, but that the Praxis point would have cost you 4000 credits at a LiMB clinic.

Yes, but he wanted to help the dude out. That helping him out would cost 5k credits he made the comment about the Praxis kit. Since he got a Praxis kit for helping him out his net was a Praxis kit + some "good karma". All for only 1k more than a Praxis kit alone would cost.

So, no, it wasn't "free" but the quest could just as easily been a "thanks, fuck off" quest that only rewards with XP too. Since he wanted to do it regardless of the reward the Praxis kit became a nice bonus whereas a min/maxer would look up the reward and decide to just buy the kit and doom the dude.

 

[Interactive Civilian]

Ah, I see what you and he are saying. The juxtaposition of "It pays to be the good guy" with it actually costing 1000 credits more (when looking only at the practical costs and results, without thinking about the "good karma" or rewarding feeling of having completed another quest ) is what caused me to do the somewhat sardonic eyebrow emoji -> :eyebrow:

The second game was good, but I got bored halfway through. A weak story, random weapon drops, and very little world building killed it for me. I loved how the first game was the modern world mixed with fantasy, while the second going full fantasy made it pretty bland.

This is a very apt description of my impressions of the second game as well. I started it when it first came out, played maybe 1/3 or 1/2 and got bored and then left it alone for a long time. Later, after they'd fixed a lot of the bugs, I gave it a second chance; still the same problems but I was curious enough to see where they'd go with Death to finish the story (and complete the Achievements). It wasn't all that spectacular, and the game definitely did not feel like a follow up to the final cutscene of Darksiders.

 

[Krye]

So I got to experience Gsync for the first time today...in my own home. It. Is. AWWWWESOME.

Bought a used Acer XB240H for $165. I was concerned about the TN panel but once I got it hooked up and quickly calibrated to my tastes, it absolutely blew away the picture of my cheap AOC IPS panel. Everything just feels better on it. Mech Warrior online looks like a completely different game now with sharp contrast and deeper colors. The Witcher 3 looks like it runs buttery smooth even though I've didn't lower any settings. I didn't realize that tearing and noticeable frame rate fluctuations affected the feel that much until I saw this.

Overall it's a fantastic experience and I don't even notice the small flaws* once I start using it.

*a bit of light bleeding between the edge of the screen and the bezel, magical color changing behavior at ~45 degree or more angles from the TN panel...admittedly this isn't nearly as bad as my old school TN monitor used to be but it's still there.

 

[Cabusha]

The newest STEAM update is damned annoying already. (1), it re-enabled adds for their latest specials and games. (2), it reset the key bindings for the STEAM interface. (3), it's running like dog shit. (4), it seems to have broken the concurrent update that tried to apply for Total War: Warhammer. It keeps stalling out during the DL and is busy thrashing the disk.

Not sure WTF Valve did, but this shit is broke.

 

[donlo]

Cabusha[/url]":20v77lov]The newest STEAM update is damned annoying already. (1), it re-enabled adds for their latest specials and games. (2), it reset the key bindings for the STEAM interface. (3), it's running like dog shit. (4), it seems to have broken the concurrent update that tried to apply for Total War: Warhammer. It keeps stalling out during the DL and is busy thrashing the disk.

Not sure WTF Valve did, but this shit is broke.

Apple bricking watches, Microsoft screwing up Windows, I don't know whats going on but updates are getting dangerous

 

[Frosty Grin]

The worst part is that updates are automatic and/or mandatory. I really appreciate Origin having the option not to update the client and the games and play offline.

 

[grommit!]

PSA - latest nvidia drivers (376.33) include a bunch of security fixes.

 

[Ironfist-04]

Had a random urge to play Mount and Blade: Warband last night. Decided to try to conquer the entire continent this time. I've never actually founded my own kingdom, just been a lord. Anyone have advice on that? I've read a few guides to get a general idea.

I don't know what it is that makes this game so fun for me. The graphics are mediocre, the gameplay is glitchy and the quests are repetetive. For some reason I just really enjoy it. A modern equivalent would be fantastic.

 

[Chito]

JeffQyzt[/url]":3kinv34e]

Chito[/url]":3kinv34e]I picked up the Zubmariner expansion to Sunless Sea...and am enjoying diving back into the world.

I see what you did there!

It was unintentional at first but then I realized it and kept it .

Something about the cooler rainy winter months really makes me gravitate towards games with lots of atmosphere. Though I've never finished Skyrim, I'm tempted to pick up my ongoing playthrough every year about this time. If I can avoid spending hours updating/fooling with mods, it generally is a good experience and scratches that itch as well. Dark Souls calls to me as well.

Zubmariner is fitting the bill nicely, and I'm enjoying the 2nd layer to this underground world.

Love it!

 

[Genome]

I'm having an enormous amount of fun playing Super Mario Run. But for some reason, when I install it on my iPad it asks me to purchase the game again, even though I've already bought it on my iPhone. Do I need to connect it to my Nintendo account for it to work? My googling is weak, so does anyone know? Anyone? Bueller?

 

[Ulf]

I really hate sales when games are on sale but the DLC is not. Steam seems to be the only ones who handle this correctly. :/

 

[Krye]

Ulf[/url]":1upxw04i]I really hate sales when games are on sale but the DLC is not. Steam seems to be the only ones who handle this correctly. :/

I thought this was standard practice now a days? When a publisher is gonna drop new DLC they'll also drop the price of the main game so hopefully you'll buy the full price DLC along with the discounted game.

 

[Ulf]

Krye[/url]":1l1r56du]

Ulf[/url]":1l1r56du]I really hate sales when games are on sale but the DLC is not. Steam seems to be the only ones who handle this correctly. :/

I thought this was standard practice now a days? When a publisher is gonna drop new DLC they'll also drop the price of the main game so hopefully you'll buy the full price DLC along with the discounted game.

On Steam when a game goes on sale, any long DLC released usually goes on sale as well. New DLC may or may not be included.

On PSN, a game goes on sale, but not the DLC associated with the game.
On Origin, a game goes on sale, but not the DLC associated with the game.

On Amazon, well, that's Amazon, I don't expect them to get it right.

 

[Daedalus213]

Ironfist-04[/url]":2cie4nzc]Had a random urge to play Mount and Blade: Warband last night. Decided to try to conquer the entire continent this time. I've never actually founded my own kingdom, just been a lord. Anyone have advice on that? I've read a few guides to get a general idea.

I don't know what it is that makes this game so fun for me. The graphics are mediocre, the gameplay is glitchy and the quests are repetetive. For some reason I just really enjoy it. A modern equivalent would be fantastic.

Alas, no advice on conquering the entire continent. I've never got beyond the "capture a town or two" stage. Funnily enough about two weeks ago I fired up Warband and used the FlorisExpanded mod, which is pretty nice.

It is definitely one of those games that's like that greasy pizza joint down the street. I know it's not actually *good*, but the longer I go without, the greater the itch to revisit it.

They're working on Bannerlords, which is the next iteration. No clue when it's going to be available, though; it's been in development for a while and there's only occasional hints that it's still alive. The core concept of the game is so solid, they just need to improve the execution. In particular, for a game all about medieval combat, the combat itself is decidedly dumb, not least of which because the AI seems to only know how to walk at you and periodically attack, with no thought towards, say, using a polearm for reach rather than something you hold in your hands while trying to step on your opponent's toes.