TheRPGSite

Other Games, Development, & Campaigns => Other Games => Topic started by: Piestrio on June 07, 2014, 12:02:29 AM

Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 07, 2014, 12:02:29 AM
Heya,

Just wondering what everyone else is playing at the moment...

I'm currently playing a mix of older games and a couple newer ones:

Legend of Zelda (NES) - Played this a million times. It's always fun.

Sonic Adventure (Dreamcast) - holy crap, a half-way decent 3D sonic game!? Fun, a bit short and I still think having real people in sonic is pants on head stupid.

Sonic Lost World (Wii U) - oh man, I really want to like this game. It's basically  Super Sonic: Galaxy but with worse controls and annoying levels. Some parts are so good and fun while others are so Meh. Still I'm largely enjoying it.

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) - Haven't actually played yet but I will be this weekend. :)

You?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Steerpike on June 07, 2014, 12:20:16 AM
I just finished the exemplary and gruesome Whitstleblower, which was DLC for the horror game Outlast.  Pretty much concurrently I finished the rather unnerving Spec Ops: The Line - military shooters are not usually my thing but it was intelligent and self-aware enough to pique my interest.

Also recently picked up Heroes of Might and Magic III from GOG.com for nostalgia's sake.

Before that I was really into Dishonoured and its DLC - I did a couple of playthroughs alternatively being stealthy or murderous.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gabriel2 on June 07, 2014, 12:50:12 AM
Played 2 and a half hours of Desert Bus tonight.

What?

Basically I used it as an excuse to listen to music for a while.  I needed some time to just listen to music and daydream.

Otherwise, I've mainly been playing 2600 and 7800 games lately: Missile Command, Space Attack, Ms Pac Man, Adventure, Pac Man Arcade, Jr Pac Man (7800), Space Duel (7800).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on June 07, 2014, 02:01:44 AM
I play WoW (by myself) or GW2 (with the missus) when I have the time.

Still debating with myself whether to get Fallout 3 or Skyrim.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: 3rik on June 07, 2014, 09:20:05 AM
My wife's a real hardcore gamer while I only occasionaly get obsessed with a video game. At the moment I'm playing Dragon's Dogma on our Xbox 360. Love it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Crabbyapples on June 07, 2014, 10:17:04 AM
I'm currently playing Borderlands 2 and Bindings of Isaac.  I've picked up a cheap copy of Darksiders 2 in the bargain bin, so I guess that's next.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Snowman0147 on June 07, 2014, 01:22:27 PM
Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Dark Souls 2.  Very interested in Project Beast because it might be Demon's Souls 2.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Steerpike on June 07, 2014, 02:03:47 PM
Butcher, if you're considering Fallout 3, consider getting New Vegas instead.  It's an all-around better game in my opinion.  Truer to the feel of the original games, with a more interesting setting and a built-in hardcore mode.

I enjoyed Skyrim more than either, though.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on June 07, 2014, 06:13:36 PM
Quote from: Steerpike;756311
Butcher, if you're considering Fallout 3, consider getting New Vegas instead.  It's an all-around better game in my opinion.  Truer to the feel of the original games, with a more interesting setting and a built-in hardcore mode.

I enjoyed Skyrim more than either, though.


I think you can't even buy one without the other now. But I'll double-check, thanks.

Skyrim looks sexy as all hell, I just felt that maybe a break from the fantasy genre would be nice.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: dragoner on June 07, 2014, 08:41:08 PM
Chess and Open General.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Patrick on June 07, 2014, 09:52:22 PM
Lego Marvel Super Heroes with the wife on PS 3.  Pretty fun and LOVE the gameplay.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 07, 2014, 09:55:41 PM
Quote from: Patrick;756409
Lego Marvel Super Heroes with the wife on PS 3.  Pretty fun and LOVE the gameplay.


Those are really good. My wife is nuts for them.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: robiswrong on June 07, 2014, 11:55:21 PM
Quote from: Steerpike;756311
Butcher, if you're considering Fallout 3, consider getting New Vegas instead.  It's an all-around better game in my opinion.  Truer to the feel of the original games,


Well, yeah, considering that Obsidian is almost entirely staffed with ex-Black Isle folks.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Brander on June 08, 2014, 12:06:39 AM
Guild Wars 2 (it replaced WoW for me) and rarely a game of Mechwarrior Online.  Oh, and Master of Magic when I'm not online.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on June 08, 2014, 12:50:17 AM
Playing Rayman: Legends with a friend once a week. It's one of the best platformers I've ever played, and I've played a lot.

Also playing Diablo III with friends. I didn't buy the anti-hype and I'm glad, very satisfying.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Steerpike on June 08, 2014, 03:37:57 AM
Quote from: The Butcher
Skyrim looks sexy as all hell, I just felt that maybe a break from the fantasy genre would be nice.

Yeah, it's doesn't attempt anything revolutionary genre-wise - it's a pretty generic fantasy setting, albeit somewhat more Scandinavian than most.

That said, even though it's not presenting anything really "new" setting-wise, its execution is amazing (this reminds me of the "dull dungeon" thread...).  So much so that it usurped Morrowind as my favorite of the Elder Scrolls games, despite Morrowind's setting being far more exotic and intriguing on the face of things.  As an rpg it ranks up with Planescape: Torment and Baldur's Gate 2, IMO.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Simon Owen on June 08, 2014, 04:18:14 AM
Quote from: Patrick;756409
Lego Marvel Super Heroes with the wife on PS 3.  Pretty fun and LOVE the gameplay.


That's a great game !
Playing at the moment : Lego Batman 2 and Beyond : Two Souls
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on June 09, 2014, 09:35:56 AM
Just finished Link Between Worlds and inFamous: Second Son.  Link was great fun while inFamous was a huge let down.

I'm working though Mass Effect 2 really slowly because, well, it's fucking dull as dishwater.  Don't know if I'll ever get around to #3, but I got the collection as a gift so I feel like I have to at least try.

Someone lent me The Last of Us so I'm also working on that too.  It's good but not the OMG all 10s game of the year great everyone made it out to be.  More like a solid 8/10.

I'm also enjoying Persona 4 Golden on my Vita when I'm not at home.

For MMOs I'm still chugging along on FFXIV.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bill on June 09, 2014, 10:17:05 AM
Blackguards.

Its a dndish rpg, has roleplay elements and heavy tactical hex map battles.

Uses some version of the german dark eye rpg and has tons of stats and skills to learn. You create one pc and gather followers.

Pretty fun so far.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 09, 2014, 10:34:09 PM
My games were interrupted by the hot new game "Let's move to a new house and paint everything"


It's rather boring and I have serious issues with the pacing.

F-, would not recommend.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gabriel2 on June 09, 2014, 10:48:00 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;757010
My games were interrupted by the hot new game "Let's move to a new house and paint everything"


It's rather boring and I have serious issues with the pacing.

F-, would not recommend.



Heh.  Sadly, I don't know of any cheat codes to help you speed through it.  Try not to get entangled in the subquests.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Simlasa on June 10, 2014, 08:47:54 PM
World of Warcraft
Minecraft
Deus Ex 2... not as bad as I'd heard but not scratch on the original.

I'm on hiatus from a bunch that I need to finish... such as the newest Bioshock and Tomb Raider entries.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ronin on June 11, 2014, 08:43:59 PM
R.U.S.E.
World of Tanks
CoD: Ghosts
all on the 360
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on June 13, 2014, 04:37:39 AM
Dwarf Fortress
Fight Night Champion
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (PC)
Sil (Anband variant)
Counter Strike: Source
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on June 13, 2014, 05:50:24 AM
I just got through Hotline Miami.

That game isn't suitable for, like, anyone. It's a murder-sim straight out of the 80's: huge chunky sprites, lots of screen tearing, everything executed in garish shades of neon.

But the melee combat, oh now that is the thing; it's all in the timing and the distance, but one hit kills (Either you or your opponent, depending on who gets the hit). It's about rapid-fire knife duels, darting in for that quick kill, dashing around corners and hoping there isn't a shotgunner watching over your target. It's about picking your fights, playing smart, and always being in the right place at the right time. It's about planning the next two seconds of bloody violence and then executing it, flawlessly. It's about constant restarts as you learn the best angle to attack the room with a shotgunner, rifleman and two dudes with clubs.

It's a horrible, violent, high-speed mess and you should play it because it's wonderful.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on June 13, 2014, 12:00:00 PM
What I've been playing lately:

Star Wars: The Old Republic
WoW (only for Battlegrounds, nothing else)
Wildstar (on the Open Beta, still on the fence about buying it)
Mario Kart Wii (been playing a lot with the kids and The Boss)

I still dip my toe in Age of Conan and Star Trek Online from time to time, but nothing regularly at the moment.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on June 13, 2014, 12:02:36 PM
Has anyone tried the Marvel MMO?  I'm curious, and I've gotten used to the F2P model (see AoC/STO/Neverwinter/etc.) but I can't tell if this is more of an Aion/EVE PvP fest or a theme park MMO.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Mark Plemmons on June 13, 2014, 02:20:30 PM
I finished the Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon dlc last weekend, so I've been casually working my way to getting the last two achievements (killing 25 dragons, and owning all the weapon upgrades).

After that, I'm not sure what I'll start on next (all Xbox 360).

On disc, I haven't touched Dragon Age: Origins, and I need to continue with Deux Ex. For downloads, I have Fables (chapter 2) and a couple of other big game downloads like Dark Souls and Saints Row 4.

The next chapter of the Walking Dead will interrupt all of them, though, whenever it releases.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on June 13, 2014, 02:51:21 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;757915
Has anyone tried the Marvel MMO?  I'm curious, and I've gotten used to the F2P model (see AoC/STO/Neverwinter/etc.) but I can't tell if this is more of an Aion/EVE PvP fest or a theme park MMO.


Do you mean Marvel Heroes? It's not an MMO, it's Diablo 2 with an Avengers skin on it.

It's okay, it's a lot better than it was, but it has a ridiculous amount of microtransactions in it. In game, it's fine, there are powers and you use them and bad guys fall over and drop stuff for you, like a street thug might just happen to be carrying a suit of cosmic Iron Man armour and you'll be like "...huh".

So it's kinda fun, but very spendy.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on June 13, 2014, 03:56:50 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;757944
Do you mean Marvel Heroes? It's not an MMO, it's Diablo 2 with an Avengers skin on it.

It's okay, it's a lot better than it was, but it has a ridiculous amount of microtransactions in it. In game, it's fine, there are powers and you use them and bad guys fall over and drop stuff for you, like a street thug might just happen to be carrying a suit of cosmic Iron Man armour and you'll be like "...huh".

So it's kinda fun, but very spendy.


Okay, so it's a Diablo clone more than a WoW clone. Is it really multiplayer, then?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on June 13, 2014, 04:13:20 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;757959
Okay, so it's a Diablo clone more than a WoW clone. Is it really multiplayer, then?


Well, yeah, it's just not massive (Unless you think ten players is massive. Which it isn't.). There are hub areas where you can hang out with a bunch of other players and do hub area stuff (Just with less variety of appearances), and you can go on missions with other players - there are also PvP modes, Horde-type modes, and a raid.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: robiswrong on June 13, 2014, 04:30:28 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;757959
Okay, so it's a Diablo clone more than a WoW clone. Is it really multiplayer, then?


Yes, very.

Any of the 'open areas' will be filled with tons of other players.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on June 14, 2014, 05:06:46 AM
Quote from: Ladybird;757860
I just got through Hotline Miami.

That game isn't suitable for, like, anyone. It's a murder-sim straight out of the 80's: huge chunky sprites, lots of screen tearing, everything executed in garish shades of neon.

But the melee combat, oh now that is the thing; it's all in the timing and the distance, but one hit kills (Either you or your opponent, depending on who gets the hit). It's about rapid-fire knife duels, darting in for that quick kill, dashing around corners and hoping there isn't a shotgunner watching over your target. It's about picking your fights, playing smart, and always being in the right place at the right time. It's about planning the next two seconds of bloody violence and then executing it, flawlessly. It's about constant restarts as you learn the best angle to attack the room with a shotgunner, rifleman and two dudes with clubs.

It's a horrible, violent, high-speed mess and you should play it because it's wonderful.

I agree.  My most favourite game last year.

At the moment, I am revisiting Half-Life and the original Alone in the Dark.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Rincewind1 on June 14, 2014, 05:50:35 AM
Yes, three huzzahs for Hotline Miami. I played it so much I am not admitting to the time spent, because I am sure playing it more than once qualifies you for police observation.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danbuter on June 14, 2014, 06:52:04 PM
I've been playing World of Warplanes and World of Tanks. I love both of them!

I also just got Jade Empire on Steam, as it was on sale for 3 something. I had it way back on my XBox and it's still fantastic. I did have to set Steam to run as admin for the game to work, for some reason, but once I did, it was fine.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alathon on June 18, 2014, 07:30:20 PM
Civilization 5, Total Annihilation: Forged Alliance, but mostly lots of League of Legends.  ARAM mode is a vast improvement on the normal game for me, 100% teamfighting and very little raging.  Games are also close to half the length of Summoner's Rift games, so when you get a game that's decided at character select it's at least far less painful.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 18, 2014, 08:40:50 PM
Finally started playing Mario Kart 8.

Holy crap.

If you don't have a Wii U this is reason to get one.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on June 19, 2014, 08:16:37 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;759224
Finally started playing Mario Kart 8.

Holy crap.

If you don't have a Wii U this is reason to get one.


I take it you can't run Wii games on it, just like the other two next gen consoles not being able to run older games?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on June 19, 2014, 08:20:03 PM
Quote from: robiswrong;757963
Yes, very.

Any of the 'open areas' will be filled with tons of other players.


Holy crap, Marvel Heroes is a lot like Diablo.

Still, I'm glad I got ahead of the curve and checked it out before the kids discovered it. The girls are nuts about Marvel Cinematic Universe and the new Ms. Marvel, and they're all over this. The surprise is that my son is into it too.

It took a few minutes to get used to the iso view, since I'm used to traditional MMOs' ability to change the viewscreen, but it's still very easy to figure out. The  cutscene comic graphics are also very well done.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 19, 2014, 10:01:45 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;759549
I take it you can't run Wii games on it, just like the other two next gen consoles not being able to run older games?


100% hardware backwards compatible with Wii games. :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: robiswrong on June 19, 2014, 10:05:39 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;759553
Holy crap, Marvel Heroes is a lot like Diablo.


David Brevik, the head dude behind Diablo 2, was the producer on it.  So that's not surprising.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Rincewind1 on June 19, 2014, 10:10:55 PM
Mostly Europa Universalis 4, Crusader Kings 2 (With GoT mod), and NWN.

Quote from: robiswrong;759592
David Brevik, the head dude behind Diablo 2, was the producer on it.  So that's not surprising.


Wow, they allow Norwegian prisoners to work in game development?

(I'll take the stage exit now).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on June 20, 2014, 12:04:33 AM
Quote from: Piestrio;759589
100% hardware backwards compatible with Wii games. :)


Suddenly the Wii U got a lot more appealing.

What about the Wii controllers? Are you locked into that new, screen driven thing?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 20, 2014, 12:31:19 AM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;759620
Suddenly the Wii U got a lot more appealing.

What about the Wii controllers? Are you locked into that new, screen driven thing?

The gamepad is the main controller (and does some cool stuff*) but it works with all Wii peripherals and has a pretty good "pro controller" that looks like an x-box controller.

They also just announced a Gamecube controller adapter.

It's obviously up to each game what controllers you can use but so far they seem pretty flexible.

*the coolest thing the gamepad lets you do IMHO is off-tv play. Someone else wants to use the TV? No worries just play on the gamepad for a while.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on June 20, 2014, 07:54:36 AM
Quote from: Piestrio;759630
The gamepad is the main controller (and does some cool stuff*) but it works with all Wii peripherals and has a pretty good "pro controller" that looks like an x-box controller.

They also just announced a Gamecube controller adapter.

It's obviously up to each game what controllers you can use but so far they seem pretty flexible.

*the coolest thing the gamepad lets you do IMHO is off-tv play. Someone else wants to use the TV? No worries just play on the gamepad for a while.


As long as you can use the Wii controllers for Mario Kart 8, I'm fine with that.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 20, 2014, 09:22:32 AM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;759708
As long as you can use the Wii controllers for Mario Kart 8, I'm fine with that.


A-Yup
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Danger on June 24, 2014, 07:33:34 AM
Still be-bopping around with War Thunder and now that they've got tanks and combined arms a-going, I don't know if I'll ever see World of Tanks again.

And I've developed an unholy obsession over getting some fun wrestling games for my ancient PS2.  Really need to upgrade that platform one of these days...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: RookieRPG on June 24, 2014, 01:09:31 PM
Mass Effect Trilogy for PC...loving it, I love sandbox game play...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 25, 2014, 12:53:58 AM
(http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb208/Piestrio/CA3E466F-7034-4EF6-A11F-33C15584B8C4.jpg)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: robiswrong on June 25, 2014, 01:36:10 AM
Quote from: Piestrio;761200
cool pic


Nice.  I remember getting that when it first came out.  It had a *battery*.  Amazing.

Figuring out what to do with the flute was a challenge in the pre-internet days!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: beeber on June 25, 2014, 04:28:51 PM
been hooked on what i call "tappy games" since i got my tablet at xmas.  puzzles & dragons, simpsons tapped out, ayakashi ghost guild, playmobil pirates are the main ones.  good time sinks every few hours.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on June 25, 2014, 07:39:04 PM
Well, apparently there's a huge Steam sale going on.

I've decided to pick up Borderlands 2. Yeah, late to the party and all that, but I could use a FPS and this one seems to have a few RPG elements, and a sense of humor to boot.

Still under the "late to the party" header, I still want to check out TES V: Skyrim but between WoW and GW2 (which I get to play 3-4 hours a week, maybe, both combined) I have a hard time justifying to myself yet another fantasy CRPG.

And yet I almost broke down and picked up Banner Saga. The game looks gorgeous.

Anyone picked up anything worthwhile?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: robiswrong on June 25, 2014, 07:51:33 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;761408
Anyone picked up anything worthwhile?

Sadly, my backlog is pretty much full from previous sales.

Banner Saga is made by good people, though the folks I know that were there moved to Roberts Space Industries (Star Citizen).

I did get Garden Warfare for the PC, since the Cutie likes it but hates console controllers.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on June 25, 2014, 09:26:35 PM
Here's another one that caught my eye: Broforce (http://www.broforcegame.com/). I think our own Imperator was the one who drew my attention to it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Silverlion on June 26, 2014, 01:18:16 AM
Fallout: New Vegas (just got on Steam Sale)
DC Online (occasionally)
Star Trek Online
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Brander on June 26, 2014, 01:36:05 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;761408
Well, apparently there's a huge Steam sale going on.
...

Anyone picked up anything worthwhile?


I've picked up:
Age of Wonders 3 (Master of Magic + better graphics to my eyes)
Space hulk (the new one)
FTL (I've heard this is a brutal but fun game)
and Spore (it was cheap)

I was told by some friends that Spore was only worthwhile because I got it for $7.50, at a higher price it possibly wouldn't have been as worth it.  They of course paid "retail" so they are bitter, perhaps understandably, but  I won't know until I play it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 26, 2014, 06:34:29 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;761451
Here's another one that caught my eye: Broforce (http://www.broforcegame.com/). I think our own Imperator was the one who drew my attention to it.


Game Grumps playthrough:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1maBTM4Z4Ro
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on June 26, 2014, 09:58:07 PM
Playing the first area of Borderlands 2.

Holy shit, this is probably the closest we'll ever get to a Rifts CRPG. Loving it so far.

Quote from: Piestrio;761798
Game Grumps playthrough:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1maBTM4Z4Ro

IT MUST BE MINE
Title: Games I've played this week so far
Post by: JasperAK on June 26, 2014, 11:19:03 PM
From GOG's sale I picked up and have played:
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Red Baron 3d
Legend of Grimrock (haven't quite played yet)

For my consoles:
Blades of Steel (NES)
Baseball Stars (NES)
The Nightmare of Druaga (PS2)

On my phone:
Plague Inc.
Soduku
Hungry Shark
Oubliette Lite
Hill Climb Racing

I should really do something more productive with my time than play games and f around on the internet :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on June 26, 2014, 11:44:21 PM
Right now, Age of Wonders III.

I like TBS usually, and loved AOW2 and others, but something's missing here. It's the same rules as the other games, but the battles just aren't fun...too much fiddly stuff going on, and too time consuming. I find the strategic map tough to read, too, very hard to tell enemy cities and stuff.

Eh, maybe it'll grow on me.

I also just picked up the Borderlands II GotY edition, with all the expansions. I found it very obnoxious that stuff for the DLC was in the main game (just, you know, useless unless you bought the DLC). But $10 for everything was too good to pass up, definitely will give the game a few more hours of gun-hunting fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 27, 2014, 12:02:28 AM
Quote from: JasperAK;761881

I should really do something more productive with my time than play games and f around on the internet :)


Huh. Oddly I find it easier to budget my time playing games and I feel like less of a useless pile of shit than when I waste an evening on forums/Facebook/reddit/etc...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on June 27, 2014, 05:52:14 AM
Quote from: Piestrio;761895
Huh. Oddly I find it easier to budget my time playing games and I feel like less of a useless pile of shit than when I waste an evening on forums/Facebook/reddit/etc...


Yup. I started playing MMORPGs just so I would spend less time on forums and do something constructive.

Maybe not really, but it somehow feels more productive...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: mcbobbo on June 27, 2014, 09:32:08 AM
I'm falling in love with Planet Explorers.  It's a bit like Minecraft in space meets Warcraft where you can design your own helicopter.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: beeber on June 27, 2014, 09:49:45 AM
that gog sale ends soon, right?  shit, i better hit that tonight.  made a short list of stuff to pick up but gotta find where i filed it  :o :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on July 08, 2014, 07:18:44 AM
So I got Skyrim, Borderlands 2 and Broforce, in addition to GW2 and WoW.

Broforce, being beta ("the Brototype") I've already cleared, more than once. I should give the multiplayer and community-built levels a spin some day.

I've started characters in both Borderlands 2 (so much fun) and Skyrim (awesome immersive bastard of a game) and I'm not sure which one to play through first.

Meanwhile, my GW2 Charr Warrior is still level 30 (wish I had more time for this game. Love it) and my WoW level 86 Orc Warrior has just arrivec in Pandaria, while the level 90 Undead Warlock gathers dust.

So many games, so little time.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on July 08, 2014, 09:37:27 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;765941
Broforce, being beta ("the Brototype") I've already cleared, more than once. I should give the multiplayer and community-built levels a spin some day.


Broforce is ace.

I'm replaying Saint's Row 3 (Again), just because of how much fun it is. Still. Despite having played through it all at least five times now.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on July 08, 2014, 01:21:51 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;765951
Broforce is ace.

I'm replaying Saint's Row 3 (Again), just because of how much fun it is. Still. Despite having played through it all at least five times now.

Broforce is ungodly good. If anyone wants to play a multiplayer, I am ImperatorVorkosigan over there.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on July 09, 2014, 01:37:46 PM
I just cancelled my WoW sub (it'll linger on until the paid for time runs out, late July).

I got really tired of the shenanigans in random battlegrounds, where Alliance has a composition of about 1/3 of a team with greens and blues versus Horde guild teams with full Conquest gear. And with the design in Mists where if you wanted to progress in a PvE questline for a legendary cloak you had to win both Silvershard Mines and Temple of Kotmogu, it got really ugly in those BGs.

When I'm a Rogue and I'm in the top three in health on a 10 or 15 man BG, then you know the system is a bit screwed up.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on July 10, 2014, 08:20:34 PM
I just finished Far Cry 3 up finally. Good game. I also finished up a replay of Prototype 2 as I love playing as a murderhobo shoggoth. I got Hitman: Absolution for free on Games with Gold so I think it will be next.

I desperately want to play The Last Federation. A Space 4X where you play the equivalent of the last Vorlon (or Shadow) and it has turn-based bullet hell combat? Yes, please!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ArrozConLeche on July 11, 2014, 09:13:56 AM
Haven't had much time for gaming, but wish I could get back online to play Virtua Fighter 5 on Xbox live.

Other than that, I've been playing digital versions of boardgames on the ipad: Pandemic and Yggdrasil, along with Shredder chess.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gabriel2 on July 11, 2014, 04:13:54 PM
Playing Dynasty Warriors Gundam: Reborn.

I was having fun with the RX-78GP03S Stamen and kicking in it's burst move so I could cruise around with the Orchis.  Can't wait until I unlock the Strike Freedom and its Meteor pack.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on July 12, 2014, 11:25:55 AM
Did my first Skyrim dungeon yesterday (Bleak Falls Temple). I am hard pressed to remember what was the last time I felt so immersed in a videogame. Fucking awesome.

Also made me wonder whether I should pick up Legend of Grimrock after all.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: robiswrong on July 12, 2014, 02:17:54 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;765941

I've started characters in both Borderlands 2 (so much fun) and Skyrim (awesome immersive bastard of a game) and I'm not sure which one to play through first.


Does Skyrim have a pony made of diamonds?  A real, live pony made of diamonds?  And even if it did, is it named Butt Stallion?  No?

Does Skyrim have a section (okay, DLC) that is based on people in the game playing a roleplaying game run by a psychotic ten-year-old?  No?

I think I have made the choice clear.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on July 12, 2014, 05:20:01 PM
Quote from: robiswrong;768126
Does Skyrim have a pony made of diamonds?  A real, live pony made of diamonds?  And even if it did, is it named Butt Stallion?  No?

Does Skyrim have a section (okay, DLC) that is based on people in the game playing a roleplaying game run by a psychotic ten-year-old?  No?

I think I have made the choice clear.

IDK, I thought Borderlands 1/2 had too much "wacky humour" and not enough faceshooting (I am aware it features a lot of faceshooting; I like those bits). It's shit in a different way to, say, Diablo 3's storyline, but it's still shit.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danbuter on July 12, 2014, 06:35:33 PM
If you are on PC with Skryim, do yourself a favor and check out Skyrim Nexus. Tons and tons of mods that greatly improve the game (and some that are pretty bad). If nothing else, install the unofficial Skyrim patch, which fixes a LOT of bugs.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danbuter on July 12, 2014, 06:36:14 PM
Currently downloading Planetside 2. Going to give that a whirl, as I haven't played an FPS since FEAR was new.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on July 12, 2014, 07:51:18 PM
Quote from: robiswrong;768126
Does Skyrim have a pony made of diamonds?  A real, live pony made of diamonds?  And even if it did, is it named Butt Stallion?  No?

Your words of wisdom have really gotten to me. Aw crap. :D

I've started with Sal the Gunzerker and I've just killed Captain Flynt. But since I mostly play as a sniper (Gunzerking with two pistols when rushed or facing a big bad), I wonder whether I should be playing Zero the Assassin instead.

Quote from: Ladybird;768196
IDK, I thought Borderlands 1/2 had too much "wacky humour" and not enough faceshooting (I am aware it features a lot of faceshooting; I like those bits). It's shit in a different way to, say, Diablo 3's storyline, but it's still shit.

I actually think it's a neat contrast to Skyrim (and Diablo III,for that matter) which take themselves so goddamn seriously all the time.

Quote from: danbuter;768210
If you are on PC with Skryim, do yourself a favor and check out Skyrim Nexus. Tons and tons of mods that greatly improve the game (and some that are pretty bad). If nothing else, install the unofficial Skyrim patch, which fixes a LOT of bugs.

Will do. Thanks!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Patrick on July 12, 2014, 09:56:14 PM
Is anyone playing Marvel Heroes 2015?  It is Free to Play, but not really.  Looking for a supergroup.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Patrick on July 12, 2014, 10:01:05 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;768226
Your words of wisdom have really gotten to me. Aw crap. :D

I've started with Sal the Gunzerker and I've just killed Captain Flynt. But since I mostly play as a sniper (Gunzerking with two pistols when rushed or facing a big bad), I wonder whether I should be playing Zero the Assassin instead.

I loved playing Axton and it is awesome as Hell.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on July 13, 2014, 06:19:42 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;768096
Did my first Skyrim dungeon yesterday (Bleak Falls Temple). I am hard pressed to remember what was the last time I felt so immersed in a videogame. Fucking awesome.

Also made me wonder whether I should pick up Legend of Grimrock after all.

Legend of Grimrock is fucking awesome. Do yourself a favor and get it.

I am playing Spec Ops: The Line. Very interesting story, average third-person shooter. But is nice, is Apocalypse Now in Dubai. Well done, very well done.

Just finished Tiny Thief: a nice point-and-click puzzle games, that my baby girl loved. A cute medieval thief has to solve several puzzles to remedy some injustices and save the kingdom. Great to play with your kids.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on July 13, 2014, 07:04:41 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;768226
I actually think it's a neat contrast to Skyrim (and Diablo III,for that matter) which take themselves so goddamn seriously all the time.

Don't get me wrong, I agree it's a nice contrast, it just doesn't work for me.

(For reference, the only videogames I've really found funny are Conker's Bad Fur Day, Portal, and Portal 2.)

Quote from: Imperator;768388
I am playing Spec Ops: The Line. Very interesting story, average third-person shooter. But is nice, is Apocalypse Now in Dubai. Well done, very well done.

The gameplay was intentionally designed to be "not fun". There's a lot of interesting commentary about the game, but don't look into it until after you're done.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on July 13, 2014, 11:07:07 AM
Quote from: Patrick;768261
Is anyone playing Marvel Heroes 2015?  It is Free to Play, but not really.  Looking for a supergroup.


I started playing it, but my kids quickly shot past me on the storyline.

Those people who said it was akin to Diablo weren't kidding.  It IS a helluva lot like Diablo, but more fun.  Probably because it's Marvel Heroes, not Blizzard grimdark.

And those cutscenes are great.

I don't see it holding my attention for very long stretches of time, but it will be a great filler game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on July 13, 2014, 11:16:01 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;768226
I actually think it's a neat contrast to Skyrim (and Diablo III,for that matter) which take themselves so goddamn seriously all the time.


Considering the Diablo franchise's main problem was the story depth (compared to the competition of Baldur's Gate), I'm often amused by how seriously Blizzard takes themselves with Diablo.

They certainly don't have that issue of being too serious with WoW. (Although I wish they did, because it would mean less "WTF??" moments in a storyline, like going from faux-medieval environment in Vanilla through Wrath to an epic Apocalypse Now moment in the Alliance intro Mists questline a few short game years later.)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on July 13, 2014, 11:43:23 AM
Quote from: Imperator;768388
Legend of Grimrock is fucking awesome. Do yourself a favor and get it.


I know! I've been eyeing it for a while. I've got my hands full right now but I'm bound to pick it up sooner or later.

Quote from: Imperator;768388
I am playing Spec Ops: The Line. Very interesting story, average third-person shooter. But is nice, is Apocalypse Now in Dubai. Well done, very well done.


Interesting. Will look into it!

Speaking of "realistic" or "gritty" shooters — anyone can give me the skinny on the Ghost Recon series? Are they any good?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on July 13, 2014, 10:11:15 PM
New release of Dwarf Fortress is consuming all my video gaming time. The world continues to progress after generation now. Armies roam the map, bandits will actually rob you, combat isn't necessarily lethal, things can be climbed now, weapons can be sheathed, conversations have been revamped, sites can now be conquered, dead birds rain from the sky, so much new stuff.

Adventure mode honestly feels a lot different in a good way. Haven't tried fort mode yet.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on July 13, 2014, 11:58:31 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;768456
Considering the Diablo franchise's main problem was the story depth (compared to the competition of Baldur's Gate), I'm often amused by how seriously Blizzard takes themselves with Diablo.

They certainly don't have that issue of being too serious with WoW. (Although I wish they did, because it would mean less "WTF??" moments in a storyline, like going from faux-medieval environment in Vanilla through Wrath to an epic Apocalypse Now moment in the Alliance intro Mists questline a few short game years later.)

I mostly agree with your assessment

Diablo III is such a huge wasted opportunity. Fun gameplay, horrid fluff. I mean, the basic idea is okay, but the implementation is awful and the dialogues makes me cringe.

WoW has always been moderately silly, but again, since Cataclysm its humorous moments, like everything else about it, seem to be getting increasingly dumb.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on July 14, 2014, 12:48:09 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;768608
I mostly agree with your assessment

Diablo III is such a huge wasted opportunity. Fun gameplay, horrid fluff. I mean, the basic idea is okay, but the implementation is awful and the dialogues makes me cringe.

WoW has always been moderately silly, but again, since Cataclysm its humorous moments, like everything else about um, seem to be getting increasingly dumb.


So many games nowadays are ruined by absolutly needless fluff. Diablo 3 would have been just fine with no explicit story at all IMO.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on July 14, 2014, 11:59:01 AM
Quote from: Piestrio;768623
So many games nowadays are ruined by absolutly needless fluff. Diablo 3 would have been just fine with no explicit story at all IMO.


Considering that D3 is just point-click-boom gameplay, that's about right.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on July 14, 2014, 12:28:02 PM
Don't get me wrong, I don't need story to enjoy a videogame. But I like having it around.

I don't even expect it to be particularly good. I mean, I think WoW's (pré-Cataclysm anyway) is as good as, I don't know, your average Saturday morning cartoon or the sillier Star Trek episodes. It's not haute literature and it doesn't have to be. It's entertaining and that's all it has to be. Hell, I found even the much-maligned Neverwinter Nights original campaign somewhat entertaining.

Diablo 3's is not even that. It brings to mind a particularly crap grimdark comic or anime. It flies at the speed of light through So Bad It's Good territory and straight into So Bad It's Horrible.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on July 14, 2014, 12:31:19 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;768750
Don't get me wrong, I don't need story to enjoy a videogame. But I like having it around.

I don't even expect it to be particularly good. I mean, I think WoW's (pré-Cataclysm anyway) is as good as, I don't know, your average Saturday morning cartoon or the sillier Star Trek episodes. It's not haute literature and it doesn't have to be. It's entertaining and that's all it has to be. Hell, I found even the much-maligned Neverwinter Nights original campaign somewhat entertaining.

Diablo 3's is not even that. It brings to mind a particularly crap grimdark comic or anime. It flies at the speed of light through So Bad It's Good territory and straight into So Bad It's Horrible.


Blizz has mastered the art of the trailer, where the trailer is the most interesting part of the story. I suspected they did it for D3 --and I think you confirmed that-- but I knew that they'd jumped the shark with Cata and Mists. And with Warlords on the horizon and it's "alternate universe" comic book crap, it's gone well off the rails.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on July 14, 2014, 01:17:44 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;768623
So many games nowadays are ruined by absolutly needless fluff. Diablo 3 would have been just fine with no explicit story at all IMO.

Yeah. The original Diablo had a decent bit of story to it, but it was all hidden away for you to find, if you cared; for a vaguely fantasy-themed shoot-'em-up like Diablo, that's really all you need. Nobody is going to buy it for the story. Nobody cares about what contrivance summoned Diablo et al again this time. People buy it for the click-click-splurch.

At least Blizzard have realised that though, so you get stuff like Adventure Mode where you can just go and twat shit rather than having to come back to town every ten minutes for the next boring story bit, and the expansion's zones are bigger and more full of incidental story things, which work fine and tell stories during gameplay.

I really like the animated-woodcut art style they use for D3's cinematics, though, and the fluffbooks are fun reads.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on July 14, 2014, 01:51:40 PM
Story-games fever has infected PC gaming nowadays, that's for sure.

Has anyone else tried the latest Wolfenstein? It's basically a story/puzzle game with some first person shooter elements to it. I kept finding myself frustrated at the brief shooting episodes...then back to freakin' story and puzzles.

On the other hand, I love how Borderlands 2 handled the story. It's a really good story, but you quite often will be shooting things while listening to the story. It might be more fair to say Borderlands 2 is an Easter Egg Hunt with first person shooter elements...but it never forgets it's a shooter, which happens all too often in Wolfenstein.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on July 15, 2014, 03:40:16 AM
Quote from: Doom;768775
Story-games fever has infected PC gaming nowadays, that's for sure.

Has anyone else tried the latest Wolfenstein? It's basically a story/puzzle game with some first person shooter elements to it. I kept finding myself frustrated at the brief shooting episodes...then back to freakin' story and puzzles.

On the other hand, I love how Borderlands 2 handled the story. It's a really good story, but you quite often will be shooting things while listening to the story. It might be more fair to say Borderlands 2 is an Easter Egg Hunt with first person shooter elements...but it never forgets it's a shooter, which happens all too often in Wolfenstein.

That so? I have only heard good things about Wolfenstein and was eager to play it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on July 15, 2014, 08:38:42 AM
Quote from: Doom;768775
Story-games fever has infected PC gaming nowadays, that's for sure.

Has anyone else tried the latest Wolfenstein? It's basically a story/puzzle game with some first person shooter elements to it. I kept finding myself frustrated at the brief shooting episodes...then back to freakin' story and puzzles.

On the other hand, I love how Borderlands 2 handled the story. It's a really good story, but you quite often will be shooting things while listening to the story. It might be more fair to say Borderlands 2 is an Easter Egg Hunt with first person shooter elements...but it never forgets it's a shooter, which happens all too often in Wolfenstein.


I would never be able to tell, as first person shooters make me dizzy. Not sure why it happens, but I'm apparently part of the population that can't handle them. I can't really handle watching other people play Mario Kart for too long, but I'm fine when I play.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on July 15, 2014, 02:29:50 PM
Quote from: Imperator;768991
That so? I have only heard good things about Wolfenstein and was eager to play it.


Well, opinions can vary, but one sequence in the early part of the game, jumping from one wing to the other, really emphasizes the issue.

Miss the jump, and you die. Reload. Miss the jump and die. Reload. Miss the jump and die. Reload. Both times I played through, it must have taken half a dozen jumps to get that "puzzle" right. There are a number of such puzzles, but that one is particularly noxious.

After the jump? Back to story.

There's a "throwback" where you get to play, more or less, the original Wolfenstein game in a dream sequence.

"YES," I thought as I played it, "I finally get to shoot some nazis!"

Then my character woke up, and back to the story...the whole game, I doubt there's any shooting sequence that takes more than 10 continuous minutes to play through.

The graphics are awesome, the story is good, but I really thought I was buying a shooter.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Blacky the Blackball on July 15, 2014, 03:50:21 PM
I was pleasantly surprised recently to find that Stainless Software had decided to give all the backers of Carmageddon: Reincarnation a free copy of the original Carmageddon. It's the GOG version which means I can run it hardware accelerated at a sensible resolution.

It's great fun - in fact I'm sorry to say that good as the new game is, the original is still better despite its age.

In other news, I'm late to the party and I've just picked up Spelunky on Steam. I only got it today so I haven't played much yet, but it's vicious; addictive; and viciously addictive!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doctor Jest on July 16, 2014, 11:11:41 PM
I've been playing Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes (4x Fantasy Strategy Game with Tactical Combat) and State of Decay (Zombie Survival RPG) the most lately. I'm positively addicted to FE:LH, but I think SoD was really fun as well.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doctor Jest on July 16, 2014, 11:12:39 PM
Quote from: Doom;769132
the whole game, I doubt there's any shooting sequence that takes more than 10 continuous minutes to play through.

The graphics are awesome, the story is good, but I really thought I was buying a shooter.


This was my experience with Max Payne 3. "Ok game, when do I get to play?"
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Raven on July 16, 2014, 11:39:21 PM
I just discovered Terraria, so mostly that. except my stupid pc keeps bluescreening so I don't know how long that will last.

World of Tanks 360 released Soviet tanks a few weeks back so I'm slowly getting back into that, after completely burning out during the beta last fall.

Picked up Oblivion and Fallout: New Vegas on 360 during last weeks sale. I will probably give one of those a go soon. Or Dark Souls. Or the XCOM expansion. Or...

Urgh. I have a massive backlog of unplayed XBox stuff, and my Steam list is even crazier. I get analysis paralysis just trying to decide what to try next. 1st world problem fer sure.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: robiswrong on July 16, 2014, 11:42:38 PM
Quote from: Doom;769132

There's a "throwback" where you get to play, more or less, the original Wolfenstein game in a dream sequence.

"YES," I thought as I played it, "I finally get to shoot some nazis!"


Wouldn't a throwback to the *original* mean that you're spending time sneaking around and avoiding guards?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on July 16, 2014, 11:49:18 PM
Quote from: Doctor Jest;769883
I've been playing Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes (4x Fantasy Strategy Game with Tactical Combat) and State of Decay (Zombie Survival RPG) the most lately. I'm positively addicted to FE:LH, but I think SoD was really fun as well.


Hmm, Fallen Enchantress sounds cool. I could swear I've played a Stardock game before, too, but can't remember it.

I bought Age of Wonder III recently. It's good, but it's amazing it suffers the same design issues of the previous games (too little gold, floods and floods of mana). Even though the graphics and all are greatly improved, it's so similar that I just couldn't get "into" it like with a new game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on July 17, 2014, 04:32:14 AM
Just finished Spec Ops: The Line. Really powerful stuff, great ending. I recommend it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doctor Jest on July 17, 2014, 06:00:51 PM
Quote from: Doom;769894
Hmm, Fallen Enchantress sounds cool. I could swear I've played a Stardock game before, too, but can't remember it.


If you like 4x games, you probably played one of the editions of Galactic Civilizations
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doctor Jest on July 17, 2014, 06:01:47 PM
Quote from: Imperator;769943
Just finished Spec Ops: The Line. Really powerful stuff, great ending. I recommend it.


I've heard really good things about this, it's definitely on my to-buy list. I like personal focused games that get really dark.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on July 17, 2014, 06:47:14 PM
Quote from: Doctor Jest;770131
If you like 4x games, you probably played one of the editions of Galactic Civilizations


I miss the original Master of Orion.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on July 18, 2014, 06:34:14 PM
Quote from: Doctor Jest;770132
I've heard really good things about this, it's definitely on my to-buy list. I like personal focused games that get really dark.


It's in a humble bundle (https://www.humblebundle.com/?utm_source=Humble+Bundle+Newsletter&utm_campaign=c88e16799e-Humble_2K_Bundle_MPA&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_990b1b6399-c88e16799e-92905381) for the next few days.

Incidentally, that's a damn good bundle.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: dragoner on July 18, 2014, 06:52:49 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;770148
I miss the original Master of Orion.


I'm another MoO player, though 4x'ers I had to sort of give up because they became addictive.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Rincewind1 on July 18, 2014, 09:06:58 PM
Quote from: dragoner;770429
I'm another MoO player, though 4x'ers I had to sort of give up because they became addictive.


It's the Paradox games for me, that and Civ 4. Gods, the hours, the hours.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on July 18, 2014, 10:04:57 PM
I used to Moo2 back in the day. There just hasn't been a good 4x space game that's done as well.

Endless Space is the closest I've seen, and it's pretty good.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doctor Jest on July 18, 2014, 11:28:38 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;770148
I miss the original Master of Orion.

I don't because I have it and still play it, although I prefer MOO2. Which I also have.

Both MOO and MOO2 are available in a package at GOG for $5.99, btw, including network support to play online. Every once and a while the wife break it out and waste a weekend fighting each other over the galaxy.

http://www.gog.com/game/master_of_orion_1_2
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doctor Jest on July 18, 2014, 11:29:42 PM
Quote from: Doom;770484
I used to Moo2 back in the day. There just hasn't been a good 4x space game that's done as well.

Endless Space is the closest I've seen, and it's pretty good.


I agree, Endless Space is the best modern space 4x, hands down.

A modernized MOO2 would be just fantastic, but really MOO2 still holds it's own.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on July 19, 2014, 01:35:43 AM
Quote from: Doctor Jest;770512
I agree, Endless Space is the best modern space 4x, hands down.

A modernized MOO2 would be just fantastic, but really MOO2 still holds it's own.


All MOO or MOO2 would need is updated graphics to handle the better monitors.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: dragoner on July 19, 2014, 12:00:03 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;770474
It's the Paradox games for me, that and Civ 4. Gods, the hours, the hours.


C3C, plus mods from like civ fanatics, I had to quit, way too much "just another hour", I looked at C4&5 nervously and said no. Paradox is good, so are the Matrix ones, spent way too much time on Starships Unlimited, even though it was quite limited; it is an evil day when I can find a game where I can design starships and have them fight it out.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on July 19, 2014, 03:11:15 PM
Quote from: dragoner;770570
C3C, plus mods from like civ fanatics, I had to quit, way too much "just another hour", I looked at C4&5 nervously and said no. Paradox is good, so are the Matrix ones, spent way too much time on Starships Unlimited, even though it was quite limited; it is an evil day when I can find a game where I can design starships and have them fight it out.


Gratuitous Space Battles...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on July 19, 2014, 10:18:56 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;770617
Gratuitous Space Battles...


Yep, that's another one that's fun, although hardly a life-drainer. Gratuitious Tank Battles is more of a tower defense game, but still has some fun it due to some decent writing.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: mightyuncle on July 24, 2014, 05:30:11 PM
Xenonauts - which is an old school X-Com clone.  Turn based, sprite animated, isometric view. Lots of resource management outside of combat missions. Really high mortality rate if played stupidly and rather unforgiving of mistakes and poor strategy.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on July 25, 2014, 06:30:10 PM
Me and my team of old bastards, are currently weening ourselves off of Battlefield 4... after playing the unholy shit out of it...

and now playing Wildstar... a game I was dead-set on hating. But now I respect it. It's pretty damn challenging on the raiding front. (if you give a shit about such things).

I'm just filling in time until EQ Next.

Got my eyes set on:

Evolve
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B52Yk-Q61T0

I'm kinda hankering to do some competitive Streetfighter IV... but I don't think my twitch is good enough anymore.

For "chillin" - I play Civ IV (sometimes Civ V)

If I want to give myself rage, and want to smash my monitor - I play X-Com:Enemy Unknown on Difficult in Ironman Mode.

BTW - Moo2 is probably in my top 5 games of all time. I know there's another Moo on the way... but after Moo3... ugh... My hopes aren't high. GalCiv IV is coming tho. So one can be hopeful.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: golan2072 on July 29, 2014, 01:57:37 PM
Playing Mass Effect 2 for the third time now (last time was fall 2012 - almost 2 years ago), this game is so good - best in the trilogy IMHO.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danbuter on July 31, 2014, 07:29:45 PM
I'm still playing tons of World of Warplanes. I love this game. I play a few matches of World of Tanks once in a while, but it's gotten a bit boring for me.

I recently downloaded Hawken, and I really like it. Best mecha game I've played in a while.

I tried Warthunder but ended up deleting it after a few days. The controls in game are much worse than WoWP, but it was still a tough choice, as Warthunder has a lot better options for planes.

During the Steam sale, I got the Rise of Heroes set. It's basically an interactive Superhero choose-your-own-adventure, and I really like it. Probably has limited replay value, but the first run-through was great.

I also tried Planetside 2, but I really didn't care for the game. Dropped it after about an hour of play time.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on August 01, 2014, 03:19:59 AM
I remain firmly in the Blizzard camp, primarily World of Warcraft. I am also in the Beta for the next expansion (Warlords of Draenor), and in the Technical Alpha for their MOBA (Heroes of the Storm), when I'm not playing Hearthstone. (No interest in Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2.)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on August 01, 2014, 05:07:59 AM
Currently the only thing I'm playing is Europa Barbarorum (http://www.europabarbarorum.com/index.html), a total conversion mod for Rome: Total War.

I recently installed Medieval 2: Total War for the first time (despite having owned it since 2008 or so) in preparation for Europa Barbarorum II, which is due out in open beta some time this month.

I started, but never finished Assassin's Creed 3 on my XBox 360; I love the setting and ambience, but have grown to hate the new combat engine. It's been literal months since I last tried to play it.

My eldest plays more XBox than I do nowadays, she loves the Lego games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on August 25, 2014, 08:41:34 PM
Europa Barbarorum II is here (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?663786-Europa-Barbarorum-2-0-released!)! The main website is overwhelmed, but you can get it via FTP from The Org (http://ftp://theorg.co.uk/EB/EBII.zip), EB (http://ftp://files.europabarbarorum.com/EBII.zip), Moddb  (http://www.moddb.com/downloads/europa-barbarorum-2-first-release)and Gamefront (http://www.gamefront.com/files/files/24436562/EB2.zip). Beware, it's a hefty 2.7Gb and requires Medieval 2: Total War with Kingdoms patched up to v1.05 to work.

It's been seven years in the making, and at least Europa Barbarorum II is nearly with us. For anyone unaware, it's a total conversion modification for Medieval 2: Total War, that makes it a game of classical antiquity, starting in 272BC. Just like the original Europa Barbarorum (http://www.europabarbarorum.com/index.html), only with lots more features due to the more advanced engine. It's the open beta, designed to find lots of bugs and elicit a new round of interest from the modding community so it can be finished and many of the planned features enacted.


(http://www.europabarbarorum.com/assets/images/slideshow/epilektoihoplitai.png)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on August 26, 2014, 12:45:30 PM
I bought a cheap 360 from a colleague (It needs a new DVD drive, and I might put together a new HDD as well), as Rockstar still haven't bothered porting Grand Theft Horse to the PC.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: daniel_ream on August 26, 2014, 01:53:50 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;782868
I bought a cheap 360 from a colleague


I used to be a 360 fanboy, but I've almost completely switched to the PS3 for my secondhand scrounging now.  You can get an old SKU for less than $130 here, and the only difference in SKUs (practically) is the hard drive size, and that's easily upgradeable.  Plus multiplayer's free.

With the money a used 360 would cost me I've given away multiple PS3 refurbs to friends just so I have people to co-op with :-)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on August 26, 2014, 05:41:55 PM
Quote from: daniel_ream;782882
I used to be a 360 fanboy, but I've almost completely switched to the PS3 for my secondhand scrounging now.  You can get an old SKU for less than $130 here, and the only difference in SKUs (practically) is the hard drive size, and that's easily upgradeable.  Plus multiplayer's free.

With the money a used 360 would cost me I've given away multiple PS3 refurbs to friends just so I have people to co-op with :-)


I got a pretty good deal on it, even accounting for bits I'll replace, I'm still coming out ahead of our retail stores (Plus game hardware isn't really yours until you crack the case, y'know? I'm happy to get stuck in).

If I want to play multiplayer, that's for the PC! Paying for peer-to-peer multiplayer is abhorant to me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: yabaziou on August 26, 2014, 07:00:58 PM
I have played the new Ys IV and Persona 4 Golden on PS Vita, and I am quite pleased with them !

I have also done Child of Light on PS 3 and it was an enchanting experience even if its was maybe a little too short (but the game was only 20 € with additional contents and a nice poster bt Amano so I think it is a fair bargain).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: MrHurst on August 27, 2014, 08:18:14 AM
Finally beating Borderlands 2, Krieg is a beast, particularly now that I realize I can THROW the buzzaxe rather than dying horribly whenever I try to charge someone. His intro video is surprisingly good too.

I've also been drooling heavily at the looks of the two Beyond Earth preview streams Firaxis has done lately They're Not Barbarians! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qciSGDXCnN0) and Choose Your Own Adventure (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx-AyF8RCgo). Reviewing the Aliens and how they react differently than generic barbarian behaviors and the rather different 'create your civ' approach they're taking. They're like an hour a piece, but if you're interested they're worth it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on August 27, 2014, 10:10:35 AM
I'm about to look at D&D Online the MMO thing that is free.

1) Because I am casual
2) And cheap
3) And own a Mac (no PC-Master race for gaming here)

I expect I will play it for an hour or so then uninstall it like I do every game. I eventually realise that what I actually want is a really good book to read! I wait to be surprised.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on August 27, 2014, 11:34:29 AM
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;783064
I'm about to look at D&D Online the MMO thing that is free.

1) Because I am casual
2) And cheap
3) And own a Mac (no PC-Master race for gaming here)

I expect I will play it for an hour or so then uninstall it like I do every game. I eventually realise that what I actually want is a really good book to read! I wait to be surprised.


D&DO is really group-based. Neverwinter is more WoW-y. Maybe there are subtleties I've missed, I don't know, the core gameplay didn't entertain me.

Obviously, being F2P, if you're not willing to pay up, don't expect to get past either game's totally-not-a-paywall in a reasonable time, or be allowed any nice things.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on August 27, 2014, 12:21:14 PM
I am playing Red Dead Redemption on the PS3 and I am enjoying it inmensely. Also trying Capsized on the PC, and is fun. But overall, I would recommend the glorious British survival horror jewel "Sir, you are being hunted." Awesome.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on August 27, 2014, 12:59:05 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;783083
D&DO is really group-based. Neverwinter is more WoW-y. Maybe there are subtleties I've missed, I don't know, the core gameplay didn't entertain me.

Obviously, being F2P, if you're not willing to pay up, don't expect to get past either game's totally-not-a-paywall in a reasonable time, or be allowed any nice things.


I can't be bothered to deal with the download, update and "you awaken on a beach near some crates. Break them all open and follow an NPC..."

Oops turned it off.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on August 27, 2014, 02:28:53 PM
I agree with the "wake up, smash 6 crates and kill 10 evil-things" ethos getting more-than-boring after so many iterations.

I played WoW for years during interludes from my addiction with MUDs but they never quite have the same "grip".
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on August 27, 2014, 07:43:51 PM
Quote from: Elsalvador;783123
I agree with the "wake up, smash 6 crates and kill 10 evil-things" ethos getting more-than-boring after so many iterations.

I played WoW for years during interludes from my addiction with MUDs but they never quite have the same "grip".


This is at least in part why I've drifted away from WoW and towards Guild Wars 2. Their take on questing (Renown Hearts) feels quite a bit less constraining and dumb than WoW's (and everyone else's, really).

That, and switching weapons is fun.

Welcome to theRPGsite, BTW! :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on August 27, 2014, 08:32:45 PM
Thanks for the welcome! Always been a bit of a lurker but only now  decided to make an account.

Honestly, I loved WoW when it started and even up til the Cataclysm Expansion; I think this is the point where they decided that casual gaming was a very real revenue stream they weren't capitalising on. And as a consequence simplified and streamlined much further than was (imo) necessary.

I like when things are challenging and levelling used to be challenging enough to enjoy the storyline and also provide enough varied levelling zones that levelling alts felt like an entirely new experience.

With the majority of development centred around endgame now, it feels like players are tunnelvisioned into levelling as fast as possible, leaving all of the rich scenery and 75% of the entire gameworld behind so they can hit 90 and start gearing up for raiding.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on August 27, 2014, 08:53:50 PM
I gave up on Sonic: Lost World because it pulled the asinine "you must have collected X flibble-florps before you can play this level!".

No.

Fuck you sonic, I beat the god damned levels I don't want to beat them again and again just so I can meet some arbitrary standard.

Making a game last longer is not in itself "more challenging" it's just longer.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on August 27, 2014, 09:57:59 PM
Quote from: Elsalvador;783279
Thanks for the welcome! Always been a bit of a lurker but only now  decided to make an account.

Honestly, I loved WoW when it started and even up til the Cataclysm Expansion; I think this is the point where they decided that casual gaming was a very real revenue stream they weren't capitalising on. And as a consequence simplified and streamlined much further than was (imo) necessary.

I like when things are challenging and levelling used to be challenging enough to enjoy the storyline and also provide enough varied levelling zones that levelling alts felt like an entirely new experience.

With the majority of development centred around endgame now, it feels like players are tunnelvisioned into levelling as fast as possible, leaving all of the rich scenery and 75% of the entire gameworld behind so they can hit 90 and start gearing up for raiding.


Sounds about right. Sadly I got to play very little pre-Cata. Before leaving WoW I spent most of my time doing BC and WotLK content.

And ironically, I suspect rushing leveling in favor of getting to the endgame had the opposite effect with this very casual gamer. I've had enough of the rushed dungeons, the wipes, the LOL L2P NOOB and the kicking. WoW players sure are entitled as fuck, at least when PUGing.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on August 27, 2014, 11:33:36 PM
The attitude displayed by a LOT of players, especially in PUGs, is pretty disgusting.

I don't find it particularly reasonable that you should have to do a large amount of research into certain aspects of the game (using means OUTSIDE the game to do so...) before you can join groups yet you're right - people are entitled as FUCK.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on August 28, 2014, 01:01:51 AM
Quote from: Elsalvador;783279
Thanks for the welcome! Always been a bit of a lurker but only now  decided to make an account.

Honestly, I loved WoW when it started and even up til the Cataclysm Expansion; I think this is the point where they decided that casual gaming was a very real revenue stream they weren't capitalising on. And as a consequence simplified and streamlined much further than was (imo) necessary.

I like when things are challenging and levelling used to be challenging enough to enjoy the storyline and also provide enough varied levelling zones that levelling alts felt like an entirely new experience.

With the majority of development centred around endgame now, it feels like players are tunnelvisioned into levelling as fast as possible, leaving all of the rich scenery and 75% of the entire gameworld behind so they can hit 90 and start gearing up for raiding.


WoW was interesting for me until I had to go through the whole "Burning Crusade" section. This is pre-WoTLK in a period between the two expansions. I was enjoying the first 20 - 30 levels, then it dragged. Then everyone hyped raids, end game content and the rest of it. I tried and it bored me. I went to some RP servers, but the RP was either non-existent or deeply entrenched in canonical back story. The WoW canon is not actually something I really dig/dug. Plus you could not actually affect things. You could set up shop in an inn, and use it as a base of operations, but it was still a public space offered at the whim of Blizzard or whoever.

I would love to explore some RP in Second Life, and some other virtual spaces, but it is so freeform that I might as well play via skype or something (Or meta-game and RP using avatars sitting at a table in Second Life).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: robiswrong on August 28, 2014, 01:58:31 AM
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;783330
WoW was interesting for me until I had to go through the whole "Burning Crusade" section.


Grindlands sucks.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on August 28, 2014, 08:16:07 AM
Quote from: Elsalvador;783279
Thanks for the welcome! Always been a bit of a lurker but only now  decided to make an account.

Honestly, I loved WoW when it started and even up til the Cataclysm Expansion; I think this is the point where they decided that casual gaming was a very real revenue stream they weren't capitalising on. And as a consequence simplified and streamlined much further than was (imo) necessary.

I like when things are challenging and levelling used to be challenging enough to enjoy the storyline and also provide enough varied levelling zones that levelling alts felt like an entirely new experience.

With the majority of development centred around endgame now, it feels like players are tunnelvisioned into levelling as fast as possible, leaving all of the rich scenery and 75% of the entire gameworld behind so they can hit 90 and start gearing up for raiding.


Blizz turned WoW's greatest advantage --it's huge number of lower level areas-- into a disadvantage with Cataclysm. They redid the Old World but never bothered to go back and rework Outland and Northrend, so the story goes completely off the rails when you reach L60.  

And their long term solution to this problem? Buy Warlords of Draenor and you get a character at L90 right off the bat. You can then go to the Proving Grounds and learn to play your class (push the right buttons), and then off you go to Draenor 2.

Leveling game? What leveling game?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on August 28, 2014, 08:27:27 AM
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;783330
WoW was interesting for me until I had to go through the whole "Burning Crusade" section. This is pre-WoTLK in a period between the two expansions. I was enjoying the first 20 - 30 levels, then it dragged. Then everyone hyped raids, end game content and the rest of it. I tried and it bored me. I went to some RP servers, but the RP was either non-existent or deeply entrenched in canonical back story. The WoW canon is not actually something I really dig/dug. Plus you could not actually affect things. You could set up shop in an inn, and use it as a base of operations, but it was still a public space offered at the whim of Blizzard or whoever.

I would love to explore some RP in Second Life, and some other virtual spaces, but it is so freeform that I might as well play via skype or something (Or meta-game and RP using avatars sitting at a table in Second Life).


While I freely admit that there's a lot of weirdness and "WTF??" associated with real history, WoW's fictional history a) feels like a total mashup, b) reads like a David Eddings novel where it's all the people at the top doing all of the important stuff, and c) has gone so far off the rails of the "D&D-style medieval game" into steampunk with some medieval trappings that I feel that certain classes should have been made completely obsolete by technology (like the Warrior).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on August 28, 2014, 09:00:29 AM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;783377
Leveling game? What leveling game?


I agree with every word of this post. If the leveling process in your game is "a grind" and not fun, you fail at game design. And the thing is, I think WoW's leveling is actually fun; it's just that (a) people rush through it, and (b) replay value has gone down after Cataclysm as Elsalvador pointed out.

Quote from: flyerfan1991;783382
While I freely admit that there's a lot of weirdness and "WTF??" associated with real history, WoW's fictional history a) feels like a total mashup, b) reads like a David Eddings novel where it's all the people at the top doing all of the important stuff, and c) has gone so far off the rails of the "D&D-style medieval game" into steampunk with some medieval trappings that I feel that certain classes should have been made completely obsolete by technology (like the Warrior).


WoW's lore is a guilty pleasure for me, like Star Trek's or the old World of Darkness'. Meaning, I know it doesn't really hold up to close scrutiny, and that the novel cruft accumulates as different authors contribute to bits and pieces of the setting, but seriously, it's fun. I love the Kirbyesque science fantasy bits, and I am at peace with the gross unlifelikeness of sword-swinging warriors in plate in a world where armies field riflemen, steam tanks and armed airships. It's (b) that really grinds my gears; the Lich King fight being a particularly grievous example of NPCs suddenly and unjustifiably stealing the spotlight from PCs.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on August 28, 2014, 11:12:53 AM
Quote
WoW's lore is a guilty pleasure for me


Agree with this so much. It's easy to find fault and loopholes with fantasy literature (especially if that fantasy is within the context of a video game), but WoW's lore does hit a soft spot with me.

I read that War Crimes novel that came out a few months ago and absolutely fell in love with it - despite the fact that it wasn't even "really" a fantasy novel and in fact just a blurb of an event that the game glossed over.


WoW's lore as a guilty pleasure works for me; enough that I'm happy to suspend my disbelief to enjoy it.

(Just a shame about other aspects of the game as I've noted in my former posts.)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on August 29, 2014, 07:18:03 AM
I just had a quick look at Strife (https://strife.com/) (which is open beta now)

Nope. Not my cup of tea. I got past the first demo combat, wanted to exit and couldn't. There is no way to exit the game whilst in "training" mode.

Looked nice, the character had a British accent. You click buttons to hit things. I don't want to click buttons to hit things. I must accept that I am not a computer game player.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Silverlion on August 29, 2014, 08:31:55 AM
I'm playing Defiance pretty solidly right now, and recently got a gift of X-com: Enemy Unknown, and have already lost three soldiers! Yep, an X-com game. Having fun with it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on August 29, 2014, 09:00:55 AM
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;783615
I just had a quick look at Strife (https://strife.com/) (which is open beta now)

Nope. Not my cup of tea. I got past the first demo combat, wanted to exit and couldn't. There is no way to exit the game whilst in "training" mode.

Looked nice, the character had a British accent. You click buttons to hit things. I don't want to click buttons to hit things. I must accept that I am not a computer game player.


I don't think I've ever played a computer game where you don't have to click a button to hit something, whether it's a "how quick can you click" first person shooter or a "I move this stack to attack that stack" turn based game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on August 30, 2014, 12:02:12 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;783631
I don't think I've ever played a computer game where you don't have to click a button to hit something, whether it's a "how quick can you click" first person shooter or a "I move this stack to attack that stack" turn based game.


Yeah, my comment comes from the raid experiences in WoW. It really felt like a button click ballet. There is a difference between that, and say Police Quest, or a shooter like R-Type etc.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on September 01, 2014, 08:13:16 PM
Heh, button click ballet is a very nicely romanticised version of WoW's raiding. (That is not a criticism, the ability to romanticise gameplay that way is something I find engaging and quite appreciative).

I was more of a PVPer myself and that went from ballet into something off the charts at times - although this somewhat touches on another immersion-breaking part of the game for me.

The fact that every single player so utterly scientifically either wants to or is forced to by their teams, to break down every component of skills and abilities that are meant to have flavour and some degree of roleplaying relevance, into numbers and timers and percentages - that really turned me off the competitive PVP scene.

I think gaming of this type - and roleplaying, of course - should be art and not science and anything which stifles creativity in favour of empirical DPS data or some other such nonsense greatly diminishes the experience for me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on September 01, 2014, 10:30:54 PM
Quote from: Elsalvador;784312
Heh, button click ballet is a very nicely romanticised version of WoW's raiding. (That is not a criticism, the ability to romanticise gameplay that way is something I find engaging and quite appreciative).

I was more of a PVPer myself and that went from ballet into something off the charts at times - although this somewhat touches on another immersion-breaking part of the game for me.

The fact that every single player so utterly scientifically either wants to or is forced to by their teams, to break down every component of skills and abilities that are meant to have flavour and some degree of roleplaying relevance, into numbers and timers and percentages - that really turned me off the competitive PVP scene.

I think gaming of this type - and roleplaying, of course - should be art and not science and anything which stifles creativity in favour of empirical DPS data or some other such nonsense greatly diminishes the experience for me.


WoW's PvP is so heavily dependent upon whatever the flavor of the month is --last I checked, it was held by a Warrior spec with Disco Priest and BM Hunter close behind-- that I finally got tired of it. It's also hard to enjoy a random PvP battleground when there's no conscious attempt to make the teams equal in terms of healer and gear composition.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 02, 2014, 06:46:34 AM
Quote from: Elsalvador;784312
The fact that every single player so utterly scientifically either wants to or is forced to by their teams, to break down every component of skills and abilities that are meant to have flavour and some degree of roleplaying relevance, into numbers and timers and percentages - that really turned me off the competitive PVP scene.

I think gaming of this type - and roleplaying, of course - should be art and not science and anything which stifles creativity in favour of empirical DPS data or some other such nonsense greatly diminishes the experience for me.


Well, that's because it's a vaguely fantasy-themed shoot-'em-up, not an actual roleplaying game. You're playing the wrong game... and yeah, the video game industry's habit of naming anything with numbers that lets you change the character's name an "RPG" is shit, but there it is.

It's like the old "hardcore vs casual" game dichotomy; both are fine, but players in one expecting the other aren't going to enjoy themselves, and it's their own fault, they're in the wrong place. If you don't want to have to play to win, don't step into the arena; if you want to be in the arena but play with your own rules, find a group of friends to do some casual fighting with who all agree to your rules.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on September 03, 2014, 11:09:42 AM
Yeah that was mainly commentary on WoW's PVP more than me having unrealistic expectations out of a millions-of-players-playing MMO.

Haven't logged into WoW for several weeks now as I'm back in Avalon, the text MUD which is an entirely different experience.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 03, 2014, 11:17:58 AM
I played a bit of WoW years ago, but didn't find the setting or socialising as interesting as mudding, the gameplay as fun as Diablo or Guild Wars, the dungeons as much fun as Zelda, or the deathmatch as fun as Unreal Tournament or Quake 3 (Seriously, competitive mode where players start on statistically uneven footing, where some characters can just BE BETTER? lolno).

So I stopped.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on September 03, 2014, 01:45:22 PM
Finished Shovel Knight and Rayman: Legends a while ago. Those were great. Every time I think I've seen everything platformers have to offer I get proven wrong in the most pleasant way.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 03, 2014, 02:30:29 PM
I haven't played any of the Raymans, but I do like a good 2d Mario game. Reckon they're worth the spend?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Opaopajr on September 04, 2014, 05:18:59 AM
Rayman series is just great. Rayman 2 when it came out was like a revelation of what you could do with a 3D platformer -- and a child friendly one, too!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on September 04, 2014, 08:41:01 AM
Quote from: Elsalvador;784677
Yeah that was mainly commentary on WoW's PVP more than me having unrealistic expectations out of a millions-of-players-playing MMO.

Haven't logged into WoW for several weeks now as I'm back in Avalon, the text MUD which is an entirely different experience.


Hmmm, tell me more about this Avalon thing.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danbuter on September 04, 2014, 09:00:38 AM
I uninstalled World of Warplanes. Their last patch (1.5) changed even basic gameplay, almost a year after the game's release. A forum member was tracking online players before the patch, and it was trending upwards. After the patch, fully 35% of the playerbase quit the game within a day, and it's been trending downwards since then. Star Wars Galaxies...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: mcbobbo on September 04, 2014, 09:45:59 AM
Really WoW, the pandas killed it for me.  Just one straw too many.

I was deep into it, too.  Guild leader, raid leader, etc.  I even leveled a rogue to 85 solely via Pvp.  He has fewer than 20 quests completed, and a fair-to-middling Arena record.

My recent find, via gog.com - Dungeon Keeper 2!  It was $6.  I can slap imps again and kill dwarves who invade my sanctum.

The just don't make games like that anymore...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: daniel_ream on September 04, 2014, 09:53:29 AM
Quote from: mcbobbo;784955
My recent find, via gog.com - Dungeon Keeper 2!  It was $6.  I can slap imps again and kill dwarves who invade my sanctum.
The just don't make games like that anymore...


There are a number of games from the pre-graphics API days that I would Kickstarter the hell out of updated versions of.  I don't even want the gameplay to change, just give me HD graphics implemented on top of a real portable API.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on September 04, 2014, 10:06:46 AM
Quote from: mcbobbo;784955
Really WoW, the pandas killed it for me.  Just one straw too many.

I was deep into it, too.  Guild leader, raid leader, etc.  I even leveled a rogue to 85 solely via Pvp.  He has fewer than 20 quests completed, and a fair-to-middling Arena record.

My recent find, via gog.com - Dungeon Keeper 2!  It was $6.  I can slap imps again and kill dwarves who invade my sanctum.

The just don't make games like that anymore...


I'm also guilty of the "leveling via PvP" phenomenon, having done it with a Warlock in Cata and a Rogue in Mists. And naturally, after I switch to a new main (Rogue) for Mists, they completely redo the Warlock and move them from being "Rogue chow" to the top five for dps in BGs.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on September 04, 2014, 02:01:35 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;784962
I'm also guilty of the "leveling via PvP" phenomenon, having done it with a Warlock in Cata and a Rogue in Mists. And naturally, after I switch to a new main (Rogue) for Mists, they completely redo the Warlock and move them from being "Rogue chow" to the top five for dps in BGs.


Typical. I always feel as though this happens to me when I re-roll. Levelling via PVP is definitely doable although it depends how quickly you want to rollock through the levels via this method.

Add to the mix that low level BGs are ridiculously unbalanced and class-choice is often a very relevant criterion for your ability to be able to do this. Hunters/Rogues/Warriors are great at it, Mages less so until 50+ I think.

And of course Healers are gods all the way up to and including 90...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: mcbobbo on September 04, 2014, 02:10:29 PM
Quote from: Elsalvador;785016
Add to the mix that low level BGs are ridiculously unbalanced and class-choice is often a very relevant criterion for your ability to be able to do this. Hunters/Rogues/Warriors are great at it, Mages less so until 50+ I think.

Imbalance was a factor.  He had massively twinked out heirlooms.  I got almost every WSG achievement before he qualified for AB.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on September 04, 2014, 03:03:28 PM
Quote from: mcbobbo;785019
Imbalance was a factor.  He had massively twinked out heirlooms.  I got almost every WSG achievement before he qualified for AB.


Yeah that sounds about right. I got Ironman the same way :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on September 04, 2014, 04:05:17 PM
Quote from: mcbobbo;785019
Imbalance was a factor.  He had massively twinked out heirlooms.  I got almost every WSG achievement before he qualified for AB.


Must have been running Horde, then. I've been in way too many BGs to not know the difference in faction quality on BGs not named Alterac Valley or Isle of Conquest.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on September 04, 2014, 04:08:22 PM
Quote from: Elsalvador;785016
Typical. I always feel as though this happens to me when I re-roll. Levelling via PVP is definitely doable although it depends how quickly you want to rollock through the levels via this method.

Add to the mix that low level BGs are ridiculously unbalanced and class-choice is often a very relevant criterion for your ability to be able to do this. Hunters/Rogues/Warriors are great at it, Mages less so until 50+ I think.

And of course Healers are gods all the way up to and including 90...


(This is all as of a month ago, so YMMV.)

Rogues clean up in the two lowest BG ranges, but starting about the mid-20s the Disco Priest begins to dominate the field.  Hunters are good throughout, as are Warriors, but once Demo Warlocks get the Wild Imp capability the DPS skews heavily in their direction.

And I don't wanna talk about Death Knights. I was once in a WSG run with 8 DKs. BG balance, my ass.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 04, 2014, 04:37:40 PM
Quote from: Opaopajr;784904
Rayman series is just great. Rayman 2 when it came out was like a revelation of what you could do with a 3D platformer -- and a child friendly one, too!


I was a big fan of all the Rareware stuff on the N64, especially Conker's Bad Fur Day, which I still don't think has been beaten for quality of writing. Damn shame he never got another game.

I'll give it a shot.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on September 04, 2014, 07:32:54 PM
It is unfortunate there are so many disappointed and disparate WoW fans. It is almost as if they need their own private server to RP on!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 04, 2014, 07:52:27 PM
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;785075
It is unfortunate there are so many disappointed and disparate WoW fans. It is almost as if they need their own private server to RP on!


So, this is something I genuinely don't get. Why would people go to WoW to do roleplay, when it's not as versatile a client as Second Life (You've got far fewer options for customisation and animations, plus you're stuck in Azeroth), or they could get skype and... play an RPG together?

A decade ago, when we didn't have fat internet pipes, sure, I can see that, or doing it on a MUD. But why today?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on September 05, 2014, 12:11:56 AM
Quote from: Ladybird;785080
So, this is something I genuinely don't get. Why would people go to WoW to do roleplay, when it's not as versatile a client as Second Life (You've got far fewer options for customisation and animations, plus you're stuck in Azeroth), or they could get skype and... play an RPG together?

A decade ago, when we didn't have fat internet pipes, sure, I can see that, or doing it on a MUD. But why today?


TBH, I'd say (based on personal experience) that the majority of people on RP servers don't RP at all; they just prefer less garbage from Gen Chat and Trade Chat.

People who do RP on those servers kind of divide into a couple of different camps: those who RP as their sole interest, those who RP yet perform regular WoW activities (such as raiding and BGs), those who want to perform erotic roleplay, and a bunch of people who'd be labelled "other".

I knew people who were in the first two categories, and that second group would not be so enthralled with RP as that would prevent them from switching servers if they felt their raiding would benefit. But that third group...

The tawdry reputation of some servers, such as Moon Guard-US, has spilled out from the WoW-centric geekdom into general geekery. And since you can play WoW for free from L1-15, you can create an Alliance toon on Moon Guard and traipse on over to Goldshire to see what the ERP crowd is doing. And while it's been under more of a lockdown than it was a few years ago, it still can get pretty risque.

If there's an equivalent on other MMOs, I'm not quite aware of it. Sure, there's ERP that goes on, but I've not heard of a destination for it like you see in WoW, and that might be a reason why people keep RP-ing on WoW.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: mcbobbo on September 05, 2014, 01:27:44 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;785040
Must have been running Horde, then. I've been in way too many BGs to not know the difference in faction quality on BGs not named Alterac Valley or Isle of Conquest.


Oh no.  If I was going to be gankmaster rogue supreme there was only one way to go:  Night Elf.

Hogstrosity was the toon, on Duskwood.  Too bad the Armory pruned him already...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on September 05, 2014, 02:32:40 PM
Fun anecdote: my WoW account has just been hacked. Someone tried to sell my level 90, item level 447 (LOL) Undead Warlock. Who said that WoW is dead, huh? :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on September 05, 2014, 02:33:20 PM
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;785075
It is unfortunate there are so many disappointed and disparate WoW fans. It is almost as if they need their own private server to RP on!


If it's pre-Cata, I'm in.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AnthonyRoberson on September 05, 2014, 03:26:22 PM
I just bought a PS3 specifically to plat The Last of Us...and I am disappointed so far. The game runs basically on rails. You watch some set pieces, listen to some dialog, run the rat maze and then rinse and repeat.

Am I missing something?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on September 06, 2014, 06:05:25 PM
I play a lot of indie games lately.

I played the really well done puzzle platformer The Swapper. A game in which you solve puzzles by cloning yourself and switching to your clones. Good puzzles, good story, recommended. Just as good as Braid. Brilliant game.

I also played Max the Curse of Brotherhood. Again a puzzle platformer (love that stuff), but this game is more a platformer than a puzzle game. You do a lot of platform jumping while using earth pillars, water beams, flame bolts and vines created with a magic marker. Reviews are mediocre, but I don't think that's deserved. It's a good game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on September 06, 2014, 06:14:59 PM
I played Stick it to the Man a platform game that looks like it's made Tim Schafer. But it isn't. Really cool graphics, but very short. Finished it in five hours. But then again that's the good thing about indies. You can play a lot of them even if you don't have a lot of time. If you want to play something like the legendary Psychonauts, then this is the game for you.

I also played Dust an Elysian Tale. A hack and slash platformer with some RPG elements. Really cool visually and the combat is quite spectacular. You flash across the screen almost like a ninja gaiden game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on September 06, 2014, 06:21:38 PM
I played a lot of Faster than Light. It's a space sim. I mean that quite literally. You see a map of your space ship with rooms and your crew. And you can power up your shields, lasers, oxigen, teleporter etc. A difficult game. But very addictive.

Another game I played is Papers Please. It's a bureaucracy simulator. Really. And it's awesome. You work as an immigration officer at the border of Arstotzka, a fictional communist country. The longer you play the more complicated all the paper work becomes. It's really funny in a depressing way. It always cracks me up to bodyscan people for contraband. Those things only happen in dictatorships. ;)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on September 06, 2014, 06:30:26 PM
Ok, last two. I play a lot of adventure games without the puzzles lately.

I played a lot of Telltale games. Of course they have the Sam and Max and Monkey Island games. They are very good, play them. But I am talking about their new franchises The Walking Dead and The Wolf among Us. Both very recommended. Keep you at the edge of your seat. Top notch decision making. Your choices really have impact.

Another game I played is the very arty farty Kentucky Route Zero. I can't really recommend this to any one. It is so weird, but I love it. It is a magic realistic story about a guy with an antique shop. He sold his store, but before he retires he has to deliver one package. And the only way he can reach his destination is Route Zero. Just check it out on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRzdfr9DWVM). Most people won't like this one, because it's hardly a game. But it grabbed me.

Oh, I also played Gemini Rue. A pixel art point and click adventure. Puzzles are quite easy, but the story is really well done. The game just oozes atmosphere. It's a cyberpunk game about one guy who is a police officer tracking down his brother and another guy who is a prisoner in a brainwashing facility.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 06, 2014, 08:03:51 PM
Quote from: AnthonyRoberson;785245
I just bought a PS3 specifically to plat The Last of Us...and I am disappointed so far. The game runs basically on rails. You watch some set pieces, listen to some dialog, run the rat maze and then rinse and repeat.

Am I missing something?


No that's basically your modern AAA game.

Last Of Us was just that with enough wankery to appeal to people that think games should be high "literary" art-forms. Which is basically anyone who writes about video games online.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: 3rik on September 06, 2014, 09:07:20 PM
I'm playing Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition on PS4 with my wife. Really fun button-mashing monster slaughtering. We haven't bothered trying to follow the "story".

Everything I've seen of the WoW setting - I have never played the game - looks incredibly stupid. It does not make me want to give it a try at all.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: mcbobbo on September 06, 2014, 09:08:44 PM
Quote from: 3rik;785537
I'm playing Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition on PS4 with my wife. Really fun button-mashing monster slaughtering. We haven't bothered trying to follow the "story".


I'm watching the new Gauntlet for this same opportunity...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: 3rik on September 06, 2014, 09:14:13 PM
Quote from: mcbobbo;785538
I'm watching the new Gauntlet for this same opportunity...
My wife is a hardcore gamer. I suck at lots of games and also don't enjoy the majority of them that much. Hence it's a great opportunity to play together if there's a fun game out there that's enjoyable for both hardcore and casual gamers.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on September 06, 2014, 10:43:34 PM
I have recently found Dice Jockey (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.visionaries777.DiceJockey) on Android.

I am in gaming heaven! It is a clone of the Playstation game Devil Dice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_Dice).

I have been waiting for something like this, Devil Dice is my absolute favourite game ever. Do I play it all the time? No. Is it work 69p (about $1.13 in funny colonial monies)? Yes.


Edit: OpenWoW list of Private WoW servers (http://www.openwow.com/).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 07, 2014, 06:25:52 AM
Quote from: 3rik;785537
I'm playing Diablo III Ultimate Evil Edition on PS4 with my wife. Really fun button-mashing monster slaughtering. We haven't bothered trying to follow the "story".


One of the best things about the expansion was adventure mode, where you can go and twat stuff without Tyrael's waffling on about whatever or stupid fatso demon taunting you..
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on September 07, 2014, 08:51:54 AM
Investigating this "Molten-WoW (https://www.molten-wow.com)" server.

Let's see how it goes.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on September 07, 2014, 10:10:28 AM
Quote from: Piestrio;785525
No that's basically your modern AAA game.

Last Of Us was just that with enough wankery to appeal to people that think games should be high "literary" art-forms. Which is basically anyone who writes about video games online.


You missed the third person cover based shooting, the stealth and the cliché post-apocalyptic setting with zombies. It all works fine, but it's all been done before. I never got what's so special about this game. And that's why I play a lot of indie games these days. Most games are more of the same with better graphics.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on September 07, 2014, 12:11:37 PM
Gameplay > graphics.

A bit esoteric I know but as I've said in earlier posts, I'm hugely into text MUDs as of the last couple of years. While obviously technologically inferior to the big blockbuster graphical MMOs, this is countered by the fact text is limited literally only by the imagination and as a consequence, Avalon is one of the most detailed, rich and well designed game environments I've ever experienced.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: daniel_ream on September 07, 2014, 12:30:46 PM
Quote from: jan paparazzi;785617
Most games are more of the same with better graphics.


This has been true for about two - maybe three - console generations now.  It used to be that new hardware enabled new types of games.  Motion control failed to do that, and now we just have iterative development.

I see a lot of similarities between the Hollywood film industry's business model and the video game industry.  Since Hollywood's in free fall, economically, I suspect that the video game industry is going to contract to mobile and indie games almost exclusively within a few years, once all the AAA stuff falls out of the pipeline.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: yabaziou on September 07, 2014, 03:26:39 PM
Quote from: jan paparazzi;785617
You missed the third person cover based shooting, the stealth and the cliché post-apocalyptic setting with zombies. It all works fine, but it's all been done before. I never got what's so special about this game. And that's why I play a lot of indie games these days. Most games are more of the same with better graphics.


I have played this game and was pleased to have done so. I found the 2 main characters (Joel and Ellie) endearing.

But I have not played it again since I finished it last summer in normal difficulty, so it is true that its success came also from the buzz/hype caused by the publicity campaign.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 07, 2014, 04:01:49 PM
Quote from: daniel_ream;785631
This has been true for about two - maybe three - console generations now.  It used to be that new hardware enabled new types of games.  Motion control failed to do that, and now we just have iterative development.


The problem is that AAA-level development is so expensive now that nobody wants to take a risk on something that isn't a 100% proven concept, because a failure is potentially company-destroying (Look back a couple of years to, say, THQ, and the failed tablet that did them in).

I mean, what was the last big AAA innovation... Skylanders? Four years ago? And that started off pretty low-key...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 07, 2014, 07:17:00 PM
Quote from: jan paparazzi;785617
You missed the third person cover based shooting, the stealth and the cliché post-apocalyptic setting with zombies. It all works fine, but it's all been done before. I never got what's so special about this game. And that's why I play a lot of indie games these days. Most games are more of the same with better graphics.


True.

Indie games of course have their own problems, mainly that you have to wade through piles if "Cancer-patient: the staring at rocky Atlantic coasts and pondering the meaning of art" type games. And of course everyone and their dog with a mega-phone hyping them to no end.

Basically the same problem tabletop games have in that space.

Quote from: daniel_ream;785631
This has been true for about two - maybe three - console generations now.  It used to be that new hardware enabled new types of games.  Motion control failed to do that, and now we just have iterative development.

I see a lot of similarities between the Hollywood film industry's business model and the video game industry.  Since Hollywood's in free fall, economically, I suspect that the video game industry is going to contract to mobile and indie games almost exclusively within a few years, once all the AAA stuff falls out of the pipeline.


Yup basically since the PS2 we've been tredding water.

One of the reasons I have a wiiU is that at least nintendo is trying something new (not that they're doing very well at it, but still...) I also gave props to Microsoft for the kinect but gamers whined and whined and now that's in the shitter.

I'm waiting for nintendo to release a wiiU without a gamepad and royally fuck themselves.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on September 07, 2014, 07:39:15 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;785705
Yup basically since the PS2 we've been tredding water.


Driving games, shooters, puzzle games. Even Nintendo has been criticised for not "innovating" and releasing another Mario kart, but with different courses and spruced up graphics.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: robiswrong on September 07, 2014, 08:25:33 PM
Quote from: jan paparazzi;785495
It always cracks me up to bodyscan people for contraband. Those things only happen in dictatorships. ;)


Or the airport.

... oh, wait?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 07, 2014, 10:45:33 PM
Picked up Sonic Generations in the wake of being put off Lost World.

I'm determined to find a 3D sonic game that doesn't suck.

The first couple stages give me hope, if they are a bit "push right to win".
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: daniel_ream on September 07, 2014, 11:48:27 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;785660
The problem is that AAA-level development is so expensive now that nobody wants to take a risk on something that isn't a 100% proven concept

Look up the book "Sleepless in Hollywood" and just sub in "video games" for "film" and it's remarkably prescient.

If AAA titles don't disappear entirely, they'll survive by going purely digital delivery or on-disc unlockable content each unique owner has to pony up some cash for.  It's the only way to ensure the necessary revenue stream.

(And before the inevitable whining about ownership and used games and blah blah blah starts, everyone keep in mind that the laws of economics don't give a damn about the morality of DivX style licensing.  AAA titles simply cannot be profitable if 5/6 of their consumers aren't paying the publisher.)

EDIT: I'm playing Dragon's Crown and Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds.  Occasionally Lego Batman when the gf comes over.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Ent on September 08, 2014, 02:56:20 PM
Only game I'm really playing atm is Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup. I've managed one 3-Rune win but that's not enough! :D

Tried Angband for a while but...argh. There's such a thing as too Roguelike I guess :eek:
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on September 08, 2014, 03:44:43 PM
I finished Brother A Tale of Two Sons recently. Another great indie game. You play with two brothers at the same time solving puzzles while you are on a journey to find a cure for your sick father. Great level design. It's on sale on steam for $5.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on September 08, 2014, 04:36:15 PM
Apart from Red Dead Redemption, I am playing the DLC "Brigmore Witches" for Dishonored. It's still brilliant, and quite a challenge if you play it in insane difficulty trying a no-kill resolution.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 18, 2014, 05:15:36 PM
I finished Sonic Generations and I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised. It all worked fairly well. The gameplay was varied and interesting, the level design was competent and it was paced really well.

My one big nitpick is the boss battles took way to long. Just tedious.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gabriel2 on September 19, 2014, 03:25:39 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;787705
I finished Sonic Generations and I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised. It all worked fairly well. The gameplay was varied and interesting, the level design was competent and it was paced really well.

My one big nitpick is the boss battles took way to long. Just tedious.


I don't remember how I discovered Sonic Generations.  I think I saw videos of it and thought "that doesn't look bad at all for a modern Sonic game."  I picked it up cheap, and I generally like it.

But the "modern sonic" stages really kill my buzz.  I enjoy the "classic sonic" stages, and think they're much better than Sonic 4 (which I hated), at least comparable to Sonic CD (which I think is the weakest of the good Sonic games), but still nowhere near Sonic 1 and 2 in quality or tone.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 19, 2014, 07:58:11 PM
Quote from: Gabriel2;787841
I don't remember how I discovered Sonic Generations.  I think I saw videos of it and thought "that doesn't look bad at all for a modern Sonic game."  I picked it up cheap, and I generally like it.

But the "modern sonic" stages really kill my buzz.  I enjoy the "classic sonic" stages, and think they're much better than Sonic 4 (which I hated), at least comparable to Sonic CD (which I think is the weakest of the good Sonic games), but still nowhere near Sonic 1 and 2 in quality or tone.

I see where you're coming from but after playing a lot of modern sonic games recently at least he doesn't control like a drunken potato. That probably explains why I was okay with them :D

In the land of Sega basic competence looks like brilliance.

Anyway I'm back to playing Lost World.

Mostly because I hate life.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Emperor Norton on September 20, 2014, 09:05:14 AM
Innovation =/= Good.

An example: Persona 4 is a much better game than Persona 3. The entirety of the gameplay systems is basically just P3 lifted and polished a bit, with a different story/setting/characters.

If every game is about innovating, then we won't get any incredibly polished gems. Last of Us is an incredibly polished game gameplay wise. Is the gameplay derivative? Absolutely. Its basically Uncharted gameplay with plantzombies and some stealth. But that doesn't make it bad.

Nier's gameplay is very reminiscent of a simplified God of War mechanics (when it isn't suddenly becoming an entirely different type of game, like the part where it becomes a text adventure game), but the story, presentation, and characters carry it into being one of the best games of the PS3/360 generation in my eyes.

Innovation for innovation's sake sucks. Innovation is only useful if it is actually FUN. I think its funny that the same site that champions Old School D&D is actually criticizing another medium for lack of innovation.

(I'm currently playing Dragon Quest VIII since it got an Android/iOS port that is pretty nice if you have a good tablet. A game that wasn't particularly innovative, but had a wonderful classic charm.)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 20, 2014, 10:57:07 AM
Quote from: Piestrio;787882
In the land of Sega basic competence looks like brilliance.


I always kinda wish someone at Sonic Team had just went to Nintendo and asked for help with 3D cameras. I like the speed-tricks-combos-ratings style of 3D Sonics (Even if it can be a little like a rhythm game at points), but Sonic also always had some solid exploration in it, it was never just "hold right to win". They don't seem to have hit that balance; recent Sega seems to be able to make games that go fast or games that go slow, but not mix the two.

I should go back and finish Generations; it was good.

Also, Sonic's stupid friends were better when they couldn't tell us about their stupid problems. He can have his stupid friends, and they can be playable (Gunbunny Tails would be fun in 2D, Amy is fun), as long as they shut the hell up and just do Sonic's levels.

Have you tried the GBA games? They're no S3&K, but they're enjoyable.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 22, 2014, 11:49:41 AM
Quote from: Ladybird;787929
I always kinda wish someone at Sonic Team had just went to Nintendo and asked for help with 3D cameras. I like the speed-tricks-combos-ratings style of 3D Sonics (Even if it can be a little like a rhythm game at points), but Sonic also always had some solid exploration in it, it was never just "hold right to win". They don't seem to have hit that balance; recent Sega seems to be able to make games that go fast or games that go slow, but not mix the two.

I should go back and finish Generations; it was good.

Also, Sonic's stupid friends were better when they couldn't tell us about their stupid problems. He can have his stupid friends, and they can be playable (Gunbunny Tails would be fun in 2D, Amy is fun), as long as they shut the hell up and just do Sonic's levels.

Have you tried the GBA games? They're no S3&K, but they're enjoyable.


I really like the GBA games.

I don't know when they decided hat Sonic needed a storyline but I can't help but feel that was one of the moments they started going off the tracks.

For all sonic was meant to be a Mario clone they missed one of the defining elements. Pure gameplay, story is unimportant.

Sonic 1&2 got this right, sonic CD and Sonic and 3 started getting cute and then it was just a deluge of shit and non-stop babbling friends.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 24, 2014, 07:37:40 PM
Finally beat sonic lost world.

It's not good but once you get the hang of it it's not bad either aside from a few questionable levels and pretty poor controls.

Overall 5/10. With better controls it might get a 6. If all the levels were like the best ones it would be a 7-8.

EDIT:

Good lord I'm actually considering playing all the 3D sonic titles *shudder*
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on September 25, 2014, 12:22:12 AM
Quote from: Piestrio;788448
Finally beat sonic lost world.

It's not good but once you get the hang of it it's not bad either aside from a few questionable levels and pretty poor controls.

Overall 5/10. With better controls it might get a 6. If all the levels were like the best ones it would be a 7-8.

EDIT:

Good lord I'm actually considering playing all the 3D sonic titles *shudder*


If you're considering that, then you ought to read Sonic fanfic. That ought to make you drop playing those games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 25, 2014, 06:20:37 AM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;788470
If you're considering that, then you ought to read Sonic fanfic. That ought to make you drop playing those games.


Just look at the fanart, same effect, much faster.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: MrHurst on September 25, 2014, 07:42:24 AM
Backed Wasteland 2 when the kickstarter came up, just started playing it now that it's gone gold. It is without question one of the most old school CRPGs I've played in five years. Poke your nose the wrong direction or play stupid and it WILL kill you. Five times to my current count.

Feels a lot like playing a fallout game with a whole lot more characters and far better companion AI, even when followers do lose their shit. Follower personality is definitely a thing, story is interesting and the characters all seem rather savy about it when not panicking.

Play smart and it's a hell of a game. Now let's see if I can gank the prick that offed my party last night, I have heavy weapons for a reason.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 25, 2014, 04:01:19 PM
Quote from: MrHurst;788500
Backed Wasteland 2 when the kickstarter came up, just started playing it now that it's gone gold. It is without question one of the most old school CRPGs I've played in five years. Poke your nose the wrong direction or play stupid and it WILL kill you. Five times to my current count.

Feels a lot like playing a fallout game with a whole lot more characters and far better companion AI, even when followers do lose their shit. Follower personality is definitely a thing, story is interesting and the characters all seem rather savy about it when not panicking.

Play smart and it's a hell of a game. Now let's see if I can gank the prick that offed my party last night, I have heavy weapons for a reason.


I want to play wasteland 2 so badly but with a new baby in the house long form games are just not in the cards right now :/
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on September 25, 2014, 04:13:13 PM
'Grats, join the club :)

My daughter recently saw me playing on the xbox, looked around, picked up a spare wireless controller, and declared it hers. She's even taken it to bed with her. I don't mind - it's a spare, the battery pack is dead (And hidden somewhere else), and it keeps her happy... it's also very cute.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on September 25, 2014, 04:35:42 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;788586
I want to play wasteland 2 so badly but with a new baby in the house long form games are just not in the cards right now :/


Congratulations! :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 26, 2014, 04:31:03 PM
Thanks :)

It's a trip.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on September 26, 2014, 05:19:50 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;788497
Just look at the fanart, same effect, much faster.


Gah.

I try not to look at fanart at all, after I came across fanart for Thrall and Jaina. And High Inquisitor Whitemane.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on September 26, 2014, 05:48:12 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;788762
Gah.

I try not to look at fanart at all, after I came across fanart for Thrall and Jaina. And High Inquisitor Whitemane.


The sonic fanbase is basically the worst thing in the world in every possible way.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: MrHurst on September 30, 2014, 07:45:55 AM
Took a break from wasteland 2 to check out something else I backed a while ago. Road Redemption, a revamp of road rash. First thing, the controls are simply right, it drives like the old road rash games, which is something the 3d editions of that series forgot. Second thing, the devs have no fear of being silly. Cops who drive like mad men, racing against cars that will drive off the road to kill you, swinging a battle axe at someone while moving at top speed, weaving in and out through the cars that are falling from the sky, jumping from roof top to roof top while having to grapple off a helicopter to get enough distance to make it to the next one and my personal favorite, shooting a grenade launcher on rainbow road to take out enough of the opposition to win the race.

I think the last one is the only one that won't make final release.

Despite being rather stupid and pretty gonzo, it's damn fun. There's a lot of different ways your reflexes get tested, and occasionally serious tests of your ability to plan the next five seconds in such a way everyone else gets crushed by the oncoming traffic without you. Think I may bug them a bit about classic mode that's just a series of races since it does play so well it makes me a bit nostalgic, but it's all damn fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on September 30, 2014, 08:08:18 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;788768
The sonic fanbase is basically the worst thing in the world in every possible way.

Yeah, it's gotten to the point that many of the smarter ones openly hate and flagellate themselves whenever the subject comes up.

Anyway, I've started playing FEZ because of the Phil Fish thread in this very subforum. It's great, I'm so glad the domino effect of hate and counter-hate brought it to my attention.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on September 30, 2014, 09:56:03 PM
I've been playing Wasteland 2 almost non-stop (in my free time at least) the last week.

It made me realize that I didn't stop loving to play video games, they just stopped making games I loved to play.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on October 05, 2014, 06:03:53 PM
Anyone familiar with Wakfu (http://www.wakfu.com/en/mmorpg)?

Its an isometric, turn-based, anime-themed, fantasy MMO.

I played out the training and first quest last night. Nice sedate pace for me! Turn-based combat is a real change from WoW button mashing.

One interesting thing I haven't been aware of in games is that with this one you can affect the ecosystem. If you kill too many creatures without stocking them later with professions, skills and so on, they die out!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 05, 2014, 06:13:20 PM
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;790374
Anyone familiar with Wakfu (http://www.wakfu.com/en/mmorpg)?

Its an isometric, turn-based, anime-themed, fantasy MMO.

I played out the training and first quest last night. Nice sedate pace for me! Turn-based combat is a real change from WoW button mashing.

One interesting thing I haven't been aware of in games is that with this one you can affect the ecosystem. If you kill too many creatures without stocking them later with professions, skills and so on, they die out!


The idea of a turn-based MMORPG intrigues me because I for one am fucking sick of rushing through dungeons and raids.

But the art, ewgh. It's like someone reached inside my head, took everything I hate about East Asian pop art in the anime/manga tradition and crafted something to spite me with laser-like precision.

And I thought Tera and LoL were bad enough.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on October 05, 2014, 06:22:50 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;790377
The idea of a turn-based MMORPG intrigues me because I for one am fucking sick of rushing through dungeons and raids.

But the art, ewgh. It's like someone reached inside my head, took everything I hate about East Asian pop art in the anime/manga tradition and crafted something to spite me with laser-like precision.

And I thought Tera and LoL were bad enough.

Yeah, I can see how it might grate. I need to research and see if it is "anime" for "Western" audiences of "domestic" audiences. It might be quite telling.

Edit: aaaah. A French company making MM0s "in the style of". At least at first glance.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on October 05, 2014, 06:47:11 PM
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;790378
Yeah, I can see how it might grate. I need to research and see if it is "anime" for "Western" audiences of "domestic" audiences. It might be quite telling.

Edit: aaaah. A French company making MM0s "in the style of". At least at first glance.


...which I find really funny, because games by Level 5 (A japanese developer) always seem to have animation "in the style of" being French.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 05, 2014, 06:49:38 PM
Quote from: BarefootGaijin;790378
Yeah, I can see how it might grate. I need to research and see if it is "anime" for "Western" audiences of "domestic" audiences. It might be quite telling.

Edit: aaaah. A French company making MM0s "in the style of". At least at first glance.


Makes sense. I've had similar reactions to anime/manga-influenced Euro art before.

No indictment of the game itself, mind you. But aesthetics is a huge part of what draws me to (or turns me off of) a game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on October 05, 2014, 08:43:54 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;790382
Makes sense. I've had similar reactions to anime/manga-influenced Euro art before.

No indictment of the game itself, mind you. But aesthetics is a huge part of what draws me to (or turns me off of) a game.


I quite agree. My point about "western company" employing certain genre conventions that are readily apparent, rather than a domestic Japanese/Chinese/insert-nation-here company using signifiers and aesthetics that are "normal" comes in to play.

There are many games that are not sold to the western markets because there is little incentive (financial?). This affects computer games and TRPGs. There is niche interest and this is filled by people who want to see, do and play these games. To do this they (seem to) take all the biggest and brightest ideas and mash them together to create a faux-asian looking game.

Maybe. I am generalising, but it might explain why anime-esque or manga-ish games rub people up the wrong way.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on October 05, 2014, 09:44:11 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;790377
The idea of a turn-based MMORPG intrigues me because I for one am fucking sick of rushing through dungeons and raids.

But the art, ewgh. It's like someone reached inside my head, took everything I hate about East Asian pop art in the anime/manga tradition and crafted something to spite me with laser-like precision.

And I thought Tera and LoL were bad enough.


Atlantica Online is also turn based.

For pretty much the first 100 levels, it's sort of like old school games, only isometric.

You have your party in 3 rows of 3, and your opponents are generally 5 or so in some sort of formation. You can only attack the front row with melee weapons, missile weapons can attack the back.

Then later on in the game it's more like a man to man system, still turn based, but a lot more complex and somewhat broken (melee classes kind of are pointless in it)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on October 06, 2014, 06:05:09 PM
My brother bought me Fantasy Life for my birthday.

It's a 3DS action RPG that could basically be called "cute Skyrim". You're dumped in a town, with a house. To progress, you take up various job classes (Called "lives"), go out into the world, and do stuff. Kill monsters to get their body parts, kill the scenery to get it's natural resources, craft them into better tools for the above tasks, craft better crafting tools, and repeat.

It's fun, I like it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JongWK on October 07, 2014, 11:47:16 AM
Steam says I have 2,464 hours of Dota 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjZYMI1zB9s).

I regret nothing... :o
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on October 07, 2014, 05:17:58 PM
Quote from: JongWK;790718
Steam says I have 2,464 hours of Dota 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjZYMI1zB9s).

I regret nothing... :o


Damn, and I thought my 1311 hours of Team Fortress 2 were excessive. :eek:
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Silverlion on October 07, 2014, 08:52:34 PM
Defiance.
The Secret World.
Skyrim. Lots of the latter when my friends are unavailable for the other two.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 07, 2014, 11:12:43 PM
Quote from: Silverlion;790782
The Secret World.


Man, if I wasn't nearly done with MMOs and/or otehrwise occupied, I'd give this a try.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 08, 2014, 12:21:19 AM
Quote from: Silverlion;790782
Defiance.
The Secret World.
Skyrim. Lots of the latter when my friends are unavailable for the other two.


I like Funcom's Age of Conan, and I love the concept of TSW, but I'm reluctant to get into it because I don't know if I would have the time to devote to it.

But the best part about TSW is that they went to the Guild Wars 2 model of buy once then play, so I can at least consider TSW.  

Does TSW suffer from some of the same annoying lag issues that Age of Conan has? I'll hit a button to perform a maneuver in AoC, and it seems like there's a half second delay before my attack actually starts. AoC is the only one that I have this problem with, and I've often wondered whether it's due to the servers being overseas in Europe.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JongWK on October 08, 2014, 10:36:54 PM
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;790755
Damn, and I thought my 1311 hours of Team Fortress 2 were excessive. :eek:


Eh, it's average for a long term Dota 2 player (I began late 2012). Some people who got in during the beta are now reaching five digits.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 13, 2014, 04:53:44 PM
Borderlands 2 playthrough with the wife still going strong.

We're level 26 (Commando and Mechromancer) and, I figure, 75% or 80% of the way through the main quest line. Currently doing the Lynchwood side quests and debating whether to tackle any DLC before finishing the core storyline.

I hadn't Played a FPS in about a decade and I'd totally forgotten how fun those games can be. Throw in the CRPG-like structure of quests, levels and skills, and it's become downright addictive.

The new game — Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel — is scheduled for release this Friday. I haven't even finished BL2 and I've already preordered. That's how great this friggin' game is.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on October 13, 2014, 05:09:11 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;791780
Borderlands 2 playthrough with the wife still going strong.

We're level 26 (Commando and Mechromancer) and, I figure, 75% or 80% of the way through the main quest line. Currently doing the Lynchwood side quests and debating whether to tackle any DLC before finishing the core storyline.

I hadn't Played a FPS in about a decade and I'd totally forgotten how fun those games can be. Throw in the CRPG-like structure of quests, levels and skills, and it's become downright addictive.

The new game — Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel — is scheduled for release this Friday. I haven't even finished BL2 and I've already preordered. That's how great this friggin' game is.


I did read somewhere that you're better off holding off the DLC until later, to better exploit it for levels and gear... but if you're not planning on doing the Hard and Very Hard modes, it doesn't matter much.

Explosions?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on October 13, 2014, 11:25:51 PM
Yeah, the DLC can wait, and is a bit hard for the level the DLC says it is (a bit, mind you, not obscene).

I'm currently playing through B2 again, for the first time as a Psycho. Level 36, have really tried, but just can't seem to enjoy the character. The ol' "melee attack when desperate" is just so iffy. If you're desperate and low on HP, putting down the gun and running up to people as they shoot you just doesn't seem to work for me. I'm trying out the "turn into a total Psycho" tree, and it's a little better, but still just doesn't suit my style.

I'll probably just totally play through as a commando again at level 1, then hopefully the price on the pre-sequel will drop to something I won't mind playing.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 13, 2014, 11:45:26 PM
Quote from: Doom;791891
I'll probably just totally play through as a commando again at level 1, then hopefully the price on the pre-sequel will drop to something I won't mind playing.


Next time I play I wanna try the Siren, actually. Thoughtlocking sounds like a hoot, and I'm a sucker for elemental weapons. My wife loves her Mechromancer too.

But I think I'll try the Pre-Sequel before TVHM/UVHM. Wilhelm looks like fun. Two surveyor drones plus a cybernetic implant skill tree? Sign me up.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 14, 2014, 12:03:24 AM
I took advantage of the Origin freebie to land Dragon Age: Origins.

Amazingly enough, I never bothered picking the game up until now, although the omnipresent sense of dread is probably going to get to me eventually.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on October 14, 2014, 12:32:20 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;791896
I took advantage of the Origin freebie to land Dragon Age: Origins.

Amazingly enough, I never bothered picking the game up until now, although the omnipresent sense of dread is probably going to get to me eventually.

 
The thing that drove me frothing nuts about Origins was all the fights have you severely outnumbered...and then you go back to camp where half a dozen combat capable NPCs lounge around.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ArrozConLeche on October 14, 2014, 01:20:00 PM
I was playing around with this iOS deck building game:

http://www.playdekgames.com/games.php?games=ascension_page.php&title=Ascension:%20COTG

http://www.metacritic.com/game/ios/ascension-chronicle-of-the-godslayer

It's actually pretty fun and I like the flavor of the cards. Nice illustrations and everything.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on October 14, 2014, 04:52:02 PM
Currently playing: Battlefield 4. I just made Division 2 in the world as an Engineer and Recon (I can't snipe worth a damn. I'm in deep with my carbines)

SWTOR - Currently raiding with a Republic Guild - "Rebel Scum" (I'm really an Imperial - my guild is slumming on the other side because we're top-end on the Imp-side).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on October 14, 2014, 08:06:13 PM
Quote from: Doom;791996
The thing that drove me frothing nuts about Origins was all the fights have you severely outnumbered...and then you go back to camp where half a dozen combat capable NPCs lounge around.


Oooh, don't forget the NPC's who only exist to cocktease you with tales of adventure (And you only need to go to the Bioware DLC store to buy their adventures!)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 15, 2014, 05:45:37 AM
Quote from: Doom;791996
The thing that drove me frothing nuts about Origins was all the fights have you severely outnumbered...and then you go back to camp where half a dozen combat capable NPCs lounge around.


Well, that's pretty typical of most RPGs that I've played. It's a limitation of the genre that you can't go back to town, round up a dozen guards, and go wipe out an enemy camp.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 15, 2014, 05:46:39 AM
Quote from: tenbones;792059
Currently playing: Battlefield 4. I just made Division 2 in the world as an Engineer and Recon (I can't snipe worth a damn. I'm in deep with my carbines)

SWTOR - Currently raiding with a Republic Guild - "Rebel Scum" (I'm really an Imperial - my guild is slumming on the other side because we're top-end on the Imp-side).


I'd swear that I've seen that guild name around, tenbones. What server are you on?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on October 15, 2014, 12:30:46 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;792162
Well, that's pretty typical of most RPGs that I've played. It's a limitation of the genre that you can't go back to town, round up a dozen guards, and go wipe out an enemy camp.


But...you can in Origins. You just can't get them all at once. They're there, they're available they want to come with. But you can only bring three of them to the battle that's 100 yards outside of camp.

But they're available.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 16, 2014, 06:31:27 AM
Quote from: Doom;792217
But...you can in Origins. You just can't get them all at once. They're there, they're available they want to come with. But you can only bring three of them to the battle that's 100 yards outside of camp.

But they're available.


I started with a Dalish Elf, and I discovered on the intro questline that I could have an extra person come with me if I wanted, but I figured that was made available if I felt that the encounter was going to be too rough.  Well, and they integrated his addition into the story well enough that I figured it was a one off. Is that the sort of thing you were talking about? I've not gotten beyond becoming a Grey Warden yet, so I've not completely finished the intro.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 16, 2014, 08:21:56 AM
I've just installed Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel! and played for an hour or so.

It's fun, with the jumping and O2 kits and character-specific voice bits from NPCs, not to mention Handsome Jack's "year zero" storyline, but so far (remember, just an hour into the game) it's more of the same. No skin off my nose; I loved the previous game, I'll certainly enjoy this one as well.

In any case, the wife and I have decided to, at very least, finish Borderlands 2 (close to wrapping up the main story; just picked up the Eridium Blight quest line) and the BL2 DLC in Normal mode, before shooting for the Moon.

Not to mention that there are other games queued (Divinity: Original Sin, looking at you) and that when Warlords of Draenor comes out she'll want to play WoW again, with a vengeance. :D

I do most of my gaming with my wife these days, I barely get the time to play Skyrim (which is single-player) and Guild Wars 2 (MMO, but she didn't like it; pity, really).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on October 16, 2014, 02:01:51 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;792347
I started with a Dalish Elf, and I discovered on the intro questline that I could have an extra person come with me if I wanted, but I figured that was made available if I felt that the encounter was going to be too rough.  Well, and they integrated his addition into the story well enough that I figured it was a one off. Is that the sort of thing you were talking about? I've not gotten beyond becoming a Grey Warden yet, so I've not completely finished the intro.


Oh, you're still pretty early in yet. It gets really obnoxious when you're attacked by, say, 10 bandits (so there's no cultural restriction against groups larger than 4 or whatever the limit is on YOU), and the fights are incredibly brutal simply because you're arbitrarily outnumbered.

Eventually you'll start using mass stun-locks to make most fights trivial, but the whole "stupid brutal or stupid easy" fight system I found just too annoying.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Rincewind1 on October 19, 2014, 12:45:40 PM
I grabbed Awesomenauts over the Steam freebies and good god is it awesome. It's like DOTA (which I don't like ) meets Soldat ( which I love) and actually through this hate - bang, produces an excellent game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on October 19, 2014, 12:54:47 PM
I just scored a cheap origional Xbox so I'm looking for a couple good titles on that system if anyone has suggestions.

My wife and I are also going to start luigi's Mansion soon.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 19, 2014, 02:58:51 PM
So, WoW patch 6.0 (for Warlords of Draenor) dropped today. Logging in to see what the fuss is all about. Here's hoping the wife won't abandon our current Borderlandsmania for good ol' Warcrack. :o
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 19, 2014, 07:26:24 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;792925
So, WoW patch 6.0 (for Warlords of Draenor) dropped today. Logging in to see what the fuss is all about. Here's hoping the wife won't abandon our current Borderlandsmania for good ol' Warcrack. :o


I considered resubbing, but decided against it. It's not like the BG dynamics are going to change with the new version.  Same assholes, different patch.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on October 21, 2014, 12:35:54 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;792916
I just scored a cheap origional Xbox so I'm looking for a couple good titles on that system if anyone has suggestions.

My wife and I are also going to start luigi's Mansion soon.


Halo (it really was good), TimeSplitters 2 and 3, Phantom Crash, Conker Live and Reloaded (Although get the N64 version instead if possible).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on October 22, 2014, 01:14:32 PM
I'm wondering about playing my first replay game for ME1. I'd vowed not to go back to it after getting both male and female characters through the game, but there's still loads of uncompleted achievements and I want some different major decisions for my male Shepard.

Quote from: Piestrio;792916
I just scored a cheap origional Xbox so I'm looking for a couple good titles on that system if anyone has suggestions.

My wife and I are also going to start luigi's Mansion soon.


Gauntlet, which is a lot of fun for two (or up to four) people. There's a more modern sequel, Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, but it isn't as good as the arcade-style original.

There's quite a lot of good co-op games for the old XBox.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on October 22, 2014, 01:34:53 PM
So, Spore. Yeah.

Heartbreaker game, given what unbelievably stupid clownshoe fucks Maxis and EA are.

My son found the booklet long after I had given up on the game, and was really keen on playing it. And hey, the kids love making little critters and doing stuff, though I do the 'driving' at this point.

But once the week or so of trying to figure out how to properly install the fucking game was over (I have Cute and Creepy pack AND Galactic Adventures, oy), I'm actually finding the game kind of fun to play on my own.

Granted, the game is stupidly buggy. The first patch required me to go find a proper patch online, since Origin just shrugged at the idea of patching it. (Fucking Origin fuck ea fuck fucking fuckfucks)

Also, it doesn't autosave. So you have to do Esc, select 'save', then return to the game periodically. Because it also tends to crash, and you can easily put 5 hours into the game and WOOPS CRASH and back to being a single cell.

Fuck.


Anyway, despite all the fucking annoyances... it's kind of cool making a critter with arms coming out of its knees or a violently psychopathic blind slug monsters.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on October 25, 2014, 09:37:40 PM
If anyone is curious about my Spore stuff, search for Zahinder here. (You want to check 'browse (all)')
http://www.spore.com/sporepedia#qry=all
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 26, 2014, 09:47:19 AM
Still on a huge Borderlands kick.

Finished the main story, playing through the Borderlands 2 DLC with the wife in release order (can't wait for Assault on Dragon Keep) and playing Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel! on my own.

I'm saving Wilhelm (a character that pretty much looks, talks and feels like at least half my PCs in every tabletop RPG I've ever played -- close enough to an old AD&D 2e character named Tauric that one of my friends refers to him as Space Tauric :D) for the inevitable and more tactical playthrough with the missus, so I'm running Claptrap and let me tell you, not knowing what's gonna happen when you hit the special skill button is a hoot.

Gameplay is pretty much the same as BL2, plus low-gravity oxygen-jet hijinks (extended jumps and slams), more jumping puzzles, plus Australian jokes. I like it well enough.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: woodsmoke on October 27, 2014, 04:47:10 PM
I'm rather enjoying the Pre-Sequel as well, though I'm still trying to find my footing with a non-siren character. I think I've pretty well settled on Athena for now, though I may try out Wilhelm at some point in the future. Unless the rumors turn out to be true and Baroness Whatshername turns out to be a siren. Then it's back to phaseverb goodness and ALL the Maliwan SMGs.

Having had the extraordinary luck of finding a legendary siren mod early in my second play-through of Borderlands 2 I'm also finding it really odd to suddenly have to actually look at the skills on character mods again.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on October 28, 2014, 06:27:59 AM
Seeing if I can get back into "The Infinite Black (https://www.spellbook.com/tib/)" (Space MMO that plays on a map and runs on everything from Windows to OSX, Android, and iOS)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 28, 2014, 06:36:24 AM
Quote from: woodsmoke;794528
I'm rather enjoying the Pre-Sequel as well, though I'm still trying to find my footing with a non-siren character. I think I've pretty well settled on Athena for now, though I may try out Wilhelm at some point in the future. Unless the rumors turn out to be true and Baroness Whatshername turns out to be a siren. Then it's back to phaseverb goodness and ALL the Maliwan SMGs.


I'm doing the BL2 DLC as the Commando but you make me want to try the Siren some day. Thoughtlocking in particular looks mint.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on October 28, 2014, 01:37:38 PM
I did Godus Early Access a while back. Boy I regret that.

Let's see, it's highly path-dependent with AI. Let's couple that with terrible pathing!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: woodsmoke on October 28, 2014, 04:35:50 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;794629
I'm doing the BL2 DLC as the Commando but you make me want to try the Siren some day. Thoughtlocking in particular looks mint.


The siren character was my go-to in both of the previous games. Maya's phaselock is generally a lot more useful than Lilith's phasewalk was, but a few enemies (buzzards, goliaths, most boss types) are immune to the crowd control element of it, and the shamans in the Hammerlock DLC are resistant (it works on them, but they break out almost instantly), which can be frustrating if you find yourself in a tight spot and try to 'lock the enemy to regain control of a situation. I only play the game co-op with my buddy, so I never really had a problem with it, but it's something to consider.

I had a blast with both characters, but especially Maya. Getting to hang back and light stuff on fire while locking down particularly irritating enemies for my buddy to carve up with Zero was really damn fun. Plus one of her skills lets her use her phaselock to pick up fallen allies from a distance, which, if you're generally a support player like I am, the utility and convenience of that cannot be overstated.

Quote from: Will;794688
I did Godus Early Access a while back. Boy I regret that.

Let's see, it's highly path-dependent with AI. Let's couple that with terrible pathing!


So it's a Pete Molyneux game, then. :p
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 28, 2014, 07:56:07 PM
Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought Guild Wars 2.

I still watch the graphics and think that I'm hanging out with the beautiful people, because who the hell in a village looks that flawless on an average day?  That said, I think I can appreciate the game more since I've tinkered around with several more MMOs than when I first tested it out.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on October 28, 2014, 08:01:58 PM
I eventually lost interest in GW2, but I admire lots of what they've done.

Public quests are awesomely immersive, I like how different classes use some similar weapons in different ways, and the graphics, and underwater... man
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 28, 2014, 08:03:39 PM
Quote from: Will;794749
I eventually lost interest in GW2, but I admire lots of what they've done.

Public quests are awesomely immersive, I like how different classes use some similar weapons in different ways, and the graphics, and underwater... man


I'm impressed by the group events, and that even a couple of years after release you'll find a bunch of players come out of the woodwork when an event pops up.

And since the game is buy once and no subscription, I can drop it and pick it back up whenever as a full game, not crippleware.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 28, 2014, 08:17:55 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;794747
Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought Guild Wars 2.

I still watch the graphics and think that I'm hanging out with the beautiful people, because who the hell in a village looks that flawless on an average day?  That said, I think I can appreciate the game more since I've tinkered around with several more MMOs than when I first tested it out.

I'm on and off GW2, I haven't even leveled a character to the cap yet, and currently BL2 and BLtPS take up all of my videogaming time, but if I'm online hit me up, I'm The Butcher.4753 there. My main is a Charr Warrior (level 35) but I have an Asura Elementalist and a Norn Ranger as well, and I'm contemplating a Human (torn between Guardian, Necromancer or Thief).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on October 28, 2014, 08:26:11 PM
For a game that isn't hugely flexible with avatars, there are a lot of cool outfits you can cobble together. I'll link some when I'm next at my desk.


My Santa Ranger (https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/1393731_10201421574235242_1008387319_n.jpg?oh=d4a10af697f1e6c95ee36f7695d51714&oe=54E3D5EA&__gda__=1424504214_2ce73257188c90a8257b68977b53b298)

Engineer early (https://scontent-a-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/1385395_10201421547754580_1473381000_n.jpg?oh=348344ed15f2d3867a6224e1ab91ec95&oe=54E8A15D), later  (https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/10426911_10202929161163973_7784277114045484812_n.jpg?oh=c854d5391d6ab6faea6eb6034b40c8db&oe=54DF719C&__gda__=1421009290_1583947ca895b4d1ac657540615946c6)and from the back (https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10154346_10202929161923992_7618020322647704762_n.jpg?oh=197b6962abc9646eb4ffb5d93290d634&oe=54EABA76&__gda__=1425149339_99ca53f95e049c042dea661ca1603194).

Norn guardian wielding a foaming tankard and a whiskey bottle (https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/10366142_10202982511097688_2956578378509657475_n.jpg?oh=62084554cc8a195ae2e708799cb82099&oe=54DFC0E7). HE'LL CUT YOU!

Two pistol rogues are awesome. STAND AND DELIVER! (https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10409499_10202982524578025_6970053768059050326_n.jpg?oh=5c704ecc12ccc6988b34ad88aef1ffb0&oe=54F3D583&__gda__=1420612974_46a8b06333f7b032ddbe92dae5daf768)

Elementalists make great wizard types. Here's Gandalf the Glowy (https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10402861_10203019883911985_2792635648768251131_n.jpg?oh=e5e8f90c7bf536a0180d9aa2f3b87976&oe=54E65822&__gda__=1425042740_cd02e41dd17f8d907a497b3bfeed56b9). (not actual name)

Asurans  (https://scontent-a-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1383708_10201421546114539_1754910466_n.jpg?oh=07bdce8579de2624c1af5635cf6a5251&oe=54EA4697)are basically Invader Zim. I love 'em.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on October 29, 2014, 04:12:41 AM
Guild Wars 2 is an excellent backup or second-choice MMO to play when your primary game is down or otherwise unavailable to you.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 29, 2014, 08:03:09 AM
Quote from: Will;794754

My Santa Ranger (https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/1393731_10201421574235242_1008387319_n.jpg?oh=d4a10af697f1e6c95ee36f7695d51714&oe=54E3D5EA&__gda__=1424504214_2ce73257188c90a8257b68977b53b298)


I remember you showing this guy over at RPGnet. :)

Like I said, I have yet to hit the cap, so I haven't really played around with skins and transmogs (or whatever they're called in GW2).

But goddamn, the mere ability to control the color of your clothing goes a long way towards curtailing Colorblind Hobo Syndrome.

Quote from: Will;794754
Two pistol rogues are awesome. STAND AND DELIVER! (https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10409499_10202982524578025_6970053768059050326_n.jpg?oh=5c704ecc12ccc6988b34ad88aef1ffb0&oe=54F3D583&__gda__=1420612974_46a8b06333f7b032ddbe92dae5daf768)

Lionguard outfit colored black and red? Damn classy.

Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;794811
Guild Wars 2 is an excellent backup or second-choice MMO to play when your primary game is down or otherwise unavailable to you.

I actually prefer it to WoW but (1) I am casual as fuck, (2) the lore is nowhere nearly as well-developed and engrossing as WoW's and most important of all, (3) wife still prefers WoW. ;)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 29, 2014, 08:08:04 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;794753
I'm on and off GW2, I haven't even leveled a character to the cap yet, and currently BL2 and BLtPS take up all of my videogaming time, but if I'm online hit me up, I'm The Butcher.4753 there. My main is a Charr Warrior (level 35) but I have an Asura Elementalist and a Norn Ranger as well, and I'm contemplating a Human (torn between Guardian, Necromancer or Thief).


What server are you on? I see that one of the ways that GW2 makes their money is that you're locked into a specific server unless you want to pay to move.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 29, 2014, 08:15:28 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;794841
I actually prefer it to WoW but (1) I am casual as fuck, (2) the lore is nowhere nearly as well-developed and engrossing as WoW's and most important of all, (3) wife still prefers WoW. ;)


WoW jumped the shark for me back in Cataclysm, because the story discontinuity in the leveling game pisses me off too much. I spent five years in software QA, and the positively enormous gaps in story continuity drive my Spidey-sense bananas.

I kept with it purely for the PvP for another two expacs until I got tired of the Battleground imbalance.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 29, 2014, 08:20:32 AM
In other news, yesterday I dusted off Diablo 3 (no expansion) and took the ol' level 45 Barbarian out for a spin.

The basic premise of D3 -- a hack-and-slash action-CRPG in which you go down dungeons, massacre hordes of horrific monsters and come out bedecked in loot, looking more and more like a Christmas tree with every level -- is one I can totally get behind.

What still bugs me about D3 is:


So, if anyone knows of a Diablo-like game that does the above, I'm taking recommendations. I entertained the idea of trying Torchlight 2 but it looks a tad more cartoonish than I'd like. Is the Sacred series any good? Sacred 3 gets dismal reviews over at Steam and Metacritic.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 29, 2014, 10:07:32 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;794844
In other news, yesterday I dusted off Diablo 3 (no expansion) and took the ol' level 45 Barbarian out for a spin.

The basic premise of D3 -- a hack-and-slash action-CRPG in which you go down dungeons, massacre hordes of horrific monsters and come out bedecked in loot, looking more and more like a Christmas tree with every level -- is one I can totally get behind.

What still bugs me about D3 is:
  • The lack of variety in player character options (a minimum of appearance customization would've been nice)
  • The lack of variety in foes, both thematic (it's all demons and undead. Sorry, I'm a D&D kid, I've been spoiled for choice) and tactical (there's maybe half a dozen types of mobs and they repeat over and over again).
  • The lack of side-quests and non-hack-and-slash CRPG elements. Which wouldn't be so bad it not for...
  • The bad, horrible, awful, no-good writing. Seriously. Any 7-year-old can come up with a better, more exciting and more consistent plot than the game's. This may be the first game I actually skip the dialogues in my second playthrough. So much potential, all wasted.
  • It'd be nice to have an open world but I wouldn't even mind the railroad if it was a little better written.
  • Very minor nitpick: lack of a pet class. I'm a sucker for WoW Hunters and Warlocks and I'd love to see a similar mechanic implemented. I kind of hoped the Witch Doctor would cover this base but his zombies and bats are effectively homing missiles.


So, if anyone knows of a Diablo-like game that does the above, I'm taking recommendations. I entertained the idea of trying Torchlight 2 but it looks a tad more cartoonish than I'd like. Is the Sacred series any good? Sacred 3 gets dismal reviews over at Steam and Metacritic.


For all the years they had D3 in development, the results were a bit underwhelming.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JRT on October 29, 2014, 10:43:54 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;794844
So, if anyone knows of a Diablo-like game that does the above, I'm taking recommendations. I entertained the idea of trying Torchlight 2 but it looks a tad more cartoonish than I'd like. Is the Sacred series any good? Sacred 3 gets dismal reviews over at Steam and Metacritic.

Torchlight is pretty fun and has a lot of variety in the combat and options, but I can understand if you don't like the aesthetics.

You may like Path of Exile.  It's a free to play game, which means its always online even in single player, but it's constantly updated, has the aesthetics and variety you appear to be looking for, and is truly "ethical micro-transactions", with no combat and skill enhancement stuff, just utility items (holding more loot, customized pets (not the same as summonable combatants) and special graphic effects).  If anything, giving it a try will cost you nothing.  WP has the quickest primer on it with links to the PoE wiki and official web site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path_of_Exile
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: woodsmoke on October 29, 2014, 04:43:39 PM
I really ought to try out GW2 one of these days. Just as soon as I'm not-poor enough to afford a new gaming rig. So, y'know, Soon™.

Same goes for Torchlight 2. I'm not particularly bothered about cartoony graphics as long as the art direction's good (which is one of the few areas in which Blizzard still shines). Does it have something akin to the necromancer from Diablo 2? Not the hordes of undead pets stuff so much, I'm more looking for something creative and non-elemental like bone magic was. And also curses. Gods, but I loved playing with curses. Debuffing in general, really. Most CRPGs (and MMOs in particular) seem to have moved away from heavy/substantial debuffs as a PC skill, which has a lot to do with why I don't play terribly much of them anymore.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on October 29, 2014, 06:03:53 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;794747
Well, I finally bit the bullet and bought Guild Wars 2.

I still watch the graphics and think that I'm hanging out with the beautiful people, because who the hell in a village looks that flawless on an average day?  That said, I think I can appreciate the game more since I've tinkered around with several more MMOs than when I first tested it out.


It's Guild Wars, man. Everybody's fucking gorgeous. American developers, korean publishers.

(And as someone who rolls my eyes whenever chainmail bikinis or similar come up, because they're retarded, GW's outfits never made me think "these characters are wearing their nightclub outfits to a fight", even Elementarts or Mesmers.)

Quote from: The Butcher;794844
What still bugs me about D3 is:
  • The lack of variety in player character options (a minimum of appearance customization would've been nice)
  • The lack of variety in foes, both thematic (it's all demons and undead. Sorry, I'm a D&D kid, I've been spoiled for choice) and tactical (there's maybe half a dozen types of mobs and they repeat over and over again).
  • The lack of side-quests and non-hack-and-slash CRPG elements. Which wouldn't be so bad it not for...
  • The bad, horrible, awful, no-good writing. Seriously. Any 7-year-old can come up with a better, more exciting and more consistent plot than the game's. This may be the first game I actually skip the dialogues in my second playthrough. So much potential, all wasted.
  • It'd be nice to have an open world but I wouldn't even mind the railroad if it was a little better written.
  • Very minor nitpick: lack of a pet class. I'm a sucker for WoW Hunters and Warlocks and I'd love to see a similar mechanic implemented. I kind of hoped the Witch Doctor would cover this base but his zombies and bats are effectively homing missiles.


So, if anyone knows of a Diablo-like game that does the above, I'm taking recommendations. I entertained the idea of trying Torchlight 2 but it looks a tad more cartoonish than I'd like. Is the Sacred series any good? Sacred 3 gets dismal reviews over at Steam and Metacritic.


The expansion fixes a lot of these - you can reskin items, you can play Adventure Mode and just endlessly kill monsters without bothering with the storyline (Although Act 5's writing is better than the main game, and you need to play it once), bounties are kinda sidequest-y - but the monster choice doesn't really expand (That said, lore-wise, it's basically all demons, undead, and corrupted critters anyway. Sanctuary isn't a varied place). There's no pet class, and it doesn't even pretend to be anything other than a stress test for your LMB, but it's now the game it should have been at launch. I reviewed the base game quite harshly, on this site; but with the expansion, it's worth buying.

Others... Sacred 2 is a bit more like an MMO in terms of sprawlyness and having a relatively open-ish world, and it has a lot of depth in character development, but I can't pretend I understood it very well. I dunno. I think I enjoyed what I played of it. If I had to give it a score out of ten, I'd say "mango".

Torchlight 2... I tried to write a review of it, but I couldn't get past "The developers have been remaking Diablo for the last two decades" (Diablo, Diablo 2, the-first-version-of-Diablo-3-that-was-basically-finished-but-scrapped, Mythic, Torchlight, Torchlight 2...). And it's true, they're pretty good at it now. It's like a cuter, less sprawling, Diablo 2. It's good! There's four classes, each of which have a few very viable character builds, but it's easy enough you can bumble through a playthrough without optimising (I had a really neat Engineer who did a combat stomp into packs, followed by area-of-effect sword swipes to clear most of them out, and was followed around by a team of shooty little drones). And there's all sorts of mods with new classes, monsters, gear, environments... it's cheap, it's fun. It's a good purchase.

Path of Exile is... well, a bit shit, I think. It's very much made for people who looked at hardcore Diablo 2 play, and thought "you know, this isn't hardcore enough", so they just added MORE OF EVERYTHING. There's the massive web of passive skills (And if you make a mistake, fuck you noob, restart your character and do the newbie content again or grind for the rare respec-the-last-point-spent items). There's build-defining uniques. All your skills are on gems (Think Materia), so rather than just grinding your character's level, you now have to grind your skill levels as well. There's no gold, you trade in magical currency... which you can also use to gamble in an attempt to make your items better. I suspect I'd love it if I were a teenager again with all the time in the world to play (There's a lot to like, really), but as it is, it's just too much for me. But it's free to play, it's very generous in what it gives you - 24 character slots, a lot of stash space, all gameplay-related content, you can only buy stash space or cosmetics - and there's lots of hacking and slashing (And bashing, and firing homing skulls that BITE PEOPLE while being ON FIRE), so there's no harm in trying it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on October 29, 2014, 06:42:21 PM
My biggest complaint about GW2 is the personal story. It's a very fine horse paste on the ground at this point, but what the heck, here's a few more whacks:

The design is backwards. It starts off highly personal and differentiated. Each character option leads to VERY different stories.

Then you winnow down to one of three major groups, with a few subchoices (allied races). Well, ok.

And then it narrows down to one plot, with a few choices that turn into 0 choices as time goes on.

The focus of writing is, IMO, utterly backward. IMO, choices should open up, not winnow down. And I'd love having multiple endgames to choose from.


Then, of course, it doesn't help that the entire final arc is about being the sidekick to cabbagehead, with a magic McGuffin you don't get to use.

That's fucking stupid and the GW2 writers deserve a big slap.

Also, I find it ... bizarre that ANet hasn't done much of anything with your 'home district.' I would have assumed it'd be an easy venue for selling cosmetic junk or tacking on small subplots.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JRT on October 29, 2014, 08:04:02 PM
One other thing about PoE is that they keep making major updates...they've released 3 so far that help enhance how the game plays.

If you're looking for another Diablo style game, you may want to try Grim Dawn.  It is "Early Access" but this is one of the most polished Early Access ever...it's basically a late beta with a long development cycle.  These are the guys who created Titan Quest.  I've had a lot of fun just with the way it is now--no crashes, etc.

The game is sort of--well, take an era somewhere between the Renaissance and the Industrial Age mixed with Steam-punk, then have an gamma-world style apocalypse (except it's magic instead of nukes).  The world was invaded by two forces--one was called the Aethereals and they basically possess and reanimate corpses, while the Cthonics are akin to Devils/Demons and wish to destroy the world.  The forces of the invasion also added a lot of creatures such as Snake Men, Werebeasts, Golems, Giant Mosquitos.  

There are five classes, but you can also dual class and you get a split class name when you do that.  There's a lot of loot, a good quest system, and multiplayer.  One little feature that I like is you can rotate the camera 360 degrees so you're not at a fixed angle.

Here's a guide to it.

http://www.grimdawn.com/game.php
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 29, 2014, 08:34:03 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;794987
It's Guild Wars, man. Everybody's fucking gorgeous. American developers, korean publishers.

(And as someone who rolls my eyes whenever chainmail bikinis or similar come up, because they're retarded, GW's outfits never made me think "these characters are wearing their nightclub outfits to a fight", even Elementarts or Mesmers.)


Yeah, you can tell it's NCSoft publishing, as they're the same people who put out Aion.

At least in GW2 you don't have the capability to create a Mushroom Head avatar, unlike Aion.

One thing that does boggle my mind is that both GW2 and Neverwinter came out AFTER SWTOR, but both of them botch the lip synching in the cutscenes, often quite badly.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 29, 2014, 08:35:47 PM
Quote from: Will;794991
My biggest complaint about GW2 is the personal story. It's a very fine horse paste on the ground at this point, but what the heck, here's a few more whacks:

The design is backwards. It starts off highly personal and differentiated. Each character option leads to VERY different stories.

Then you winnow down to one of three major groups, with a few subchoices (allied races). Well, ok.

And then it narrows down to one plot, with a few choices that turn into 0 choices as time goes on.

The focus of writing is, IMO, utterly backward. IMO, choices should open up, not winnow down. And I'd love having multiple endgames to choose from.


Then, of course, it doesn't help that the entire final arc is about being the sidekick to cabbagehead, with a magic McGuffin you don't get to use.

That's fucking stupid and the GW2 writers deserve a big slap.

Also, I find it ... bizarre that ANet hasn't done much of anything with your 'home district.' I would have assumed it'd be an easy venue for selling cosmetic junk or tacking on small subplots.


I can't understand why they haven't worked on, you know, the guild aspect of Guild Wars 2.  Or the lack of effort in private housing.  I mean, even WoW is going to get housing (of a sort), and they were the last major holdout.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on October 29, 2014, 08:37:34 PM
WoW took a very long time to do weather, and then the weather was pretty basic.

And I'm sitting there going 'christ, Asheron's Call came out in 1999, and it had seasons, shifting weather patterns, all sorts of stuff. Why is it a decade later and people are thinking of MAYBE having weather that doesn't do much of anything?'
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on October 29, 2014, 08:56:27 PM
Quote from: Will;795021
WoW took a very long time to do weather, and then the weather was pretty basic.

And I'm sitting there going 'christ, Asheron's Call came out in 1999, and it had seasons, shifting weather patterns, all sorts of stuff. Why is it a decade later and people are thinking of MAYBE having weather that doesn't do much of anything?'


The MUD I used to play on, with a mid-90's codebase, had weather that had in-game effects, including death by exposure (Both of the thermias), and I'm sure it wasn't the first. It's basic stuff, but it's not a pretty, fun thing to put on the box. Kill space demon gods! Collect epic loot! Lose a leg to frostbite... wait, what? I don't want that one.

Metroid Prime had good weather effects, with the rain on Samus' visor.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 29, 2014, 10:34:53 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;794842
What server are you on? I see that one of the ways that GW2 makes their money is that you're locked into a specific server unless you want to pay to move.

I'm on Tarnished Coast with the RPGnet guild, but I think they've merged the servers in all but name with the whole "mega server" thing.

Quote from: JRT;794882
You may like Path of Exile.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look into it. It does look like what I want!

Quote from: flyerfan1991;795019
At least in GW2 you don't have the capability to create a Mushroom Head avatar, unlike Aion..

You do if you're playing a Sylvari. :eek:

Quote from: Will;794991
Then, of course, it doesn't help that the entire final arc is about being the sidekick to cabbagehead, with a magic McGuffin you don't get to use.

That's fucking stupid and the GW2 writers deserve a big slap.

This is a huge turn-off in WoW too; you sometimes had the impression you were just the wingman to the badass NPCs. The Lich King fight was a particularly egregious example.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on October 30, 2014, 01:36:52 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;795050
I'm on Tarnished Coast with the RPGnet guild, but I think they've merged the servers in all but name with the whole "mega server" thing.



Thanks for the tip, I'll look into it. It does look like what I want!



You do if you're playing a Sylvari. :eek:


I was thisclose to trying out a Sylvari, and now I'm glad I didn't.  Ugh.

Quote
This is a huge turn-off in WoW too; you sometimes had the impression you were just the wingman to the badass NPCs. The Lich King fight was a particularly egregious example.


Well, most of Cataclysm was that way too; you were just toadies to Thrall's Green Jesus impression.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on October 30, 2014, 01:54:51 PM
To be fair, Sylvari have a lot of options, mushroom is just one of them.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: yabaziou on November 04, 2014, 11:02:47 AM
I am currently playing Destiny. I have reached level 26 with my Titan. I plan to play Tales of Xillia 2 and Lightning Returns as soon I am growing bored with Destiny.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on November 04, 2014, 01:46:45 PM
Okay, I've gotten fed up with my old Netgear WNDR 3400.  It needs a reboot at least once a week and the kids have started complaining about connection drops and lag when gaming and doing their homework.

I've got a 10:1 internet connection, so unless someone is uploading a lot of files I don't expect there to be much in the way of lag.  Nevertheless, I did look into the QoS settings for this router, only to become discouraged at the lack of detail for this part of the firmware.

I've used Netgear equipment for ages without issue, but this router is making me look elsewhere for a replacement.  Has anyone tried the newer AC-1900 routers, such as the ASUS RT-AC68 and the Linksys WRT1900AC?

Yeah, there's the Netgear Nighthawk 7000 too, but like I said I've been disappointed by the recent (lack of) build quality among Netgear equipment.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on November 08, 2014, 03:18:49 PM
Now that the initial crush is past, Overwatch (http://us.battle.net/overwatch/en/), Blizzard's new IP, has its official site up and running.

One part MOBA (heroes, not classes), one part FPS (in the TF2 vein; team-based objective-focused PVP), and clearly superheroic in its character. Both cinematic and gameplay trailers are up, as is Beta opt-in. If I get flagged, I am so in; everyone I know at BlizzCon that's played the game love it. Looks like it will be Free To Play.
Title: BlizzCon 2014 Recap (via MMO-Champion)
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on November 09, 2014, 12:39:15 PM
No, not gonna do the copy-paste thing. Just pointing out the link (http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/4499-Blizzcon-2014-Recap-Blizzcon-2014-Recap), and recommending that you watch the WOW LFG Documentary. WOW's community, for all the shit, is still one of the best around.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 09, 2014, 06:01:17 PM
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;797460
No, not gonna do the copy-paste thing. Just pointing out the link (http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/4499-Blizzcon-2014-Recap-Blizzcon-2014-Recap), and recommending that you watch the WOW LFG Documentary. WOW's community, for all the shit, is still one of the best around.

Egads, I hope not.

Maybe it's just me, but even the (increasingly rare) good PUGs feel like a gang of 12- to 15-year-olds hopped up on energy drinks and Ritalin. I don't get the chance to explore or even watch the damn cutscenes/dialogue. I got turned off tanking (Guardian Druid, then Protection Warrior) because people couldn't wait a few seconds for me to build aggro, and I regularly got blamed for the ensuing wipes. And when I did everything right, some healers would complain that I was taking damage too fast (huh?).

I switched to DPS builds and even then I got shit for being undergeared, cranking out low DPS, not knowing boss fight mechanics by heart (remember, I'm talking non-Heroic LFG) or whatever.

I want to do group PvE content but it's so goddamn frustrating.

This is why GW2 with the scripted group events out in the open world, and the lack of "holy trinity" roles, has been so much fun (even with the underwhelming storyline and uncanny valey graphics). And even there I'm still leery of doing dungeons. :o

I'll look into the documentary, though.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on November 10, 2014, 06:29:58 AM
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;797460
No, not gonna do the copy-paste thing. Just pointing out the link (http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/4499-Blizzcon-2014-Recap-Blizzcon-2014-Recap), and recommending that you watch the WOW LFG Documentary. WOW's community, for all the shit, is still one of the best around.


Given how bad Trade Chat is, that's kind of a scary thought.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on November 10, 2014, 07:54:13 AM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;797645
Given how bad Trade Chat is, that's kind of a scary thought.

The community is much larger than /2 or the official forums. With Twitch, and now Hitbox, the WOW community embraced streaming (and YouTube videos) like you would not believe. Podcasts specifically for WOW, done by and for the community, are growing like weeds. (I follow three: Convert To Raid, Final Boss, and The Edge.) Hell, there are podcasts specifically for a specific guild (The Converted) and a general community-interest show (Tauren Think Tank).

Cosplayers, fan-artists, lore nerds (Nobbel the Nobel, out of Denmark, makes being a lore nerd sexy; he's getting his own fangirls now- and we already have Red Shirt Guy), the surprising intersection of Dudes and WOW (Swifty and Bajeera, both of which are actually decent guys), and plenty of women doing it because they're both into it and good at it. (I mod for such a streamer.) All of this is in the WOW community now, and far more visible due to streaming and videos. Hell, we've got good music parody artists (Silver Letomi is the current top-act of this set, followed by Sharm; Nyhm's out of the game.), and so many of the parody videos and movie guys are still around (Crendor) that they've inspired their own fans to do collaborations (This Frozen parody is far better than it should be. (http://youtu.be/8ZcQsi5cm2w))- which, in turn, gets Blizzard's attention and has led to getting hired.

There is NOTHING in the tabletop world like it. Hell, there is nothing in the videogame world like it- and as many WOW players are Blizzard loyalists, a certain degree of overlap (especially with Hearthstone) occurs. No other company routinely runs its own two-day convention, which is also a live PPV event, and gets away with it being as much a beloved fan/game con as SDCC or Dreamhack (or, for us, GenCon). Being in the WOW community is where is action is, and I am a very proud warrior for the Horde. (Yeah, I cheered when Method won this year's live raid race, again. FOR THE HORDE!) Unlike WOTC's screwups, the Warcraft movie is entirely made by competent fans FOR THE FANS. (And yes, the movie panels were good enough to get that across; they care, as Petey does with Middle-Earth, and it does show.)

To get this anywhere else, you have do the Comic Con circuit and hope the big fan orgs turn out in strength or hit the dedicated local general fan cons (like CONvergence here in Minneapolis) and hope for the same from local fan orgs.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 10, 2014, 04:06:37 PM
And here I was thinking "the community" meant the people actually playing the game. Silly me.

It's great to see people sharing their enthusissm for WoW — it just turned 10, some kids grew up with it — but all the enlightened and loving fandom on Earth doesn't mean jack if people are still dicks to each other on PUGs.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on November 10, 2014, 06:21:37 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;797763
And here I was thinking "the community" meant the people actually playing the game. Silly me.

It's great to see people sharing their enthusiasm for WoW — it just turned 10, some kids grew up with it — but all the enlightened and loving fandom on Earth doesn't mean jack if people are still dicks to each other on PUGs.

This is where you're getting it wrong. The community is no longer confined to just playing the game.

And I do mean "just". The community now has the means to remain engaged with World of Warcraft, in ways that they--not Blizzard--control, other than being logged into the game and playing it as Blizzard intends. Blizzard, to their credit, saw that this was an excellent way to generate positive public relations and brand engagement and embraced this on the community's terms; the sheer number of community figures welcomed by Blizzard over the past few years, and again this past weekend at BlizzCon, astounds me- WotC would never do this, and Paizo won't either.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on November 11, 2014, 12:28:55 AM
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;797659
The community is much larger than /2 or the official forums. With Twitch, and now Hitbox, the WOW community embraced streaming (and YouTube videos) like you would not believe. Podcasts specifically for WOW, done by and for the community, are growing like weeds. (I follow three: Convert To Raid, Final Boss, and The Edge.) Hell, there are podcasts specifically for a specific guild (The Converted) and a general community-interest show (Tauren Think Tank).

Cosplayers, fan-artists, lore nerds (Nobbel the Nobel, out of Denmark, makes being a lore nerd sexy; he's getting his own fangirls now- and we already have Red Shirt Guy), the surprising intersection of Dudes and WOW (Swifty and Bajeera, both of which are actually decent guys), and plenty of women doing it because they're both into it and good at it. (I mod for such a streamer.) All of this is in the WOW community now, and far more visible due to streaming and videos. Hell, we've got good music parody artists (Silver Letomi is the current top-act of this set, followed by Sharm; Nyhm's out of the game.), and so many of the parody videos and movie guys are still around (Crendor) that they've inspired their own fans to do collaborations (This Frozen parody is far better than it should be. (http://youtu.be/8ZcQsi5cm2w))- which, in turn, gets Blizzard's attention and has led to getting hired.

There is NOTHING in the tabletop world like it. Hell, there is nothing in the videogame world like it- and as many WOW players are Blizzard loyalists, a certain degree of overlap (especially with Hearthstone) occurs. No other company routinely runs its own two-day convention, which is also a live PPV event, and gets away with it being as much a beloved fan/game con as SDCC or Dreamhack (or, for us, GenCon). Being in the WOW community is where is action is, and I am a very proud warrior for the Horde. (Yeah, I cheered when Method won this year's live raid race, again. FOR THE HORDE!) Unlike WOTC's screwups, the Warcraft movie is entirely made by competent fans FOR THE FANS. (And yes, the movie panels were good enough to get that across; they care, as Petey does with Middle-Earth, and it does show.)

To get this anywhere else, you have do the Comic Con circuit and hope the big fan orgs turn out in strength or hit the dedicated local general fan cons (like CONvergence here in Minneapolis) and hope for the same from local fan orgs.


I played WoW for 5 years, and just stopped a few months ago.  I was a member of a couple of great guilds.  I'm still plugged into (and a member of) the MMO blogosphere, so I know what you're talking about.  I know several people who went to BlizzCon, and more people who subbed to the livestream.

But.

WoW is not an Up With People game. I've seen some nice things happen in game, but more and more frequently I've seen some really shitty things done by some really shitty people with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement.  I can think of at least three MMOs offhand whose players on average behave better in game than WoW.  (LOTRO, SWTOR, and GW2.)  It took me two years to run into a rage quitter when pugging SWTOR flashpoints; it took me three weeks in WoW, and that was back in the day before the LFG tool, when supposedly people were more willing to stick out an instance because they assembled them via chat channels.

There's a reason why Wowcrendor's YouTube videos on PUGs and BGs are so popular: everybody knows that guy, the stereotypical idiot that you run into throughout the game.  The problem is that he's no longer just an outlier, but more of a common sight.  I quit running Heroic instances in Cata because I got tired of all the drama, and I gave up PVE group content entirely in Mists when the jerks moved on to LFR.  (That, and the little issue that Blizz decided to start de-emphasizing instances in favor of a combination of LFR and Scenarios.)

The Butcher is right; all of this outside-of-game stuff matters little if people are jerks in-game.  Blizzard needs bodies subscribing or they won't make new content, and Blizzard's seeming inability to police the idiots in-game makes their job of keeping subs up that much more difficult.

The people who attend BlizzCon are the hardest of the hard core fanboys/fangirls.  Of the millions who have played Blizzard games, only 20k or so go to BlizzCon.  I expect Blizzard to cater to them and make the con about them, because they can't risk alienating these fans.  But at the same time, Blizzard has on occasion listened to these fans too much, which resulted in Cataclysm (and to a lesser extent, Mists).

Cataclysm was Blizzard's 4e, although some would also argue Diablo 3 as well.  WoW was at it's height at the beginning of Cata, and the renewed emphasis on making things "more hardcore" and streamlining the questing and revamping the Old World backfired.*  Blizz listened to the complaints of a few hardcore fans, tailored the game to suit them, and lost a good portion of their subscriber base.  The difference is that Cata's code isn't something you can simply ignore like WotC can by releasing 5e; the best Blizz can do is provide you an instant L90 (and the paid service to level up to L90) so you can bypass all of the Cata and Mists zones.  

And the Warcraft movie?  Peter Jackson's LOTR was a labor of love, but so were the Dungeons and Dragons movies.  Plot and dialogue aren't exactly Blizzard's strong points, and I've got this bad feeling that Warcraft's dialogue is going to make The Phantom Menace look like King Lear.



*This is a lesson that apparently the creators of Wildstar failed to learn, too.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on November 11, 2014, 10:28:13 AM
God. Wildstar.

Yeah.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alzrius on November 11, 2014, 11:42:21 AM
I'm currently playing Bayonetta 2. I've currently equipped the titular character with a magic chainsaw on each hand...and one on each foot.

Needless to say, I'm enjoying the hell out of this game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on November 11, 2014, 12:27:47 PM
I wisely decided to skip Sonic Boom and instead got Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze.

So far really fun. Nothing formula breaking. The new character powers are a nice little bit of diversity. Level design is really good so far and difficulty is pretty good (I've died a few times trying to get timing right but have never felt absolutly stuck).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on November 11, 2014, 12:28:59 PM
Quote from: Alzrius;797938
I'm currently playing Bayonetta 2. I've currently equipped the titular character with a magic chainsaw on each hand...and one on each foot.

Needless to say, I'm enjoying the hell out of this game.


Is bayonetta 1 worth it or should I just skip straight to 2?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alzrius on November 11, 2014, 12:34:44 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;797949
Is bayonetta 1 worth it or should I just skip straight to 2?


In terms of comparison between the two games, the original Bayonetta is very much in the same vein as its sequel; in that regard, if you think you'll like the second one, the first one is definitely worth it. Other than the sequel having an online mode (which is for short competition bouts of who can kill more enemies faster), the differences between the two games are just a handful of minor details (e.g. the first game doesn't have magic chainsaws...that I've found yet, at least).

That said, this is likely to be something of a moot point. If you buy Bayonetta 2 as a physical disc for the Wii U, it includes a port of the first game for free (if you buy the game as a download, it comes with a coupon for a download of the port of the first game, though I'm not totally certain how much it's for).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on November 11, 2014, 01:07:29 PM
Quote from: Will;797930
God. Wildstar.

Yeah.


My beef with Wildstar was that it couldn't decide what it wanted to be: lighthearted, slapstick fun or grimdark good vs. evil.  Regardless, Wildstar's stated goal of being Old School in the hard, grindy, attunements from hell sort of way had very limited appeal.  Those people who kept telling the Wildstar team that they were going to do well helped to create that disaster.

The thing is, Wildstar isn't a bad game.  MMO players, however, are used to the F2P model (or GW2's buy once and play forever model) with maybe having one subscription based MMO in their stable.  Wildstar had to be, well, easier to play if they were going to peel enough players from WoW's subscriber base.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on November 11, 2014, 01:27:27 PM
Yeah, Wildstar was glaringly short on a slew of QoL stuff.

You can't invite someone to your guild unless both folks are online. Subscription and micro transactions. Heavy raid focus. Lots of servers. Highly level-banded content. Limited replay. Fighting over nodes.

The classes and visuals and story are great (engineer evil robot in power suit mode? JOY). But ultimately not enough to put up with it.

If it was f2p I would have played long enough to give them some money before hitting high levels and losing interest.
As it was, I played with friend code long enough to figure out the above and spent $0.

Way to go, guys!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 11, 2014, 08:10:38 PM
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;797784
This is where you're getting it wrong. The community is no longer confined to just playing the game.

Like I said, I'm happy that people are getting their WoW geek on, and even happier to see a big corp like Blizzard being actively supportive of their passionate paying public. If we were so dismissive of people as to define them by their fandoms, I don't think I would make the cut as a "WoW geek" even though I've enjoyed quite a few hours of game play, and keeping vaguely up to date the fictional canon ("lore") is an occasional guilty pleasure of mine.

But the fact of the matter remains that the "community" of people debating the finer points of WoW canon, or streaming WoW instance playthroughs, or doing WoW machinima parodies of music videos, are a tiny fraction of the people actually playing WoW, and their efforts, however passionate and heartwarming, do nothing for the casual player who wants to get into WoW.

I'm not 100% sure you get to define what a game's "community" looks and feels like by cherry-picking its most creative and enthusiastic minority, especially when they are clearly not representative, in their openness and enthusiasm, of the average shithead that'll join your PUG and completely drain you of any enthusiasm for the game itself because he or she (and I quote) doesn't "have the fucking time to shepherd you nubz through this instance" because he's "a goal-driven farmer", or "can't believe a fucking mexican is tanking us thru this, this is a serious fight" or the ever-popular "druid tank? lol Im outta here".

Yeah, online gaming can suck anywhere, but WoW nowadays seems to be a particularly fertile breeding ground for this sort of idiocy. I don't get this shit on GW2 (yet).

Quote from: flyerfan1991;797869
WoW is not an Up With People game. I've seen some nice things happen in game, but more and more frequently I've seen some really shitty things done by some really shitty people with an overdeveloped sense of entitlement.  

(...)

The people who attend BlizzCon are the hardest of the hard core fanboys/fangirls.  Of the millions who have played Blizzard games, only 20k or so go to BlizzCon.  I expect Blizzard to cater to them and make the con about them, because they can't risk alienating these fans.  But at the same time, Blizzard has on occasion listened to these fans too much, which resulted in Cataclysm (and to a lesser extent, Mists).

Yeah, we're pretty much on the same page with all of this.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on November 12, 2014, 01:32:26 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;798023
But the fact of the matter remains that the "community" of people debating the finer points of WoW canon, or streaming WoW instance playthroughs, or doing WoW machinima parodies of music videos, are a tiny fraction of the people actually playing WoW, and their efforts, however passionate and heartwarming, do nothing for the casual player who wants to get into WoW.


Blizzard torpedoed the introductory experience for a new player by screwing up the questing continuity.  I've had a couple of neighbors tell me that they started WoW (post-Cataclysm) and they dropped it after a short while because "nothing made any sort of sense."

With Warlords and the L90 boost, Blizzard has abandoned the new player and is strictly going for the old player who no longer subscribes.

Quote
I'm not 100% sure you get to define what a game's "community" looks and feels like by cherry-picking its most creative and enthusiastic minority, especially when they are clearly not representative, in their openness and enthusiasm, of the average shithead that'll join your PUG and completely drain you of any enthusiasm for the game itself because he or she (and I quote) doesn't "have the fucking time to shepherd you nubz through this instance" because he's "a goal-driven farmer", or "can't believe a fucking mexican is tanking us thru this, this is a serious fight" or the ever-popular "druid tank? lol Im outta here".

Yeah, online gaming can suck anywhere, but WoW nowadays seems to be a particularly fertile breeding ground for this sort of idiocy. I don't get this shit on GW2 (yet).


I play a mix of male and female toons on several MMOs, and the only place I've been hit on in game has been WoW.  And I use the term "hit on" very loosely, in the same way that Goldshire on the Moon Guard server is "just a bar to hang out at".
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 12, 2014, 08:07:11 AM
So, Steam is suggesting me Valkyria Chronicles (gameplay looks meh, even though the "fantasy WWII" setting looks really interesting) and Castle Crashers 2 (looks fun). Anyone owns and plays these? Any comments?

But the game I really wanted right now would be one that played like Diablo 3 (smash foes, get loot, level up, co-op action CRPG) but (1) featured a greater variety of both playable characters and enemies, and (2) had a plot that didn't take itself so damn seriously. Sacred 3 looked like it might fit the bill, but the reviews on Steam are tearing it a new one (I've never played any of the franchise's games). Does anyone have anything in this vein to recommend?

Also, Space Hulk: Ascension is on pre-sale. Not my cuppa but I figured there'd be some interest here.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: yabaziou on November 12, 2014, 08:17:52 AM
I have enjoyed playing Valkyria Chronicles on PS 3 3 years ago, so I will say it is a fine game (by the way, it is more fantaay WW I than WW II). If the price is 10 $, I will say it will be a good bargain.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on November 12, 2014, 09:50:35 AM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;798094
Blizzard torpedoed the introductory experience for a new player by screwing up the questing continuity.  I've had a couple of neighbors tell me that they started WoW (post-Cataclysm) and they dropped it after a short while because "nothing made any sort of sense."

With Warlords and the L90 boost, Blizzard has abandoned the new player and is strictly going for the old player who no longer subscribes.


I don't know how new their abandonment is, they've been sliding that way for a long time.

I recently went back to WoW after _5 years_ away. Which was cool, because I had LOADS of content and change to get through.

And it was incoherent as FUCK. The most incoherent was the buildup to fighting in the earth elemental zone and fighting giant rock creatures (which is an amazing zone)... and then off to Pandaria where I was collecting herbs and fighting cranes and wolves. Slightly BIGGER cranes and wolves, and they were higher level because, um, they were filled with chi or something.

WoW is a perfect example of why I think strongly level-based content is a seductive mistake. You end up with this conflict in making new content.


Imagine how much easier Blizzard could have made a coherent story if they had something like GW2's level-scaling content, where a new low level zone is totally worth doing as a max level character.
(Mind you, GW2 doesn't do this perfectly, and they still get sucked into the lure of doing primarily endgame stuff, but you get the idea)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on November 14, 2014, 03:26:06 PM
Been losing at Five Nights at Freddy's.

Jesus Christ.

I've watched a lot of horror movies and played a fair number of horror games. This is one of the scariest fictional experiences I've ever had.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 14, 2014, 11:00:21 PM
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;798690
Been losing at Five Nights at Freddy's.

Jesus Christ.

I've watched a lot of horror movies and played a fair number of horror games. This is one of the scariest fictional experiences I've ever had.


Seriously?

My interest is piqued. Please elaborate! :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on November 14, 2014, 11:59:51 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;798752
Seriously?

My interest is piqued. Please elaborate! :D

Your in a seedy run down Chuck E. Cheese type place at night. You've got no place to run and nothing to defend yourself with. What you do have is a few steel doors, some shitty security cameras, a mysterious back story delivered in fragments, your worsening hallucinations, long stretches of extreme suspense... and free roaming animatronic abominations straight out of your childhood phobias who will suddenly rush in and mangle you if you don't keep an eye on them.

(http://i.imgur.com/kTcxQ9T.png?1)

I'm a fucking wreck after every time I attempt it. I'm not sure what's worse, the tension, the atmosphere, or the soul-shattering jump scares.
-
-
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 15, 2014, 12:02:35 PM
Holy crap. 0_o

But what is it that you, the player, actually do?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: yabaziou on November 15, 2014, 12:45:40 PM
Holly Molly ! What is that ?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on November 15, 2014, 12:50:17 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;798816
Holy crap. 0_o

But what is it that you, the player, actually do?

You are a security guard. You have a limited amount of power to last you through the night (the company is cheap, game has a sense of humor). Every time you do something to try and hold back the animatronics, like track their positions with the security cameras, turn on lights, or shut doors, you burn power. You're trying to survive until 6 AM, when the robots' "daytime" programming takes over and gets them ready to entertain kids.

It's a fairly straightforward game in premise and execution (very old school come to think of it), you're basically juggling chainsaws in an increasing windstorm. Sometimes, after all the power's gone, you'll be sitting in your lightless office staring right into the glowing eyes of an animatronic about to lunge at you when the clock finally turns and saves you.

As each night goes by (your character's willingness to continue doing this job is one of the funnier mysteries they toy with), they add more tricks and surprises.

My one criticism is that by the time you reach the final nights it gets so frantic it can be a little unfair and more stressful than fun, and it's tough to appreciate the new details that start manifesting. The feeling of triumph when you survive is immense though.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on November 17, 2014, 06:57:24 AM
Quote from: Will;798139
I don't know how new their abandonment is, they've been sliding that way for a long time.

snip


I got into WoW after Burning Crusade, and before Lichking. The first 20 to 30 levels are great. Then the grind kicks in. Then it goes absurd. Lichking dropped and it was more of the same. As I said above somewhere, raid content never appealed so the draw of WoW was....? Closed the account.

In other news, I have played TibiaME  (http://www.tibiame.com/)for the last couple of nights (all about 30 minutes in total!). About as much MMO computer game as I can handle right now.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: woodsmoke on November 17, 2014, 08:40:51 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;798126
But the game I really wanted right now would be one that played like Diablo 3 (smash foes, get loot, level up, co-op action CRPG) but (1) featured a greater variety of both playable characters and enemies, and (2) had a plot that didn't take itself so damn seriously. Sacred 3 looked like it might fit the bill, but the reviews on Steam are tearing it a new one (I've never played any of the franchise's games). Does anyone have anything in this vein to recommend?


Hell, I just want a proper (spiritual) successor to Diablo 2. I've heard Path of Exile praised by the hardcore D2 crowd, but that's not really my thing. Have also heard mostly good things about Torchlight 2, but I haven't had an opportunity to try it out yet. I just miss playing a necromancer and tossing around bone magic and curses everywhere.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 17, 2014, 09:21:04 PM
Quote from: woodsmoke;799300
Hell, I just want a proper (spiritual) successor to Diablo 2. I've heard Path of Exile praised by the hardcore D2 crowd, but that's not really my thing.


Why not? (I don't know jack about Path of Exile)

Quote from: woodsmoke;799300
Have also heard mostly good things about Torchlight 2, but I haven't had an opportunity to try it out yet.


Looks too effin' silly to me.

Quote from: woodsmoke;799300
I just miss playing a necromancer and tossing around bone magic and curses everywhere.


You and me, brother. You and me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: woodsmoke on November 17, 2014, 11:40:50 PM
I'm more referring to the hardcore D2 crowd there than PoE. I just don't generally have that level of competitive drive in my gaming. I enjoy a challenge and I want to do well by the system, but ultimately I'm still playing to relax and have fun.

It's the same reason I never really got into Lollipop Chainsaw. After doing the tutorial, figuring out how the game works and beating the first level it generated a report card for me with a C-. Some folks would look at that as a challenge, the game is telling me I can do better, and that's a totally legitimate take. At the time, I just saw it as the game telling me how much I suck at my escapist hobby, which pretty well convinced me I didn't have any desire to continue playing.

I've no idea whether that's a fair representation of PoE's design, but the idea it was supposed to be somewhat unforgiving was talked up a lot by people who wanted to/enjoyed playing it around the time it was released, which naturally colored my perception.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on November 18, 2014, 06:57:22 AM
Now that Warlords of Draenor is live, I'm digging it. I was there when the North American servers went live 15 minutes early, and I got my main through the introductory sequence before servers started shitting themselves and I just logged off instead of doing my Sisyphus impression.

In the days that passed as the usual--and yes, aside from the most massive DDOS attack waged upon a game yet, such that the Feds are asking questions, they are usual--problems that always hit got sorted out (Thursday launch; sorted by Sunday, with what is left being tweaks and minor hotfixes, which is fantastic for a launch like this.) I hung out with guildmates or streaming pals in a Ventrillo server, modded a chat room for a Twitch streamer, and finished the first draft of my third novel. Now that shit is stable, I swiftly resumed play and got my main character to 95; should be 100 right on Thanksgiving, and then I can start working on my alts while I gear up the main at get raid-ready.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on November 18, 2014, 07:22:24 AM
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;799401
Now that Warlords of Draenor is live, I'm digging it. I was there when the North American servers went live 15 minutes early, and I got my main through the introductory sequence before servers started shitting themselves and I just logged off instead of doing my Sisyphus impression.

In the days that passed as the usual--and yes, aside from the most massive DDOS attack waged upon a game yet, such that the Feds are asking questions, they are usual--problems that always hit got sorted out (Thursday launch; sorted by Sunday, with what is left being tweaks and minor hotfixes, which is fantastic for a launch like this.) I hung out with guildmates or streaming pals in a Ventrillo server, modded a chat room for a Twitch streamer, and finished the first draft of my third novel. Now that shit is stable, I swiftly resumed play and got my main character to 95; should be 100 right on Thanksgiving, and then I can start working on my alts while I gear up the main at get raid-ready.


There were people at L100 in 24 hours after launch (some of them even legally so).

You slacker. ;-)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sacrosanct on November 18, 2014, 02:46:02 PM
Started playing DragonAge Inquisition last night on the PS4.  Feels very much like all the other dragonage games, so that's good I guess.  Graphics look good, but not as good as the PS4 touted them in other games.  Still too early to make a good objective evaluation, but so far the controls seem easy enough.  I really like the ability to go into tactical mode and pause the game.  I'm not a fan of action RPGs where it's more important to mash buttons fast and in the right order rather than your actual character progression.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on November 18, 2014, 10:01:13 PM
Quote from: Sacrosanct;799472
Started playing DragonAge Inquisition last night on the PS4.  Feels very much like all the other dragonage games, so that's good I guess.  Graphics look good, but not as good as the PS4 touted them in other games.  Still too early to make a good objective evaluation, but so far the controls seem easy enough.  I really like the ability to go into tactical mode and pause the game.  I'm not a fan of action RPGs where it's more important to mash buttons fast and in the right order rather than your actual character progression.


I was about to ask if people were playing DA3, but you beat me to it.

What about the storyline?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on November 19, 2014, 02:44:49 AM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;799404
There were people at L100 in 24 hours after launch (some of them even legally so).

You slacker. ;-)

Yeah, I'm savoring the leveling experience this time, and it's been fan-fucking-tastic so far. As there are no raids or high-end PVP until December 2nd, there is no need to rush. Reach 100 this week; be ready sometime by the end of next week- and then enjoy learning a new raid instance: Highmaul, Seat of the Ogre Empire in Draenor. (So, lots of ogres and giants.) This expansion, in particular, has some old-school SF to its experience; you can see the Planetary Romance (or Sword & Planet, if you like) influences, and they're not hidden.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on November 19, 2014, 10:35:18 AM
One thing I liked about WoW was a very light-hearted blend of a lot of stuff, including some very overt Lovecraftian things (like in northwestern Kalimdor), the gnomish technomagic, and so on.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 19, 2014, 02:32:50 PM
Quote from: Will;799731
One thing I liked about WoW was a very light-hearted blend of a lot of stuff, including some very overt Lovecraftian things (like in northwestern Kalimdor), the gnomish technomagic, and so on.


Yeah, they manage to pull it off Palladium-style: openly embracing the gonzo, not worrying too much about being believable, and making the big conflicts relevant right from level 1. Sure, there's the whole 'kill X boars' thing but soon enough you're butting heads with Kul Tiras colonists and centaurs in Durotar, or Scourge and Scarlet Crusade in Loraderon, or Blackrock orcs in Elwynn.

I love GW2 for the game play mechanics, but I have to actually make an effort to care about the NPCs. They all feel so dreadfully samey. Every race gets an "evil" counterpart (Inquest for Asura, Flame Legion for Charr, Sons of Svanir for Norn, etc.) and they make up most of the antagonists, along with assorted wildlife, for most of the starting area and neighboring areas. Every now and then we get a glimpse of other races (Kodan, Hylek, Krait, Skritt, etc.) all of which share (1) silly names, and (2) horribly one-dimensional depictions. The writing for GW2 really leaves me cold. But then I never really made it to the "Living Story" endgame.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sacrosanct on November 19, 2014, 02:44:12 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;799617
I was about to ask if people were playing DA3, but you beat me to it.

What about the storyline?

So I'm about 4 hours in now, total.  Playing a sword&board the first time through.  Couple of impressions:

The world is huge.  Like, really big.  With tons of stuff to explore and do, and it doesn't level scale or hold your hand by preventing you from going somewhere you aren't ready yet.  For example, I'm 5th level and I wandered down a path and ran into a full fledged dragon that started strafing me.  I died :D  quickly.

Lots of things to craft and improve, but I found myself switching to my ranged party member any time I wanted to kill wildlife.  They are all faster than you otherwise, and hitting them with a sword doesn't work so well ;)

The storyline is pretty decent.  A lot like the first DA, and the reply options are a lot like Mass Effect in the dialog wheel.  Even though the main storyline won't change, I can see myself playing this game at least 3 times because there are so many world decision options you can have, like how you allocate global inquisition resources.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on November 20, 2014, 11:48:50 PM
I play Star Trek: Online a lot, I'm ... mostly happy with it.
But man, I am really done with MMOs with lots of abilities.

In ground stuff? I don't know what half my abilities do, I just... whatever. Flail at the keyboard until stuff dies.


In that respect I MUCH prefer Neverwinter's design of a handful of abilities you can swap out as the mood strikes you (though there are OTHER things I dislike about NW (and boy I wish I could mix and match MMOs))
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on November 21, 2014, 12:48:14 AM
Quote from: Will;800049
I play Star Trek: Online a lot, I'm ... mostly happy with it.
But man, I am really done with MMOs with lots of abilities.

In ground stuff? I don't know what half my abilities do, I just... whatever. Flail at the keyboard until stuff dies.


In that respect I MUCH prefer Neverwinter's design of a handful of abilities you can swap out as the mood strikes you (though there are OTHER things I dislike about NW (and boy I wish I could mix and match MMOs))


GW2 does the same thing as Neverwinter, and that suits my playstyle just fine. Too many abilities translate into overly complex rotations and possibilities.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on November 21, 2014, 02:03:04 AM
Oh yes. There are a lot of things I like about GW2. My inability to group much has somewhat put a hamper on playing it, and ... I don't know. For some reason I ultimately sort of lost interest in GW2. But who knows, I may swing back to it again.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on November 22, 2014, 01:51:08 AM
Stupid getting older things:
Sprained a rotator muscle in my right shoulder, apparently, from playing Star Trek: Online too much (which has a lot of high tension mouse stuff).

... bah.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on November 22, 2014, 07:35:51 AM
Quote from: Will;800061
For some reason I ultimately sort of lost interest in GW2.

There are only a handful of games I return to time and time again.

TF2
Starcraft II
Magic Online
Super Mario Bros. and its many level-edited hacks
Smash Bros. Brawl
Secret of Mana
Link to the Past
Hexen

But there's no mystery or insult to playing a game thoroughly for a while and moving on. Perhaps less value for money. :p I know I calculate how much each hour of gameplay was worth in dollars to make myself feel superior ("Alright, this $50 game lasted 100 hours, so that was 0.50 an hour of fun. Waaaay better than a movie ticket!")
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Will on November 22, 2014, 09:52:32 AM
I suspect if I had the time/energy to do Fractal dungeons and other group content I might maintain my interest in GW2.

I'm also a HUGE fan of creating my own adventures in a game, which is cool that Star Trek: Online and Neverwinter has Foundry!
Eeeexcept PWE are a bunch of small-minded fuckheads, so Foundry is all but abandoned on each and has crippling basic problems (mainly in reward and search scheme, so cool content is almost impossible to find or showcase).

mutter


Someone give me a billion dollars to make a MMO!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 22, 2014, 10:52:14 AM
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;800270

Link to the Past


Fuck yeah. Best Zelda game, best old school console JRPG, bar none.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on November 22, 2014, 02:27:40 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;800296
Fuck yeah. Best Zelda game, best old school console JRPG, bar none.


*cough* Link's Awakening *cough* :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sacrosanct on November 22, 2014, 03:01:23 PM
Now that I've got some time invested in DA:I, I can say it's definitely a Bioware game.  A lot of the same voice actors as Mass Effect, and they used the same movement models.  For example, Cassandra's model moves exactly the same as Liara in Mass Effect in cut scenes and speech.


If you like Mass Effect (like I do), you'll like DA:I.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tommy Brownell on November 22, 2014, 04:18:12 PM
Quote from: Sacrosanct;800327
Now that I've got some time invested in DA:I, I can say it's definitely a Bioware game.  A lot of the same voice actors as Mass Effect, and they used the same movement models.  For example, Cassandra's model moves exactly the same as Liara in Mass Effect in cut scenes and speech.


If you like Mass Effect (like I do), you'll like DA:I.


I am loving it so far, but then, I love Bioware.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 22, 2014, 05:18:53 PM
Quote from: ladybird;800323
*cough* link's awakening *cough* :)


lalalalala can't hear you over the sound of how awesome a link to the past is ;)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 24, 2014, 10:48:24 AM
I'm giving Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim another fair shake in between Borderlands 2 (playing through the DLC) and World of Warcraft (giving Warlords of Draenor a spin and loving it so far).

Instead of picking up from where I left my Nord (Warrior, Two-Handed, Heavy Armor), I started a new one, an Orc (Warrior, Two-Handed, Heavy Armor). Damn it if I hadn't forgotten how awesomely immersive the Bleak Falls Barrow dungeon crawl was, with the puzzles and traps and undead.

I'm now torn between going on with the Orc (Elder Scroll Orcs are pretty cool) or goig back with the Nord (they're now roughly at the same spot). Decisions, decisions.

By the way, any tips on character building? I went with Two-Handed and Heavy Armor because that's how I play just about every CRPG, at least the first time through; I create a big brute, dress him in the heaviest armor available and give him the biggest weapon I find. :D I Googled around for character builds but results were more or less all over the place. Are there any sites that do for Skyrim what Icy Veins does for WoW?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on November 24, 2014, 01:07:12 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;800575
I'm giving Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim another fair shake in between Borderlands 2 (playing through the DLC) and World of Warcraft (giving Warlords of Draenor a spin and loving it so far).

Instead of picking up from where I left my Nord (Warrior, Two-Handed, Heavy Armor), I started a new one, an Orc (Warrior, Two-Handed, Heavy Armor). Damn it if I hadn't forgotten how awesomely immersive the Bleak Falls Barrow dungeon crawl was, with the puzzles and traps and undead.

I'm now torn between going on with the Orc (Elder Scroll Orcs are pretty cool) or goig back with the Nord (they're now roughly at the same spot). Decisions, decisions.

By the way, any tips on character building? I went with Two-Handed and Heavy Armor because that's how I play just about every CRPG, at least the first time through; I create a big brute, dress him in the heaviest armor available and give him the biggest weapon I find. :D I Googled around for character builds but results were more or less all over the place. Are there any sites that do for Skyrim what Icy Veins does for WoW?


The thing about Elder Scrolls is the game snaps in half in at least a dozen ways. Figure out how YOU want to be incredibly awesome, and do that. I rather favor "bow and sneaking" since I think that's the easiest way to do it all, but, seriously, just about every skill tree has something ridiculously good in it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sacrosanct on November 24, 2014, 03:20:35 PM
Quote from: Doom;800622
The thing about Elder Scrolls is the game snaps in half in at least a dozen ways. Figure out how YOU want to be incredibly awesome, and do that. I rather favor "bow and sneaking" since I think that's the easiest way to do it all, but, seriously, just about every skill tree has something ridiculously good in it.


Once I had maxed out destruction (fireballs yay!) and conjuration (2e elementals at all times), the game was a cakewalk.   Not even close to a challenge, and I don't really recall ever getting hurt.

Probably the most common ways to become super powerful in Skyrim is to max your smithing and enchanting trees.  once you do that, your weapons and armor are so good nothing can touch you.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 24, 2014, 05:01:15 PM
Quote from: Doom;800622
The thing about Elder Scrolls is the game snaps in half in at least a dozen ways. Figure out how YOU want to be incredibly awesome, and do that. I rather favor "bow and sneaking" since I think that's the easiest way to do it all, but, seriously, just about every skill tree has something ridiculously good in it.

Bow & sneak would probably map nicely to my usual gravitation towards snipers with FPS games... nevertheless, I defaulted to my fantasy CRPG instincts.

Should I consider dual-wield One-Handed instead of Two-Handed?

Any reason I should be using Light Armor instead of Heavy Armor?

Or how about One-Handed and shield? How does a tankier Warrior plays out?

What about becoming a werewolf? Should I be working on this?

Quote from: Sacrosanct;800637
Once I had maxed out destruction (fireballs yay!) and conjuration (2e elementals at all times), the game was a cakewalk.   Not even close to a challenge, and I don't really recall ever getting hurt.

Summoners are right up there with brute skull-mashers on my CRPG PC preference list. I'll give it some thought when/if I go for a second playthrough.

Quote from: Sacrosanct;800637
Probably the most common ways to become super powerful in Skyrim is to max your smithing and enchanting trees.  once you do that, your weapons and armor are so good nothing can touch you.

What, a fantasy CRPG in which crafting is not shit? Mind=blown ;)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sacrosanct on November 24, 2014, 05:16:41 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;800648

Or how about One-Handed and shield? How does a tankier Warrior plays out?


My first PC was a nord sword and board.  Highest level PC too.  if you build up your aforementioned smithing skill, you'll be a bad ass.  Nothing like doubling the value of weapons and armor with max'd smithing.  And if you enchanted above that?  Crazy powerful.
Quote


What about becoming a werewolf? Should I be working on this?




It's cool looking, but I found that I was significantly weaker as a werewolf, and hardly used it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on November 24, 2014, 07:45:06 PM
Just started playing DOTA 2 with some friends of mine and being a noob in it. Luckily there are players who are even worse.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on November 26, 2014, 12:27:31 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;800648


Should I consider dual-wield One-Handed instead of Two-Handed?

Any reason I should be using Light Armor instead of Heavy Armor?

Or how about One-Handed and shield? How does a tankier Warrior plays out?

What about becoming a werewolf? Should I be working on this?

What, a fantasy CRPG in which crafting is not shit? Mind=blown ;)


You can lop heads well enough with one or two hands (and heads bouncing down stairs is awesome either way!). I never did the dual wielding thing, I found shields (when not using a bow) to give bonus resistances that were more important than the too-much damage.

That IS one issue in Skyrim. You're going to be facing dragons, and they fly. That makes melee a bit of a problem, so you're going to need a bow (you can use spells, but dragons are TOUGH to nail in flight, and your mana is kinda limited; you can have loads of arrows).

I really didn't like being a werewolf, or a vampire. Tried it, sucked, got the cures and moved on.

Crafting your own armor is freakin' awesome, once you get up to dual-enchanting things. Max resist all? Yeah, that's good.

But seriously, *every* skill can lead to pure awesomeness in Skyrim.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on November 28, 2014, 10:52:21 AM
I need a new gaming PC (desktop, not laptop) and I don't know what to buy because I'm shit at technology. I've always inherited my brother's hand-me-down tech, but can't do that this time.

I'm willing to spend $1200 - 1500, but I'm not good at assembling anything beyond the usual tower set up. I suppose I could get pay this guy I know $50 to handle any hiccups.

Anyone have advice/recommendations?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on November 28, 2014, 01:47:01 PM
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;801313
I need a new gaming PC (desktop, not laptop) and I don't know what to buy because I'm shit at technology. I've always inherited my brother's hand-me-down tech, but can't do that this time.

I'm willing to spend $1200 - 1500, but I'm not good at assembling anything beyond the usual tower set up. I suppose I could get pay this guy I know $50 to handle any hiccups.

Anyone have advice/recommendations?


Logical Increments (http://www.logicalincrements.com/) is the site for you, and that budget can get you something very nice indeed.

PC building really is easy - everything is coded and shaped to only go one way, and as long as you don't do anything openly stupid, like lick your RAM, it's hard to fuck up. Plenty of good guides online, and understanding how to do it will save you money in the long run, for your next system or anything you need to replace.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: FaerieGodfather on November 29, 2014, 05:57:36 AM
I broke my laptop recently, and a friend of mine set me up with a loaner-- that, happily, will play some of the games I have that I can't run on my hardware.

I'm playing through Guacamelee right now, and it's pretty fun.

Laptop can't quite handle SFIV and KOFXIII, so I'm having to wait until my money comes in to upgrade my gear. Planning on going balls-out on a laptop and desktop.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 29, 2014, 09:27:42 AM
This is pretty much what happens to me (http://img-9gag-ftw.9cache.com/photo/aKg89v6_460sv.mp4) when Steam goes on sale (sorry, don't know how to embed).

Just got Castle Crashers, looks fun.

Waiting to see if Divinity: Original Sin drops any further. If it doesn't I'll pick it up near the end of the sale.

Is anyone here playing Banner Saga? Is it as good as they say said?

And if anyone spotting other good deals, let me know!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alzrius on December 02, 2014, 03:55:04 PM
I'm having a fair amount of fun playing Smash Bros. for Wii U.

The customization options have left me a bit cold so far, but that's because I've never gotten into the whole "customize your fighter" aspect that's been all the rage in fighting games the last few years.

Of course, the online mode seems to be clogged with people who play the game far better than I do.

The trophies are a lot of fun though, as are several of the "mini-game" style fights. I'm still not familiar with "Smash Tour" enough to comment on that mode, however.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on December 03, 2014, 02:31:29 PM
Bought Divinity: Original Sin during the Steam sale and played about five minutes of it (created a Witch and a Fighter). I'm not sure whether it's the same-old-same-old fantasy stuff or the turn-based combat (haven't played a turn-based CRPG since NWN) or the interface that feels clunky but... meh. I'll give it another try, eventually.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on December 03, 2014, 04:25:30 PM
Well, my wife and I splurged on a Wii U for Christmas. It's presently in hiding, waiting for December 24th when we'll pull it out and wrap it.

Now, the question becomes, what games to get?  It comes with one of the Super Mario games, so we can't exactly escape that, but outside of Mario Kart 8 I'm open to suggestions.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alzrius on December 03, 2014, 04:28:03 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;802063
Well, my wife and I splurged on a Wii U for Christmas. It's presently in hiding, waiting for December 24th when we'll pull it out and wrap it.

Now, the question becomes, what games to get?  It comes with one of the Super Mario games, so we can't exactly escape that, but outside of Mario Kart 8 I'm open to suggestions.


Well, what sort of games are you interested in? I enjoy fighting/action games, so I've gotten Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, etc.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on December 03, 2014, 11:52:54 PM
Quote from: Alzrius;802064
Well, what sort of games are you interested in? I enjoy fighting/action games, so I've gotten Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, etc.


The one sort of game that I can't play is the first person shooter; it gets me motion sick.

I've thought about something like Smash Bros or Hyrule Warriors, and I'm open to even an adventure game too.  I do know the kids like the LEGO games (we get them for the PC usually), and we've had success with the Wii Sports Resort and other games oriented in that direction.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on December 04, 2014, 01:15:09 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;802043
Bought Divinity: Original Sin during the Steam sale and played about five minutes of it (created a Witch and a Fighter). I'm not sure whether it's the same-old-same-old fantasy stuff or the turn-based combat (haven't played a turn-based CRPG since NWN) or the interface that feels clunky but... meh. I'll give it another try, eventually.

There's a good and interesting game buried in here...it's turn based, and yeah, that interface is user-hostile. There's not much hand-holding here, so you might want to get an online guide to help you through some of the quests, at least until you get the hang of things.

There are many, many, trap options in character development...don't get too attached to the characters you have now, you'll probably re-roll after a few levels of frustration, going to a pair of characters that really works. The 'easy' henchmen to get are a 2h fighter and a wizard, fwiw.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on December 04, 2014, 05:58:21 AM
Quote from: Doom;802154
There's a good and interesting game buried in here...it's turn based, and yeah, that interface is user-hostile. There's not much hand-holding here, so you might want to get an online guide to help you through some of the quests, at least until you get the hang of things.

There are many, many, trap options in character development...don't get too attached to the characters you have now, you'll probably re-roll after a few levels of frustration, going to a pair of characters that really works. The 'easy' henchmen to get are a 2h fighter and a wizard, fwiw.

I'll certainly give it a try later, when Mrs. The Butcher gets onboard and we'll do a co-op run. I rolled a Witch and a sword-and-board Fighter.

Right now, our co-op slot is occupied by Borderlands 2 (wrapping up Assault On Dragon Keep DLC — awesome) and my single-player slot is taken by Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim (giants and dragons are kicking my sorry level 6 sword-and-board Orc ass. Wonder if a sorcerer would've been easier?).

Though I'm nowhere near finishing Skyrim, I'm uninstalling D:OS (we already have Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel and World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor queued for our co-op spot) to make room for any one of several interesting little thing I picked up during the Steam sale. I mean, Skyrim is tits, but I like the idea of having a more "casual" go-to CRPG (like The Witcher or Fallout: New Vegas) or FPS (like the Far Cry series pack, 1-3. Blood Dragon looks sweet).

I'm taking recommendations. :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on December 04, 2014, 05:54:29 PM
Well, if you're looking for quickie reviews of the games you mentioned, here goes:

Witcher: is a little dark, if Skyrim was too serious for you, you won't like Witcher.

Fallout: New Vegas :it has its charms, but I sure liked Skyrim more. Fallout is a much easier game to "beat", fwiw.

Far Cry: Very enjoyable FPS, not the raw fun of Borderlands, but it allows for more sneaking around and variety in gameplay. Well worth your time.

Blood Dragon: ????
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on December 06, 2014, 08:22:40 PM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;802063
Well, my wife and I splurged on a Wii U for Christmas. It's presently in hiding, waiting for December 24th when we'll pull it out and wrap it.

Now, the question becomes, what games to get?  It comes with one of the Super Mario games, so we can't exactly escape that, but outside of Mario Kart 8 I'm open to suggestions.


You won't regret it. The Wii U easily has the best library of the current gen (seriously it isn't even close). My comments:

Super Mario 3D world - a 3d mario game with the sensibilities of a 2d mario game. The most fun I've ever had with 3d mario.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - a really nice semi-difficult old school platformer

Zelda Wind Waker HD - a great remake of the best 3d Zelda game. If you like adventure type games it's worth it.

Mario Kart 8 - holy shit this is fun.

Smash Bros - holy holy holy shit.

NES remix - really fun for short bursts of gameplay.

Captain toad treasure tracker - a sort of "rotate the world" puzzle game. Awesome fun.



Plus do t forget the Wii U is 100% compatible with Wii games so if you missed out on that there's some great games in its 1,000+ Title library.

Also don't forget the eshop and indie games. Shovel Knight alone is worth a whole paycheck if you at all like 8-bit Platformers.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Spike on December 06, 2014, 08:47:41 PM
Well I WOULD be playing my insanely modded Skyrim, except: Insanely modded. Fucker is far too unstable. Also: I can't progress on my level 86 sniper-ninja, at least on the main quest, because the Inn in Riverrun (or whatever its called), where the Blades hang out, is seriously bugged out.  I had this problem with unmodded Skyrim on the Xbox 360, but it seems to only happen to me, as no one seems to talk about it online.

I did play abou 80% of the main story in Call of Duty:Advanced Warfare before I got caught up in other things. I'm not much for PvP gaming, which limits my enjoyment slightly. Also, I much preferred the Ghost Recon version for my ability to select my gear, and upgrade it.  But I think that game is gone now, along with all my 3E D&D books... I wuz robbed, I tells ya.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on December 08, 2014, 11:10:05 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;802830
You won't regret it. The Wii U easily has the best library of the current gen (seriously it isn't even close). My comments:

Super Mario 3D world - a 3d mario game with the sensibilities of a 2d mario game. The most fun I've ever had with 3d mario.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - a really nice semi-difficult old school platformer

Zelda Wind Waker HD - a great remake of the best 3d Zelda game. If you like adventure type games it's worth it.

Mario Kart 8 - holy shit this is fun.

Smash Bros - holy holy holy shit.

NES remix - really fun for short bursts of gameplay.

Captain toad treasure tracker - a sort of "rotate the world" puzzle game. Awesome fun.



Plus do t forget the Wii U is 100% compatible with Wii games so if you missed out on that there's some great games in its 1,000+ Title library.

Also don't forget the eshop and indie games. Shovel Knight alone is worth a whole paycheck if you at all like 8-bit Platformers.


The console came with Super Mario 3D World, so we're covered there.  I know I'm going to get Mario Kart 8, and I've thought off and on about the Zelda title and Hyrule Warriors.

How does Smash Bros play on the Wii-motes? I figured you'd want a regular handheld for that.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on December 09, 2014, 12:36:23 AM
Been playing Avernum: Escape from the Pit, great old school CRPG,  kinda gives me a Falloutish vibe in style though the roleplaying elements aren't as in depth. Nothing revolutionary but a really solid experience and a steal on Steam at 9.99.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on December 09, 2014, 04:39:32 AM
The oregon trail its good fun

it did freeze up on me at one point though which was annoying as i was almost to oregon
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on December 09, 2014, 05:38:23 AM
Quote from: Doom;802276
Witcher: is a little dark, if Skyrim was too serious for you, you won't like Witcher.


I actually installed it and you're right: all serious, dark and Bioware-y. I think I can enjoy it if only I can wrap my head around the point-and-click bliw-by-blow combat, which right now comes off as a bit clunky to me.

Quote from: Doom;802276
Blood Dragon: ????


Remember those crappy 1980s cyborg movies? They made a whole game patterned after those, using the Far Cry 3 engine. Link. (http://far-cry.ubi.com/fc3blooddragon/en-gb/home/index.aspx)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on December 09, 2014, 09:08:38 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;803472
Remember those crappy 1980s cyborg movies? They made a whole game patterned after those, using the Far Cry 3 engine. Link. (http://far-cry.ubi.com/fc3blooddragon/en-gb/home/index.aspx)


And it's one of the most fun games I've played in years.  Tongue in cheek without being a bad FPS.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on December 09, 2014, 10:10:36 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;803472
I think I can enjoy it if only I can wrap my head around the point-and-click blow-by-blow combat, which right now comes off as a bit clunky to me.
[/URL]


It's worse than clunky in so many ways. The worst part is when you instinctively try to backpedal during a sword fight, your character counter-intuitively turns his back to the enemy for extra damage.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on December 09, 2014, 09:35:40 PM
So, fuck The Witcher. At least for now. The world is intriguingly WFRPesque, and the storyline is charmingly corny (that redhead mage girl is so going into a refrigerator), but the combat... ugh. I might hit it later on when I don't have anything else to play.

Wife and I briefly considered replaying Borderlands 2 in True Vault Hunter mode, but we don't quite see the point of replaying the exact same game with the exact same character only everyone has more health and deals more damage... how is that "more difficult" if you've also leveled and collected loot? Diablo 3, I'm looking at you too.

We wanted to give World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor a serious try (didn't even leave the starting area with our good ol' level 90 characters) but Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel won out as we crave more FPS-meets-CRPG zaniness.

Haven't played Elder Scrolls: Skyrim in weeks. I kind of miss my Orc tank, last seen hanging like a ragdoll from a dragon's jaws. Wondering whether to spec 1H and shield, or 2H... I usually go 2H in just about every CRPG I play, but 1H and shield sounds fun, if I ever actually get parrying right.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on December 14, 2014, 02:30:11 PM
So aside from being engrossed in Super Smash Bros I picked up an Atari 2600 today and cleaned it up. I'll be plugging it in and testing it soon :)

Then it'll probably be lots of pax-man
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on December 14, 2014, 03:16:12 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;803603
Diablo 3, I'm looking at you too.


I'm stuck in a grind now, I need set pieces (Either Firebird or Tal Rasha, because I am a wizard and LASER BEAMS!!!) but the only source is random drops... and I haven't got all the recipes yet, so there's still a bunch of them in my drop table. It's very disappointing to do a rift, get three legendaries, and them all be recipes; I can't speed up the process because I can't play on higher Torments yet (I can just about play backup on T3), and I can't play higher Torments until I get the gear.

It's fun to play the game for it's own sake, but I'd like to get somewhere.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on December 14, 2014, 10:19:18 PM
Currently playing Gauntlet 2014. a remake of the old Arcade fantasy dungeon romp.
A good laugh for the price and what it is.


From tomorrow, when elite Dangerous is released, I'll be playing that. Assuming the Login servers don't crash and burn on day 1 that is!  :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on December 14, 2014, 10:20:49 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;804537
It's fun to play the game for it's own sake, but I'd like to get somewhere.


Like I said, I admit I don't really get the draw of replaying the exact same game with the exact same character. I mean, I like replays well enough, but I'd rather try a new character (I'm not even halfway through the Skyrim core quest line and I already know what I want my next character to be).

The difficulty bump, at least as featured in Diablo 3 and Borderlands 2, is meaningless because you've leveled up and geared up more or less in proportion to your enemies' increased menace.

I'd rather see the core campaign at a given level cap and each successive expansion or DLC increasing the cap and the loot, while at the same time introducing new areas, new quests, new plot elements. Kind of like NWN 1 and 2. Maybe exploring the mysteries of the core game, or the aftermath of the PCs' actions.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on December 16, 2014, 06:25:37 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;804591
The difficulty bump, at least as featured in Diablo 3 and Borderlands 2, is meaningless because you've leveled up and geared up more or less in proportion to your enemies' increased menace.


Oh, I do agree, in general; it's rare for me to replay games, or "farm". I just really like D3, is all.

I should review Reaper of Souls! Catch up with Kezzy the Demon Hunter. See what she's been doing.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on December 17, 2014, 10:12:07 AM
Playing Sword of the Stars: The Pit. Excellent little rogue-like. Unfortunately, rogue-likes always depressingly remind me of real life: You struggle minute by minute to reach a satisfying end, only to be  screwed by a random convergence of events and killed by a disease you blew off a few turns ago.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JongWK on December 26, 2014, 11:31:29 AM
I've clocked in nearly three thousand hours with Dota 2.





(I regret nothing (http://youtu.be/fFtGfyruroU))
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on December 27, 2014, 11:45:35 AM
We got the Christmas gift Wii U fired up and running, and then there was Super Mario World 3D....

I'm now firmly convinced that the devs who world built the Mario World were high.

Or living in Colorado and got the fumes from neighbors.


All that being said, the Wii U is a nice piece of equipment. The backwards compatibility with the original Wii is a huge selling point to me, and it means that the Wii games we have will take on new life. And apparently Lizard Squad thinks that those who play  Nintendo games aren't REAL gamers, because they didn't target the Nintendo network when they DDoS-ed the PS Network and XBox Live.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Future Villain Band on December 27, 2014, 12:02:50 PM
I'm playing Watch_Dogs right now, because my wife got it for me on sale.  I'm really enjoying playing what's either a modern day Eclipse Phase/Shadowrun Augmented Reality framework, or Person of Interest: The Video Game.  

I got GTA V, as well, but since most people have said V is superior to Watch_Dogs, I decided not to let it suffer in comparison and played it first.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on December 27, 2014, 03:27:10 PM
I'm currently trying to complete Super Metroid in under 3 hours with 100% pickups.
My recent attempt last night was 98% in 2:58 (http://youtu.be/AMTE8qnJ7h8).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on December 28, 2014, 03:10:16 AM
im playing super smash bros for wii u its fun but im a bit annoyed they dont have a subspace emissary type mode anymore

also either i have gotten much better or 100 man smash has gotten a lot easier

still all in all i would say the game is an improvement on the last one
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ralph The Dog on February 03, 2015, 10:55:15 PM
Civ 4
Wastelands 2
7 Days To Die

If I had to narrow it down to just one of the above, it would be Civ 4.  I can lose 4 to 5 hours without noticing the time passing.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on February 03, 2015, 11:20:55 PM
I've rejoined the PC master race!

I'll gladly accept suggestions for my new source of distraction.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imp on February 04, 2015, 04:24:28 AM
Endless Legend has taken up most of my computer gaming hours lately. It's a very good fantasy 4X game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on February 04, 2015, 04:31:09 AM
After finishing Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel on normal mode, we tried WoW again (not the new content; wife wants to ding 90 with her Orc Shaman before hitting Draenor), got bored, returned to Borderlands 2 (True Vault Hunter Mode with our old characters, Axton and Gaige) and now Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel (new Normal playthrough with the DLC characters, Jack and Aurelia, both a ton of fun).

Yeah, we're deep into a Borderlands kick.

Nevertheless, I picked up Torchlight 2 on a Steam sale and intend to try it later today. Here's hoping it plays like Diablo 3 with less monotonous art and dialogue.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on February 04, 2015, 05:00:56 AM
Shadow of Mordor has been THE GAME for me the last weeks. I found it a masterpiece.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on February 04, 2015, 05:55:12 AM
Civ IV is an oldie but goodie. (Relatively speaking on the "oldie" part, you know.) You can play it without needing to be online, and you don't even need the damn DVD-ROM inserted, either. And it'll simply suck up hours of your time.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on February 04, 2015, 06:28:11 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;814025
Nevertheless, I picked up Torchlight 2 on a Steam sale and intend to try it later today. Here's hoping it plays like Diablo 3 with less monotonous art and dialogue.


It's more like a remake of Diablo 2, in the same way Torchlight was like a remake of Diablo 1. There's more build variety, but like D2, nowhere near as much as it looks like there is.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on February 05, 2015, 01:18:15 PM
Playing Bravely Default.

Strong back-to-basics Final Fantasy entry with more control over the flow of battle. Nice characters, fun to watch them dealing with plot twists. Even more fun to watch them messing with the bad guys after one of the biggest plot twists gives the heroes the upper hand in these conversations for once.

Colors palette and costume design could have been better though.

Japanese VO with French subtitles is very good. Best French game translation I've seen in a while.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on February 05, 2015, 02:54:42 PM
Quote from: Ladybird;814031
It's more like a remake of Diablo 2, in the same way Torchlight was like a remake of Diablo 1. There's more build variety, but like D2, nowhere near as much as it looks like there is.


Not a bad thing at all! In this case, which class would be the Necromancer?

Even the cutesy, cartoonish look is kind of fun. My wife loves her papillon pet. :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on February 05, 2015, 03:55:44 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;814246
Not a bad thing at all! In this case, which class would be the Necromancer?

Even the cutesy, cartoonish look is kind of fun. My wife loves her papillon pet. :D

Everyone can get summons, but I like the Engineer, for the classic "wave of bodies" experience; buy all of the robots, and let them do most of the work (I do love spider mines...). Buy the Summon Skeleton / Zombie / Imp skills for both you and your pet. Take Ember Hammer for shieldbreaking, and Onslaught for getting into packs (The Engineer is tough, they can handle it), but only 1 point as you're not really attacking with these. Gear for toughness and pet damage, and put your attributes into Vitality for more survival.

Spam spider mines until everything is on fire, and also dead :D

---

Oh yeah! I'm playing Pokémon Omega Ruby on my New 3DS (The new model; the 3D actually works now, the screens are a little bigger, it's just all-round nicer to use), eg. reliving my childhood; while I had Pokémon Blue imported from the US, it was Ruby that I really enjoyed most.

Also, Saint's Row : Gat Out Of Hell, which is... fine. It's fine. I'm not upset about buying it. I'm not upset there are no missions and nothing seems to make much sense. It's Saint's Row, it's all about being fun. It's just fine. I don't think it's a disappointment.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doctor Jest on February 05, 2015, 06:40:46 PM
Quote from: Imp;814024
Endless Legend has taken up most of my computer gaming hours lately. It's a very good fantasy 4X game.


Seconded. I've been pretty well sucked in. I think they took some of the best ideas in Endless Space and ran with them to create a great game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on February 05, 2015, 10:29:24 PM
Quote from: Doctor Jest;814285
Seconded. I've been pretty well sucked in. I think they took some of the best ideas in Endless Space and ran with them to create a great game.


I took 4 swings at it, just couldn't find it fun...I loved Endless Space, but 'Legend feels like a sci-fi Civ game with fantasy stapled on. I kept waiting for the elves to bust out lightsabres.

Been trying Blackguards 2 lately, in between bouts of Skyrim (finally playing an orc, which IMO has the best race-based ability). Every time I play Skyrim, I have a concept, but always end up stealth/bow with everything else  just for fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alzrius on February 09, 2015, 02:46:05 PM
I just downloaded a copy of Super Mario 3D Land on my 3DS.

I was fortunate enough to receive it for free by spending my coins (that is, my points) at the Club Nintendo customer loyalty program. So far, it's a fun platformer that's a great way to pass some time.

I should mention that anyone else who's registered at Club Nintendo should spend their points while they still can. Nintendo is going to scrap the current program for a new one in the next few months, and existing points will not be carried over.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on February 21, 2015, 09:24:00 PM
Just finished Halo 1.

It holds up rather well all things considered. Certainly more engaging that most spunkgargleweewee these days.

I also picked up Wasteland 2 and it's awesome. It's every inch Fallout 2.

Unfortunatly it's long and involved which means I highly doubt I'll finish it. #dadgaming
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on February 22, 2015, 01:25:38 AM
monster hunter 3 ultimate
lord of Valkyrie
millennium war aigis
and im just about to start a run through of half life 2
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on February 22, 2015, 02:07:11 AM
you know i dont think i ever finished blue shift.

or was it opposing force i didn’t finish
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Endless Flight on February 22, 2015, 07:57:21 PM
I'm still playing Call of Duty: World at War on the PS3. When I can avoid the occasional hacker on the multiplayer, I have a blast playing. I've got over 62 days played and am closing in on 300,000 kills.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doctor Jest on February 25, 2015, 04:21:04 PM
Playing Crusader Kings II now, with the Way of Life and Old Gods expansions. Trying to become King of Norway leading some Norse Tribes, trying to centralize power, and trying hard to keep my growing empire from crumbling as vassals start getting uppity about wanting independence and not having their kinfolk imprisoned blah blah blah. Fun grand strategy/intrigue game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on February 25, 2015, 05:04:49 PM
Have I told you how fucking awesome Shados of Mordor is? Because it is indeed fucking awesome, like in oh-shit-I-need-to-run-a-Middle-Earth-game-right-now way.

Also, revisiting Max Payne and Max Payne 2. Graphics are ugly as fuck, and dated, but the story is still great and the action is fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: APN on March 02, 2015, 07:00:55 PM
Playing Chivalry: Medieval Warfare

on sale on Steam at the moment. Fun hack and slasher multiplayer with limbs flying in every direction and blood squirting all over the place. Maps are good though vary from great (Belmez, a castle siege with catapults, boiling oil etc) to boring (a couple of them where every step is a grind and you need to run some distance to get back to the battle whereas your opponents can mass up as they wait for you).

Also playing XCom but on Normal level, which feels like I'm cheating as it's too easy. Classic is too hard (or at least unfair). Succeed in every mission and still lose countries, plus enemies with autoflank and instacrit piss you off.

Fancy Crusader Kings II but it's nigh on impenetrable to newcomers. Also fall back on Knights of Honor and Anno games (1404 plus others) when I want to lose hours of my life.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: everloss on March 02, 2015, 08:43:27 PM
um...

I'm playing MegaMek using MekHQ. It's a java based Battletech simulator.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on March 02, 2015, 10:05:48 PM
Quote from: APN;818590
Playing Chivalry: Medieval Warfare

on sale on Steam at the moment. Fun hack and slasher multiplayer with limbs flying in every direction and blood squirting all over the place. Maps are good though vary from great (Belmez, a castle siege with catapults, boiling oil etc) to boring (a couple of them where every step is a grind and you need to run some distance to get back to the battle whereas your opponents can mass up as they wait for you).

Also playing XCom but on Normal level, which feels like I'm cheating as it's too easy. Classic is too hard (or at least unfair). Succeed in every mission and still lose countries, plus enemies with autoflank and instacrit piss you off.

Fancy Crusader Kings II but it's nigh on impenetrable to newcomers. Also fall back on Knights of Honor and Anno games (1404 plus others) when I want to lose hours of my life.


That's funny, I just started up an XCom game. I also picked regular (but IronMan), for the same reasons. One notch up on the difficulty, and you go from typical hits being 4 points to typical hits being 12 point criticals that blast pieces of your guys across the battlefield.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: APN on March 03, 2015, 05:09:49 AM
Not tried Impossible but after putting hours into (and being frustrated by) Classic I think it'd be an exercise in rage quitting/uninstalling, and I don't want that because I like the game. Also want to try 'Long War' mod and have Enemy Within to try out at some point which introduces mechs and others stuff I gather.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: APN on March 03, 2015, 05:15:36 AM
Quote from: everloss;818599
um...

I'm playing MegaMek using MekHQ. It's a java based Battletech simulator.


I used to own the boardgame, does this recreate it faithfully?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Patrick on March 03, 2015, 09:56:50 AM
APN, in my experience it is a darned good simulation of the Battletech board game.  My co-workers and I did lunchtime matches a few months ago and had a blast.  It covered all the bases, like melee attacks, death from above, etc as well as accounting for all the bookkeeping.  It's free, try it out!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on March 03, 2015, 12:21:24 PM
Playing old PC games from the bottom of my brother's desk drawer to save money.

Popped in Tiberian Sun,  surprised and delighted to find James Earl Jones embarrassing himself in some wonderfully cheezy 1999 era cinematics.

(http://i.imgur.com/ICxh1KH.jpg)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on March 03, 2015, 01:00:15 PM
After playing Max Payne and Max Payne 2, I'm starting Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing from Steam (it looks like a Gothic Diablo) and Last Door (lovecraftian point & click adventure) from GOG. We'll see.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Rincewind1 on March 03, 2015, 01:01:26 PM
Last Door is the first adventure game I felt that truly captured Gothic horror's spirit.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ladybird on March 03, 2015, 06:21:54 PM
Van Helsing is nice. Not wonderful, it's low-budget and it shows, but it's certainly worth a playthrough if you like Diablo-likes.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on March 03, 2015, 08:34:36 PM
Quote from: Patrick;818695
APN, in my experience it is a darned good simulation of the Battletech board game.  My co-workers and I did lunchtime matches a few months ago and had a blast.  It covered all the bases, like melee attacks, death from above, etc as well as accounting for all the bookkeeping.  It's free, try it out!


Titans of Steel is my go-to big robot fighting game. It's also Battletech-with-the-serial-numbers filed off, but it has darn near everything: mechs you can design from the ground up, pilots that go up levels and develop (along with "races" like clone, cyborg, android), engines that go nova, sometimes triggering more novas. Battles can take place on Earthlike planets, as well a frigid, lava, and "acid" planets...really, just too much there.

And, it's free too.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on March 03, 2015, 08:37:41 PM
Quote from: APN;818658
Not tried Impossible but after putting hours into (and being frustrated by) Classic I think it'd be an exercise in rage quitting/uninstalling, and I don't want that because I like the game. Also want to try 'Long War' mod and have Enemy Within to try out at some point which introduces mechs and others stuff I gather.


Oh yeah, you gotta do Enemy Within, it's a must-have expansion. You don't exactly have mechs, just big guys in cyber-suits (and you really can't have more than 2 in the group, with 1 being more feasible by far), and you also get genetic mods and some other stuff.

"Long War" isn't satisfying, the pacing just isn't that good.

Iron Man is totally the way to go.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: everloss on March 03, 2015, 09:54:29 PM
Quote from: APN;818659
I used to own the boardgame, does this recreate it
faithfully?


It's pretty much exactly like the original game, with the benefit of games being about 400x faster to play because line of sight, range, and modifiers all being computed for you. You can use mechs, vehicles (including VTOLs), infantry, off board artillery, etc. You can easily customize it for different tech levels and eras of play. Aerospace fighters are included, but I've never used them, so I'm not sure how they work.

You can play against a decent bot controlled player, or against other people on various servers. Maps range from original maps from the tabletop game to ones you create yourself. Units include every canon unit from the tabletop (ie: hundreds of different units), non-canon units, and all can be customized using the Battletech build rules.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on March 03, 2015, 11:28:51 PM
I recently reinstalled Freelancer and modded it to fit widescreen.
I've completed this game a few times and modded it in various ways.
sometimes I set up a Multiplayer server and play around with mods with friends.
This time, I've set up a Vanilla server and Playing multiplayer with my son.
I also put some HD textures packs in so it looks pretty good and has agesd quite well really.

Freelancer is certainly more fun than Elite Dangerous which I try out every patch or so, but so far it's really boring.

I also play Minecraft with my daughter on a local multiplayer server.
All good fun, you can't go wrong with Minecraft.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Novastar on March 04, 2015, 09:36:50 PM
Late to the party, but GOG.com is having an "Insomnia Sale", with titles selling from 60%-90% off. Grabbed both Witcher and Witcher 2 for $3 each.

They only have so many to sell of each title (generally 100 or 300), then it flips to a new title, so you gotta camp to see what's coming up next...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on March 07, 2015, 08:30:09 PM
Quote from: Novastar;818877
Late to the party, but GOG.com is having an "Insomnia Sale", with titles selling from 60%-90% off. Grabbed both Witcher and Witcher 2 for $3 each.

They only have so many to sell of each title (generally 100 or 300), then it flips to a new title, so you gotta camp to see what's coming up next...


The Witcher is on steamsale as well. Looks like fun. It has an interesting morally grey choices and consequences system. Much better than the black and white choices you get in Bioware games, which I also enjoy.

Playing a lot of Dota 2 lately and I played Endless Space a 4X game. Also played Darkest Dungeon.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on March 08, 2015, 01:25:16 AM
im playing liberal crime squad but i dont understand american politics at all so i have no fucking idea whats liberal and whats conservative
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on March 09, 2015, 07:04:54 PM
Been playing Ultima Underworld and Majesty here lately. Ultima Underworld holds up surprisingly well.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on March 09, 2015, 08:54:56 PM
Been having a blast with Mario Kart 8, and wishing that the DLCs will just keep on coming...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on March 09, 2015, 10:31:17 PM
Quote from: tuypo1;819283
im playing liberal crime squad but i dont understand american politics at all so i have no fucking idea whats liberal and whats conservative


i have come to the conclusion that both partys are batshit insane
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Future Villain Band on March 10, 2015, 10:49:39 AM
Still playing Destiny, but the lack of new content until House of Wolves has me pondering either getting into GTA V in time for Heists or Helldivers.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on March 12, 2015, 07:45:12 AM
I'm still hooked on Avalon (@ http://www.avalon-rpg.com).

Recently the spate of developments has continued into their God system which allows the god characters to fight among themselves over control of the land's constituent parts.

The PVP is permanently being rebalanced out as  new abilities and skills are added and the environment has never been so exciting.

Anyone looking for a real challenge should give it a go.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on March 14, 2015, 06:31:29 AM
im playing through all the old sex kitten games for inspiration for the new one yom was stupid enough to set a deadline and we want to get it finished in time so now the dev team has to scramble around for scene ideas
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on March 14, 2015, 10:18:48 PM
monster hunter 3u i recently felled the brachideos
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gabriel2 on March 16, 2015, 02:20:41 PM
I've been on a bit of a Civilization Revolution kick the past month or so.  During that same period I've also been giving Metal Slug X a good amount of play.

Other than that, for the past several months I've been unwinding with Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F 2nd a lot after work.  I've been consistently playing that one at least a little each week ever since it was released.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on March 16, 2015, 10:08:33 PM
FWIW, GOG is having a major Civ sale...I couldn't help but pick up Civ IV and all the expansions for like $8. Only need one game of that to feel like I got my money's worth.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Novastar on March 17, 2015, 08:52:38 PM
It's virtually impossible for me to have "one" game of Civ going... :o
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: aryianna on March 18, 2015, 06:28:29 PM
I'm with ElSalvador... next month marks 19 years for me playing Avalon: The Legend Lives ( http://www.avalon-rpg.com )

There is just so much to do whether you want PVP, climbing the ranks in your guild or city, making yourself the richest person in the realm through your profession skills or commodity collecting or any of the other various ways you can play your character. You literally design the life you want for them

When I first started playing it was pay to play but recently it has gone free with sponsorship through your guild or city.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on March 18, 2015, 06:49:53 PM
I got "windward" last night.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/326410/

An indie game (Only 117mb install too).
It's a sailing ship game where you trade, do missions, kill pirates, build towns etc.

It's in alpha atm, but it's very playable and a very relaxing game to play, what with the sailing about and ambient music.

The combat is pretty fun, trying to broadside pirate ships etc.

also it's sort of sandbox play and the gameworld you create is procedurally generated.

It's only $15, so worth that price.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on March 18, 2015, 09:06:14 PM
Quote from: danskmacabre;820894
I got "windward" last night.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/326410/

An indie game (Only 117mb install too).
It's a sailing ship game where you trade, do missions, kill pirates, build towns etc.

It's in alpha atm, but it's very playable and a very relaxing game to play, what with the sailing about and ambient music.

The combat is pretty fun, trying to broadside pirate ships etc.

also it's sort of sandbox play and the gameworld you create is procedurally generated.

It's only $15, so worth that price.


oh i might look at that i have a shit bandwith allowence so small file sizes are always good
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on March 18, 2015, 10:46:35 PM
Quote from: tuypo1;820909
oh i might look at that i have a shit bandwith allowence so small file sizes are always good

It's a great fun little game. Defo worth a purchase.
I'm going to set up a Windward multiplayer server on a Raspberry pi (version 2)  soon. The developer says the rasp Pi will easily support running a Windward server.

I'll be leaving it on 24 hours a day and it'll be listed on the Windward public servers.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on March 19, 2015, 07:45:47 AM
I set up a windward server on a raspberry pi 2.
It's on the public server list in game now.
It's called "RasPirates"

If anyone is gonna play it, please try out the server and let me know how it goes.
As it's in Australia, it might be laggy for those far away.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on March 19, 2015, 07:11:30 PM
australia suits me just fine
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on March 19, 2015, 08:43:51 PM
Quote from: tuypo1;821050
australia suits me just fine


Cool, well let me know how it goes if you try it out.

I know it works now, as I was chatting to someone on the steam forums about it and he connected nps.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on March 19, 2015, 10:30:06 PM
i probably wont get to it for a while but i will be sure to check it out sometime soon
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on March 30, 2015, 11:42:30 PM
I recently pick up a PS3 and have played a couple games so far:

Uncharted is awesome, I'm having a tremendious amount of fun. It has the perfect amount of story (cut scenes are brief, important and widely spaced) and the gun play and platforming are cool. My only issue is that the jumping and puzzles are pretty easy.

Killzone 2 is also pretty fun but altogether average. I also have killzone 3, we'll see if it improves.

I'm also replaying Wind Waker. Which is just so damn happy I can't help but love it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doctor Jest on April 01, 2015, 11:48:10 AM
I tried Payday 2 on a whim and got sucked in. I like I can just dial it up for 20 minutes to pull a job and move on. I mostly run solo because most PD2 players are batshit crazy achievement obsessives and I just like shootin' stuff, but trying to persuade some friend to try it out.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: MrHurst on April 01, 2015, 12:50:46 PM
Quote from: Piestrio;822972
I recently pick up a PS3 and have played a couple games so far


Just because I have to suggest this at every opportunity, if you like brawlers but haven't found a good one in ages, check out the demo for Yakuza 3. The game is a bit heavy on cut scenes, but it's one of the best movies I've ever played.

I'm currently lost at trying to accomplish a damn thing in mount and blade, still having fun though.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on April 02, 2015, 04:54:57 PM
I've been back into Skyrim recently; craving news of TES VI and getting nostalgic about stealth archery (hated as it may be).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on April 03, 2015, 01:10:44 AM
Stealth Archery is hated? It always seems like "the only" way to play. Yeah, I know there are many options, but it seems every character starts out as "I'll try a different option".

Then I meet a dragon. Melee isn't an option against a flyer, unless you like standing around alot. Magic isn't an option either--you just don't have the mana to chuck endless spells, and there's not much you can summon that will be particularly relevant against a dragon.

And so I whip out my bow...

Same thing happens with stealth: you kinda need it in so many places, that you may as well develop it. Hmm, you must have stealth, you must have a bow, wonder if there's a way to combine those tactics somehow...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on April 03, 2015, 01:16:10 AM
Quote from: MrHurst;823279


I'm currently lost at trying to accomplish a damn thing in mount and blade, still having fun though.


Mount and Blade is a bit of a puzzle as RPGs go...just about nothing is spelled out for you as far as what you're "supposed" to do. I'd suggest looking for a strategy guide or walkthrough online somewhere, because its very easy to just wander around bashing heads (it's much fun, I admit) and miss alot of what's going on in the game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on April 03, 2015, 12:49:55 PM
Quote from: Doom;823652
Then I meet a dragon. Melee isn't an option against a flyer, unless you like standing around alot. Magic isn't an option either--you just don't have the mana to chuck endless spells, and there's not much you can summon that will be particularly relevant against a dragon.


Amen, brother. Went off to face a dragon with my heavy armor, two-handed melee Orc and got properly roasted.

So I went off to get leveled before tackling the beast head-on. Ran into some giants (all of this west of Whiterun), wham, got beatsn to a bloody orcish pulp.

Now I'm off murderhoboing my way through some side quests and generally enjoying the sandbox. Maybe I should really visit these dragon voice monks some day...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on April 03, 2015, 04:12:43 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;823781
Amen, brother. Went off to face a dragon with my heavy armor, two-handed melee Orc and got properly roasted.

So I went off to get leveled before tackling the beast head-on. Ran into some giants (all of this west of Whiterun), wham, got beatsn to a bloody orcish pulp.

Now I'm off murderhoboing my way through some side quests and generally enjoying the sandbox. Maybe I should really visit these dragon voice monks some day...


Orc is suprisingly fun in Skyrim, be sure to visit all the strongholds, which  are basically "orc only" (I think the heavy armor trainer is only available to orcs, too).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on April 11, 2015, 02:08:11 PM
I've  never felt like rolling an orc even though the strongholds look interesting enough. I keep thinking I'm done with skyrim after tons of rerolls then something triggers my interest enough to make (yet) another character.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: thedungeondelver on April 11, 2015, 07:47:48 PM
GTA-V for PC releases next week.  Talk about murder-hobo.

Welp, goodbye summer!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on April 12, 2015, 10:25:36 PM
Finally got around to playing Warioland II and III as downloads on my 2DS, and I'm reveling in the cleverness of its design. These are platforming games where the main character is unkillable, but he doesn't get power ups either; instead, when enemies hit him, he takes "cartoon" damage like getting pounded flat or comically set on fire... but in these forms he can actually solve certain puzzles by taking advantage of his altered state. For instance, flattened Wario drifts long distances like paper, and burning Wario is much faster and deadlier. So your debuffs are also your upgrades.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on April 13, 2015, 06:31:49 AM
tales of maj,eyal

anybody that says its just the newest version of tales of middle earth is a dam dirty liar

good fun though
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on April 13, 2015, 06:36:57 AM
Quote from: thedungeondelver;825357
GTA-V for PC releases next week.  Talk about murder-hobo.

Welp, goodbye summer!


wow gta sure has changed since san andreas i remember a good part of the game was about protecting your home
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on April 13, 2015, 11:50:59 AM
Ah, GTA V, is it really 18 months since it was first released? I'll never forget the first encounter with Trevor; brilliantly written character.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Momotaro on April 13, 2015, 04:20:54 PM
Quote from: MrHurst;823279
I'm currently lost at trying to accomplish a damn thing in mount and blade, still having fun though.


Starting from the beginning...

1) First thing you need is to recruit some followers from villages - you will be fighting and you won't be winning alone.  Take local village quests to earn cash too.  Some of them are mega-tedious - herding cows is NOT fun.

2) Practice different fighting styles - my preferred style is mounted lance.  It's not too hard, being mounted and wheeling around the edge of battles picking off stragglers or archers keeps you out of tight corners, and a charge lets you one-shot someone.

3) As you go up levels, look at what the skills do - if you want a big army, you'll need several levels of Leadership, for example.

4) As they survive encounters, your local lads follow a development tree that is different for each nation, so you have some choice as to the composition of your army.  For morale, keep them fed, rich and winning!

5) Fighting bandits is a good way to start off - especially Sea Raiders with a few levels under your belt.  They are tough, but drop some good weapons and armour (expensive stuff that would take a long time save up for otherwise).  You can help faction nobles against them to gain a better reputation.

6) Chat to people in taverns and castles - you'll find quests, mercenaries and NPC characters to recruit.

7) With some sold loot under your belt, try your hand at trading.  Compete in a tournament, or the arena.

8) You can tussle with nobles from different factions as an independent, but a lot of the game unlocks when you serve or pledge loyalty to a nation.  Serving lets you fight in big battles and sieges: lots of loot!  Tinker with formations and orders in battle.

9) Pledge allegiance to a faction leader and you will be given a village.  You may also be awarded a keep or even city if you perform well in the siege attack that takes it.  That opens the building-improvement game up to you.

10) Look at tinkering with settings - you can change the number of enemies that come in waves in battle and the strength of their attacks on you, so you may wish to allow more onto the field... or all of them at once...

11) Consider wooing a wife... just to see what happens in-game.  Sometimes it's fun to be the hero of a faction, but hated by her father and brother because you eloped with her.  She has quests for you too!

12) If you're playing Warband, kingship may await...

It's a sandbox game - just have fun doing what you want.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: MrHurst on April 14, 2015, 10:45:39 AM
Quote from: Momotaro;825723
Starting from the beginning...

1) First thing you need is to recruit some followers from villages - you will be fighting and you won't be winning alone.


This was one of the first things I learned, so I decided not to do it on one character and it was rather glorious. Bought myself a long hafted mace and went to town on groups of minor enemies. Soloed somewhere north of 20 looters once, another incident of 14 forest bandits and nearly soiled myself when I ran into 10 swadian men at arms deserters. Still beat them though. Great for renown, hard as hell even when using cheap tactics, but the 100% capture rate can prove how valuable even a looter is. Well, 25 of them at any rate.

I wouldn't recommend it for the faint of heart or anyone actually expecting it to work in the long term, but it was fun. I was level 8 or so and in full chain before I gave up on it. If you try it, you will level like a mad man.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on April 14, 2015, 11:58:16 AM
I hadn't heard of this game but it sounds pretty cool. Definitely going to give it a try.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Momotaro on April 15, 2015, 04:04:16 AM
Quote from: MrHurst;825810
This was one of the first things I learned, so I decided not to do it on one character and it was rather glorious. Bought myself a long hafted mace and went to town on groups of minor enemies. Soloed somewhere north of 20 looters once, another incident of 14 forest bandits and nearly soiled myself when I ran into 10 swadian men at arms deserters. Still beat them though. Great for renown, hard as hell even when using cheap tactics, but the 100% capture rate can prove how valuable even a looter is. Well, 25 of them at any rate.


Impressed :eek:

Quote from: Elsalvador;825823
I hadn't heard of this game but it sounds pretty cool. Definitely going to give it a try.


It's a great game but very much a sandbox.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on April 15, 2015, 02:59:08 PM
Quote from: Momotaro;825925
Impressed :eek:



It's a great game but very much a sandbox.


Sandbox is not a bad thing! I've tended to play Skyrim like a sandbox in the past.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on April 16, 2015, 05:41:43 AM
im on a corridor shooter kick right now half life cod stuff like that

i dont have many corridor shooters
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on April 16, 2015, 12:02:32 PM
Quote from: tuypo1;826102
im on a corridor shooter kick right now half life cod stuff like that

i dont have many corridor shooters



I lol'd and then realised it was your signature I was lol'ing at.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on April 21, 2015, 12:50:08 PM
I've just gotten into Dominions 4 and I'm really liking it so far. I'm doing a PBEM game with a friend that works night shift at a hospital. It's a pretty steep learning...cliff, but also one of the best 4x games I've played in a long time.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on April 22, 2015, 01:19:45 AM
counter strike lots and lots of counter strike
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Danger on April 22, 2015, 12:43:35 PM
Playing mostly War Thunder and World of Warships and adding Dino D-Day flavored sprinkles on top of all of that.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on April 23, 2015, 10:07:27 AM
My hands are being destroyed by Kid Icarus: Uprising. Seriously, the controls are actually painful, I can't finish more than one level a session. It's too bad, I like a lot of what the game is trying to do and I want to give the Kid Icarus franchise some love. :(
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on April 23, 2015, 01:35:14 PM
Decided to go back to Dead Island, since the GoTY edition was on sale cheap. I'm not sure GotY really added much, but still a pretty fun game.

I'm also playing Colonization far too addictively. Please. Just. One. More. Tuurrrrrrrrrrrrrn.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on April 23, 2015, 02:06:54 PM
Someone linked me to the interactive Skyrim map on UESP so I am - of course - suckered right back into planning where I'm going to take my next ArcherNecromancer hybrid...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crazyfunster on April 25, 2015, 02:41:57 PM
Making my way through Bloodborne right now; if Demon's Souls was quasi-D&D, Bloodborne is Mordheim or WFRP.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on April 25, 2015, 08:59:02 PM
Just defeated the Claptastic Voyage DLC for Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel and found it pretty good. Tons of self-deprecating Claptrap jokes and a pretty challenging boss (Eclipse, I mean. Eos is just a big ol' pile of HP that hits like a brick but it's easy to take cover from. Eclipse is fucking terrifying, at least in TVHM).

My Skyrim playthrough is still going slow but strong. Found the second Dragon Shout but can't for the life of me find a dragon to slay and soul-steal and unlock some sweet fire-breathing action. Still, doing sidequests and just murderhoboing around is fun. I'm in no rush. Right now I'm getting my ass kicked by the Orphan Rock hag.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on April 26, 2015, 02:04:34 AM
Are you actively seeking dragons to fight? Surprised if you haven't even had a random encounter yet...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Starglyte on April 26, 2015, 07:51:50 PM
Playing Assassin's Creed IV and Sid Meier's Pirates.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on April 27, 2015, 08:30:18 AM
Having been "busy" with the Borderlands series and now Skyrim in the past few months, my wife and I logged into World of Warcraft for the first time in a while, yesterday.

I have a level 90 Undead Warlock in the Warlords of Draenor starting area; started it with the wife (and her level 90 Undead Hunter) but we ended up abandoning it in favor of Borderlands 2. Besides, she isn't terribly interested into playing a Hunter anymore, while I definitely think of the Warlock as "my main."

I have a level 88 Orc Warrior lost somewhere in Pandaria along with her level 88 Orc Shaman. Here the situation is reversed as she loves her Shaman and I'm lukewarm on the Warrior (tanking PUGs as a Warrior didn't work for me, I swear I had a better time as a Guardian Druid). She wants to level her Shaman and I keep up with her as I drag my feet through the least interesting expansion with a character I'm not crazy about. Ah well.

We have yet to use our "start a character at level 90" tokens and we're debating which classes to play. Probably using them over at another server where a friend is in a casual-friendly guild.

Last, but not least, I visited a couple of low-level characters from my "altitis" period on another server; a Draenei Paladin and a Human Mage. I took them out for a spin but couldn't for the life of me remember their rotations, their professions, anything. I deleted one and I'm inclined to delete the other.

The truth of the matter is that the most enjoyable element of WoW, to me, has always been exploring the world in its expansive glory, basking in the gonzo worldbuilding and the ham-handed overarching plot. It's been with me for a while (a short time in 2007, and now since 2010) and for a couple of years it was my go-to PC game.

The endgame, PvP or PvE, never held much fascination for me. Leveling up characters, clearing lowbie quest chains and the odd dungeon (hoping for a good PUG — these seem easier to find at lower levels), racking up exploration achievements, this was what I enjoyed best.

I'll probably assist the missus in leveling up her Shaman, and then we'll play the Draenor content (looking forward to the garrison endgame, for the resonance with the classic D&D stronghold minigame so near and dear to my heart). And in the meantime I just might level an alt. You know. For old times' sake.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on April 27, 2015, 08:44:47 AM
Quote from: Elsalvador;828217
Are you actively seeking dragons to fight? Surprised if you haven't even had a random encounter yet...


My Skyrim playthrough — my whole PC/videogame habit really — is piecemeal. I haven't really done a lot since unlocking the shout, other than going to Orphan Rock and getting repeatedly roasted by the hag. :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on April 27, 2015, 07:36:00 PM
I'm defo going to get back into Skyrim again soon. I loved playing that. I still have a decent character save to pick up on.

What with the mods being charged for now on Steam, I suppose I won't be using mods anymore.
I'm not that bothered, I didn't use much in the way of mods anyway.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Novastar on May 02, 2015, 04:21:19 PM
I have like 90 mods for Skyrim, but the majority are cosmetic (hair, costume, armor) mods. Not sure how much I'm going to be affected by the recent hoopla...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on May 02, 2015, 06:12:03 PM
I never used a mod for anything, ever, and wouldn't even know where to start.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on May 02, 2015, 07:21:05 PM
Just finished Uncharted and I'm completely blown away.

A few years back I picked up Tomb Raider (the new one) and put it down after a bit.

Uncharted was everything I wanted that to be. No faffing about with collection, crafting, and endlessly wandering around in an "open world".

Just a clear, exciting and engaging game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on May 02, 2015, 07:46:26 PM
Quote from: crazyfunster;828156
Making my way through Bloodborne right now; if Demon's Souls was quasi-D&D, Bloodborne is Mordheim or WFRP.

Those Souls games are crazy! Never played them, but they look A. Really hardcore B. But also fair if you know what to do C. And punishing if you don't stick to your own rules. You really have to play systematic or else the game will fuck you in the @$$. And the lore is really well done, all spread out over different item descriptions, dialogues and cutscenes, vague but interesting.

I like how the designers make certain choices not to stick to conventions, but to enforce certain emotions to the player. For example the unorthodox music choice for the final boss in Dark Souls. Sad music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB6sOhQan9Y) for a man who is a shell of what he once was. Or to make the final boss in Demon Souls the easiest of them all, just to make you feel sorry for the pathetic creature. Good stuff!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crazyfunster on May 03, 2015, 02:33:06 PM
Quote from: jan paparazzi;829366
Those Souls games are crazy! Never played them, but they look A. Really hardcore B. But also fair if you know what to do C. And punishing if you don't stick to your own rules. You really have to play systematic or else the game will fuck you in the @$$. And the lore is really well done, all spread out over different item descriptions, dialogues and cutscenes, vague but interesting.

I like how the designers make certain choices not to stick to conventions, but to enforce certain emotions to the player. For example the unorthodox music choice for the final boss in Dark Souls. Sad music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB6sOhQan9Y) for a man who is a shell of what he once was. Or to make the final boss in Demon Souls the easiest of them all, just to make you feel sorry for the pathetic creature. Good stuff!


Demons and Dark Souls in particular felt like some of the closest experiences in video games to a particularly satisfying dungeon crawl.

Specifically, the focus on survival and forbearance in action. You cant take stupid risks without suffering for it.

Another recent title which gets that feeling across is Darkest Dungeons.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on May 04, 2015, 12:13:55 AM
Quote from: crazyfunster;829441
Demons and Dark Souls in particular felt like some of the closest experiences in video games to a particularly satisfying dungeon crawl.

Specifically, the focus on survival and forbearance in action. You cant take stupid risks without suffering for it.

Another recent title which gets that feeling across is Darkest Dungeons.


Or X-COM.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on May 04, 2015, 06:43:07 PM
I think the next game will have very little overlap on this forum here. Generally people who like rpg's/ccg's/boardgames are people who are into fantasy, scifi, horror etc. Weird stuff. :D

I like that too, but I have to admit there is one game that is highly addicting and I love playing it. It's Football Manager. There, I said it. Gotta love the spreadsheets. It's spreadsheet heaven. And shouting to your screen when your best player gets a red card in the Champion's League final. WHYYYYY????!!! Oh no a penalty! And then cheering out loud when the player misses the penalty. Oh my, it's the only game that does that to me. :o
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on May 05, 2015, 07:17:09 AM
I liked Dark Souls too though it makes my eyes rolls whenever someone in Reddit asks for a game and there are 900 responses saying Dark Souls regardless of the topic or genre requested by the original poster!

I...just started playing Skies of Arcadia: Legends on Gamecube for the first time in 10 years.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Opaopajr on May 08, 2015, 07:27:04 AM
I love Skies of Arcadia. Only played the Dreamcast one. Lent it to a friend, he moved around a bit in his mid twenties and lost it. I haz a sad, still.

Pretty easy to beat, but most JRPGs are. Great world atmosphere, though. And clever use of the rumble pak feature.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on May 11, 2015, 08:54:20 AM
Never played the Dreamcast version but the Gamecube version was pretty challenging, although I guess I was pretty inept at it at the same time. I remember bidding on the strategy guide for it on ebay (it's one of the rarest strategy guides in the world) for some outrageous fee when I was 17.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on May 11, 2015, 09:01:05 AM
Saw the latest trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles X, and I'm even more interested than before.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gabriel2 on May 11, 2015, 09:14:15 AM
I picked up a Vita, and then my old eyes got irritated at looking at the portable screen.  So, I got a PS TV, and am playing Hyperdevotion Noire mixed in with a bit of TxK.

I'm pretty happy with my PS TV.  I'm probably more excited about it than I have been about any new console I've purchased since my original PS1 so many years ago.

Of course, the games I'm excited about are almost all PSP games, and they're ones I already own on UMD.  But I've wanted to play them fullscreen on my TV with a PS3 controller for so long that I don't mind buying them over again as download titles.

I just wish Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles was PS TV compatible and that R-Type Command was offered as a download title for the system.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on May 11, 2015, 06:21:11 PM
Still playing Windward (http://store.steampowered.com/app/326410/)

It's coming out of early access today, so that will be interesting.
I can see the servers are getting busier already.

I still really enjoy playing this game. At this stage at higher level, multiplayer is the most fun part of the game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tuypo1 on May 12, 2015, 09:34:47 PM
half life 2 still holds up everything that is wrong with it was wrong with it from release
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on May 19, 2015, 10:19:23 AM
I've been playing Neptune's Pride 2: Triton recently. It's a browser based space 4x that plays most like Diplomacy. You can create a free account and be in up to 2 games at a time or you can pay $48 and get a lifetime membership and get more customization (which is supposed to include being sent an open source version of the game should the servers fold).

It's set to take place over the course of weeks and can be played real time (-ish) or turn based. I'm liking it a lot.

Here's the site (http://triton.ironhelmet.com/).

And here's a few reviews if you want to know more:

Rock, Paper, Shotgun 'review' (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/11/12/fall-out-neptunes-pride-2-updates-with-new-ways-to-play/#more-176061)

A VFS Review (http://community.vfs.com/arcade/2013/12/how-triton-neptunes-pride-2-ruined-my-life/)

And a short Pocket Tactics review (http://www.pockettactics.com/news/ios-news/pace-aliens-neptunes-pride-sequel-works-beautifully-on-mobile-browsers/) with the NP2 Tutorial Video embedded at the bottom.

My opinion: This is a fantastic game, and I imagine I'll spring for the lifetime membership as soon as my wife stops spending all my money. :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on May 19, 2015, 02:06:52 PM
Those reviews were pretty good. I'm adding this to my list of games to play. (That doesn't mean very much given my unparalleled ability to procrastinate but hey: intentions are good!)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Starglyte on May 19, 2015, 05:46:53 PM
Just picked up Assassin's Creed Unity, because it was half off.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: John Quixote on May 19, 2015, 06:27:45 PM
I recently added a Philips CD-i and an Atari STe to my console/computer collection, essentially completing it.  Around the same time, since I was running out of actual hardware to search for, I started looking into multi-carts for the 1st-wave game consoles, which is the 1976 to about 1980 period: the Fairchild Channel F, Bally Astrocade, Atari 2600, Magnavox Odyssey 2, and (borderline between the 1st wave and 2nd wave periods) Mattel Intellivision.

I obtained multi-carts for the Channel F and the Astrocade, so I've mostly been rocking some simple space-shooters on those systems.  (The Channel F also has a very sweet homebrew Pac-Man port.)  I've got an Odyssey 2 multi-cart on the way, and that system has a very enjoyable Pac-Man clone on it called "KC Munchkin"; I can't wait for that to arrive in the mail.

Once it comes, then I'll look into getting flash-carts for the Atari and Inty (those two systems actually have game libraries big enough, and homebrew scenes active enough, to warrant flash-media cartridges instead of just throwing the whole library of two or three dozen games on a multi-cart).

That said, I also recently acquired a Neo Geo X and jailbroke it, which makes an otherwise crappy handheld capable of emulating the entire library of Neo Geo games, the Sega Genesis and the Sega Master System very well; and to emulate NES, SNES, Gameboy/Color/Advance, and Atari 2600 rather spottily, with the quality ranging from crappy to passable.  So the thing basically operates as a handheld Neo Geo and Sega Genesis device, which is utterly delightful.  Having recently taken it on a road-trip, I managed to get in a lot of Mortal Kombat I, II, and 3, played plenty of every Metal Slug, and started re-playing Final Fantasy IV again.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JongWK on May 20, 2015, 03:49:35 PM
Played a bit of Witcher 3 this week. Looking forward for more quality time with it after an exam tomorrow.

Holy crap, this is game is beautiful.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on May 21, 2015, 04:06:48 PM
Playing the hell out of some Warthunder. Sadly I invested in a Joystick only to find out that mouse aiming seems to be superior.

I'm also getting back into Dwarf Fortress, there is a lot to take in since the new release.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JRT on May 22, 2015, 09:59:12 AM
Quote from: JongWK;832538
Played a bit of Witcher 3 this week. Looking forward for more quality time with it after an exam tomorrow.

Holy crap, this is game is beautiful.


I'm so glad you think so.  I'm getting really sick of people blasting the so-called "Downgrades" over the past year.  A lot of these games are amazing but people get mad if a tech demo doesn't represent the final tested product--some of those advanced effects might be too much for a console.

Like these guys put it, there's so much involved in making these games and people shouldn't be getting so upset.

http://kotaku.com/the-witcher-3-downgrade-controversy-sucks-1705882405
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JongWK on May 23, 2015, 12:50:58 AM
Quote from: JRT;832824
I'm so glad you think so.  I'm getting really sick of people blasting the so-called "Downgrades" over the past year.  A lot of these games are amazing but people get mad if a tech demo doesn't represent the final tested product--some of those advanced effects might be too much for a console.
]


Yeah, it's just sad. The game is miles better looking than anything else, and people are still complaining.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Critias on May 23, 2015, 01:13:24 AM
This has been maybe my busiest week in PC gaming, like, ever.  I cleaned up on the Humble Store sale, snagging Sleeping Dogs and all DLC, Tomb Raider and all DLC, Poker Night 2, The Wolf Among Us, Walking Dead and the 400 Days DLC, and This War of Mine, all for $40 and some change.

Sadly, I had more budget and installation time than play time this week, but I did get ahead on a few projects and let myself game a little bit.  I've got a lot to look forward to, later this summer, when my schedule permits, though.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on May 26, 2015, 01:05:56 PM
Whoa. I somehow forgot Tomb Raider was a thing. Just ordered a bunch off of Amazon.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on May 26, 2015, 06:01:33 PM
Quote from: JRT;832824
I'm so glad you think so.  I'm getting really sick of people blasting the so-called "Downgrades" over the past year.


Whiny vocal minority drowns out satisfied silent majority. Shit sites then amplify and legitimize them for/through clickbait. Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on May 27, 2015, 06:09:01 AM
Just finished Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Director's Cut) on my WiiU.  I really struggled with the gunplay controls but luckily I could stealth my way though 90% of the game.  I enjoyed it and the tablet was great for the hacking parts.  I can't imagine doing that with just the controller.

With that done, I'll probably go back to Wind Waker until I can get a copy of Lego City Undercover.

On my PS4 I'm going to give The Evil Within a little loving every night.

Portable-wise, my 3DS is still a pretty dedicated Theatrhythm: Curtain Call device.  I just got Senran Kagura Shinovi Versus for my Vita.  Yeah, it's jiggly, but the gameplay is fun, the dialog is appropriate parts silly and entertaining and, well, there are only so many times I can play Persona 4 Golden before I need something different.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: MrHurst on May 27, 2015, 08:43:07 AM
Quote from: JongWK;832905
Yeah, it's just sad. The game is miles better looking than anything else, and people are still complaining.


And as a possible result CDProject won't discuss their next game for two damn years... I suppose I've survived two years of nothing so far so perhaps I'll remember Cyberpunk 2077 is a thing in 2017.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: APN on June 01, 2015, 05:00:34 PM
XCom 2 will soon (November) be a thing. In short, the Aliens won. In the intervening 20 years XCom was betrayed and shut down (I suspect) and now the aliens are the overlords, humans downtrodden and crushed between their three toed feet.

Step in the the resistance, and the fightback.

Humanity starts its battle to be free of the alien scourge (https://youtu.be/2E_-2wIJIzQ)

Really looking forward to this one...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: aryianna on June 01, 2015, 05:07:21 PM
I decided to play Pokemon White again so popped that in last night. I never get tired of the previous ones. What was supposed to be "I'm only going to play for an hour before I fall asleep" turned in to "What? I have to be up in 3 hours???"
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Thornhammer on June 02, 2015, 07:36:20 PM
Quote from: rgalex;833513

With that done, I'll probably go back to Wind Waker until I can get a copy of Lego City Undercover.


My son had a blast with Lego City Undercover, and I thought it was pretty damn funny.  You should have a good time with it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Mark Plemmons on June 04, 2015, 09:41:00 AM
This weekend I finished episode 3 of Life is Strange, plus the Bioshock: Infinite "Burial at Sea" DLC.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gabriel2 on June 05, 2015, 06:59:24 PM
Quote from: APN;834405
XCom 2 will soon (November) be a thing. In short, the Aliens won. In the intervening 20 years XCom was betrayed and shut down (I suspect) and now the aliens are the overlords, humans downtrodden and crushed between their three toed feet.

Step in the the resistance, and the fightback.

Humanity starts its battle to be free of the alien scourge (https://youtu.be/2E_-2wIJIzQ)

Really looking forward to this one...


I'm torn.  I loved XCom: Enemy Unknown.  To me, it stripped away a bunch of the 90s style of overcomplexity which I used to really dig, but don't have any tolerance for anymore.  The resulting game was simply a blast to play.  I can lose myself for days playing that one.

Enemy Within was a different story.  I HATED those cloaking tentacle bullshit aliens, and not in the way I hated an impressive enemy.  They were just tedious bullshit.  As bad as they were, I hated the Exalted (?) almost as much if not more.  Overall, Enemy Within just rubbed me the wrong way and wasn't entertaining to me.

I'm worried 2 will go more the way of Enemy Within and less the way I enjoyed.  In the end, that's fine.  If that's what the fanbase of the franchise wants.  I can still play Enemy Unknown, so no biggie.  It's just that I would really like to continue with the franchise and have a new game to look forward to, and am afraid I probably won't metaphorically be invited.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on June 10, 2015, 01:51:15 AM
Quote from: Gabriel2;835284
I'm torn.  I loved XCom: Enemy Unknown.  To me, it stripped away a bunch of the 90s style of overcomplexity which I used to really dig, but don't have any tolerance for anymore.  The resulting game was simply a blast to play.  I can lose myself for days playing that one.

Enemy Within was a different story.  I HATED those cloaking tentacle bullshit aliens, and not in the way I hated an impressive enemy.  They were just tedious bullshit.  As bad as they were, I hated the Exalted (?) almost as much if not more.  Overall, Enemy Within just rubbed me the wrong way and wasn't entertaining to me.

I'm worried 2 will go more the way of Enemy Within and less the way I enjoyed.  In the end, that's fine.  If that's what the fanbase of the franchise wants.  I can still play Enemy Unknown, so no biggie.  It's just that I would really like to continue with the franchise and have a new game to look forward to, and am afraid I probably won't metaphorically be invited.


Goodness, that's some real hate on those tentacle guys (weren't they in both versions?). I admit, the tentacle guys shrunk the strategy for play down to one thing: stick together! You can't break up into two groups of three or something, because it's too easy for tentacle guys (can't recall the name either) to overwhelm a group of three marines and choke two out. The other aliens at least allow for other tactics.

I kinda wish the device that tells you enemy force's composition came earlier in the game, or, better yet, you got an inferior version of the device that would at least rule out a few enemies...that would open up possibilities for varying your tactics.

Still, I enjoyed XCom and the expansion plenty, and eagerly await the sequel.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: nDervish on June 10, 2015, 06:54:17 AM
I normally play mostly strategy games, but I'm on a first/third-person action/sandbox kick at the moment.  Steam had a sale on the Saints Row franchise a while back, so I finally tried out Saints Row IV.  Loved it, then grabbed Saints Row the Third.  Unfortunately, I decided against SR2 while the sale was ongoing, so it's on my wishlist for the next time the franchise is discounted.

After running through those, I finally got around to playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and it was good.

Then I moved on to Mount & Blade Warband about a week and a half ago and have been sucked completely into it.  I have a dozen henchmen, a wife, two castles, and about 300 men under my command, but haven't quite worked out yet how I want to go about setting myself up as an independent king or if I'd rather remain a vassal for this game and wait until next time to start my own kingdom.  Either way, I can definitely see the possibility that M&B could end up eating more of my time than the entire Elder Scrolls series has.

Quote from: Doom;835871
Goodness, that's some real hate on those tentacle guys (weren't they in both versions?).

Nope, they were added in the expansion.

And I hates them too.  Regardless of the game, I'm not a fan of any kind of enemy that is absolutely, utterly, completely impossible to detect, no matter what you do.[1]  It smacks a bit too much of the devs playing "Gotcha!" when you can do everything right and it will still decloak right on top of you with nothing you can do about it except watch passively as your troops unleash a torrent of overwatch fire, then hope that it hits despite the accuracy penalties for overwatch - and also hope that they don't need overwatch for anything else that round.  If I'm going to get smacked down, get people killed, etc., I prefer to be involved in the process, so that I can at least look back on it and say "if only I'd done X instead of Y..."

That and they're a pain to clean up at the end of the mission.  If one of them is the last xeno on the map, you can't hunt it down, all you can do is group up and wait for it to attack someone - and then watch them get injured/killed when the overwatch barrage inevitably either misses completely or does 1 point less damage than is needed to kill it.

EXALT, on the other hand, didn't particularly bother me at all.  They were a nice change of pace, if maybe a little too easy at times.  My only real complaint about them is that I kept ending up with huge stacks of their gear in my loot storage, only worth $1 each, and no way to get rid of them other than selling them off one-by-one.


[1]  Yep, I'm aware of the bioelectric detection implants, but I'm pretty sure those don't become available until well after seekers start appearing, so there's still a substantial amount of time where you have to deal with a completely-undetectable-until-it-ganks-you foe.

Quote from: Doom;835871
I kinda wish the device that tells you enemy force's composition came earlier in the game, or, better yet, you got an inferior version of the device that would at least rule out a few enemies...that would open up possibilities for varying your tactics.

Agreed.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JamesV on June 10, 2015, 10:08:27 PM
I just finished my ongoing romance with Borderlands through the Handsome Collection. Right now I've wandered back into Destiny, with the expansions in it's a petty good time. Less of a monotonous grind more of a grind salad bar. :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on June 11, 2015, 02:30:48 PM
Quote from: nDervish;835889

[1]  Yep, I'm aware of the bioelectric detection implants, but I'm pretty sure those don't become available until well after seekers start appearing, so there's still a substantial amount of time where you have to deal with a completely-undetectable-until-it-ganks-you foe.


A sniper's battle scanner thingy reveals them also.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on June 12, 2015, 10:14:36 AM
Still playing a lot of indie games. I like the original graphic style they can have and the creative soundtracks. It seems to me indie games are more like what big games used to be like. Luckily there are still AAA games that have some character like Bioshock, Fallout or Dishonored. But a lot is generic and bland.

Anyway if you like X-Com and you like stealth why not check out Invisible Inc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ8b_J7DS64) by Klei entertainment. They also made Shank, Mark of the Ninja and Don't Starve. So I will be playing that this steamsale and I will probably be getting my hands on Bastion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX48y24t9iU) and/or Transistor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni02F7l4lAg). I also love Machinarium (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwZBdWRSBRs) by Amanita Design. So I will get my hands on their next game the crazy Botanicula (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMSk09JtChM). They are adventure games just like the old Goblins games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on June 12, 2015, 11:37:49 AM
We've been playing Smash Bros a lot.

I honestly didn't think I'd enjoy the game, but it is really fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on June 12, 2015, 02:37:53 PM
Quote from: ThatChrisGuy;836089
A sniper's battle scanner thingy reveals them also.


Neat...i tried the scanner thing a couple times, and was so wildly unimpressed I clearly didn't experiment enough.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Skarg on June 15, 2015, 01:25:35 PM
My recent computer games, in order of personal liking:

Dominions 4 – I've played all four editions of this series. They were all essentially the same great game, which although it's a world conquest game, is so detailed that it's part-way to being a RPG or world simulation. Although I've played for years, there is still content even from the first game that I haven't yet seen in play. Every soldier (or wizard or priest or snake) is detailed down to their individual experience, injuries, equipment, heroic and magical effects and items. And the values are consistent relative to each other, and the combat system is detailed and interesting and makes sense (in contrast to games like WoW or HOMM where there are hierarchical power levels based on game balance and whatever the devs wanted). Most of the creatures and magic derive from something in real-world history, mythology or religion (at least one of the designers is a professor of theology), with others from RPG/fantasy, Cthulu-ish mythos, or imagination. The different options for pretender god, nation/culture and magic can lead to very different strategies and game types. Gold and living population may be the standard economic base, but a hard-core undead necromantic empire may have little use for it, a blood magic nation may mainly want blood slaves, and as magical research and skilled wizards develop, sources of magical resources tend to become more important than gold.

Myth II: Soulblighter, using my "More Realistic Myth" mod that makes it play more like GURPS.

FTL – Very well done, but getting repetitive to replay now.

X-COM - I'd skipped X-COM when it came out, then several years ago tried X-COM Gold, but it kept crashing. I'm glad Steam has a version that doesn't crash, and I prefer it to the new X-COM in most ways since the gameplay and options are deeper and it's more simulationist. However the interface is clunky, it's steep learning and deadly, and I really don't like having to fight aliens with mind control abilities - I'd rather be killed with alien violence than get mind controlled and shoot each other. Despite all that, I like the simulation details more enough that I prefer it to the new version. But the mind control and higher end tech doesn't look that much to my taste, and it takes a long time to do much, and I'm probably losing my campaign, so I don't spend much time on this and may never finish a campaign (at least not successfully)

Fallout 3 – I'm new to this series, and it's beautiful and interesting and I like the freedom of exploration and so on... but I wish the combat system made more sense. It's better than most games, and could've been great, but I don't like that gun combat is about whittling down an opponent with multiple hits that tend to have no real effect. For example, a foe appeared suddenly at close range and I used the cool slo-mo target selector, shot first and saw a beautifully horrible animation of a bleeding bullet hole in her forehead … which had not effect except to reduce her hit points about 20%... so we each had to stand there at close range, shooting and hitting every shot, but not causing any effects. I hit her once in the weapon arm and three or four more times in the (unarmored) head before she fell, while she shot me several times too, also with no practical effect. Researching the rules, I see that when someone's hit enough in the head, they suffer a slight reduction in Perception and Accuracy (which had approximately zero effect since we were at very close range). At least the head hits do do a bit more damage, but it's still disbelief-shattering nonsense to me that someone can be repeatedly shot in the head with 10mm bullets and suffer essentially zero effects. Also, although several times I've disarmed people and/or wounded them enough to cower or run away saying “don't kill me”, they seem to always just come back in a minute or two trying to kill me again. So I appreciate all the great work and things that are done really well, but it's frustrating and disappointing to see how much better it could be with a few design tweaks. Also it's a savescum design (groan – see my comments on savescum under Skyrim, below), which I guess is par for the course – ah, I'm a jaded old grognard.
Fallout 2 – I'm also trying Fallout 2 for the first time. Apparently, waiting for the patches and mods was a good idea. Like Fallout 3, this has lots of great open-world content, and many things are well done... and I don't like the combat system much, which again is almost all about grinding down hitpoints, in a much more tedious fashion than Fallout 3, so far at least. According to comments from veterans I've read, several levels need to be grinded through to get to the better part of the game. This seems to be true as I'm level 3 and still spending hours slowly grinding through dozens of giant lizards using a knife... which is extremely tedious. Savescum too, though I haven't actually died.

X-COM (new shiny) – I think it's great that they made a shiny accessible version of X-Com, although as usual, I prefer hard-core detail to gamey simplifications. I've enjoyed this a lot, but like X-Com, I'm not really interested in the late-game technology and challenges such as having my veterans get mind-controlled, or turning my men into bionic cyborgs.

Conquest of Elysium 3 – This is a fun simpler game by the people who make Dominions 4, with a somewhat differet style and different types of play, which is cool, but ultimately I prefer Dominions 4 for its vastly greater detail and more simulation-like approach.

Approaching Infinity - a new Rogue-like spaceship game with open-ended play. Nice and fun and interesting though not as simulationy as I'd prefer, and I'm getting too good at it and may start modding. I just made several shipwreck maps for it last night.

Planetside 2 - I've played a ton of this over the last few years, but may have finally licked the habit. It can be really fun especially when you're in (or leading) a well-led platoon. Giant FPS battles with aircraft and vehicles and buildings and various stuff. I like that the weapons are fairly lethal and much of it makes some sense so I can relate to it. However, there are some things that get me to ragequit and help me get out of playing it. My most hated thing are the ATV's than can have cannon mounted on them and even cloaking devices (!) and the exaggerated power of running people over (even in an ATV, even when you're in a battlesuit, little inconvenience to the ATV) that is just outrageously stupid and annoying.

Skyrim - Argh. So much beautiful work and detail in this, which is mostly wasted as far as my enjoyment is concerned, by the savescum design (which makes me find all such games pointless), clumsy UI and some ridiculous combat system elements (for example, stop time to eat several meals during combat to heal instantly) and random enemies appearing next to me while I'm trying to carefully travel in open terrain. I've only ever died from surprise and UI SNAFU, but it still leaves me thinking the challenge is pointless – it's just a grind with no tension since if you die you're just supposed to pretend it never happened and restore your last save point. No I'd rather just be dead. Ok I can start another new character... except then I have to endure the same scripted start and situation and grind... so again it's just grind till I've done it again, or cheat fate by saying “backsies – it didn't happen” and pretending I am “winning” having died an unrecorded number of times in the process. Also the the auto-levelling opponents including easy dragons alone is enough to have me think WTF and what's the point. I should be thankful I have such contempt for almost all CRPG's or I'd probably be addicted to playing them.

Tales of Maj'Eyal – I often like Rogue-likes and this has some good points but having just survived the first adventure, I'm concerned I won't like this. I don't like the thick spam of orcs and such who for some reason all have a blindness spell, the excessive/weird number of special abilities my beginner dwarf fighter already has, the not very sensible first dungeon layout and the several complex magic items I've already found that sound super-special but I expect are actually just mundane and going to be steadily out-powered by more random “special”-but-not magic stuff. I don't like universes that magically scale everything to my character's level in obvious ways. It really breaks my immersion and gives me the feeling of being railroaded through something fake rather than actually being in a world that makes any sense. ToME felt more internally consistent.

Gratuitous Space Battles - I want to like this more than I do. Giving tactical orders tends to crash the game for me. Was fun for a while but seems to kind of dead-end in terms of interesting things, for me, which is too bad.

Chivalry - Medieval whatever - First-person sword/axe/mace/bow/halberd/etc... I would be much more into this if I liked / believed the combat system more. Too much about timing and lag but I liked it a lot before I figured that out. I wish someone would have me reprogram the combat system. Pretty funny / spectacular to watch the mayhem.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Skarg on June 16, 2015, 12:27:44 PM
Quote from: JRT;832824
I'm so glad you think so.  I'm getting really sick of people blasting the so-called "Downgrades" over the past year.  A lot of these games are amazing but people get mad if a tech demo doesn't represent the final tested product--some of those advanced effects might be too much for a console.

Like these guys put it, there's so much involved in making these games and people shouldn't be getting so upset.

http://kotaku.com/the-witcher-3-downgrade-controversy-sucks-1705882405


Yeah. This has been a big issue for over 15 years. When developers focus on making things as beautiful as possible, it means as much work per item as possible, which multiplies the work needed for every unique thing in a game, which means less stuff in the game, compared to what could otherwise be put in in terms of gameplay and content.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JRT on June 16, 2015, 01:31:34 PM
Quote from: Skarg;836787
Yeah. This has been a big issue for over 15 years. When developers focus on making things as beautiful as possible, it means as much work per item as possible, which multiplies the work needed for every unique thing in a game, which means less stuff in the game, compared to what could otherwise be put in in terms of gameplay and content.


Actually, I have no problem with people reaching for the sky and making cutting edge tech.  While it is more work to get better graphics, the same can be said for any sort of technology.  I'm not one of those people who like to protest against "dumbing down" games or complaining that voice acting has simplified games.  

In this case, TW3 is probably one of the most cutting edge and sophisticated games today.  And yet people are complaining because a few of the bells and whistles from an early tech demo aren't there, probably because they would impact the performance negatively.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on June 17, 2015, 09:38:18 AM
Nerdgasm'd out for a bit this morning since I saw 'E3 announcements' as a topic over on the Bethesda forums and jumped to the conclusion that it would be about TES VI. Missing my TES fix and playing text games instead.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on June 17, 2015, 04:42:02 PM
Quote from: Elsalvador;836933
Nerdgasm'd out for a bit this morning since I saw 'E3 announcements' as a topic over on the Bethesda forums and jumped to the conclusion that it would be about TES VI. Missing my TES fix and playing text games instead.


I think they're going to try to fix TESO first before trying to do anything else to rescue the brand.

They may also wait an extra year to get farther away from DA:I and Witcher 3,  as well as ME4.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on June 18, 2015, 11:57:10 AM
I've been playing Town of Salem (http://blankmediagames.com/) a bit. It's a browser based version of Werewolf/Mafia with fairly short timers. Some of the people are really dumb, but it's still a fun little time waster. Maybe 20-30 min. per round. I also hear it gets better once you get out of normal mode into ranked mode. I'm running at about .500 average for wins and have gotten that 'one more game!' streak going. Then again Werewolf is one of my favorite games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on June 19, 2015, 09:54:03 AM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;836999
I think they're going to try to fix TESO first before trying to do anything else to rescue the brand.

They may also wait an extra year to get farther away from DA:I and Witcher 3,  as well as ME4.


Makes sense, of course. Gap between Oblivion > Skyrim was 5.5 years so it stands to reason this would be fairly similar. The text game fix is helping though!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on June 20, 2015, 10:41:49 PM
With Xbox One backwards compatibility that made my 8th gen decision for me so I'm currently catching up on some Xbox series I'll want to play on the Xbone.

Tomb Raider
Halo
Batman: Arkham series
Gears of War

Currently on Batman Arkham Asylum (assume the steam summer sale doesn't pull me away from my 360)

Just finished Uncharted 2 and absolutely loved it HOWEVER it seriously pushed me away from Sony hardware. I had at least 4 corrupted save files that made me lose progress,a dozen freezes and twice I had to delete all the updates and re-install them to fix it.

Loved the game but the experience with the PS3 was nothing but frustration.

I'd love to get back into Fallout but I can't do long involved games much anymore. I recently tried Dragon Age but it just doesn't work with my life at the moment.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JRT on June 22, 2015, 11:54:51 AM
Quote from: flyerfan1991;836999
I think they're going to try to fix TESO first before trying to do anything else to rescue the brand.


Out of curiosity, why is the Elder Scrolls brand in need of "rescuing"?  It seems to still be very popular.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Novastar on June 22, 2015, 01:14:53 PM
Because TESO didn't torpedo WoW, and steal all it's subscriptions. :p

More to the point:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_Online (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_Online)
Quote
Shortly after the game's launch, it was reported that some players were unable to activate the 30-day complimentary game time included with their purchase until a subscription had been set up and—in "a strange state of affairs" and "most likely a mistake"—after a full month had been paid for.[26] A serious item duplication exploit was discovered that allowed players to gain huge fortunes, which was patched shortly after release.[27] ZeniMax later announced that they had permanently banned thousands of accounts because of the exploit.[28]

Quote
The game was mainly criticized for an excess of bugs, a phasing mechanic that separated players from groups, and its Veteran Progression System. Zenimax has responded to these criticisms by fixing many bugged quests, introducing a new phasing mechanic that did not separate groups, and is currently working on a replacement for its Veteran System called the Champion System, scheduled for completion later in 2015.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JRT on June 22, 2015, 03:06:27 PM
Quote from: Novastar;837633
Because TESO didn't torpedo WoW, and steal all it's subscriptions. :p

More to the point:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_Online (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_Online)

Yes, but there's nothing to indicate that less than stellar reception of the MMO has "damaged the brand", as it seems people are playing Skyrim today, people keep asking about the next ES game, and its success has influenced other games to be more open world.  If anything, the brand is stronger than ever, as there are a series of tie-in lore books, a new iOS card game coming out, etc.  So it doesn't seem like it needs any "rescuing".
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on June 22, 2015, 04:27:45 PM
Finally got Legend of Grimrock (among others). Great old school SSI-style dungeon-crawling fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Novastar on June 22, 2015, 04:39:58 PM
Quote from: JRT;837646
Yes, but there's nothing to indicate that less than stellar reception of the MMO has "damaged the brand", as it seems people are playing Skyrim today, people keep asking about the next ES game, and its success has influenced other games to be more open world.  If anything, the brand is stronger than ever, as there are a series of tie-in lore books, a new iOS card game coming out, etc.  So it doesn't seem like it needs any "rescuing".

Agreed, though it takes a lot to completely destroy a brand (see: Star Trek, Star Wars). But some installments are pretty universally seen as "mis-steps" (see: Enterprise, Jar-Jar), and TESO has had some serious hiccups during launch.

Also, see: Hyperbole. ;) :p :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jan paparazzi on June 23, 2015, 03:27:22 PM
Gunpoint (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9d5ht7mQUU): 2d stealth/puzzle game with a lot of rewiring to do and a cool jazzy soundtrack. Check out the trailer. Very funny too.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: MrHurst on June 24, 2015, 02:31:22 PM
Quote from: Novastar;837660
Agreed, though it takes a lot to completely destroy a brand (see: Star Trek, Star Wars). But some installments are pretty universally seen as "mis-steps" (see: Enterprise, Jar-Jar), and TESO has had some serious hiccups during launch.

Also, see: Hyperbole. ;) :p :D


I've been rattling on about if they can manage to kill final fantasy with a few more lousy single player games. They've mentioned the FF7 remake will include some alterations to the story and someone came up with something that I'm convinced could do it in one blow.

Final Fantasy Seven with Cloud and his sister, Lightning.

Pretty sure that'd sink the franchise.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Novastar on June 25, 2015, 12:37:05 AM
I think Final Fantasy X was the last one, I actually finished all the way through.
The most recent FF games have just bored the ever-loving shit out of me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Daddy Warpig on June 28, 2015, 04:16:00 AM
Just bought Ultimate General: Gettysburg because, hey, screw the Howling Mob.

Played through the first battle twice, on lowest difficulty. Stalemate first time, epic win second.

It's a really well done game, one I wish I had more time to learn.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: nezach on June 28, 2015, 06:46:16 PM
Went a little bit crazy during the Steam Summer Sale. One of the hidden gems I found was Star Hammer: The Vanguard Prophecy. It's a turn-based simultaneous space fleet game. It kinda reminds me of a Full Thrust miniature game in that you plot your moves then both sides move and fire simultaneously.

On top of that there are systems to re-route power between shields, weapons and engines. You can also re-balance shield power between 6 facings. I loved that type of stuff in the old X-Wing and Tie Fighter games.

There's also some RPG style character development with your command fleet and a bit of story, but you can pretty much ignore the story.

It's a game I didn't realize I was looking for. Now if I could find a game that emulates the Stargrunt or 40K style table top experience that wasn't a RTS or X-Com retread I would be in nirvana.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on June 30, 2015, 03:37:12 PM
Quote from: nezach;838534
Went a little bit crazy during the Steam Summer Sale. One of the hidden gems I found was Star Hammer: The Vanguard Prophecy. It's a turn-based simultaneous space fleet game. It kinda reminds me of a Full Thrust miniature game in that you plot your moves then both sides move and fire simultaneously.

On top of that there are systems to re-route power between shields, weapons and engines. You can also re-balance shield power between 6 facings. I loved that type of stuff in the old X-Wing and Tie Fighter games.

There's also some RPG style character development with your command fleet and a bit of story, but you can pretty much ignore the story.

It's a game I didn't realize I was looking for. Now if I could find a game that emulates the Stargrunt or 40K style table top experience that wasn't a RTS or X-Com retread I would be in nirvana.


I tried it for a little while, but couldn't get into it. Is it 3d, or is that just the display? I couldn't find any way to roll my ship or otherwise present shields.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: nezach on July 01, 2015, 10:33:29 AM
Quote from: Doom;838903
I tried it for a little while, but couldn't get into it. Is it 3d, or is that just the display? I couldn't find any way to roll my ship or otherwise present shields.


Yeah, If you are looking for barrel rolls it's probably not going to be your thing. It's definitely not Elite or Wing Commander. It has some 3D aspects but it is very much a limited implementation. You are limited in how far "up" and "down" you can go and it has discreet altitudes levels. That's the type of stuff that makes me think of a miniature game.

The shield presentation issue is handled by being able to reroute power to the damaged shields from the other facings.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alathon on July 07, 2015, 11:46:20 PM
Dark Souls 2.  I'm loving it; it's challenging and vastly difficult, without being Nintendo Hard.  The game is unrelentingly lethal, but the lethality comes from things that can reasonably be anticipated by a player who pays attention.

Don't want to fall off cliffs?  Don't sprint around ledges or do diving rolls near them.

Don't want to get clobbered by bosses (and even "hall trash") with massive attacks?  Pay attention to the windup.

Don't want to be swarmed?  Use the environment to funnel hostile numbers in ways that are manageable.

Don't want to be ambushed?  Walk rather than run/sprint when exploring a new area, and look and listen.  Not every hiding spot will be visible, but that clatter-thud of an armored form landing behind you?  Not just ambiance.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on July 08, 2015, 01:34:43 AM
Back to CK 2 and Dwarf Fortress for me.

Just installed the Elder Kings mod for CK 2 which seems well done but lacking in documentation.

As for Dwarf Fortress I'm neck deep in !FUN! after a werebeast attack. I've got two confirmed bites in the hospital and I suspect at least 3-4 more running around. Next full moon is gonna be a blast.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Novastar on July 08, 2015, 03:03:49 PM
Ever play the "Game of Thrones" mod, for CK2?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on July 08, 2015, 03:45:55 PM
Right now, I'm still playing Smash Bros for Wii U, but my youngest got Splatoon for her birthday and it looks like a lot of fun. The kids have been playing that non-stop.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on July 08, 2015, 04:02:56 PM
Quote from: Novastar;840507
Ever play the "Game of Thrones" mod, for CK2?


I've got it installed but I haven't really played it yet, though I hear it's pretty good. Honestly though with the right DLC I like vanilla CK2 quite a bit, I usually rune Legacy of Rome, The Old Gods, and Charlemagne.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on July 08, 2015, 07:48:51 PM
Hardly touched any PC games recently, just too tired and busy.
Last night I DID actually have a go at Windward again, which I haven't played for some time.
I DO have a long list go games to play though when I have more energy and motivation to do so.

My Son got Rocket League last night, he's been hanging out to get it and loves it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on July 09, 2015, 07:34:11 AM
Managed to get a copy of LEGO City Undercover and it is indeed a blast.  The cliches, the puns, the destruction, it's all just a good 'ol Lego fun time.

I also grabbed the free version of Driveclub on the PS4.  It looks nice but I seem to really suck at driving.  It is going to take some time to learn the courses and how the starting cars handle before I can really make some progress.

Finally got my Zodiac weapon in FFXIV now I'm on the last leg to make is a Zeta.  The hard part is over, this is just formality at this point.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: GreyICE on July 13, 2015, 12:30:30 PM
Xenonauts, Catherine (finally got around to it), Ziggurat, and Dragon's Crown.

My gaming tastes are weird and my console is old.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on July 14, 2015, 02:58:03 PM
Currently playing: Battlefield 4, Civ IV (multiplayer), XCom: Enemy Within
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on August 03, 2015, 02:18:36 PM
I'm terrible, I've just gotten back into WoW again  after breaking the addiction for so long!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: flyerfan1991 on August 03, 2015, 02:22:24 PM
Quote from: Elsalvador;846289
I'm terrible, I've just gotten back into WoW again  after breaking the addiction for so long!


I did the "free week" thing, but after a couple of days of trying and failing to get into Alterac Valley, I gave it up. It just wasn't grabbing me like I thought it was.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on August 03, 2015, 11:35:24 PM
Quote from: Elsalvador;846289
I'm terrible, I've just gotten back into WoW again  after breaking the addiction for so long!


You and me, bro. You and me.

Hoping I can sublimate a fraction of my frustration at not playing BC back in the day, by playing WoD. I'm sad like that. :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on August 04, 2015, 04:17:49 AM
In my shiny PS4:

These days I just finished both Wolfenstein games (The New Order and The prequel, The Old Blood), and had an absolute blast. Best FPS campaign I've seen in a very long time.

Now I'm playing Thief, and enjoying it, though navigating the City is a fucking nightmare. But the missions are good and the thieving parts are so brilliant.

In my PC:

Installed several things, that didn't stick. My shared Steam library is 400+ titles, so I have a problem :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on August 05, 2015, 03:11:27 PM
Just started playing H1Z1, so far it seems to be a robbery/homicide simulator.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on August 09, 2015, 08:34:19 PM
Just bought "Galactic Survival, Empyrion" last night.
I've been watching You tube videos about and it and it looks really interesting.

Sort of a Space Minecraft, Rust type game. You start on a planet with an escape pod.
you have to build a base, land cruisers, farms.
you can eventually build a space ship, explore space and build space stations..

Looks pretty cool.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on August 09, 2015, 09:46:12 PM
The wife and I have been dragged back into WoW for Warlords of Draenor, nearly one year into the expansion (and the new one's already announced), currently we're both contemplating whether to burn our straight-to-level-90 upgrades on the only classes we've leveled all the way to the cap and enjoyed (Warlock for me, Shaman for her) — on a new server where an old friend started a thriving guild, saving the character transfer money — or whether to try our hand at a new class, without having 90 levels' worth of time to learn it.

We're probably engaging the ages-old nerd hobby of overthinking shit, but hey, we don't to throw away our straight-to-WoD ticket. She's trying a Paladin and a Rogue right now, and I'm experimenting with a Hunter and a Shaman... I've always been curious about the Paladin, but my experience with the Warrior (tanking PUGs mostly) made me wary.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Skarg on August 11, 2015, 12:41:11 PM
I tried playing Invisible, Inc.. It's a well-done indie tactical espionage game, which is a genre I like, but has rarely been done well.

Things I like:

Things I dislike:

So it's well-done, but I'm not hooked due to the annoyances and me not liking feeling squeezed by ever-increasing difficulty and puzzleyness.

So I'm back to playing Dominions 4, because it's still the most like what I like.

Oh and the latest patch of Aproaching Infinity seems to have made it even better.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Elsalvador on August 14, 2015, 10:43:45 AM
Got the itch to play some stealth archer in Skyrim and just spent a good 2-3 hours picking off long distance Forsworn. So much fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Chivalric on September 10, 2015, 10:07:35 AM
I'm revisiting Doom, Doom II and the best community based maps/episodes.

A recent discovery is Faster Than Light (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTL:_Faster_Than_Light).  I loved Out There for Android (though it's on steam too) and FTL is just so much more.  On windows though.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Paraguybrarian on September 10, 2015, 11:18:48 AM
On PS4, I'm playing Dragon Age Inquisition.

On the Nvidia Shield Portable, I'm playing the c64 version of Phantasie II, the DOS version of Blood, and the Android port of KotOR. I also habitually play the GBC version of Tetris, Beloko's Doom port, and the ColecoVision port of Zaxxon as time killers on the same device.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on September 10, 2015, 04:31:50 PM
Still playing Warlords of Draenor. Went from 90 to 99 in a month, which is slow for WoW standards, but for my wife and I (2-4 hours a week of non-rushed gaming) it feels like we're positively blazing through content. We've played through all of the Frostfire Jungle, Gorgrond and Talador content, and we are now midway through Spires of Arak.

I've been enamorated of the Draenor/Outland lore since BC and I am having an absolute blast with this expansion. Sure, it's a short one, but that just means I get to explore it more thoroughly than any other before it. The followers-and-stronghold endgame (a lifelong obsession of mine in tabletop gaming) is just the cherry on top.

Nevertheless, knowing that 6.2 is the last big patch, totaling three raids, and that the next one is less than a year away, makes me melancholic. I feel WoW's now entered its death spiral in earnest, and I've been playing it on and off (more off than on -- had a huge dry spell between early 2007 and mid-to-late 2011) for most of its lifespan.

I never got to do PvP or raiding for real, or hunt down achievements and transmogs and mounts, or even level up all the classes I wanted. I never did face down Ragnaros in the Molten Core, Onyxia at Blackwing Lair, or Kael'thas at Tempest Keep or the Sunwell. And I probably never will. But it's fine. I even got the wife to join me since 2011, and now we're in a decent, casual-friendly guild for the first time. We had a good run for a couple of eternal n00bz. The wonder I felt as a Level 2 Orc Warrior when I climbed up a hill in Durotar and gazed towards the horizon, or when the wife and I downed (at level 85 and with A LOT of help from serious raiding friends) Illidan and the Lich King, old villains harkening back to our WC3 days... maybe it's just the Admiral Taylor questline at Spires of Arak, but I've been feeling sentimental as fuck.

The day the lights go out, be it in a year or twenty, I'm gonna really miss the old bastard.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on September 14, 2015, 07:49:55 PM
The past few nights have been all about Metal Gear Solid 5 for me. I've followed the series since Metal Gear Solid back on the PS1 so this was really a must have for me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on September 15, 2015, 12:51:18 AM
I finally did complete Super Metroid, 100% in under 3 hours.

I then moved on to Axiom Verge, and played through twice. Really liked it, warts and all.

And finally I beat Shovel Knight yesterday. Great game. NintendoHard, but I ground it out.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on September 17, 2015, 07:36:24 AM
Just finished The Evil Within.  I liked the story and about 80% of the gameplay.  The stealth sections were challenging without feeling cheap.  My biggest problem was with the number of 1-shot kills the game served up, especially during boss fights with multiple stages to them.  It just felt cheap and caused me to just stop playing a few times after dying 6-7 times in a row and having to start a whole sequence over again.

I also beat LEGO City Undercover which was terrific LEGO fun.  I'll likely go back later and complete all the little side bits, but for now I'm moving on.

Right now I'm going though my backlog of PS+ free games and some other indies I picked up over the last year.  Bastion is first on the list and so far it's good.  I love the narration.

I'm also still playing FFXIV pretty regularly.  I've almost got my two main jobs up to the new level cap of 60.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alzrius on September 17, 2015, 01:24:52 PM
I was playing Earthbound Beginnings (aka Mother), but I can't seem to keep putting in the required level-grinding for an NES-era JRPG...which is a shame, because I like the game and want to finish it. I just can't seem to muster up the time/energy required to do so.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on October 30, 2015, 09:56:01 AM
I've been playing a lot of Rebel Galaxy (http://rebel-galaxy.com/). It's a pretty good Freelancer/WC: Privateer alike, but with a naval combat focus (broadsides are the main weapon) rather than a fighter focus. It's also more Firefly than 'glorious shining future'. The soundtrack is a pretty good mix of alt-country. I like it a lot. Also it's like $20, so pretty cheap.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on November 01, 2015, 10:55:28 AM
Just picked up Gargoyles for the Genesis and Darkwing Duck for the NES.

Haven't had a lot of time to play recently. Played about half of Doom 3 but got board. It was good but there's only so many dark corridors that I can clear before I lose interest.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on November 02, 2015, 06:04:08 AM
Playing Armello with friends. It's probably only good with friends talking over skype, I can't imagine waiting for my turn with a bunch of online randoms who can only communicate using the artificially limited "select what you can say" chat options (hurrah for cowardly PR-conscious censorship! /s)

It blends elements of running a single character with manipulating events in a  region in a way that makes me want to run the Birthright setting.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 02, 2015, 08:36:17 AM
Anyone playing the Warhammer Fantasy-themed first-person slasher/shooter Vermintide? A friend's encouraging my wife and I to pick it up and it's not like we have the HD space to spare...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on November 03, 2015, 01:38:06 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;862725
Anyone playing the Warhammer Fantasy-themed first-person slasher/shooter Vermintide? A friend's encouraging my wife and I to pick it up and it's not like we have the HD space to spare...


Here I thought that was still in beta?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on November 03, 2015, 04:47:14 AM
Quote from: Doom;862828
Here I thought that was still in beta?


It's up for sale at Steam.

People have been comparing it to Left 4 Dead, apparently. Which is okay, I guess? Never played either L4D.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on November 03, 2015, 11:31:09 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;862840
It's up for sale at Steam.

People have been comparing it to Left 4 Dead, apparently. Which is okay, I guess? Never played either L4D.


Weird, I'll have to look into Vermintide.

L4D is fun, and multiplayer is amazing, at least for the 1 game in 50 where you get a "real" multiplayer game. Usually, players are in such a constant state of ragequitting that the games are total routs.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AaronBrown99 on November 03, 2015, 08:38:45 PM
I bought Blood Bowl 2 for my Xbox One, and have barely seen the sun since.

(granted the timing coincides with recovering from surgery, but it's the most fun I've had with a video game...well, ever)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: APN on November 04, 2015, 09:07:27 AM
Have had a quick look at Blood Bowl 2 (PC Version on a friends PC) having been a veteran of every version of the board game and all the PC games (including the DOS one).

BB2 doesn't bring anything new to the table which you can't get in Blood Bowl Chaos Edition (and in Chaos Edition you get a load of races which they are clearly wanting to gouge more cash from in a BB2: Whatever edition in a few months time), which is on steam sale http://store.steampowered.com/app/216890/ till November 6th. That's just my opinion, yours of course may vary and each to their own etc.

In time I will take another look at BB2, but only when the price has dropped some (and yeah, BB2 is on sale right now, I just don't think its worth it...)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: MrHurst on November 06, 2015, 08:39:59 AM
I've been playing through the campaign and Bloodbowl 2 definitely has an audience the first didn't. People new to Bloodbowl. If you want something to hold your hand before it smashes you into the wall of Nuffle, this is the game. Play the single player campaign and it'll teach you the basics right quick.

As a returning player, graphics are pretty, interface is easily five times better for actual play, while the team management interface is... well, it does what it needs to but doesn't give powergamers everything they want(which you can read in great detail on the steam forums). If you want to check out actual play look up 'crendorian invitational' on youtube a bunch of youtube personalities with half a clue playing each other. Should be perfect for seeing what game play can be like. I'd say this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9tCOCimoSQ) is the best one thus far, but most of the week 2 games were good.

If you know bloodbowl, or just like building teams at random, the first may be better for now, but to be honest I'm enjoying 2 more even if the single player mode has been stripped down a little.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Simlasa on November 14, 2015, 11:07:31 PM
I've been playing my way through the Final Fantasy games for the first time, starting with I (the GBA version). Now I'm starting IV but I'm not sure how far I'm going to make it... I've liked each one progressively less than the one before it. III just felt like a whole bunch of grinding with no story to it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on November 16, 2015, 01:45:17 PM
Quote from: Simlasa;864495
I've been playing my way through the Final Fantasy games for the first time, starting with I (the GBA version). Now I'm starting IV but I'm not sure how far I'm going to make it... I've liked each one progressively less than the one before it. III just felt like a whole bunch of grinding with no story to it.

II and III are infamously tough and experimental, so I don't blame you. I have played all the mainline FFs though, and they do get much better. V is my personal favorite because it gives you so many customization options and such a sense of freedom - it's the only one I've finished twice.

If story is what you need to get you through and the one in IV isn't good enough for you, I suggest skipping ahead to VI, because that's where story really starts to take a front seat. Wait for the VII remake before playing that, the visuals in the original playstation version have not aged well.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Skarg on November 18, 2015, 12:28:13 PM
Two of my favorite computer games launched on Steam yesterday (or the day before):

Conquest of Elysium 4 (http://steamcommunity.com/app/403950) is a fun not-too-complex fantasy strategy game in a very chaotic world. This edition of the series I like far better than the previous, as the battles are resolved using a proper map (all under AI control, so it goes quickly) - in CoE 3, it was an abstract map which had some unrealistic effects that bothered me (mainly, ganging up on guys in front more than should happen). It also adds a bunch more stuff, including several planes you could actually go to, conquer, or be invaded by, but which are usually disconnected. Banishing and slaying things may send them to other planes (e.g. there are actual ghosts of generated in Hades when people get slain in Elysium). Anyway, lots of fun interesting stuff.

Ancient Domains of Mystery (http://store.steampowered.com/app/333300/) , the classic great wonderful weird Roguelike, had a crowdfunded development with a graphical UI, and now is released on Steam. I like many Roguelikes, and this is one of my favorites - it was, even with ASCII and no graphics.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on November 18, 2015, 01:25:28 PM
Eador: Genesis, a fun little fantasy strategy game in the vein of Heroes of Might and Magic.

I'm also starting up Avernum: Escape from the Pit again. I got about 10 hours in last time before life got in the way. I'd like to finish it this time.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on November 19, 2015, 06:29:16 AM
Finished Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds on my DS. If you liked Link to the Past, you will very likely enjoy this homage to it. Great dungeon designs and it's fun finding all the various bonus items.

Started Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. Struggling to keep playing it. Just feels inferior to the original (SNES) in most ways, especially its bad difficulty curve.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alzrius on December 03, 2015, 09:13:37 AM
So I played Slender: The Arrival on my WiiU a little while back.

I played the beta (The Eight Pages) back in the day with some friends, and all but one of us found it very atmospheric and frightening. This hasn't changed between then and now.

The game does a very good job of creating an atmosphere that leaves you worrying about what's not there, rather than what is. I also thought that the game's length was about right, since if it had been a full-length game with dozens of hours of gameplay, the whole "you can only explore/run away" dynamic would have become very old.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on December 07, 2015, 07:56:04 AM
I just finished Divinity: Original Sin on the PC.  I was playing it co-op with my brother.  It was good, but not as good as all the hype lead us to believe.  We were constantly running into bugs.  The biggest one being that I would often log into the game, or load into a new zone and my character couldn't access any of her abilities because the game said I didn't have my weapon equipped.  Also I would often see PC characters with less than full HP when they actually had full HP.

I also finished Dishonored on my PS3.  I did a clean hands run and had a really good time sneaking around trying to choke people out instead of killing them.  The ending was a bit lack-luster, no final fight, but that was because I had low chaos.  Overall though, I enjoyed it.

I'm working on Mad Max on my PS4 right now and quite enjoying tearing though the landscape taking down convoys.  The game looks good and is pretty solid from a game play PoV.  If you like Mad Max and you enjoy "open world" games it's a pretty easy recommendation.  I can see how people would come to the conclusion that it's padded with side missions, but really, you don't have to do them and the game still feels complete.

I'm going to dive back into X-COM Enemy Within.  I think I'm just going to turn the diff down to easy and enjoy running a team though from start to finish.  I've already beat Enemy Unknown multiple times on classic so a nice enjoyable romp with a team of my choice as opposed to umpteen hours of cursing seems like a nice time atm.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: 5 Stone Games on December 07, 2015, 02:09:14 PM
Mucking about with Dishonored though I'm not very good at the game since I'm not patient enough for it. Its a good game, yes just not great

Playing some rather heavily modded  Skyrim, avoiding the Civil War arc though since neither side is worth a septim.

was playing Fallout New Vegas also modded but I'm on hiatus from that.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on December 21, 2015, 07:09:01 PM
I can finally announce a major update for Europa Barbarorum II (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?705558-Announcement-Europa-Barbarorum-2-1b-is-released!) (a total conversion mod for Medieval 2: Total War), a complete overhaul that is barely recognisable when contrasted with what shipped last summer.

Full disclosure, I'm one of the developers, but it's something I'm proud to be part of.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Itachi on December 29, 2015, 06:58:48 PM
Hey nice to hear that, Kiero! You guys did an awesome work with EU. Im a big fan of it. :hatsoff:
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on December 29, 2015, 07:03:21 PM
Got an Xbone for Christmas with Rise of the Tomb Raider. Looking forward to getting ori and and blind forest too.

Anything for else I should watch for?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JamesV on December 30, 2015, 10:20:26 PM
Right now my Xbone queue looks like:
1) Fallout 4. After 100+ hours of dorking around post-apoc Massachusetts, I may have finally reached both the back half of the main plot, and my first quest ruining bug. I'd call that pretty successful.

2) FIFA 16. It's my first sports game in literally decades, so I've been playing the career player mode on beginner. Scoring between 3-5 goals a game is a little ludicrous, but it's fun, and I know I don't quite have the touch to up the difficulty just yet.

3) The Witcher 3. Going to hit it hard once Fallout is done. The previous game was kickass, and the reviews, to the degree they can be trusted, have been hinting at more of the same. A tough but fair, and exciting combat system, a tense dark fantasy style plot, and HBO levels of nudity and sex.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on December 31, 2015, 04:35:47 AM
Still doing World of Warcraft and Hearthstone most of the time, but I got a lot of games for Christmas so I'll be rotating those in over the year to come. (Most of them PC via Steam, but I also got the Sly Cooper series for PS3.)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on December 31, 2015, 08:41:18 PM
I haven't even gotten a look-in on my Xbox360; my wife and eldest daughter have been playing the Lego Movie game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Logosi on January 04, 2016, 05:53:45 PM
About 4 weeks ago or so, I started playing Diablo 3 again. I hadn't played in most of two years. (maybe longer) There have been a lot of changes and I'm having a good time with it.  I have a Demon Hunter character who can do solo Torment6 Greater Rifts now.  I have almost all the gear for a decent build (missing one stupid ring) but need to learn a lot more about improving it before I can really go harder than T6.

I think my kin/guild is burned out for good, most of us are totally burned out on Lord of the Rings Online, and we cant agree on a new game. lol
D3 has been a good filler.  What I "should" do is get back into actually playing/running TTRPG's instead of just read rule books and lurking forums about them. :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: thedungeondelver on January 06, 2016, 11:59:17 PM
I got Far Cry 4 and Warhammer: The End Times: Vermintide for Christmas and have been enjoying them both.

FC4 is Sandbox Lite (compared to, say, a Skyrim or FO4) and Vermintide scratches the Left4Dead2 itch but in a Warhammer FRP setting.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imperator on January 07, 2016, 10:32:15 AM
Metal Gear Solid V owns me completely.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on January 07, 2016, 10:33:29 AM
Quote from: thedungeondelver;872331
I got Far Cry 4 and Warhammer: The End Times: Vermintide for Christmas and have been enjoying them both.

FC4 is Sandbox Lite (compared to, say, a Skyrim or FO4) and Vermintide scratches the Left4Dead2 itch but in a Warhammer FRP setting.


Far Cry 4 is lots of fun, and I like that Ajay Ghale is much less whiny than the "SoCal douchebag" from FC3.  I just wish your allies in 4 were less obnoxious.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on January 07, 2016, 05:22:35 PM
I've started playing The Last Federation. It's sort of a space 4x. Except instead of en empire, you are playing the last member of an advanced race, and you want to create a Federation so that nothing like what happened to your people happens again.

You get your will done by helping the other races build up and stop their enemies, giving them tech, and using your supership to lay the smackdown on their enemies. Combat is turn based bullet hell.

It's, possibly, really hard. But I'm not sure how much that was the gating it did on all the game functions on my first playthrough. I lost. Badly. Never use the super fast forward, it's a goddamn trap.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: thedungeondelver on January 15, 2016, 01:43:30 PM
Quote from: ThatChrisGuy;872366
Far Cry 4 is lots of fun, and I like that Ajay Ghale is much less whiny than the "SoCal douchebag" from FC3.  I just wish your allies in 4 were less obnoxious.


Yes.  The best option (outside of the hidden ending) is to pick one ally or the other, and then assassinate them so whatever they're doing (Taliban or Khmer Rouge) doesn't get kicked off.  Then do open world 'til you're bored with it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JesterRaiin on February 11, 2016, 12:43:51 PM
I'[m currently playing Tales of Illyria: Destinies, third installment of Illyria franchise (http://www.talesofillyria.com/).

It's Android cRPG with turn-based combat, similar to "Oregon Trail" taking place in a fantasy land. The setting is well done, in spite of being a bit generic. The story - perils of a prisoner attempting to get in touch with his past - is quite absorbing. Party companions have their own personalities (for example, there's a former knight who died but somehow rose up from the grave and tries to find out how and why he died), there are many quests and jobs to do, places to visit and new parts of the world to uncover.

Very good time waster, totally worth its price.

(https://lh6.ggpht.com/mFfaZoZUd4cMLztNE2qEu3LFbHL9ZxPagCWTYxxZG-GLpRoGVfb1_Jx-xY5gkGMHL5k=h310)


(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WqTXOSwC1Dc1QWWHFU_N6HcU0OiR2DMJiM6N-2IyB1zPZElIIybW7ef7GzPCN05VKg=h310)

(https://lh3.ggpht.com/1K6heUchuOnnvwZPF7pV0tDopU2iH1JtWSRYrcV_9IJjlT-JeNptbyhw4k3GAyHDiA=h310)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Makofan on February 11, 2016, 08:58:58 PM
Finally got around to installing and playing Baldur's Gate; had it sitting around for about 10 years. I really like the scenery. Combat is a bit fiddly though
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JesterRaiin on February 13, 2016, 04:09:56 PM
Quote from: Makofan;878509
Finally got around to installing and playing Baldur's Gate; had it sitting around for about 10 years. I really like the scenery. Combat is a bit fiddly though


Set reasonable "PAUSE WHEN" events and you're halfway to success. Godspeed. :]
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crkrueger on February 13, 2016, 10:23:33 PM
Quote from: Kiero;870159
I can finally announce a major update for Europa Barbarorum II (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?705558-Announcement-Europa-Barbarorum-2-1b-is-released!) (a total conversion mod for Medieval 2: Total War), a complete overhaul that is barely recognisable when contrasted with what shipped last summer.

Full disclosure, I'm one of the developers, but it's something I'm proud to be part of.


and you should, it's an incredible mod, one of the best M2TW mods, which is out of a community filled with good mods.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crkrueger on February 13, 2016, 10:32:14 PM
When I have time, which isn't often, I'm playing Fallout 4 and Wasteland 2.  On the MMO front, I randomly bounce between SWtOR, Rift, LotRO and Guild Wars 2, but I'm not really active.

Short term I'll probably get into Vermintide.
Maybe finally finish up Dishonored.

My "wish I had enough time to do" gaming projects are
Do Witcher from 1-3
Do Assassin's Creed from 1 to whatever the hell it's up to now.
Play Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar again.
Start Skyrim with the ultimate collection of cool mods from the beginning.
Play Dragon's Age 1-2 again, then do Inquisition
Play Mass Effect 1-2 again, then finally do 3.

Man I wish when I retire in 20 years, the Nursing Homes will basically be Cyber-Cafes and gaming rooms. :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Itachi on February 14, 2016, 07:40:17 AM
Xcom 2 is killing me. And I love it.

Quote from: CRKrueger
Play Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar again.

Oh yeah. I hope someday someone does a remake of it with updated graphics and gameplay. It was one of the more memorable experiences I've ever had.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on April 15, 2016, 01:56:46 PM
Currently playing:

Singleplayer - XCOM-2, GTA V (just finished), Civ IV

Multiplayer - Battlefield 4

Prepping for: Overwatch
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on April 15, 2016, 05:40:29 PM
Not much time for PC gaming these days, I'm afraid.

WoW runs like molasses in my PC right now, even at the lowest graphics settings; can't fathom why. All other games work just fine.

Replaying BL2 for the Nth time with my wife. Love this game. Would love to find a similarly CRPGesque shooter.

I have yet to give Skyrim a playthrough. :(
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on April 15, 2016, 06:05:58 PM
All Blizzard games have been under DDoS attacks due to Lizard Squad making it so, allegedly in retaliation for shutting down a private WOW server recently.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JesterRaiin on April 16, 2016, 03:35:55 AM
With recent Fallout 4 crashing all my carefully selected plugins and thus ruining my savegames, I switched my attention towards Android once again.

Currently I'm dividing my spare time between:

Knights of Pen & Paper 2 (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.paradoxplaza.kopp2), which is quite good representation of typical D&D session (not the D&D gameplay, mind you, just a session). ;)

(http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/04/Knights-of-Pen-and-Paper-2.png)

...and

Talisman: Horus Heresy (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nomadgames.horus). I'm highly disappointed with latest edition of Talisman boardgame, so I thought I'll give HH's a try. I'm very positively surprised: the game is interesting, brings a breath of fresh air to otherwise stale product. From the technical point of view, it works quite well, even on a 5,5'' smartphone, and seems to be one of best energy-efficient games I've seen lately.

(https://www.androidpolice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/nexus2cee_image-3-4.png)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on April 16, 2016, 04:18:40 PM
Let's see...

I tried Shadows of Mordor and just couldn't get into it. Too artificial I think.

I beat Halo 5. Decent, but far too short.

Star Wars: Battlefront - Not good. After the thrill of playing a Star Wars game wears off there's nothing there.

Really enjoying Ori and the blind forest. Completely beautiful and joyful gameplay. A little easy so far but fun none the less.

Replaying Mega Man 1-6 and Doom. Easier than I remember, just require perseverance.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Simlasa on April 18, 2016, 02:58:32 PM
I finally finished Bioshock Infinite. It came free with my computer and I'd played it nearly all the way through... then got a wild hair that I missed something and went back... I think I've been through the bulk of it 4 times but kept quitting and starting over... maybe I just liked wallowing in the horror of it. It's a dark game, upsetting even, and the ending doesn't let up on that.

Now I'm on to the original Call of Duty... and still playing my way through the Final Fantasy games when I'm in the mood.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on April 18, 2016, 05:03:52 PM
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;892059
All Blizzard games have been under DDoS attacks due to Lizard Squad making it so, allegedly in retaliation for shutting down a private WOW server recently.


Probably not a server issue as my wife's PC runs it just fine. Same server, of course. I'll be tinkering some more with it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on April 18, 2016, 09:25:39 PM
Quote from: Simlasa;892491

and still playing my way through the Final Fantasy games when I'm in the mood.


Had a chance to play Bravely Default on the DS? Good stuff in my opinion, if you like the older style.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JesterRaiin on April 19, 2016, 05:09:02 AM
Quote from: Simlasa;892491
I finally finished Bioshock Infinite. It came free with my computer and I'd played it nearly all the way through... then got a wild hair that I missed something and went back... I think I've been through the bulk of it 4 times but kept quitting and starting over... maybe I just liked wallowing in the horror of it. It's a dark game, upsetting even, and the ending doesn't let up on that.


It's a great game, hands down. And yet, while I appreciate it for too many things to count, I also happen to have three very serious problems with it:

1. It's often appraised as being a game offering multiple walkthroughs and "each time a different experience". In reality, as far as I can tell it's a linear scenario, where you have literally zero influence over how and what happens, or even doing things in different order. You're predestined to face X at location Y, get item V at location Z, learn Q at point W and you really can't move past a certain stage without doing this or that. All "difference" is meaningless, finally you're still gonna be what you are and do what you have to do.

2. The formula of the game (FPShooter) is what bothers me most. You're leaving a pile of corpses behind you and this stands in a serious contrast with the story. I mean, just think about it, you're walking there hand in hand with a young girl (no spoiler version). Bullets fly, rivers of blood flow, people die screaming, burned to a crisp, fall down from great heights and if you choose to use "powers", they face even worse fate. Come on! It's enough to leave an adult scarred for life.
First Person Sneaker, along the lines of Thief or Dishonored, where killings are optional would be far better solution as far as I'm concerned.

3. ...btw, you're a Juggernaut, a bloodthirsty monster who takes no shit from noone and singlehandely decimates the population of a small city in both ranged and close combat. That one moment you're an alcoholic puking your liver out, and next you're an equivalent of Terminator is a minor problem... The real one is that you happen to give away you-know-what because you're threatened by people you don't want to mess with. Seriously, you jump, you fall down, you run like a wind, you sell an ocean of hot lead to whoever's buying, you use weapons you see for the first time in your life like a pro, you dodge bullets and kill people while eating snacks... You're a goddamn warhero, a veteran soldier slash butcher... And yet you feel threatened by some "gangsters".

These things bother me seriously, in this otherwise splendid game. I'm curious about your opinion concerning these "problems".

...btw, I couldn't help but notice that there's something different about you... A new haircut? ;)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alzrius on April 19, 2016, 09:25:30 AM
So I'm going to try and get back into Hyrule Warriors, as a friend of mine said he'd give me his 3DS code to download (if I understand correctly) that version's exclusive content onto the Wii U version (which I have and he doesn't). I'm looking forward to it, as I barely touched the game after I bought it a while back (not because I didn't like it, but just because it fell by the wayside for me in a rush of other things).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doughdee222 on April 19, 2016, 01:17:28 PM
Been playing Guild Wars 2 but grew tired of it. Last night I purchased the Mass Effect trilogy and will give that a try. (Choice was between Mass Effect and Bioshock Infinite. I was in a spacey mood so...)

Was a long time World of Warcraft player but dropped it years ago, a few months before Panda came out. Glad I did since I heard the game went down hill badly. Last night I saw a Youtube video on "Top 20 problems in WoW" and it sounds like the game is shit now.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on April 19, 2016, 04:01:40 PM
Quote from: Doughdee222;892760
Been playing Guild Wars 2 but grew tired of it.


GW2 has fun combat and rewards exploration, but I found both visuals and storytelling lacking. WoW may look cartoonish and have the writing sophistication of a 1990s Image comic, but somehow it works for me.

Quote from: Doughdee222;892760
Last night I purchased the Mass Effect trilogy and will give that a try. (Choice was between Mass Effect and Bioshock Infinite. I was in a spacey mood so...)


There's a classic I've never played. How do you like it?

Quote from: Doughdee222;892760
Was a long time World of Warcraft player but dropped it years ago, a few months before Panda came out. Glad I did since I heard the game went down hill badly. Last night I saw a Youtube video on "Top 20 problems in WoW" and it sounds like the game is shit now.


I hated, hated, hated Mists of Pandaria, but Warlords of Draenor was a great expansion. If anything, garrisons made grinding easier, and the storyline was compelling for an invested WoW canon fan like myself.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on April 22, 2016, 04:13:45 AM
Prepping to re-start Neverwinter Nights 2 after a multiplayer playthrough puttered out. Main hurdle is getting up the urge to restart and work through back to where left off.

Trying to get back into Champions Online. Again...

Just finished a playthrough of D&D Towers of Doom and Shadow over Mystara. Yep. Still mean games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Simlasa on April 23, 2016, 11:01:15 PM
Quote from: Shipyard Locked;892580
Had a chance to play Bravely Default on the DS? Good stuff in my opinion, if you like the older style.
It certainly looks pretty. I'll check it out.

Quote from: JesterRaiin;892669
It's a great game, hands down. And yet, while I appreciate it for too many things to count, I also happen to have three very serious problems with it:

1. It's often appraised as being a game offering multiple walkthroughs and "each time a different experience".
Yeah, that's just plain untrue. Like I said, I've been through it multiple times now... it's on rails and the same stuff always happens. There's only one path through the game. There ARE a few decisions that alter later scenes in minor ways, like whether or not you kill the old soldier when he asks you to... but only in the smallest of ways. There's only one ending (AFAIK).
Nothing much in the way of conversation either. Just canned dialogue.

Quote
2. The formula of the game (FPShooter) is what bothers me most.
I had issues with that too. Particularly when the secondary character decides you're a 'monster' because of the violence... despite you're having no choice at all in how to proceed. It's 'kill or be killed' the whole time and a lot of the power-ups favor bloody melee attacks.
All the way through I was imagining how much better it would be if it had Deus Ex like pathways where you could choose stealth and non-fatal solutions over straight gunplay... and repercussions depending on what you chose.

Quote
3. ...btw, you're a Juggernaut, a bloodthirsty monster who takes no shit from noone and singlehandely decimates the population of a small city in both ranged and close combat. (snip) You're a goddamn warhero, a veteran soldier slash butcher... And yet you feel threatened by some "gangsters".
I dunno... I could make arguments for the character having bottomed out, maybe thinking it was the best decision for _____. But yeah, it was out of character with EVERYTHING else. A similar item was the character of Daisy Fitzroy... who seems to be a heroic revolutionary until the game suddenly decides to make some point about something and next thing you know she's got a gun to some kid's head. I thought that was a lame way out of that corner.

I agree with you on all those points... mostly it's a fascinating setting and story, interrupted by forced interludes of combat and some klunky plot moves.
It reminds me of the old Alice game... which a friend bought based on the art/subject matter... then gave to me when she realized that most all situations in it were solved by combat. It too had a great setting and interesting story... but they couldn't think of any way to make it a game except to have you kill various things.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Simlasa on April 23, 2016, 11:10:36 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;892805
I hated, hated, hated Mists of Pandaria, but Warlords of Draenor was a great expansion. If anything, garrisons made grinding easier, and the storyline was compelling for an invested WoW canon fan like myself.
I actually really liked Mists of Pandaria... just not so much as an expansion to WoW. It looked great and had some fun storylines/quests. But, as always, I wished the attention had been spent on developing the older areas and making them viable for return play... like giving me new things to do in Duskwood.
I stopped playing and doubt I'll return... not because of the content but because I don't find it to be much fun unless I'm playing with RL friends. The random PUGs with hostile jerks just isn't worth the aggravation.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doughdee222 on April 24, 2016, 01:55:05 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;892805


There's a classic I've never played. How do you like it?


I'm liking it so far. As with, I suppose (not a ton of experience here), most of these First Person Shooter games there is only a thin illusion of choice. The plot is going to unravel A-B-C no matter what. Sure, there are side quests you can choose to take or not and you can choose to do them in whatever order, but the main stuff is linear. In addition, I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or not but my character is perpetually poor, he can buy only the smallest items at the different vendors. Doesn't seem to have hurt him any though. So far only one combat scene has given me trouble, took several hours of trying before I could win past it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Simlasa on April 29, 2016, 02:57:23 PM
I got a wild hare (hair?) and started playing Deus Ex Invisible War (again), then wondered what I'd get if I searched 'Deus Ex MMO'... and that led me to playing Anarchy Online... which I'm enjoying a lot. It's a bit like excavating ruins, but it's not thoroughly abandoned... I've yet to engage with any other players and join a team though.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Mostlyjoe on April 29, 2016, 04:50:02 PM
Got my hands on the "new" 3DSXL and loving the crap out of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 29, 2016, 08:27:25 PM
Quote from: CRKrueger;878839
and you should, it's an incredible mod, one of the best M2TW mods, which is out of a community filled with good mods.

Thanks, I'm the unit stats, recruitment and integration guy, when I'm not doing a bit of scripting or whatever other random task I pick up.

There's another major update in the works, a host more units (probably about 20 new ones), along with a lot of mechanical/gameplay and UI updates.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on May 04, 2016, 03:06:13 AM
Quote from: Simlasa;894827
I got a wild hare (hair?) and started playing Deus Ex Invisible War (again), then wondered what I'd get if I searched 'Deus Ex MMO'... and that led me to playing Anarchy Online... which I'm enjoying a lot. It's a bit like excavating ruins, but it's not thoroughly abandoned... I've yet to engage with any other players and join a team though.

Oh hey Anarchy Online! One of the first free to play MMOs. Sadly the tutorial area is now a mere shadow of comprehensiveness and usefullness it used to be.

Once you get out into the game propper watch out for scammers and PVP raiders trying to sucker you. There are, or at least were, quite a few hidden areas where you could do unfolding story quests. I used to play escourt though one area as it was really hard for low level players.

Fun game and not very bandwirdth hogging. But it is REALLY grindy and equipment and stat centric. You need to have a general plan for your stats as late in the game boosting is the only way to access some stuff.

Quite a lot to do as a free player too.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on May 12, 2016, 05:21:29 PM
Been playing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Grimoire of the Rift (got enough title there Square Enix?)

It's fun enough, but I'd like to be more challenged.

Also, I've really come to hate 2000s-era barely-thought-out crafting systems in my RPGs. All they do is add dozens of pointless extra steps of complexity to a part of RPG gameplay that benefits most from being unobtrusive.

Now, pair that up with a sloooow ass auction system you have to gamble through to access many of the better items and you have a recipe for frustration. No wonder this game isn't liked as much as the first two entries.

At least Vaan and Penello are more interesting here than as the bland blots they were on the otherwise solid Final Fantasy XII.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on May 17, 2016, 07:42:07 AM
One brief update on EBII for anyone following: 2.2, now a major release, is due out this month. We're close to a build we can commend to internal testing, and assuming that all goes well, you'll be seeing what we've been working on.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AaronBrown99 on May 23, 2016, 11:10:57 AM
I just picked up Galactic Civilizations III from Steam, and playing a LOT of it.  

Of course I'm horrible at 4x games in the mid-to-endgame.  It seems like I build up to a point and then get overwhelmed by the AI's relentless production.

Still fun though!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: 5 Stone Games on May 23, 2016, 04:13:24 PM
Fallout 4.

Its not as compelling as Fallout New Vegas but its pretty fun, well except for settlement building which I just cannot get into.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AaronBrown99 on May 23, 2016, 09:11:24 PM
Warhammer: Total War releases tomorrow!

WAAAAAAGH!!!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crkrueger on May 25, 2016, 07:13:59 AM
Having fun with Battlefleet Gothic, I hope the game is moddable.  Waiting on Dawn of War III, looks like they are going more towards the original, which will be cool.  I only hope they have a planetary campaign mode, like Dark Crusade instead of a story campaign and then map skirmishes forever-ugh.

I just picked up TW:Attila and now theres TW:Warhammer.  I almost never pay the 60 bucks initial price for a game, since I have a two year backlog of games to play as it is, but for this, I might make an exception.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on May 25, 2016, 08:49:43 PM
Anyone got a good co-op FPS to recommend? RPGesque elements a plus.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Apparition on May 25, 2016, 11:25:13 PM
Tom Clancy's The Division is a good co-op third person shooter with RPGesque elements.  Not first person, I know, but that's the closest shooter I can think of that's both co-op and has some RPG elements.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JesterRaiin on May 26, 2016, 04:38:50 AM
Tormentum (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.ohnoo.tormentum) is my latest discovery.

It's a point and click adventure game taking place in what seem to be a nightmarish world inspired by works of Giger and Beksinski. The game is simple, but it sends quite a powerful message and man, those landscapes...

(https://images.indiegogo.com/file_attachments/611523/files/20140529044813-Grafika_na_indie_czesc_1_08.jpg)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on May 26, 2016, 07:45:19 AM
Quote from: AaronBrown99;899753
Warhammer: Total War releases tomorrow!

WAAAAAAGH!!!

Meh, unmodded CA games are shite. I'll think about it when someone's done a decent mod for it, fixing all the stupid stuff that has no doubt been inserted, or important things overlooked in the rush to release.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AaronBrown99 on May 26, 2016, 01:11:49 PM
Quote from: Kiero;900161
Meh, unmodded CA games are shite. I'll think about it when someone's done a decent mod for it, fixing all the stupid stuff that has no doubt been inserted, or important things overlooked in the rush to release.

I'm loving it so far!  Two mortars and a Hellblaster cannon on a ridge pounding the advancing ghoul and skeleton units of the Vampire Counts, while Karl Franz flies about on DeathClaw taking out unsupported archers--what's not to love?!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on May 26, 2016, 02:19:00 PM
I have Stellaris. Thus far it's everything I've wanted in a Space 4X. Patching should just make it better.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on May 26, 2016, 02:36:47 PM
currently playing: Overwatch and Marvel Heroes (just passed the Cosmic trials for the first time! woo!)

Eyeballing - Total War: Warhammer
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on June 01, 2016, 11:13:39 AM
Quote from: tenbones;900220
currently playing: Overwatch and Marvel Heroes (just passed the Cosmic trials for the first time! woo!)

Eyeballing - Total War: Warhammer

One of my friends fell down the Total Warhammer hole. It looks good, unfortunately my current computer will not run it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Weru on June 02, 2016, 04:13:13 PM
Totally addicted to fallout 4 (on PS4). Can't stop playing, can't stop questing, exploring, crafting, modding, and scavenging.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shipyard Locked on June 02, 2016, 05:17:33 PM
Playing Overwatch. Compared to Team Fortress 2, which I've logged 300+ hours on... I don't like it as much. Interface too cluttered, hard to tell things apart in the middle of the action, many of the heroes have clunky mechanics, most of the weapons just don't seem to deal much damage... Maybe it'll grow on me.

I do appreciate the interesting support hero abilities and the fact that everyone has an ultimate ability to help with stalemates. I wish Lucio was available in TF2.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doughdee222 on June 03, 2016, 01:36:02 PM
I finished playing the Mass Effect trilogy. The action and game play are fun. The characters are interesting. The plot of the first game is good and establishes the universe. Too bad the plot and events of the second and third game make no sense whatsoever. Probably anyone here could have designed a better campaign to base the action around. But, if you don't care about such things and just want to shoot things and romance hot chicks the game are good.

Next up: ... I dunno. Maybe Bioshock Infinite?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: daniel_ream on June 03, 2016, 02:47:10 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;900076
Anyone got a good co-op FPS to recommend? RPGesque elements a plus.

The Borderlands series.  Full Stop.

Also Payday 2 (it's a strict superset of Payday, don't bother with the first one)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Simlasa on June 03, 2016, 04:01:38 PM
I started playing Skyrim... no mods or anything yet. So far I'm really liking it... lots of exploration and random stuff. The dungeons I've been in so far are tiny and very linear.
It's very 'straight' fantasy, so far... nothing too weird or unexpected (I kinda wish there was a Warcraft game like this).
Mostly I'm just wandering around killing bandits and necromancers, but I'll be wanting to get into the storyline eventually.
All my deaths so far have been in one area... either to a gigantic spellcasting spider or the blue ghost lady who lives upstairs from him. Otherwise combat has been very easy. But I like that there are no warnings about stuff, no, "You must be X level to enter"... you can jump right in over your head.
Also, I like that when you go back to places things can change... ruins that were cleared might have had bandits move in.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on June 03, 2016, 06:34:39 PM
well for me its been child of light witch is fantastic if you ask me.
and playing ghost in the shell stand alone complex online witch must be good because to meany of the cod set whines when they play it
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on June 03, 2016, 10:21:47 PM
Quote from: daniel_ream;901402
The Borderlands series.  Full Stop.

I was insufficiently clear! Wife and I played through all games and expansions a few times over. :o

Will look into Payday 2, thanks!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Manzanaro on June 04, 2016, 05:32:47 AM
Pathfinder Adventures on my Android. Almost hits "the perfect game" status for me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on June 04, 2016, 08:24:17 PM
Finally happened, Europa Barbarorum II v2.2 has dropped (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?731998-Announcement-Europa-Barbarorum-2-2-is-released!).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: daveyd on June 05, 2016, 09:46:04 AM
Age of Decadence is probably the best CRPG I've ever played.  I've replayed it quite a few times.   I'm also playing Shadowrun: Hong Kong.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baulderstone on June 05, 2016, 10:56:17 AM
Quote from: Michael Gray;900217
I have Stellaris. Thus far it's everything I've wanted in a Space 4X. Patching should just make it better.


I've played a little Stellaris as well. It is very promising. I am holding off on the next couple of patched to really get into it though. I mainly bought it early just because I have gotten hundreds of hours of fun from Paradox games, yet I have always bought them late at a serious discount. I felt I owed them at least one full-price purchase, and even if it was a mess at first, you can count on them to keep working on it.

While I wait, I am revisiting Crusader Kings 2 with the Conclave DLC. I'm really enjoying it. On the one hand, the increased power of a Council can make things harder. On the other, the political landscape of my kingdom is a lot clearer. There are more obstacles to getting my way, but I can more clearly identify those obstacles and deal with them.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: daniel_ream on June 05, 2016, 02:14:10 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;901466
Will look into Payday 2, thanks!

It always amuses me that people still get upset about GTA for being a "crime simulator" when the Payday series is literally a heist training simulator.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baulderstone on June 05, 2016, 04:55:04 PM
Quote from: daniel_ream;901911
It always amuses me that people still get upset about GTA for being a "crime simulator" when the Payday series is literally a heist training simulator.

I think its just a measure of popularity, like how Call of Cthuhu safely coasted through the Satanic Panic years while D&D took all the heat. The average person tutting about the evils of video games has no idea that Payday exists.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on June 13, 2016, 11:53:56 PM
lately i started laying unturned its quite a fun zombie survival game
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zanshin on June 15, 2016, 11:50:07 AM
TOTAL WARHAMMER!

ITS WAR, WITH MORE HAMMERS!

A big fan of both the setting and the franchise, and it's a good version of both. My PC is struggling with it, but it hasn't crashed and the gameplay is great. Highly recommended. Not that easy though. On my third campaign. This time I will prevail!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Armchair Gamer on June 23, 2016, 10:38:37 AM
I'm on a nostalgia kick--the Dragon Quest (aka Dragon Warrior games) on Android. It's fun playing the old favorites with some rebalancing and a superior translation to any prior efforts.

Made it through I and II so far, and currently hanging around Romaria in III.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Skarg on June 28, 2016, 01:41:59 PM
I hadn't played much but my old standby for 10+ years, the latest version of illwinter's _Dominions_, but recently tried various computer and phone games:

Computer games:

_Junta_ - fun but limited Caribbean tyrant simulator. I declined to pay the industrialists when a typhoon damaged their stuff, and put down two of the revolts they through my way with the army, but the army had me de-fund the police, which lost my view of who hated me the most. I thought I was just getting things relatively out of control when the USA took me out with a drone strike for some reason, which I didn't see coming due to the lack of police intel.

_Papers, Please_ - amusing dark comedy game of totalitarian regime passport control booth operation. I enjoyed it except for the time limit, and the way the computer checks your work, so you can't get away with missing details. I wasn't sure there was a time limit per day, and didn't know they were basing my pay on performance, so even though I was doing a great job otherwise, I couldn't pay to keep my family alive and eventually was jailed for falling behind on my rent (clearly it's a Corporatist regime, not a Soviet Bloc one). I'll try again on Easy, though of course the game is a dark tragicomedy so I think most of the many endings are dire.

_Rebel Galaxy_ - A spaceship captaincy game with open exploration and action over several star systems full of planets and asteroids and nebulae and various factions (naval, merchant, pirate groups, others...). Lots of pew pew and explosions and upgrades and all that, in 3D but big ships are bolted onto a 2D plane and do sailing-ship-like maneuvers with broadside (and turret) weapons. Various ways to play - you can do the quest in various ways or ignore it, join most of the factions or not. Trade, mine, kill things, loot, explore, upgrade ship, etc. So, _Elite_-like with age of sail maneuvering and excessive pew pew action. Pretty well done and fun, though also sort of predictable eventually and devolves to being more uber by upgrading more than everyone else does, and exploiting the AI, grinding, etc. Pretty good & fun but not great.

_Barony_ Roguelike dungeoncrawl with coop and permadeath and realtime fighting and sneaking about in dark dungeons displayed in a _Minecraft_-like style. Sense of humor. Sudden horrible deaths. Gritty equipment looting. Hall of your dead characters. Fun & difficult, though I've lost 2/3 characters to sudden giant boulders from hidden launchers I didn't see. 1/3 to not realizing I was being attacked not only from the front but from the side. One thing I don't like is the Rogue-like ravenous appetite of the characters and the resulting desperate quest to find semi-edible food before starving all the time... bleh.

Phone app games:

_Drapers_ - Game of being a medieval textiles merchant in the Mediterranean. Eurogame feel. Accumulate workers, buildings, ships & resources that do various shit with each other that you need to learn, but is only 51% really making sense. Then assign ships to travel & bring goods to other ports. Ships from everyone arrive in random order and first to arrive with each type of good get better (or any) trade yields. If someone bought the pirate for the turn, they can target a specific rival ship to have the pirate intercept its goods. AI or multiplayer with up to 8 players. The game is won not by gold but by victory points for selling finished goods or having other things that give victory points. My interest lasted for about 2/3 of one game against the AI, when I decided I got the idea and didn't like it enough to care. I don't like abstract gamey rules.

_Templar Battleforce_ - A turn-based tactical game ripping off the vibe of _Warhammer 20K_ or something with Templars in battlesuits in spaaaace... fighting aliens, at least at first, on a square grid of sci-fi locales, with gamey boardgame rules and "buffs" and character class abilities and action points and so on. The tutorial leads you by the hand slowly introducing you to abilities and using the UI, with heavy annoying juvenile dialog from the characters. The combat system is gamey and even though there is overwatch, is one of those where your tactical options are limited so even though you've got guys with guns and are trying to be careful and defensive, enemies have so much movement per turn that they're allowed to rush up and attack you, and even if you overwatch that only gives you limited shooting and things have high hitpoints so it forces it to be a damage slog that you can't mitigate much with tactics. I tried to give it a chance, but also it was having trouble detecting my input, so I gave up before making it all the way through the tutorial scenario.

_Merchant_ - I like the graphics and there is a lot of stuff to craft... gather resources, forge them into better and better stuff for your heroes - fighter, rogue or wizard, up to six, I think. But all there is to do is attack fixed targets that get unlocked as your heroes level up, and there is nothing to do about combat except pick which hero to send or not, change their equipment, and read the enemy stats there to see if you think you'll win. Dying just means you're expected to pay 100gp to get the character resurrected. You can also sell good for gold, and there are customers who shop up. Some special drop loot, some named enemies. BUT IT'S ALL A POINTLESS GRIND. Each task takes time, so it can create an addictive frenzy. Limited inventory slots means crap management starts taking a fair chunk of time. I saw no events or really anything of interest except wondering what the next loot of levels will let you craft. This is a great example of how pointless almost all computer RPGs are because they are just a string of opponents who die permanently while you can always just rez and continue, so you'll eventually win if you keep playing. At least this one does track how efficient your characters were, and how many times they died. But otherwise this is even more empty and pointless than most. Total grindfest with almost nothing at stake.

_Adventurer League_ - I saved the best for last. This one is a gem. It's made by old school-ish RPG player(s). Real permadeath. Record of dead characters who used to be in the party. No cheesy as fuck resurrection. Open exploration and RPG-like decision making. Multiple story threads and the ability to ignore/avoid/refuse ones you don't want to. Regional hex map with terrain. Tactical hex map with terrain. Dangerous tactical combat. Characters start out respectably powerful yet combat is still pretty interesting and dangerous. Different combatants have different abilities that make sense. No uber hitpoints. Tracking party resources. FRPG setting. Cool beans. Try it out. It's a free download for Android - not sure if there are versions for other platforms.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Warboss Squee on June 28, 2016, 04:33:01 PM
I'm currently playing Fallout 4 on survival mode and just picked up Wasteland 2.

I also started up a YouTube channel where I'm doing a nuzlocke run of Pokemon Leaf Green and just posted the first video for a play through of Shadowrun Returns. It's a shameless plug, put just search my name on YouTube.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JesterRaiin on June 28, 2016, 04:39:19 PM
Quote from: Warboss Squee;905691
I'm currently playing Fallout 4 on survival mode and just picked up Wasteland 2.

I'm deeply disappointed with W2. It seems I can no longer enjoy linear cRPGs.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JamesV on June 28, 2016, 07:50:01 PM
I have an xbone and X-Com just became backwards compatible and free for Gold.

I had it for the 360, so I played it before, and I'm still pleased how it gives me the same kick the original did 20 some years ago.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Warboss Squee on June 28, 2016, 08:37:09 PM
Quote from: JesterRaiin;905693
I'm deeply disappointed with W2. It seems I can no longer enjoy linear cRPGs.

Between my YouTube channel and keeping the content going on that and Fallout, as well as working60 hours a week, I haven't gotten much play time.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Warboss Squee on June 28, 2016, 08:37:46 PM
Quote from: JamesV;905726
I have an xbone and X-Com just became backwards compatible and free for Gold.

I had it for the 360, so I played it before, and I'm still pleased how it gives me the same kick the original did 20 some years ago.

Damn good game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Mistwell on June 29, 2016, 12:31:00 AM
Just started Space Rangers 2 Rebooted. Liking it so far.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sable Wyvern on June 29, 2016, 01:32:31 AM
I've been playing Wargame: Airland Battle, PVP campaign vs my brother. It's become my favourite tactical sim RTS since Close Combat III or IV.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JesterRaiin on June 29, 2016, 02:33:22 AM
Quote from: Warboss Squee;905729
Between my YouTube channel and keeping the content going on that and Fallout, as well as working60 hours a week, I haven't gotten much play time.

It didn't took me long to lose interest with W2. Near the end of the first mission I understood I don't give a damn about what's happening and that I already played far superior videogame long years ago:

(http://www.rpg.sztab.com/tapety/The-Fall---Last-Days-of-Gaia%20163646,4.jpg)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on June 30, 2016, 05:07:19 PM
Quote from: JamesV;905726
I have an xbone and X-Com just became backwards compatible and free for Gold.

I had it for the 360, so I played it before, and I'm still pleased how it gives me the same kick the original did 20 some years ago.
Interestingly iv been playing x-com 1.
And ill be honest i personally like the tone of the original games over what iv seen of the new ones.
Though that might change i haven't played them yet.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Skarg on July 01, 2016, 01:33:06 PM
Last year, I was playing X-COM 1 and last year's model. I liked them both, but I definitely preferred X-COM 1's detailed simulation-y open approach to the modern gamey abstract cartoonish more scripted & artificial approach, in most ways.  X-COM 1 allows far more freedom and mystery and terror, it seems to me.

I end up not wanting to complete a game of either, though, due to not wanting to have to deal with mind-controlling enemies and making bionic troopers or whatever. I prefer a more physical conflict where I can at least maintain control of some grunts and not have my heroes shooting each other. I get attached to my troopers and like to try to keep them alive in tactical situations, and don't much like the psychic stuff.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on July 08, 2016, 06:00:52 PM
I normally schedule my gaming about a year out due day-job and writing at night. All that got screwed up - I was aiming for BF1 in November, allowing me to indulge in Overwatch.

I got my invite to BF1 Alpha last night. I'm screwed. so yeah... It's BF1 now.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on July 09, 2016, 01:27:05 PM
All i can say is ''we are overwatch''.


I honestly fell in love with the game even if you have no interest in shooters give the lore a look.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on August 04, 2016, 04:37:01 PM
I just installed my ASUS Strix GTX1080 last night... gaming glory achieved.

Kosmos - you play Overwatch on PC?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on August 04, 2016, 04:41:04 PM
Quote from: tenbones;911395
I just installed my ASUS Strix GTX1080 last night... gaming glory achieved.

Kosmos - you play Overwatch on PC?


yah on my laptop she a little aged but the game runs fine though at times the internet connection i play on is less then fantastic.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JamesV on October 17, 2016, 09:10:55 PM
Just recently completed XCom 2 just about a couple weeks after the Xbone port dropped. :)

Different with it's emphasis on waging a sort of guerilla war on the aliens, and with the new classes, but still quite good.

And the ending left me with the feeling,
SPOILER (Hover over section below to view.)

XCom 3 will be their Terror from the Deep, my least favorite of the original XCom games
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 18, 2016, 05:36:39 AM
I long feared this day would come: my 6-year-old PC seems unable to run WoW.

But hey, that made me dust off Torchlight 2 — a game I picked up a year or so ago in a Steam sale — and give it a spin. It's a Gauntlet/Diablo/etc. clone but one of the good ones. I love how anyone can equip anything, though a little more character class variety would be nice.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crkrueger on October 18, 2016, 09:06:03 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;925452
I long feared this day would come: my 6-year-old PC seems unable to run WoW.

But hey, that made me dust off Torchlight 2 — a game I picked up a year or so ago in a Steam sale — and give it a spin. It's a Gauntlet/Diablo/etc. clone but one of the good ones. I love how anyone can equip anything, though a little more character class variety would be nice.

They upped the graphics requirements with the new expansion?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on October 18, 2016, 04:01:25 PM
I've been replaying Red Dead Redemption lately, and wishing for another sprawling cowboy epic game...and lo and behold Rockstar will deliver:

http://www.rockstargames.com/reddeadredemption2/

But I love Red Dead Redemption so much. I can just ride around the wilderness for hours triggering procedural events and hunting animals.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on October 19, 2016, 12:49:22 PM
Red Dead Redemption is one of the greatest games ever. This will be a must-buy for me.

I'm currently diving deep into Battlefield One. It really is an amazing game. Patiently waiting for Pantheon and Crowfall to drop.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crkrueger on October 19, 2016, 04:56:21 PM
I'm on a Mordheim, Battlefleet Gothic, TW: Warhammer kick.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crkrueger on October 19, 2016, 04:57:13 PM
Quote from: tenbones;911395
I just installed my ASUS Strix GTX1080 last night... gaming glory achieved.
You sonofabitch.  Well done.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on October 20, 2016, 04:55:21 PM
Quote from: CRKrueger;925769
I'm on a Mordheim, Battlefleet Gothic, TW: Warhammer kick.


They should have called it Total Warhammer. Total War: Warhammer just doesn't roll off the tongue.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 20, 2016, 06:42:05 PM
Quote from: Michael Gray;925963
They should have called it Total Warhammer. Total War: Warhammer just doesn't roll off the tongue.

But it's got twice as much War this way, that's gotta count for something.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on October 20, 2016, 07:16:11 PM
I started playing Child of Light again it is a fantastic rpg done in the style of a fairy tail.
Now I would like to point out it was made by ubisoft so you do have to install uplay to play the game, but you can buy it off steam.
Personally I think the game is good enough to make putting up with uplay A tolerable trade off, not that i like it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AaronBrown99 on October 20, 2016, 08:22:43 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;925983
But it's got twice as much War this way, that's gotta count for something.


Fantastic game. Needs playable Bretonnians.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crkrueger on October 20, 2016, 10:13:22 PM
Quote from: AaronBrown99;925997
Fantastic game. Needs playable Bretonnians.
and Tilean mercenaries. :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AaronBrown99 on October 20, 2016, 10:18:56 PM
Quote from: CRKrueger;926025
and Tilean mercenaries. :D


I'll see your Tileans and raise you Slayer Pirates!
(https://i.sli.mg/1QUx5P.png)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crkrueger on October 21, 2016, 02:52:45 AM
I give you...Imperial Halflings and the Hot Pot Catapult!
(http://www.solegends.com/citcat1998/1998P054-02.jpg)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on October 23, 2016, 10:11:37 PM
Playing through The Witcher; Enhanced Edition. Pretty cool so far.

Also getting ready to take the plunge into the latest update of Dwarf Fortress.

Eyeballing one of the killteam boxed sets to dip my toe back into 40k.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on October 24, 2016, 06:25:40 AM
My wife and I dusted off our copies of Torchlight 2 — which we bought maybe a year ago in a Steam sale — and we're having a blast. If it wasn't for the game's inability to fully respec (for which apparently there are a few mods), it would be perfect. I'm a sucker for Diablo clones, especially since getting disappointed with Diablo 3 (which wasn't even that bad gameplay-wise, just the bad writing and oversaturated all-grimdark-all-the-time aesthetics got old real quick).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Skarg on January 01, 2017, 12:10:24 PM
NEO Scavenger is on sale for $5 so I got it and played it for a few hours last night.

It's a single-player post-apocalypse survival hexcrawl game. It's very detailed and gritty. Clothing, equipment, personal health & wounds, crafting useful things from junk, weather, are all pretty detailed and realism/grit/detail-oriented. Hiding, tracking and terrain are useful. Combat is a bit like GURPS without a map and without visible numbers. I'm liking it quite a bit. It took me a while to find semi-reasonable clothes, I still have nothing good to wear on my right foot, I nearly died of hypothermia, and now I've got a fair camp of useful garbage and a few actual tools, but I should start traveling more and I only have plastic bags and cardboard boxes to carry stuff with, so I probably will leave most of my trash horde behind.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JamesV on January 02, 2017, 05:17:58 PM
Stardew Valley. It's very relaxing unlike most of the games I usually play. A really great callback to Harvest Moon.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on January 03, 2017, 03:04:49 PM
I have been playing a lot of Blood Bowl Chaos Edition. I have Blood Bowl 2, but haven't really played it yet because my computer is potato. It boots up fine, but I'm not sure it'll run well.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Necrozius on January 04, 2017, 08:18:48 AM
On rotation, depending on if any of my friends are online (and if I have a moment to spare after the kids are in bed):

- Overwatch: to unwind
- Vermintide: to unwind + unleash rage
- The Forest: to explore
- Divinity: Original Sin: to RP

With my son (on good days when he's being a nice little guy ;) ):
- Lego Jurassic Park
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on January 06, 2017, 10:02:57 PM
One of my players has been playing the latest release of Subnautica. Looks really interesting and seems fairly freeform in how you go about survival and exploration.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on January 06, 2017, 11:52:19 PM
World of Warcraft remains my go-to game, and yes the graphic requirements did go up with Legion- and man did they fuck it up. Folks running bleeding-edge machines are having issues with framerates due to the poor optimization, especially with a handful of particle effects that are used for a lot of things. (As in "I should get 120 FPS, but when the Hunter uses his Artifact's CD it craters to 40." bad.) For folks playing on potatoes, that often means cratering to 10 FPS or less- and god forbid that a bunch go off in quick succession. Total lockup until resolved and despawned, by which time your guy can be dead.

And it's been this way since the pre-patch, back in September.

My laptop is seven years old, and running on low settings, but it would be fine if not for these issues. Of course the devs deny that this is even an issue, and aren't doing jack shit about it despite this being a routine thread on their tech support forums since the Beta.

Good thing I clean up on the recent Steam Winter Sale (and have Guild Wars 2 on backup), because if this shit continues the good time I'm having with Legion will be soured to the point that I won't bother with whatever comes next.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on January 07, 2017, 05:59:58 PM
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;939240
World of Warcraft remains my go-to game, and yes the graphic requirements did go up with Legion- and man did they fuck it up. Folks running bleeding-edge machines are having issues with framerates due to the poor optimization, especially with a handful of particle effects that are used for a lot of things. (As in "I should get 120 FPS, but when the Hunter uses his Artifact's CD it craters to 40." bad.) For folks playing on potatoes, that often means cratering to 10 FPS or less- and god forbid that a bunch go off in quick succession. Total lockup until resolved and despawned, by which time your guy can be dead.

And it's been this way since the pre-patch, back in September.

My laptop is seven years old, and running on low settings, but it would be fine if not for these issues. Of course the devs deny that this is even an issue, and aren't doing jack shit about it despite this being a routine thread on their tech support forums since the Beta.


It's sort of a relief to read this because this has been happening to me as well and people look at me like I'm from Mars when I say my 6yo desktop rig won't fucking run WoW.

Man, I miss the game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on January 07, 2017, 08:01:35 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;939319
It's sort of a relief to read this because this has been happening to me as well and people look at me like I'm from Mars when I say my 6yo desktop rig won't fucking run WoW.

Man, I miss the game.
If you can get by with vicarious alternatives, head over to Twitch and find one of the many WOW streamers there to follow. That's where a lot of the influencers in the WOW community are, including where some influential podcasts get streamed live. You'll also be able to get a good sense on if the game remains something you want to play from watching others play it and comment on it. Oh, and the WOW team does do live Q&A there every few weeks; some of them also stream there.

*ahem*

So, because of this being Diablo's 20th anniversary, I leaped to get D3 on sale for my PC. (Base game is $10. Xpac is $10. Bundle is $20. Buy direct from Blizzard via Battlenet.) The recreation of D1 in the D3 engine is a great way to mark the occasion.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bluddworth on January 08, 2017, 12:16:31 PM
Currently playing:  Elder Scrolls Online; Star Wars the Old Republic; Age of Conan or one of the dozens upon dozens of other PC based games I have.

On the IPad,,exclusively Star Wars Galaxy Heroes.

Awaiting:  Conan Exiles Survival MMO (Jan 31, 2017 early entry).  This will likely take over a good portion of my life, or at least whatever free time I can manage.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Rincewind1 on January 09, 2017, 06:37:04 AM
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;939335
If you can get by with vicarious alternatives, head over to Twitch and find one of the many WOW streamers there to follow. That's where a lot of the influencers in the WOW community are, including where some influential podcasts get streamed live. You'll also be able to get a good sense on if the game remains something you want to play from watching others play it and comment on it. Oh, and the WOW team does do live Q&A there every few weeks; some of them also stream there.

*ahem*

So, because of this being Diablo's 20th anniversary, I leaped to get D3 on sale for my PC. (Base game is $10. Xpac is $10. Bundle is $20. Buy direct from Blizzard via Battlenet.) The recreation of D1 in the D3 engine is a great way to mark the occasion.

No offence, but this literally reads like someone describing video game equivalent of methadone treatment.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on January 09, 2017, 01:49:36 PM
Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;939335
If you can get by with vicarious alternatives, head over to Twitch and find one of the many WOW streamers there to follow.


Not really my thing. I was invited to a private server, though — vanilla, no less! Maybe this time I'll finally gather the courage to give it a try.

Quote from: Bradford C. Walker;939335
So, because of this being Diablo's 20th anniversary, I leaped to get D3 on sale for my PC. (Base game is $10. Xpac is $10. Bundle is $20. Buy direct from Blizzard via Battlenet.) The recreation of D1 in the D3 engine is a great way to mark the occasion.


Oh yeah, I gotta reinstall D3 and get the expansion for this one. Necromancer FTW!

Quote from: Rincewind1;939611
No offence, but this literally reads like someone describing video game equivalent of methadone treatment.


Nah. Methadone actually gives you a buzz. ;)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bradford C. Walker on January 10, 2017, 12:50:12 AM
Quote from: Rincewind1;939611
No offence, but this literally reads like someone describing video game equivalent of methadone treatment.
None taken. I use streamers and video makers these days to see if games I find interesting play as well as they look. Saved me a lot of time and money.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Mordred Pendragon on January 10, 2017, 12:23:44 PM
Currently playing Fallout 4, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Simlasa on January 18, 2017, 06:17:03 AM
Quote from: The Butcher;939656
I was invited to a private server, though — vanilla, no less! Maybe this time I'll finally gather the courage to give it a try.
I was on Nostalrius (sp?) and very much enjoyed the vanilla version of WOW... except for the 'always on' PVP aspect, that became frustrating after a while...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on January 29, 2017, 10:53:11 PM
One of my players got a neet little beta stage game called Astroneers. Was fun to watch them play it. Will be interesting to see how that one develops.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on January 29, 2017, 11:42:29 PM
I am currently playing Pokemon Black. Pokemon Go was my gateway. Surprisingly, my knowledge of various editions from D&D is useful.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AaronBrown99 on January 30, 2017, 12:47:39 AM
As my gaming laptop is pressed into service as a homework platform (oh, the indignity!) nightly, I've started playing Skyrim SE on my Xbox1.

Very pretty game, but tough to maintain my Cyber-Knight code of chivalry/Lawful Good alignment with these quest choices!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on February 04, 2017, 03:04:10 AM
Played and enjoyed Jotun but wasn't into the boss grind. Too many games imitating Dark Souls I think (which I love but not every game needs to be designed that way). Also played through Ronin which I liked but also burnt out on before the end.

Started playing Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime which is a great couch co-op game to play with the gf.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on February 04, 2017, 09:38:17 AM
Quote from: Voros;944025
Played and enjoyed Jotun but wasn't into the boss grind.


I am sorely tempted to get this every time it goes on sale. What did you like about it? How's gameplay? What do you mean by "boss grind"?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on February 04, 2017, 04:58:53 PM
What I liked about it: the art design, music, variety of levels, exploration

Gameplay: solid not exceptional, but sometimes your character is so small on the screen you lose track of where you are

Boss grind: in the main you are fighting bosses instead of loads of trash mobs. You're supposed to learn their patterns to defeat them, probably dying a few times to do so. Now I generally suck at video games so YMMV but the last two bosses are RNGs which makes pattern prediction really difficult. Once I've died innumerable times to a boss I start to l start to lose interest due to the repetition. I don't doubt your probably better at video games compared to me so that probably won't be an issue for you.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on February 18, 2017, 10:36:19 PM
Quote from: Voros;944125
I don't doubt your probably better at video games compared to me so that probably won't be an issue for you.


Actually, I suck. :o
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Butcher on February 18, 2017, 10:41:28 PM
Quote from: The Butcher;939656
Oh yeah, I gotta reinstall D3 and get the expansion for this one. Necromancer FTW!


Just did.

Bear in mind that I only did play through vanilla D3 once, with the Barbarian. It was a fun game as long as I didn't think too hard about the plot or the world-building; it hit the right gameplay and aesthetic notes for me. Big beefy berserker cleaves and crushes his way through crowds of demons and undead, what's not to love?

Other than, y'know, the plot that makes zero sense, the voice acting that vacillates between stilted and gloriously hammy, the Acts changing location for no particular reason, the NPCs being impossible to care about either way (except for the followers, I admit), the class line-up (screw the Demon Hunter and the Witch Doctor), and last but not least, one of the worst instances of woman-in-refrigerator I have ever seem.

Sometimes I hate being a nerd and caring about this shit, but such is life and we all have our burdens to bear.

While those things still grind my gears (and even more so after a recent playthrough of the light-hearted, no-frills, very effective Diablo clone, Torchlight 2) I was actually pleasantly surprised to see that Act V (so far) despite working with the nonsensical canon of the franchise, makes at least a token effort to feel like a world.

How so? Events. Which is a code word for timed side quests you'll actually give a shit about. See, on my first (only) playthrough, I really enjoyed Act III because there was this snowed-in fortress in the middle if nowhere getting overrun by armies of demons and you holed up with a band of survivors — wounded soldiers, infirm elders, women, children — and for the first time in the game you had the very real sensation that the world is coming to an end. I was so inspired by the apocalyptic urgency of it all that I started a WFRP campaign using the very premise shortly after.

Act V uses Events to convey this. Houses getting looted, plotters killing the city's rulers under the cover of chaos, a ghost asking you to kill the undead desecrating her family crypt, and the excellent follower side quests (the Scoundrel wants to spring his brother out of jail and the Templar wants to investigate the corruption within his order). They lend real depth to the world. I don't mind a little railroading in videogames, but core D3 would be a lot easier to care about if the other Acts had had the same loving worldbuilding invested into them.

Also, I wanna run WFRP again. Maybe Shadow of the Demon Lord.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Cruxador on February 18, 2017, 10:41:30 PM
Been playing Dominions 4 these last few years. Loads of fun, to my knowledge it's the best multiplayer strategy game in existence, and it's well suited to my lifestyle, since most games work out having about a turn per day. I'm even doing AARs.

For the singleplayer experience I prefer the fairly mainstream Paradox Interactive games. I've had years of good fun with Crusader Kings 2, and I've got high hopes for Stellaris with a few more updates. Also considered getting the new Hearts of Iron recently, but have yet to actually do so.

Other than that I've been having some fun with the new DOOM game, which has done a good job of bringing back the feel of the old shooters I used to play in high school LAN parties, but with modern graphics and stuff.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on March 06, 2017, 04:43:06 PM
I've been playing Torment: Tides of Numenera over the weekend.

Short version: it sucks bad.

I think I got at least halfway done with it and I just don't care to finish it.  I'm uninstalling it as soon as I get off work. It's Planescape: Torment - The Bad Parts version, and I regret that I paid full price for it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AsenRG on March 06, 2017, 05:12:34 PM
Still playing DoA5: LR;).
Short version: the fighting system is excellent. And who doesn't love countering:D?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Spike on March 07, 2017, 01:40:20 AM
I played Dues Ex: The Fall a few times, seeing as its fucking incomplete.  I was going to play Mankind Divided, but the damn thing won't run on my gaming machine for some reason.. I'm wondering if my video card is dying or something... seeing I couldn't run the director's edition of Human Revolution either.

So... back to Warframe and Army of Two:Devil's Cartel I guess?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on March 07, 2017, 02:17:32 AM
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime and The Last Guardian.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: nDervish on March 07, 2017, 04:44:50 AM
Quote from: ThatChrisGuy;949590
I've been playing Torment: Tides of Numenera over the weekend.

Short version: it sucks bad.

That's a bummer.  I've got it sitting on my Steam wishlist, waiting for a sale.  (...and for my endless backlog of games to be cleared...)  What's the nutshell version of what's wrong with it, for someone who's never played Planescape: Torment?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on March 07, 2017, 10:16:48 AM
Quote from: nDervish;949727
That's a bummer.  I've got it sitting on my Steam wishlist, waiting for a sale.  (...and for my endless backlog of games to be cleared...)  What's the nutshell version of what's wrong with it, for someone who's never played Planescape: Torment?

This is all my own opinion, of course, but:

1. The combat is actively terrible.  There's not much of it, but when it does show up it's anti-fun.
2. The side quests aren't interesting, and almost seem like an afterthought.  Add to that the fact the game doesn't give you enough feedback to make your choices well, so I found myself quicksaving before more than one conversation and just clicking the
different options, and reloading till I got the result I wanted.  This is not my favorite way to play a game.
3. The companion characters are neither memorable or interesting.

I'm sure there are others I could come up with, but these are really the root of my problem.  In many ways it's just a bad knockoff of a game I loved years ago.

Plus, I don't like the Numenera setting, but if the game was better I could have ignored that.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tristram Evans on March 08, 2017, 12:51:16 AM
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on March 09, 2017, 12:22:31 AM
Just finished Witcher 3, GOTY.

I don't get it. I know this thing won all sorts of awards but this isn't a game, it's a movie where you occasionally click things. The "open world" is entirely irrelevant, and the main quest line tosses so much EP at you that you'll wonder why you even bothered. It's mostly silly stuff, too. "Come with me while I talk to this guy!"...after the conversation, 200 EP. A few more conversations, *ding* a level. A few more conversations, another *ding*.

The combat is bleh, just spam the ol' left-clicker and you'll kill most things. There's occasionally a puzzle-monster, but you can figure out the "this is where I dodge" timing easily enough.

Beautiful graphics, great voice acting, a fine movie. But game? I just don't get it. I played through the whole main quest...but just don't feel like going back and checking out the 90% (estimate) of the world/quests I missed.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AsenRG on March 09, 2017, 01:49:39 AM
Maybe the side quests would have harder fights?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: nDervish on March 09, 2017, 06:06:23 AM
Quote from: Doom;950193
Just finished Witcher 3, GOTY.

I don't get it. I know this thing won all sorts of awards but this isn't a game, it's a movie where you occasionally click things.

I'm actually kinda happy to hear that.  When Witcher 3 came out, I decided to make another attempt at playing through 1 and 2.  I think it was my third try at #1 and, every time, I sit through maybe an hour of "5-minute cutscene, 30 seconds of gameplay, 5-minute cutscene, 30 seconds of gameplay..." before getting fed up and uninstalling it.  I've never made it to #2.  But if #3 is just more of the same, then I'm not missing out on anything that would interest me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on March 09, 2017, 04:58:00 PM
Quote from: AsenRG;950201
Maybe the side quests would have harder fights?

Well, they can be harder--there's a level system, and monster levels are clearly identified. So you know when you're outclassed and, yeah, those fights are tough. But there's no treasure to be gained in such fights, the stuff you find is all based on your level, whether you're stomping a ghoul or a wyvern.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AsenRG on March 09, 2017, 05:41:26 PM
Quote from: Doom;950371
Well, they can be harder--there's a level system, and monster levels are clearly identified. So you know when you're outclassed and, yeah, those fights are tough. But there's no treasure to be gained in such fights, the stuff you find is all based on your level, whether you're stomping a ghoul or a wyvern.


I was thinking more about the challenge, I admit:).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on March 09, 2017, 06:14:51 PM
I was playing Overwatch. Until they destroyed the character I preferred to play.

That game has gone downhill pretty badly in its short lifespan.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on March 13, 2017, 12:54:47 AM
I didn't get the Witcher games either. I bought one and two recently, put about four hours in the first and lost interest. Nothing particularly stood out about them to me. I bought the E-book version of the first short story collection as well and found them rather meh.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on March 13, 2017, 02:59:16 AM
The first Witcher is pretty far from the best. Witcher 3 is the best but more for the RPG CYOA elements than the fighting for sure. If you could combine their storytelling skill with Dark Soul's combat you'd have video game heaven.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on March 15, 2017, 08:24:43 PM
This is right up my ally:



https://techraptor.net/content/disney-afternoon-collection-capcom
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Endless Flight on March 15, 2017, 08:43:38 PM
I just play Modern Warfare Remastered nowadays on the PS4. I sometimes play Diablo III if I feel like I want to grind for goodies.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on March 18, 2017, 01:03:52 AM
Not really getting to play much of anything at the moment. Though I have made time to pick up the Elder Scrolls Legends and am really enjoying. It scratches the MTG like itch quite nicely and is cheaper, plus I don't have to deal with CCG players face to face which is a pretty big win in my book.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on March 18, 2017, 03:04:44 AM
Waiting for that Dark Souls IIi DLC.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Skarg on March 18, 2017, 12:59:22 PM
I've been playing more NEO Scavenger.

In my first game, I thought I was doing well and started trying to move my hoard of crap by exploring and moving stuff in stages since I didn't have a good way to carry all of it at once. But I tried traveling during a cold night and went a bit too far and it rained and the dark and cold both slowed my pace so I ended up dying of hyperthermia from having gone a bit too far. At end game it was also revealed to me that I had managed to catch various diseases, particularly by eating raw meat.

In my next game, I also thought I was doing quite well. I found a meat cleaver and decent footwear early on, and had a character who could properly process dead animals. I was attacked by a couple of feral dogs who were promptly chopped, skinned and cooked. I found lots of berries and other food, a couple of great buildings to make into forts, all on the first day! Then I got ambushed by a group of four feral dogs, two of them strong ones, and although I slaughtered them all with my meat cleaver, they also covered me in bites, including a pretty bad bite on the shoulder, which I think ended up causing some internal bleeding that I didn't realize hadn't stopped, so when I tried to hold up and rest it off, I ended up expiring from loss of blood by the next morning.

It's a bit like getting to play a solo RPG with the kind of grit I like, but solitaire, and always in a terrible starting situation, and with no combat maps. Pretty fun. :-)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on March 18, 2017, 04:07:09 PM
Quote from: Skarg;952433
I've been playing more NEO Scavenger.

In my first game, I thought I was doing well and started trying to move my hoard of crap by exploring and moving stuff in stages since I didn't have a good way to carry all of it at once. But I tried traveling during a cold night and went a bit too far and it rained and the dark and cold both slowed my pace so I ended up dying of hyperthermia from having gone a bit too far. At end game it was also revealed to me that I had managed to catch various diseases, particularly by eating raw meat.

In my next game, I also thought I was doing quite well. I found a meat cleaver and decent footwear early on, and had a character who could properly process dead animals. I was attacked by a couple of feral dogs who were promptly chopped, skinned and cooked. I found lots of berries and other food, a couple of great buildings to make into forts, all on the first day! Then I got ambushed by a group of four feral dogs, two of them strong ones, and although I slaughtered them all with my meat cleaver, they also covered me in bites, including a pretty bad bite on the shoulder, which I think ended up causing some internal bleeding that I didn't realize hadn't stopped, so when I tried to hold up and rest it off, I ended up expiring from loss of blood by the next morning.

It's a bit like getting to play a solo RPG with the kind of grit I like, but solitaire, and always in a terrible starting situation, and with no combat maps. Pretty fun. :-)

NEO Scavenger is a neat game. I haven't played it in a while, need to give it another run. It gets a bit easier when you find the city and can trade for items.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on March 18, 2017, 09:39:34 PM
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;950383
I was playing Overwatch. Until they destroyed the character I preferred to play.

That game has gone downhill pretty badly in its short lifespan.


As an overwatch player who?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on March 19, 2017, 12:34:01 AM
Quote from: kosmos1214;952501
As an overwatch player who?


D.Va

The nerfed her to the point she is now worse than she was when the game launched. To the point to where she isn't even a competative pick anymore.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on March 19, 2017, 03:26:21 PM
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952511
D.Va

The nerfed her to the point she is now worse than she was when the game launched. To the point to where she isn't even a competative pick anymore.

:rolleyes:
OK I get that people where unhappy with her nerf but it was necessary tri tank was bad for the game on so meany levels and contrary to your OPINION she's still competitive.
I should know I play D.Va the difference is she actuly dies to the tank killers and has to pick her battles rather then then just run in 1/2 cocked and get off scot free simply because she remembers to leave the firefight at 150 hp.
I'm not going to lie she has less raw power then she had but she has considerably more versatility and finesse to her play. Tons of raw power and finesse is going to be nerfed in any game its a natural combination that leads something ending up OP.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on March 19, 2017, 03:51:33 PM
I never actually played in a manner that took the tank meta into account. So that meta didn't effect me one way or the other.

No. The nerf to her guns definitely did effect her play. It made her entire offense a lot less threatening and made her a lot less of a contender in just basic play.

Playing by the meta. Any meta. I believe is cheating.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on March 19, 2017, 04:33:54 PM
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952659
I never actually played in a manner that took the tank meta into account. So that meta didn't effect me one way or the other.

No. The nerf to her guns definitely did effect her play. It made her entire offense a lot less threatening and made her a lot less of a contender in just basic play.

Playing by the meta. Any meta. I believe is cheating.

:rolleyes::rolleyes:
The fact you never played to the meta is irreverent it's not a single player game and while yes she lost damage 2 points (from 8 bullets of 3 per shot(24) to 11 bullets of 2 per shot(22)) she actuly has an easier time confirming her frags because her damage is more consistent and reliable. As to your consideration  of playing to the meta being cheating its not in ANY game there are going to be options that are at least situationally superior this is true of every game from overwatch to tf2 to chess and checkers.
I get it your butt hurt that your favorite character got nerfed a big one (from 400 armor and 200 hp(600) to 200 armor and 400 hp (600)) I'v been there the difference is I'm being objective about it and you aren't.
There A phrase from the fighting game community that I think you need to hear.

 [strike]buff[/strike]
 [strike]nerff[/strike]
 [strike]patch[/strike]
 adapt
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on March 19, 2017, 04:38:56 PM
Please do not use homophobic memes when speaking to me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on March 19, 2017, 04:45:04 PM
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952673
Please do not use homophobic memes when speaking to me.

HUH??????? Theirs nothing homophobic in that post.

butt·hurt
ˈbətˌhərt/
USinformal
adjective
adjective: butt-hurt

    1.
    overly or unjustifiably offended or resentful.
    "they're all butthurt that she released the album online first"

noun
noun: butt-hurt

    1.
    an excessive or unjustifiable feeling of personal offense or resentment.
    "it's time to get over the butthurt from last year's playoffs"

Origin
1990s: butt3 (sense 3 of the noun) + hurt.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on March 19, 2017, 04:51:11 PM
Quote from: kosmos1214;952674
HUH??????? theirs nothing homophobic in that post.

"Butthurt" Synonym for "Ass Raped"

Pejorative that refers to someone being violently dominated in a sexual manner.

It also casts male homosexuals in a less than favorable light. And it outright trivializes the act in question.

It seems you haven't researched the origins of said meme. Like I have.

It's offensive enough that Google has been blocking search results for it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on March 19, 2017, 05:22:09 PM
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952676
"Butthurt" Synonym for "Ass Raped"

Pejorative that refers to someone being violently dominated in a sexual manner.

It also casts male homosexuals in a less than favorable light.

It seems you haven't researched the origins of said meme. Like I have.

It's offensive enough that Google has been blocking search results for it.

sorry nope.

About

Butthurt is an online slang term used to describe a strongly negative or overemotional response. It is used to draw attention to a person who shows signs of being irritated due to a perceived insult, an unfavorable situation, or a lack of decent communication. On occasions, it can be also used to describe unreasonable users behaviors without an apparent explanation.

Origin

The term “butthurt” originates from spanking[1], the act of striking the buttocks of another person, which is often seen as a method of punishing a child. Though some cultures view this as an acceptable form of discipline, it can be interpreted as abusive corporal punishment. Online, one of the earliest archived mentions of “butthurt” appeared in a 1998 comment[8] posted on the website of Swiss surrealist painter H. R. Giger.

“Hollywood has tossed Giger for more talented artists, and even those artist who can emulate his style, without the tears and the hurt butts. If giger reads this I would be amazed, not only that he can comprehend a bunch of letters placed into groups and spaced randomly to create words which in turn create sentances, but that he can even UNDERSTAND the INTERNET! GIGER is LAME. all he can do is rely on his ALIEN paintings to make him famous! Well I used to be impressed until I read all this BUTTHURT he has been going through. Oh poor baby Giger.”

The comment was left by a poster named Doug in responding to Giger’s grievance over not being credited as a designer for sequel titles in the Aliens franchise. In the original 1979 film Alien, Giger based the extraterrestrial monsters after one of his 1976 paintings, Necronom IV.

Spread

The term was first added to the Online Slang Dictionary[10] as a hyphenated word on January 29th, 1999. The original definition stated it was anger caused by “a small slight or friendly insult.” The term was first added to Urban Dictionary[12] in December 2001, and has since gained a total of 32 definitions[2] with an additional 9 under “butt-hurt”[13] and 19 under “butt hurt.”[14] The term was named the Urban Word of the Day[16] on May 2nd, 2006. It was added to Wiktionary[11] in August 2007.

On YouTube, videos related to the term have been uploaded since as early as 2005, which mainly consists of butthurt behaviors found in online gaming or personal messages addressing those who feel that way. As of June 2012, there are more than 7100 video results[17] for “butthurt." Additionally, a Facebook group titled U Butthurt Bro?[15] was created in 2011, which has gained more than 5000 likes by June 2012.

I'm not saying there isn't an alt term or useage or meaning but evidence tends to support my side.  
Though I will give you that there is some confusion as to its origin.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on March 19, 2017, 05:26:19 PM
Quote from: kosmos1214;952681
Though I will give you that there is some confusion as to its origin.

This isn't a contest of who is right or wrong.

I simply asked that you not use that term around me. I find it offensive to the extreme.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sommerjon on March 21, 2017, 01:05:08 PM
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952682
This isn't a contest of who is right or wrong.

I simply asked that you not use that term around me. I find it offensive to the extreme.
We find you offensive to the extreme, yet you still post here.

Get the thumb out of your mouth and grow the fuck up.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tristram Evans on March 22, 2017, 08:56:26 PM
Quote from: Darrin Kelley;952682
This isn't a contest of who is right or wrong.

I simply asked that you not use that term around me. I find it offensive to the extreme.

Butthurt about the word butthurt
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: crkrueger on March 22, 2017, 10:12:44 PM
At least Kosmos found out what he said that was supposedly homophobic.

Weird though, even if you thought butthurt referred to anal sex, women take it up the keister too, so why not misogynistic?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tristram Evans on March 22, 2017, 10:34:35 PM
Quote from: CRKrueger;953306
At least Kosmos found out what he said that was supposedly homophobic.

Weird though, even if you thought butthurt referred to anal sex, women take it up the keister too, so why not misogynistic?

well, yeah, and if the joke referred to forced buttsex, why not misandrist even?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: noman on March 22, 2017, 11:52:04 PM
I recently discovered GOG.com, and have been enjoying some of the better computer games I missed when they originally came out.

Currently playing Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri extended (SMACX).

On a huge random map, playing the Spartans, trying for an economic victory...because nobody free markets like the Spartans.  It's 2185 and I've got Industrial Auto, half the early game secret projects, and have a good chance of getting the other half by 2200.

I'm on a continent by myself, so no real threat.  The Believers want me dead, and I'm like :rolleyes:.  Everybody else wants to be my friend, but it's only a matter of time before the Gaians declare vendetta on me.  Again, :rolleyes:.  Cause I got impact weapons, hypnotic trance, and half a dozen elite units who've been bored out of their minds for nearly half a century.

It's an absorbing game.  I understand why it was regarded so well during its time (still is, by many).  Sound is buggy on my desktop, though.

Before this I tried the original Master of Orion, but that games hates me, so I gave up.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on March 23, 2017, 06:46:51 AM
A lot of early PC games are painful to attempt today. Some real gems though. The early Ultima series is still durable for instance.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on March 23, 2017, 07:10:29 PM
Quote from: CRKrueger;953306
At least Kosmos found out what he said that was supposedly homophobic.

Weird though, even if you thought butthurt referred to anal sex, women take it up the keister too, so why not misogynistic?

Quote from: Tristram Evans;953309
well, yeah, and if the joke referred to forced buttsex, why not misandrist even?

Actually I don't believe it is homophobic I have spent time over the last several day looking it to it and every time I find an origin from a reputable source its in reference to SPANKING not anal sex.

The only places I find claiming it's a homophobic slur of some kind all fall in to one of A few category's.

1  Some one is to lazy to actually look something up and is pulling it out of there ass.

2 It's an outrage brigade or an sjw site that as normal is looking for A reason to be offended and attack the rest of us(The you can't say that because I decided it's bad types fall in the category to).

3 Last but actually what seems to be one of the more prevalent forms is A specific form of the sjw outrage set where they are trying to make it homophobic in there brand of new speak to try and forward a certain brand of quasi political ideology.

The reason I stopped responding to him wasn't that I bought his load of crap I decided I was done arguing with an idiot moron who would rather accuse me of deliberate using a homophobic slur when his poorly thought out argument don't hold up then actuly think critically.

In short I went.



Now can we get back on topic I like this thread and I don't want to see some mod close it because we got too rowdy.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on March 24, 2017, 12:25:05 AM
Quote from: Voros;953334
A lot of early PC games are painful to attempt today. Some real gems though. The early Ultima series is still durable for instance.

Yeah. I've really been enjoying the old Star Trek games (25th Anniversary and Judgement Rites) but I had to stop playing the TSR silver-box games before they completely ruined my memories of them.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: noman on March 24, 2017, 05:32:33 PM
Quote from: Voros;953334
A lot of early PC games are painful to attempt today. Some real gems though. The early Ultima series is still durable for instance.


I never got the play these games when they first came out.  I'm only now finding myself with time/money for computer games, so I've been exploring the games I missed out in my childhood.

Alpha Centauri is a lot of fun, sound bugs not withstanding.  I've dabbled with the original Master of Orion, 1 and 2.  Great games, but I have terrible luck in them.  I've heard good things about the Ultima series, but have never played them.  Maybe I'll try them next.  :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on April 01, 2017, 05:57:58 AM
I'll check out the Star Trek games thanks. I liked Alpha Centauri too noman and I usually suck at that kind of strategic game. I've played Ultima 3 and have Martian Dreams and Ultima 7 to complete.

I'm a bit in love with the old Infocom text adventures like Zork and A Mind Forever Voyaging. I find the text parsing, absurdly obtuse puzzles and instadeaths annoying but worth it for the stories and their imaginative power and refreshingly adult tone and humour. No instadeath in A Mind Forever Voyaging though. And happily they are all available on iOS for a good price.

I believe it is a later game and it has been remastered for PC and Mac but King of Dragon Pass is a masterpiece that blew me away. I love the politics, religion, difficult decisions, etc. But I suck at farming so my people always starve to death. It is what sparked my interest in Runequest.

And finally I can't recommend the games of Inkle enough, their adaptation of Steve Jackson's Sorcery! 1-4 are great, particularly 3 (haven't finished 4 yet but it is also excellent so far). Their Around the World in 80 Days is also loads of fun. They're games are deliberate throwbacks to the text adventures of the 80s but with an elegant modern interface.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tristram Evans on April 04, 2017, 12:25:59 AM
Quote from: Voros;954817


I'm a bit in love with the old Infocom text adventures like Zork


Those were fantastic. I still play them online on occasion. I miss that sort of videogame. They could have a modern adventure that combines that style with a modern graphic interface, but the only example I can think of something being attempted in that vein was the old Starship Titanic game by Douglas Adams.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on April 04, 2017, 03:45:44 AM
Checkout Inkle's Sorcery! series. The first one is just a taste of the greatness to come but they're all worthwhile.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tristram Evans on April 04, 2017, 05:09:16 AM
Quote from: Voros;955300
Checkout Inkle's Sorcery! series. The first one is just a taste of the greatness to come but they're all worthwhile.

cool, I will give that a gander
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Rincewind1 on April 04, 2017, 11:53:53 AM
Quote from: Voros;955300
Checkout Inkle's Sorcery! series. The first one is just a taste of the greatness to come but they're all worthwhile.

The one based on Steve Jackson's series? I have all of them and recommend them as well, if that's the case.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Nihilistic Mind on April 04, 2017, 12:16:09 PM
Right now, I am playing the hell out of Mad Max. It combines some fantastic stuff. I especially love making enemy vehicles/convoys explode. :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on April 04, 2017, 11:59:14 PM
Quote from: Rincewind1;955349
The one based on Steve Jackson's series? I have all of them and recommend them as well, if that's the case.

Yep those are the ones I mean. Their game based on Around the World in 80 Days is also very good. They're working on an original fantasy game right now too.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on April 06, 2017, 03:59:23 PM
My problems in Overwatch comes down to two things really.

The company nerfing the fun out of my favorite character.

And the massive amount of cheating that takes place on the PC version. I no longer regard it as a safe environment in which to just enjoy playing the game.

I don't care if I win or lose in Overwatch. I care about just having fun. And the fun is destroyed by the overwhelming presence of cheating in the game.

The fact one high profile bad actor was shown using DDOS attacks against players on the opposing side to score cheap wins convinced me that things with Overwatch are way too far out of control, to ever consider going back to it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Spike on April 06, 2017, 06:12:14 PM
Still playing Warframe and Fallout 4.  Despite being a purpose built gaming machine, my box seems to be failing me utterly on Deus Ex, as neither Mankind Divided nor the fancy pants edition of Human Revolution will get out of the intro-screen, though MD crashes and HR just pops up as a 3x5 card sized image of the menu that makes my heart weep tears of bitter rage... adn yes, I have gone and changed the settings to the 'my machine is as powerful as a breadbox' settings, and still no luck.

I was hoping to be playing Mass Effect, but... well... no. Not now, and sadly it seems, not ever. Not even once.  There is just too much shit in the mayonase to eat that sandwich.  Shame.

I'd like to say I'm playing the latest XCOM, but given my graphics problems, and the reports I heard of buggy designs, I haven't put the ducats in for it, and while I DID download the beta for Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, by the time the actual full game (rather than the tutorial only missions) came out, its time had passed for me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on April 07, 2017, 02:33:18 AM
I really want to play the new XCOM, loved the reboot, particularly the expansion that included mechs. Got to save up my pennies, I was kinda hoping it would have had a Steam sale by now. Or it did and I missed it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: nDervish on April 07, 2017, 05:40:21 AM
Quote from: Voros;955887
I really want to play the new XCOM, loved the reboot, particularly the expansion that included mechs. Got to save up my pennies, I was kinda hoping it would have had a Steam sale by now. Or it did and I missed it.

It has been on sale a couple times, but I don't think they've gone past 40% off so far.  Maybe 50%.  Not far enough for me to have bought it yet, in any case.  (I generally look for things to be at least 60% off before buying them on Steam.  And I still have an endless backlog of Steam games to play...)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: NikalausBig on April 09, 2017, 02:11:49 AM
Currently playing Dishonored 2, great atmosphere, hundreds of different gameplay mechanics, it's cool :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Spike on April 09, 2017, 04:00:46 AM
I had a hell of a lot of fun playing Dishonored, but it didn't strike me as that expansive re:gameplay... is there something that makes 2 much better or is it just a great sequel to a good game?

Of course I'm having problems because I refuse to move from my 360 to the XboxOne, and I still prefer consoles for a lot of games, though Steam (and Laptops...) have taken a greater role in recent years. Gotta be able to lug the entire system around and play on the fly, yo.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AaronBrown99 on April 09, 2017, 11:25:04 AM
Switched from Skyrim to Fallout 4 on my XBone.

I find my inability to craft a house with a decent wall and roof highly annoying.

Maybe the whole post-apocalyptic theme just isn't for me.

Any sandbox-type SF games out there for XBox? NOT Mass Effect?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Spike on April 09, 2017, 04:35:42 PM
For games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim I'd move to the Steam PC, just for Modding.  Even if the only damn mod you want is a fancy house... dear god, the houses people have created for those games!

I mean: I know you CAN mod on the consols... somehow? But in this case I, a console preferrererer, stick with the PC
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Starglyte on April 10, 2017, 05:02:37 PM
Since my last post, I been playing a lot of Overwatch and Star Trek Online.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AaronBrown99 on April 10, 2017, 07:06:37 PM
Quote from: Spike;956291
For games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim I'd move to the Steam PC, just for Modding.  Even if the only damn mod you want is a fancy house... dear god, the houses people have created for those games!

I mean: I know you CAN mod on the consols... somehow? But in this case I, a console preferrererer, stick with the PC

Mods are available for both on the XBox, I'll check them out, thanks!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on April 10, 2017, 11:08:32 PM
I'm currently playing Planet Explorers since I finally realized it is out of beta now. I am really tempted to get Stellaris.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on April 11, 2017, 02:57:30 AM
I just got it last week  (and have been playing way too much of) Stars in Shadow (http://stars-in-shadow.com/), which is a space 4x game in the vein of Moo2.

Not staggeringly original, but nicely streamlined and actually has turn based tactical combat, which almost every space 4x game doesn't.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on April 11, 2017, 03:36:52 AM
Quote from: NikalausBig;956219
Currently playing Dishonored 2, great atmosphere, hundreds of different gameplay mechanics, it's cool :)


So just like the first one, which I really liked.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tod13 on April 11, 2017, 09:56:14 AM
I'm a cheap player--I like Trion's RIFT (a free to play through level 65 MMO) on my PC.

And I like KEMCO's turn-based RPGs on Android--currently playing Journey to Kreisia (phone) and Asdivine Hearts (tablet).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baron Opal on April 11, 2017, 06:31:01 PM
I've really gotten into Overwatch myself. Fun game when you can avoid the asshats. Making teams cuts down on that.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on April 13, 2017, 04:16:34 AM
Enjoying Death Road to Canada. May tire of its permadeath approach eventually though.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Dionysus on April 17, 2017, 04:07:32 PM
Zelda Breath of the Wild and Hitman.

I'm trying to get level mastery of Colorado on professional difficulty. It's my least favorite level in the game but you unlock a sniper rifle that plays Ave Maria for doing it so...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on April 19, 2017, 03:30:01 AM
Been playing the hell out of Battle Brothers. Funny that I discovered it because here lately I've been burning through the Black Company novels.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on April 21, 2017, 03:50:45 AM
Interested in the latest game by the shit disturber who made Mountain. It's called Everything and is based on Alan Watts talks to a degree. You play everything there is.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: NikalausBig on May 07, 2017, 06:48:23 AM
Currently playing Seven Days To Die Starvation mod, its very cool :) waiting for my new pc arrival :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Piestrio on May 15, 2017, 08:43:46 PM
Yooka Laylee is pretty fun if a bit repetitive.

I've also been playing Dawn of War 2, which is very nice. Almost like a "quick hit" RTS. I can sit down for 20-30 minutes and feel like I accomplished something.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Itachi on May 20, 2017, 08:25:16 AM
Bloodborne. On my 5th character right now. Oh boy, I can't stop playing it.

I hope the big secret From supposedly have for e3 is Bloodborne 2.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Vile Jester on May 20, 2017, 08:57:19 AM
Prey is all right so far. Though entirely predictable, it's my first time having any non-VR fun in a couple of years.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Dumarest on May 20, 2017, 02:21:28 PM
I don't play video games but my kids like the ones that simulate driving racecars at Chuck E. Cheese.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on May 20, 2017, 04:52:39 PM
I got DOOM used for the PS4. Enjoying the hell out of it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ant on May 21, 2017, 03:10:28 PM
Dedicating too much of my limited game time to World of Tanks. Aside from that, Metal Gear Solid 5 and Crusader Kings 2 are running nicely along. Just finished an Eire run with 80% of European nobility either related to the reigning empress or under her fealty.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danbuter on May 23, 2017, 04:46:42 PM
I played Life is Strange. It is fantastic, if you like roleplaying. It's kind of like a video choose-your-own-adventure. I highly recommend it. $20 on Steam (cheaper on Amazon for xbox and ps). It took me 16 hours to complete, and I didn't even get all the side stuff.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on May 24, 2017, 04:07:33 PM
Quote from: Voros;958505
Interested in the latest game by the shit disturber who made Mountain. It's called Everything and is based on Alan Watts talks to a degree. You play everything there is.


I bought this and played a few hours so far. Once you get over the weird non animation of the animals it's kind of interesting.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ulairi on June 02, 2017, 02:18:10 PM
I got Street Fighter II for my family's Nintendo today. My wife and kids are gone for the weekend so a buddy is coming over Saturday night and we're going to play Street Fighter II and Mario Kart while having some beers.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baeraad on June 09, 2017, 03:39:17 AM
I just finished Mass Effect Andromeda. Now I'm trying to figure out just where all the gamer hate is coming from. My own impression of the game aligns more with the reviews, like this one (http://nordic.ign.com/mass-effect-andromeda-ps4/1590/review/mass-effect-andromeda-review) - that is to say, some strong parts, some weak parts, overall pretty fun but nothing spectacular.

Quote from: danbuter;963959
I played Life is Strange. It is fantastic, if you like roleplaying. It's kind of like a video choose-your-own-adventure. I highly recommend it. $20 on Steam (cheaper on Amazon for xbox and ps). It took me 16 hours to complete, and I didn't even get all the side stuff.

I'll second this one. Amazing stuff. :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on June 09, 2017, 05:49:24 AM
I need to play Life is Strange. Just got Dishonored 2 used.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Dumarest on June 09, 2017, 11:38:40 AM
We found a Round Table Pizza near us that has Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaga. So that's pretty cool. Except for the nasty pizza.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ras Algethi on June 16, 2017, 01:16:54 PM
Playing the beta for Battletech (http://battletechgame.com/). Only skirmish right now but pretty dang fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tod13 on June 16, 2017, 04:12:38 PM
Quote from: Ras Algethi;969066
Playing the beta for Battletech (http://battletechgame.com/). Only skirmish right now but pretty dang fun.


How is the AI and the learning curve?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on June 17, 2017, 08:24:17 PM
Just back from E3. The game that made the biggest impression was Archangel, a big robot VR fighting game. I've played my share of the like (both VR and big robot), and this is the first action game that really made consider buying an Oculus just to get the game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tommy Brownell on June 18, 2017, 01:40:38 AM
Been playing lots of Friday the 13th: The Game on PS4. So, if anyone wants to play sometime, hit me up at TheFamousTommyZ.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on June 18, 2017, 02:18:47 AM
Didn't realize that had been released. My PS4 is far away from me at the moment sadly.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tommy Brownell on June 18, 2017, 10:53:39 AM
Quote from: Voros;969527
Didn't realize that had been released. My PS4 is far away from me at the moment sadly.

It works out for you, then. It was apparently a catastrophe at release, as demand on their servers exceeded forecast by several thousand. A few patches later and now they're down to quality of life housekeeping rather than "patch this so people can actually play".

I've had a few bad experiences with chuckleheads, but if you make some friends and get into private matches, it's a hoot for slasher fans.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ras Algethi on June 18, 2017, 02:05:25 PM
Quote from: Tod13;969119
How is the AI and the learning curve?

The AI is OK at this point and within one skirmish I had a handle on the UI and options.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on June 18, 2017, 11:09:38 PM
Quote from: Tommy Brownell;969606
It works out for you, then. It was apparently a catastrophe at release, as demand on their servers exceeded forecast by several thousand. A few patches later and now they're down to quality of life housekeeping rather than "patch this so people can actually play".

I've had a few bad experiences with chuckleheads, but if you make some friends and get into private matches, it's a hoot for slasher fans.

Good to know thanks!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tod13 on June 19, 2017, 09:21:38 AM
Quote from: Ras Algethi;969638
The AI is OK at this point and within one skirmish I had a handle on the UI and options.

Thanks!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on June 19, 2017, 11:36:28 AM
I'm locked on Sea of Thieves when it drops for PC. I'm also in for Battlefront II.

God help me... I might be purchasing a PS4 for Red Dead Redemption II, which I'll be sacrificing some of my PC Master-Race credibility in order to play. But fuck it. I GAME, I AM.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ulairi on June 19, 2017, 12:01:47 PM
My family played some ARMS on our Nintendo for Father's Day. My daughters really liked it and my mother-in-law and wife were able to participate with them so that was a good time. I'm playing Disgea 5 and SFII for it. Really a great little system.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on June 25, 2017, 02:56:54 PM
Quote from: tenbones;969861
I'm locked on Sea of Thieves when it drops for PC. I'm also in for Battlefront II.

God help me... I might be purchasing a PS4 for Red Dead Redemption II, which I'll be sacrificing some of my PC Master-Race credibility in order to play. But fuck it. I GAME, I AM.

I just bought yesterday Red Dead Redemption for one of my players birthday present.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on June 25, 2017, 03:13:23 PM
Not sure if this counts. But after nearly a decade I returned to have a look at the old Shadowrun MUD, Seattle 2064. Runs off mostly 3e SR so if you are familliar with 3e then you can get into chargen alot easier. Though its pretty smooth really and they option between the allocation system and other.

Currently just mapping out the city and figuring out where everything is. Especially the Johnsons and shops. Unfortunately its not as refined as Awake is. But on the other hand the admin arent as hostile. I'd poke into Awake and just keep a low profile. But their damn retardely short kill timer on inactive characters makes it a study in futility.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on June 28, 2017, 05:26:07 AM
Are MUDs still text based?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on June 28, 2017, 05:40:09 PM
Quote from: Voros;971940
Are MUDs still text based?

Yes. All text. Quick example from stepping outside the training area.

Quote
You step out into the night air. Rain falls around you.

Ridgeway at Seattle Center
   A large portion of the traffic, both on the street and on the road seems
immediately drained from view, and sucked in towards the Seattle Center. Not
unlike the centrepiece of the downtown neighbourhood, it attracts both
residents and tourists alike, with its huge structure containing a wealth of
different restaurants, boutiques, and other consumer heavens. The wide
concrete square surrounding the center gives space to people to relax and
pause along the tree-lined promenades that lead you into the Center.  A two
story structure is dwarfed to the south, a plasticrete school of sorts.
[ Exits: e s sw w nw ]
East  - Ridgeway and Fifth Street
South - Entrance to the Training Area
Sw    - A New Army Outlet
West  - Fourth and Ridgeway Street
Nw    - SeaTac Monorail Station

<<10/10|22.39/70|6180|4.81|8/8/0|2|*/*>>

Closed or locked doors on Seattle2064 wont show on the exits listing. Just at the quick list as like n(C) or u(L).
Line at the bottom is my own custom HUD, ots a bit more colourfull. Reading across its Physical/Mental-Carried weight/max-NuYen-Karma-Combat/Defense/Offence pool-Hacking Pool-Current/Max Ammo. The last is blank as I've got my gun holstered. Otherwise Lonestar might try to arrest you, or just shoot you. Keep your weapons and illegal gear concealed or holstered when on the streets.

Im about 75% done mapping Seattle. Mainly to both pin down where everything is. And to get as complete a listing as possible of all the shops as some of the Johnsons will send you off to get items for them. Or just knowing where the hell Dante's is Or where in the Aztechnology mall a certain shop is to make a delivery.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on June 29, 2017, 01:37:08 AM
I love the old text games despite their terrible puzzles. I had no idea text MUDs still existed. Cool.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danbuter on June 30, 2017, 03:59:06 PM
I recently picked up Oxenfree during the current Steam sale. Very good game, for less than $4. I also got Shadows of Mordor, but haven't installed it yet, as it's a 50 GB download.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Spike on July 01, 2017, 04:50:32 AM
I picked up Hatred on Steam the other day and played the first level. It was a bit awkward without a controller, but simple mindless carnage style fun.  Guess it's internet outrage famous because they didn't bother to dress up the mindless carnage with some feelgood backdrop, they literally made it about mindless carnage for its own sake (Hence the name...).

But due to my work schedule I haven't been playing games much lately, not even the near mindless porn-games on the internets (and I mean the games, not some weird euphemism for porn, with the porn in the name...).  I'd say I"m still playing Warframe, but honestly I haven't played a proper mission, much less done any serious grinding in weeks.

I mention it, however, because I will be attending Tennocon in Canada-eh next week.  Hmm... maybe someone in the area of London might want to meet up? Do we even have any Canadians on this board?  If so, why haven't we banned them on general principle?  Oh, right. Pundit. Like he counts.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Warboss Squee on July 07, 2017, 10:33:08 PM
I got Mordheim City of the Damned for 75% off and the Shadowrun DLC for a pittance.

Loving the hell out of both of them.  But Shadowrun keeps crashing when I try to record it, which is really weird.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: sincerely on July 21, 2017, 06:48:38 PM
I finally got my grubby mits on Persona 5, so I've been hanging out with anime high schoolers every night for the past week.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on July 22, 2017, 12:32:30 AM
Well my self I have been playing valkyria chronicles 3 thanks to A fan patch and its like A dream come true.


Quote from: sincerely;977205
I finally got my grubby mits on Persona 5, so I've been hanging out with anime high schoolers every night for the past week.

Yeah when I get around to playing that my life will cease to exist.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: fearsomepirate on July 24, 2017, 11:04:13 AM
Playing some old games that I skipped back in the day:

Silent Hill 2 - Great graphics for the time that overall hold up pretty well. However, it's at its heart just a walking simulator. I liked the creepy visuals and psycho-drama, but as a game, I found it to be extremely boring with little meaningful challenge. When Sean Malstrom raged about "hardcore games" being much easier than "casual games," this is the sort of game he was talking about.

Project Gotham Racing 2 - Very fun arcade racer. It is too bad they aren't making these any more. One of the reasons I am playing this is to unlock a bunch of cars, as the only games my wife will play with me are racing games, and the PS4 has few to none that have her favorite cars (Cooper Mini, VW Bug, etc...) and split-screen play.

Thief: Deadly Shadows - With how badly Thi4f has been panned, I decided to see if I'd enjoy the 3rd game in the series. It's not by Looking Glass, but so far, I feel it does justice to the original games and have been enjoying it a lot. One of the things I liked about stealth games is they aren't over in 6 hours due to you not being able to charge through the scenery at breakneck pace, machine-gunning everyone you see.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on July 25, 2017, 01:12:38 PM
I picked up X-Com: Enemy Within during one of the many summer sales that happened. I do OK until I get one of the special Council missions and then one of my two good squads gets riggity wrecked. But I like the game quite a lot.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on July 25, 2017, 04:07:29 PM
Quote from: Michael Gray;978100
I picked up X-Com: Enemy Within during one of the many summer sales that happened. I do OK until I get one of the special Council missions and then one of my two good squads gets riggity wrecked. But I like the game quite a lot.

Always remember: X-COM (the game) hates you and wants you to fail.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Michael Gray on July 25, 2017, 05:05:05 PM
Quote from: ThatChrisGuy;978155
Always remember: X-COM (the game) hates you and wants you to fail.

Yup. I feel like managing panic and only having one response squad makes it pretty rough compared to the original. I also can't just send rookies out holding primed grenades to take one for the team. That plus mando Council missions that are generally a deathtrap make it seem that much harder. Or maybe I just played the original so much it became somewhat rote.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on July 26, 2017, 03:39:51 PM
Quote from: Michael Gray;978168
Yup. I feel like managing panic and only having one response squad makes it pretty rough compared to the original. I also can't just send rookies out holding primed grenades to take one for the team. That plus mando Council missions that are generally a deathtrap make it seem that much harder. Or maybe I just played the original so much it became somewhat rote.


I'd say it's the latter the old games are hard as balls coming from A guy who's still playing the originals.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ras Algethi on August 29, 2017, 07:43:36 PM
XCOM2 The Chosen War DLC has been pretty cool so far.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tod13 on September 05, 2017, 09:54:21 AM
Trion Rift quit working on our machines after a Windows 10 update. So I'm playing (from GOG) the original Far Cry and Torchlight. Once my wife gets caught up at the lab, we'll be playing 2-player Torchlight 2.

Torchlight is a nice little enjoyable time killer. Simple but entertaining when you want to "kill monsters" for a while.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ulairi on September 05, 2017, 11:29:49 AM
I picked up a roleplaying game for our Xbox called Pillars of Eternity but I'm not able to ever get a chance to play it. We have one TV in our household and my wife and kids monopolize it so I either have to wait until they go to bed or play when they are out and I'm home. I feel like a fool ever buying Xbox games.

I have been able to play Mario and Rabbids which is a XCom like game for the Nintendo Switch. It's a lot of fun and the whole family can watch/play together. I kind of want every game on the Switch so I'm able to play.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baeraad on September 13, 2017, 02:25:00 AM
The Walking Dead, season two. Great narrative game, good character stuff, but it's bleak as hell.

Red Faction: Armageddon. Also bleak as hell, and without much in the way of character stuff, but you get to blow shit up, which takes the edge off a bit.

Looking forward to the next chapter of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, which hits the sweet spot for me in regards to character stuff and bleakness. ;)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Steven Mitchell on September 13, 2017, 04:20:37 PM
I've finished Wizardry 6, in the process of playing Wizardry 7, and have Wizardry 8 on tap.  I played 7 long ago, multiple times, and got hopelessly stuck each time, even with a clue book.  I don't have the patience anymore for that kind of mapping and exhaustive exploration of every widget you find with every oddball place there is to try to use it.  Plus, keeping enough save games archived to not have to start over.  So this tour is with the kind of mostly complete internet hints that weren't available when I tried it the first time.  I'm half playing the game, half tourist seeing under the hood the things that drove me crazy long ago.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on September 13, 2017, 10:31:30 PM
Quote from: Michael Gray;978168
Yup. I feel like managing panic and only having one response squad makes it pretty rough compared to the original. I also can't just send rookies out holding primed grenades to take one for the team. That plus mando Council missions that are generally a deathtrap make it seem that much harder. Or maybe I just played the original so much it became somewhat rote.


I dunno, I'm sensing a touch of sequel-itis here. I haven't tried the expansion (yet), the XCOM2 was a chore to play through once...so many high hit point bad guys, cover just about useless as they can just take the hits as they walk up and crush your face. The primary strategy is just load up on grenades (and EMP 'nades) and just scorch your way through the hordes. The original explained the alien tactics a bit but...I don't get what they're doing in the sequel even after beating it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ras Algethi on September 14, 2017, 11:58:07 AM
Quote from: Doom;992149
I dunno, I'm sensing a touch of sequel-itis here. I haven't tried the expansion (yet), the XCOM2 was a chore to play through once...so many high hit point bad guys, cover just about useless as they can just take the hits as they walk up and crush your face. The primary strategy is just load up on grenades (and EMP 'nades) and just scorch your way through the hordes. The original explained the alien tactics a bit but...I don't get what they're doing in the sequel even after beating it.

The War of the Chosen is still the same base game as XCOM2. The campaign flows basically the same (I have not completed the whole thing yet but so far the flow is the same). What really added is some new hero classes for both your side and the alien side. The Chosen are the aliens heros and they can be a pain in the ass. They show up randomly to screw with you on missions.  There is a new general enemy that can be on some missions. The Lost are basically zombies but on missions they mess with the aliens and the XCOM soldiers. The retaliation missions are cooler now as the resistance folks have their own soldiers so it feels like are really helping a resistance base now.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on September 16, 2017, 03:48:26 AM
Dishonored 2
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Itachi on September 24, 2017, 07:41:37 PM
Quote from: Voros;992839
Dishonored 2
Great game. Tell us more about it!

Playing War of the Chosen for Xcom2 and having a blast. One of the best strategy games I've seen. A pity the presentatn is so bad. The Chosen look like Team Rocket from Pokemon, with silly speeches and poses.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on September 24, 2017, 08:56:58 PM
I bought a Nintendo 2DS XL a little over a week ago. I'm playing Pokémon Sun. This is my first Nintendo device since I bought a GameCube over a decade ago. No regrets.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on September 25, 2017, 11:20:34 AM
Quote from: Itachi;995541
Great game. Tell us more about it!

Playing War of the Chosen for Xcom2 and having a blast. One of the best strategy games I've seen. A pity the presentatn is so bad. The Chosen look like Team Rocket from Pokemon, with silly speeches and poses.

I actually enjoyed the Chosen smacktalk.  They were a more interesting take on boss battles than the alien rulers, too, so that was nice.  It's really a great expansion to an already great game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on September 26, 2017, 01:03:13 AM
Quote from: Krimson;995556
I bought a Nintendo 2DS XL a little over a week ago. I'm playing Pokémon Sun. This is my first Nintendo device since I bought a GameCube over a decade ago. No regrets.

I have a 3DS, which is essentially the same as the 2DS, but has the 3d feature (I think the 2DS has a slightly faster CPU) .
I play  games on it a fair bit and it;s a lot of fun for a 30 minute gaming distraction when waiting for or on the move on a train or something. :)

Currently playing some Stunt bike game a lot and an some Zelda games.
Oh , also I really like "Heroes of Ruin" a very nice ARPG, kind of feels a bit like Diablo.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: FaerieGodfather on September 26, 2017, 06:48:33 AM
It's been a really long time since I've even attempted to play something other than Crusaders of the Lost Idols and Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms.

I have a handful of recent fighter games that I need to break into and I just can't find the motivation.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on September 26, 2017, 09:24:34 PM
Quote from: danskmacabre;995884
I have a 3DS, which is essentially the same as the 2DS, but has the 3d feature (I think the 2DS has a slightly faster CPU) .
I play  games on it a fair bit and it;s a lot of fun for a 30 minute gaming distraction when waiting for or on the move on a train or something. :)

Currently playing some Stunt bike game a lot and an some Zelda games.
Oh , also I really like "Heroes of Ruin" a very nice ARPG, kind of feels a bit like Diablo.


The 2DS XL is pretty new, and has a similar folding design to the 3DS and according to two 3DS owners, it's very very light. I haven't thought of a second game to get yet, Pokemon Sun keeps me occupied and Ultra Sun is preordered. I'm tempted to find some Mario game, though not sure yet.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: giggo70 on November 05, 2017, 11:58:57 AM
I suggest playing Path of Exile. It's the best hack & slash game out there (somewhat RPG too lol)

It's free to play too - there are no microtransactins that have impact on the gameplay too
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on December 17, 2017, 01:02:07 PM
I bought Transformers Devastation on PC a while ago, and got around to finishing it yesterday.
I mostly liked it for the G1 nostalgia. The gameplay is button mashing beat 'em up, and not very notable. The story is pure G1 and I actually found a lot of inspiration in it for my ever-in-progress Transformers TT RPG.
The game gets pretty ludicrous and repetitive towards the end. Fighting Devastator and Menasor at the same time, button mashing the Transform attack, I felt like combat was a grind.

I'd put it at my #3 favorite Transformers video game, just under War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron. Desptie it's repetitive gameplay, at least it doesn't suck balls like most Transformers video games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Nihilistic Mind on December 19, 2017, 11:47:28 AM
I've been playing a lot of Dead by Daylight. Really fun game!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Wooster on December 29, 2017, 07:08:47 PM
I've been really interested in roguelikes the past couple of weeks. My favorites so far have been Brogue, ToME, Sil and Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. I bought Caves of Qud, but I'm not sure if I enjoy it THAT much. Might need to play it more.

Outside of that, I've also been playing a lot of Baldur's Gate -- I still haven't beaten it and am nearly 50 hours in -- and World of Warcraft. Not so much the latter lately because of the rougelikes interest above.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on December 30, 2017, 04:53:23 PM
I beat the Elite Four in Pokemon Ultra Sun this morning. I played a lot last night. Nice thing about this one is that there is much more end game content.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ant on December 31, 2017, 05:34:15 AM
Week ago noticed that Dwarf Fortress has gotten new version. DL:d the latest and wow, the dwarves really go and fetch artefacts to the fort when sent to do that. Now to figure out how to get them to read the 'secrets of life and death' to create a necromancer fortress..
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on January 03, 2018, 12:01:33 AM
Playing Starbound and occasionally making forays again into Champions Online.
Still havent gotten around to transferring my Minecraft maps over to the new computer.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on January 03, 2018, 12:31:38 AM
Been playing Eternal the Card Game. It's free on Steam, and a total M:TG clone, but uses the computer to generate card effects that you could never do in tabletop play.

Wayyyy too much fun so far.

And if you're looking for a roguelike, check out Dungeons of Dreadmoor, it's good for a few romps.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on January 03, 2018, 01:12:48 AM
Oh and for the curious. On Steam they have the new Tales of Candlekeep - Tomb of Annihilation board game up as a PC game on sale.
Looks like a port of the board game and seems to be using overall the same rules. (4e)
Unfortunately looks like it is single player only? And some addons for the characters are DLCs. Cheap, but still DLCs.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imaginos on January 04, 2018, 03:12:02 PM
About 70% complete with Mass Effect Andromeda on the PS4.  Overall enjoyable game, with some video glitches that happen (drinking from missing cup is my most common).  Also try to RP and stay in character for the main guy, to be consistent as if I were playing him at a game table.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imaginos on January 04, 2018, 03:15:32 PM
Quote from: Krimson;995556
I bought a Nintendo 2DS XL a little over a week ago. I'm playing Pokémon Sun. This is my first Nintendo device since I bought a GameCube over a decade ago. No regrets.


I bought myself a 2DS XL for Christmas, and got my older daughter the same, while my youngest the 2DS (flat panel unit).  We are all enjoying them - I finished Legend of Zelda A Link Between Worlds - thought it was great.  The older one is playing Pokemon a lot, not sure which one she said she just beat.  I don't let the youngest take hers to her mom's just because of things getting lost over there.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Pogist on January 16, 2018, 03:44:00 AM
I currently play Path of Exile, as if it is a MMO RPG, but not much of an RPG. I really like this game, relaxes me after a day of work. Anyway, I've spent so much money on PoE currency that it would be stupid to stop.

I remember TES Morrowind very well, and I have never played Oblivion or Skyrim before. Are they somehow connected? If, at first, in Oblivion, will it be compatible with Skyrim mythology?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Headless on January 16, 2018, 03:05:10 PM
I am still getting the most millage out of FTL.  I love that little game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on January 17, 2018, 08:20:53 AM
I just finished Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds on ultrahard, which was really, really, really rough.  I also finally got around to finishing X-COM: Enemy Within and now I'm getting ready to start up Battle Chasers: Nightwar.

I've been picking away at Forma.8 when I only have a little time to play something.  It's a fun metroidvania style game with more exploring and less combat.

On my 3DS I'm playing Metroid: Samus Returns and having a blast with it.  

I've been playing VA-11 HALL-A on my Vita and the most I can really say is that it's interesting.  It's pretty much a VN with some unique characters and a little bit of strategy/memory required to get to the different endings.  It's definitely not for everyone, but if you like cyberpunk and visual novels you may like it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on January 17, 2018, 01:38:58 PM
Quote from: Pogist;1019817
I currently play Path of Exile, as if it is a MMO RPG, but not much of an RPG. I really like this game, relaxes me after a day of work. Anyway, I've spent so much money on PoE currency that it would be stupid to stop.

I remember TES Morrowind very well, and I have never played Oblivion or Skyrim before. Are they somehow connected? If, at first, in Oblivion, will it be compatible with Skyrim mythology?

Yeah, POE is fun. You should try Titan Quest, though, especially with the expansions. I've played many, many, Diablo clones, and TQ is the absolute best by far (like 28 classes?).

Oblivion and Skyrim have the same mythology, because they're set in the same world. They're not in the same country, though, but they reference each other quite a bit. Skyrim's the better game by far, but Oblivion is pretty good, too.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Voros on January 17, 2018, 05:33:25 PM
I'm enjoying short punchy games right now so I reinstalled Tallowmere, a fun rogue-light and Battleblock Theater, the funniest game I know.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Itachi on January 20, 2018, 12:05:18 AM
Nier Automata came out of nowhere and blew my mind. One of the best gaming experiences ever for me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Pogist on February 05, 2018, 08:41:06 AM
DayZ - really nice Horror Survival, little similiar to other battle royals
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Skepticultist on March 30, 2018, 11:46:51 PM
I'm just wrapping up all the side quests and collectible hunts for Assassin's Creed III.  I have very mixed feelings about the game.  On the one hand, probably the best storyline I've ever seen in a video game, definitely best of the AC series.  The whole alternative American Revolution aspect is just too much fun.  I spent half the game with wikipedia opening, checking every single character's name to find out if they were a real person.  The missions are fun, the setting is great.

Shame about the controls and the menus though.  So much of the game feels rushed, with important scenes occurring in the wrong order -- like there's a narration in which Conner talks about "years passing" when the screen says "Six Months Later" and he talks about "growing and changing," but looks exactly the same.  Then you complete the next mission and suddenly the game advances four years with no warning and Connor looks completely different, and you realize the narration was supposed to happen after your most recent mission, not before.  

Also, many of the menus present the options as "(B) Decline (A) Accept" which is just dumb -- you never put Option B before Option A.  Or how you use the left joystick to move, but then when you go to the map you use the right joystick to move and the left to select different displays, so when you flip to the map your instinct is to move with your left thumb, and instead you end up switching through different submaps and menus.  Just horrible interface design all around.

Oh, and like all Assassin's Creed games, it still keeps interrupting the cool, interesting game so that you can play as Desmond Miles in the stupid metaplot.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: oggsmash on April 09, 2018, 09:56:05 PM
Ark.  On the Xbox.  I was an avid PC gamer years ago and loved Age of Conan, but it was quite a time sucker and with kids no way I could play that and still call myself a parent now a days.  Ark sucks time, but my kids play it with me, and on a server it is alot of fun.  Has a bit of everything in it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on April 10, 2018, 12:32:39 AM
Decided to do Far Cry 5. It's "more of the same" but that's not necessarily a bad thing if you like 3 and 4. The "exotic" environment this time is Montana. I feel some qualms about the Christian Fundamentalists being villains (Christ is never mentioned but it's not a stretch to say whatever religion they're practicing is similar to the most common religion to North America).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Trond on April 18, 2018, 08:59:47 PM
Currently playing Leisure Suit Larry 3.
Come to think of it, I should also finish Witcher 3
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on April 19, 2018, 10:02:59 AM
Quote from: Doom;1033602
Decided to do Far Cry 5. It's "more of the same" but that's not necessarily a bad thing if you like 3 and 4. The "exotic" environment this time is Montana. I feel some qualms about the Christian Fundamentalists being villains (Christ is never mentioned but it's not a stretch to say whatever religion they're practicing is similar to the most common religion to North America).

I finished it, and by the game's end I can't give it more than a "C".  It took the worst aspects of the prior two games and cranked them up to 11.  It's really a shame, because everything but the main plot stuff is pretty damn fun.  As for the villains, they're more Jim Jones, David Koresh, or Hong Xiuquan than actual Christians.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on April 19, 2018, 09:36:46 PM
I decided to pay for a month to play DC Universe Online after a four or five year hiatus. Amazingly I still remember some of the missions, though the game is much better than I remember it. It's not as good as City of Heroes/City of Villains but in some ways the combat is better with a semblance of actual physics so for now it scratches that itch.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on May 02, 2018, 05:13:43 AM
I've been playing an early access PC game, Stellar Tactics.  It's basically Baldur's Gate (or more like Wasteland 2) meets Elite. Basically you have real time space combat (not as good as Elite, but decent, though weirdly only in a 2d plane) but on the ground you have an isometric view and when you enter combat it goes to turn based.

When it's done, it will have a lengthy story plus a procedurally generated universe with randomly generated missions. Right now it's just got a 5 hour story plus one solar system with a random dungeon, but I've sunk over 30 hours into it.

The RPG mechanics are kinda like BRP with levels. Your skills are 1 to 100 and go up while using them and every time you raise them so much, you level up which gives you more hit points and lets you boost your stats
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ras Algethi on May 02, 2018, 08:26:06 AM
Playing the new Battletech game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on May 03, 2018, 01:38:34 PM
Quote from: Ras Algethi;1037032
Playing the new Battletech game.

Me too...so far not real thrilled, but it is functiional. I wished they'd played a bit of Titans of Steel and used the ideas there for a big robot fighting game. Or at least refined things a bit, though that's much to ask of a Kickstarter game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on May 03, 2018, 04:46:15 PM
Quote from: Doom;1037311
Me too...so far not real thrilled, but it is functiional. I wished they'd played a bit of Titans of Steel and used the ideas there for a big robot fighting game. Or at least refined things a bit, though that's much to ask of a Kickstarter game.

I've been playing it a lot.  It's fun, but it needs to be re-jiggered quite a bit.  For example, I think the iconic energy weapon (the PPC) isn't worth taking at the moment and that just strikes me as wrong in a Battletech game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on May 03, 2018, 06:44:33 PM
Well, the PPC always was a bit off as a weapon (Battletech was fun, but not a perfect design by any means).

But that's the thing: they felt the need to tweak the rules for some effin' thing. Changing all the damage values is probably the most retarded thing, though changing the cockpit design to include rows of sharpened spikes and 500,000 lose shards of broken class is close (yea gods do pilots take damage all the time), with an honorable mention for "yes, with your leg shot off you can still stand up, run around, and hit someone in the back" design.

Battletech was always a goofy design, with big robots using weapons so wildly inaccurate that battles always degenerated into punching matches, and I'm ok with that. But there's much here that is changed, without any reason as far as I can see.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: oggsmash on May 07, 2018, 04:26:01 PM
Gave Conan Exiles another shot last week ( I had not played it for around 4 - 5 months) and it is MUCH improved.  The mood and ambiance in some of the dungeons is spot on.  I think the devs have done tremendously in bringing that game to a launch version this past year.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gabriel2 on May 22, 2018, 11:46:25 AM
Playing Super Robot Wars X on the PSTV.  The game is OK.  The cast is a bit weak on characters I give a flip about.  Level/Scenario design is somewhat meh.  The storyline is utterly forgettable standard TRPG/crossover trash.  I make it sound really bad, but it's got solid gameplay and it's just fun to throw the mechs around the battlefield and blow crap up.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ras Algethi on May 23, 2018, 12:18:50 PM
Quote from: Doom;1037311
Me too...so far not real thrilled, but it is functiional. I wished they'd played a bit of Titans of Steel and used the ideas there for a big robot fighting game. Or at least refined things a bit, though that's much to ask of a Kickstarter game.


Quote from: ThatChrisGuy;1037353
I've been playing it a lot.  It's fun, but it needs to be re-jiggered quite a bit.  For example, I think the iconic energy weapon (the PPC) isn't worth taking at the moment and that just strikes me as wrong in a Battletech game.


Having fun, started a second campaign. I think it could use a weapons balance/fix pass as well.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on May 23, 2018, 04:27:02 PM
Quote from: Ras Algethi;1040374
Having fun, started a second campaign. I think it could use a weapons balance/fix pass as well.

LRMs are just too good.  Stability damage, relatively low heat, and no LRM chart where you only hit with all missiles on an 11 or 12 on 2d6 means that they are just flat better than every other weapon in the game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Rhedyn on May 25, 2018, 07:46:33 AM
I've been playing No Man's Sky. It's getting a multiplayer update on July 24th and they added a main quest line (single player) in the last patch.

At this point it's a pretty adequate game with some decent mechanics to incentives exploration.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on May 31, 2018, 11:02:07 PM
A new Pokemon set of games was announced for November, and the announcement coincided with a sale on eBay. So a couple of nights ago, I ordered a Switch. I have no idea what I'll play on it. Breath of the Wild is probably the best choice. Vanilla Skyrim is mildly tempting, but probably no. Maybe Bayonetta? Or possibly Mario Odyssey. Anyone have any recommendations?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Thornhammer on June 01, 2018, 11:13:57 AM
Have been playing the updated version of Space Hulk: Deathwing.

Adds are a bunch of unlocks for multiplayer/random missions (you can upgrade your weaponry to an extent, and can now do random missions based on maps you have completed), and a couple of new bad guys.  One is an Aberration that totes a mining laser, the other is a kamikaze Nid that explodes upon death or contact with you.

This latter fucker will really get on your nerves - fortunately there is zero chance you'll miss its approach.  It glows purple and has a very loud, very distinct, and very constant scream.

Still no Carnifex.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on June 02, 2018, 10:58:31 PM
Quote from: Krimson;1041517
A new Pokemon set of games was announced for November, and the announcement coincided with a sale on eBay. So a couple of nights ago, I ordered a Switch. I have no idea what I'll play on it. Breath of the Wild is probably the best choice. Vanilla Skyrim is mildly tempting, but probably no. Maybe Bayonetta? Or possibly Mario Odyssey. Anyone have any recommendations?

Update on this. I decided to get Zelda after reading several reviews. Currently I am still playing Pokemon Ultra Sun (146 hours in), since I can farm pocket monsters for future games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on June 03, 2018, 06:02:38 PM
Quote from: Thornhammer;1041550
Have been playing the updated version of Space Hulk: Deathwing.

Adds are a bunch of unlocks for multiplayer/random missions (you can upgrade your weaponry to an extent, and can now do random missions based on maps you have completed), and a couple of new bad guys.  One is an Aberration that totes a mining laser, the other is a kamikaze Nid that explodes upon death or contact with you.

This latter fucker will really get on your nerves - fortunately there is zero chance you'll miss its approach.  It glows purple and has a very loud, very distinct, and very constant scream.

Still no Carnifex.

I've been slugging away at this, too...it's not bad for a little game, and definitely captures the board game, but just too lean for me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Krimson on June 05, 2018, 08:47:17 PM
My copy of Breath of the Wild probably won't arrive until Friday, so today I splurged and picked up Super Mario Odyssey. The controls are much more complex than I am used to, but I am really enjoying it so far, though I think I should have bought a second strap for the Switch since it has motion control features.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on July 21, 2018, 04:43:34 PM
Just finished playing through Final Fantasy Legends I and II. AKA: the Sa*Ga series on the Gameboy. Even still have the rulebooks! The first game is alot of fun as you can pull off some neat tricks with a human PC. The second one is a little more balanced and my favourite of the three. The addition of the robot race adds some more fun options for group loadout. It also has a slightly more involved story.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on July 21, 2018, 09:26:30 PM
Quote from: Omega;1049953
Just finished playing through Final Fantasy Legends I and II. AKA: the Sa*Ga series on the Gameboy. Even still have the rulebooks! The first game is alot of fun as you can pull off some neat tricks with a human PC. The second one is a little more balanced and my favourite of the three. The addition of the robot race adds some more fun options for group loadout. It also has a slightly more involved story.

Yeah male mutants are still useless though.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Thornhammer on July 21, 2018, 11:26:12 PM
Been playing a lot of Witch Hunt on Steam.

18th Century New England, you're a witch hunter looking to help the town of Bellville.  FPS, game takes place in the town (your safe hub - heal, buy shit and upgrades, get rewards) and the woods.

Woods are incredibly atmospheric, creepy as hell.  Minor monsters all over the place, boss fights are ongoing (you're to hunt down the wandering boss and take him or her out).  Your weapons are a pistol, a musket, and a saber.  Both guns are single-shot and take some time to reload.

Takes a lot of inspiration from the movie The Witch - there's a black goat that tends to follow you around, the actual witch looks and sounds like one from the film (and she will thoroughly piss you off).  You'll see some other shout-outs to related media here and there too, they're unobtrusive and fun to find.

It's an inexpensive game produced by one guy, worth the ten bucks.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on July 25, 2018, 12:45:22 PM
I've been jacking around on Warframe while I wait for my guild to re-convene for the WoW expansion. Yeah this is some good stuff right here. and it's FreeeEEEEeee!

Best word in the world. Free.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on July 26, 2018, 11:22:58 PM
Quote from: tenbones;1050387
I've been jacking around on Warframe while I wait for my guild to re-convene for the WoW expansion. Yeah this is some good stuff right here. and it's FreeeEEEEeee!

Best word in the world. Free.

One of my players plays Warframe alot. But is currently distracted with some sort of Morrowind expansion.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danbuter on August 01, 2018, 04:13:21 PM
I've been playing both American Truck Simulator and European Truck Simulator 2. Got them for sale cheap on Steam. Driving a big rig, following traffic rules, and making a delivery really shouldn't be this interesting, but I love it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: 3rik on August 02, 2018, 06:24:28 AM
Quote from: danbuter;1051147
I've been playing both American Truck Simulator and European Truck Simulator 2. Got them for sale cheap on Steam. Driving a big rig, following traffic rules, and making a delivery really shouldn't be this interesting, but I love it.

The Farm Simulator games always look like they're more fun than they should as well. Any experience playing those?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on August 07, 2018, 04:52:53 PM
I picked up the Resident Evil Revelations Collection for Switch last month. And I have been enjoying it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danbuter on August 08, 2018, 07:39:49 PM
Quote from: 3rik;1051175
The Farm Simulator games always look like they're more fun than they should as well. Any experience playing those?


I haven't tried them yet, but I agree that they also look very interesting.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alderaan Crumbs on August 13, 2018, 01:04:23 PM
Warframe.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bawol on August 24, 2018, 07:48:27 AM
I also play Warframe :-) I see that Warframe is becoming more and more popular. Very good quality and great performance for a f2p game, but Warframe is a p2w game. To buy new Warframes you need platinum, you need to buy platinum in the game store.
If you keep silent about the platinum aspect, then Warframe is a great game.

I'm trying to finish Skyrim, I'm very surprised. I'm a huge fan of Morrowind, but Oblivion was a bad game, I did not even finish it. Skyrim is great :-)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on September 09, 2018, 06:14:32 AM
I'm currently playing a game called Creative Destruction. Some people will call it a Fortnite clone. But I don't think that really does the game justice.

Everything in Creative Destruction is destructable. To fuel your building. There is only one type of material you have to farm. It's done by destroying anything that you come across.

This is a battle royale game. For both phones and PC. So it's stripped down to the bare basics to work on low powered machines.

The big innovation of this game is a feature called the Quick Build. It alllows you set aside a structure you find yourself most commonly using. Like a hollow box with a ramp in it. Which is what it comes set up with my default. You hit the button, and it builds right under you. This makes it so you don't have to fiddle as much with the building controls and going through different shapes and orientations of said building pieces as much in combat. Since the game is fast paced. It can be a lifesaver.

I won my very first ever session I played of Creative Destruction on my Android Phone. And it runs gloriously. It's absolutely optimized for that format.

The PC version. However. Has only mouse and keyboard as the control option. Disappointing to me. Because I very much would prefer using my gamepad/controller. It was disappointing. But not a dealbreaker for me.

Now. The price point. On Android and IPhone it is a free download. On PC, you get access to a full version of the game for $2.99 USD on Steam. There is also a free PC demo.of it if you want to try before you buy.

The gamepass. The equivilent to the Battlepass in Fortnite. It's priced very low. The highest version is a monthly purchase of $5 USD. It unlocks a lot of extras. And there is a lesser version if you don't want to buy a full monthly pass that is cheaper still. This game doesn't price gouge you.

The game is fully playable if you buy the full PC version or if you get the phone version. You don't have to spend anything on things like skins and outfits in the game. There are no pay to win aspects to it. So everybody is playing in the same conditions.

And you do get access to one of the in game currencies by just playing.

I'm not being paid by the company for my recommendation. I just think this is the best and most to the point Battle Royale game I have played to date.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on September 11, 2018, 12:30:51 PM
Currently raiding in WoW on Hellscream.

I've dropped the entire BF franchise for obvious reasons (after nearly 17-years of playing.) Dabbling in Warframe (woo!) eyeballing Spiderman for my PS4 for my single-player chillout game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sable Wyvern on September 27, 2018, 01:41:19 AM
I started playing Bard's Tale IV. Not impressed. I got the original remasters with the kickstarter, though, so now I'm playing Bard's Tale I.

Edit: And I will most likely be buying Vox Machinae today, for some VR mech fun on my Rift.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bawol on September 27, 2018, 07:38:42 AM
I gave up Warframe, I need too much time or money (to buy platinum ...) to play this game, which only seemingly is F2P.

I have now returned to old Flash games. I am currently playing Kingdom Rush 2
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alderaan Crumbs on September 28, 2018, 09:51:54 AM
Quote from: Bawol;1053881
I also play Warframe :-) I see that Warframe is becoming more and more popular. Very good quality and great performance for a f2p game, but Warframe is a p2w game. To buy new Warframes you need platinum, you need to buy platinum in the game store.
If you keep silent about the platinum aspect, then Warframe is a great game.

I'm trying to finish Skyrim, I'm very surprised. I'm a huge fan of Morrowind, but Oblivion was a bad game, I did not even finish it. Skyrim is great :-)

You don't need Platinum to buy anything, it just takes longer to get things, naturally. I have spent money but never felt pressured to. I feel the economy is very transparent and fair. BTW, what were you playing on?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on October 02, 2018, 02:06:32 AM
Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption.  It's from the people who made Quest for Glory for Sierra back in the 1990s (and one of whom wrote a module for Judges Guild back in the 1980s). It's pretty fun adventure/RPG hybrid.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on October 03, 2018, 06:15:15 PM
I've been playing a fair bit of Kingdoms and castles (https://store.steampowered.com/app/569480/Kingdoms_and_Castles/) on my mini PC, a GPDWIN 2 (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gpd-win-2-handheld-game-console-for-aaa-games--2)

On my main PC, a newish game , Pathfinder, Kingmaker (https://store.steampowered.com/app/640820/Pathfinder_Kingmaker/).  Which is pretty fun.
It's a fancy looking Isometric style RPG based on the Pathfinder Tabletop RPG.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: oggsmash on October 08, 2018, 02:43:53 PM
Vermintide 2, I played the first one from time to time, but the second one is a big improvement and definitely deeper with more rpg progression elements.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on October 12, 2018, 11:56:09 PM
Quote from: oggsmash;1059396
Vermintide 2, I played the first one from time to time, but the second one is a big improvement and definitely deeper with more rpg progression elements.

Hmm, might have to put this on the bucket list...I wasn't so impressed with the original, either.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: oggsmash on October 17, 2018, 01:38:15 PM
Quote from: Doom;1059988
Hmm, might have to put this on the bucket list...I wasn't so impressed with the original, either.

  I think it is 30 bucks for computer and console.    Like I said, it is a major improvement.  Lots of things are better, to me adding the followers of nurgle to the mix added a whole lot in and of itself, especially imagery and atmosphere.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bawol on October 22, 2018, 07:53:35 AM
I currently play in the Path of Exile - I've been playing for 5 or maybe 6 months. Some players call PoE MMO RPG, but it's just a Hack N Slash (but the highest quality). For sure I can recommend PoE to anyone who likes Diablo 2 :-)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on November 01, 2018, 05:51:21 AM
Just started playing Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark

While it's kinda an awful name, basically it's a Tactics Ogre/Final Fantasy Tactics homage. More the former, due to the hand drawn 2d art. Still in Early Access, but basically it's all done but the story (which is 70% or so complete)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imaginos on November 01, 2018, 10:39:28 PM
I was playing through Borderlands 2 again. Just bought some new stuff with the Target B2G1 special, so about to get into one of those.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on November 04, 2018, 04:25:15 AM
One of my players and one former player who moved out of state are currently playing the Fallout 76 beta.

As for myself. Currently tinkering with an ASCII based game called Dwarf Fortress. A sort of RTS and SIMs style game where you direct a buch of dwarves starting a new colony. Tons and Tons of stuff you can do in it. Dig and mine tunnels, craft stiff, go to war, farm, raise animals, diplomacy, fend off monsters and animals and watch your dwarves do the most perplexing things now and then.

It is a fairly complex game. But I found the basics are fairly easy to grasp. The dwarves are surprisingly autonomous and go about their daily lives when not trying to perform some task that has been assigned. For example all I had to do was mark out where to dig and one of the dwarves on their own decided to do the digging. Same with a corpse and parts area assigned. Dwarves at random tidy the place up. They go to the food stores, grab mugs and feed themselves even.

Another fascinating aspect is the complex and elabourate histories each world you create will develop and the fact that things you do in the game may become history and artifacts for a later group to discover.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baron Opal on November 12, 2018, 03:24:48 PM
Warframe is fun. It's definitely pay-to-save time, not win. You can grind out anything that isn't cosmetic.

Battletech and Overwatch are my time wasters of choice, at the moment.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on November 14, 2018, 06:46:26 PM
By myself,  
Dead Cells (Platformer) on PC Steam.

I have lately been playing Torchlight 2 with my daughter, which has been fun.

I have also recently got into slither.io , which is a bit of fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Mind Crime on November 20, 2018, 08:50:59 PM
Been playing Project99, an Everquest Emu. Classic, Kunark and Velious only. Never should have loaded it up. For a 20 year old elf sim, it's still fun as hell.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on November 20, 2018, 11:18:17 PM
I've been playing quite a bit of Rising Storm 2; Vietnam. Don't really have the time for anything that requires me to sit down and seriously engage.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bawol on November 21, 2018, 06:34:22 PM
FO76 and this is not a great game and I really love "canonical" series like FO1 and FO2, but this Fallout is first MMO so it's different and really nice game. But I play only one hour per a day, made some caps and go to sleep
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: HappyDaze on November 21, 2018, 09:03:10 PM
Quote from: Bawol;1065691
FO76 and this is not a great game and I really love "canonical" series like FO1 and FO2, but this Fallout is first MMO so it's different and really nice game. But I play only one hour per a day, made some caps and go to sleep

I've watched my stepson play it. It seems OK, but lacking compared to F3, FNV, and F4. I guess that's because some things got sacrificed to allow for multiplayer but then I see very little multiplayer interaction in actual play, so...

I'm considering picking it up after I finish my master's in May. By that time, I'll know if it's going to have any staying power or if it's going to burn out fast among players. This matters to me because it seems inadequate as a single-player Fallout game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Bawol on November 22, 2018, 06:49:02 AM
I agree, although I do not like Fallout 4 (even worse than 3!)
I like Fallout1, Fallout2 (additions to 2 ie restoration and ressurection) and FO NV.
Fallout 76 still seems like it was a BETA version, the number of possible interactions does not really impress, I still hope that this game will develop and mature.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on December 03, 2018, 01:27:07 PM
For anyone who still plays Medieval 2: Total War mods, Europa Barbarorum II v2.35 has just released (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?791590-Announcement-Europa-Barbarorum-II-2-35-released!).

Huge volume of fixes and stability improvements, but more critically a significant amount of new content (including 40 new units). Check out the changelog in the linked thread if you want an idea of what's new.

Full disclosure: I'm a developer on the EBII team, some of this is my work.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on December 03, 2018, 06:23:27 PM
I bought X4 (https://store.steampowered.com/app/392160/X4_Foundations/) the other day.
I paid full price too, which is the first time for a while I've bought a game that wasn't on sale.

Anyway, it's the latest Space trading game made by Egosoft.
Their previous effort, being X Reunion was awful, but this is actually very good.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on December 04, 2018, 05:37:51 PM
Gotta take it easy on the abbreviations, not everyone knows all the acronyms. X4 and M2TW? No idea.

Anyway, just started Mutant Year Zero, surprisingly tough. Granted, I'm somewhat debilitated, but I'm finding "save and reload" to be the only way through even the early missions.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on December 04, 2018, 07:11:06 PM
Quote from: Doom;1067521
Gotta take it easy on the abbreviations, not everyone knows all the acronyms. X4 and M2TW? No idea.

Anyway, just started Mutant Year Zero, surprisingly tough. Granted, I'm somewhat debilitated, but I'm finding "save and reload" to be the only way through even the early missions.

M2TW is Medieval 2: Total War. Old game, but a good base for total conversion modifications.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on December 06, 2018, 06:15:14 PM
Quote from: Doom;1067521
Gotta take it easy on the abbreviations, not everyone knows all the acronyms. X4 and M2TW? No idea.

X4 is the name of the game, it's not an abbreviation.
I also described what it actually is, a space trading/combat game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on December 08, 2018, 05:49:59 PM
Warframe on the Switch. I'm really digging it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ZeroSum on December 08, 2018, 08:44:14 PM
I've been getting into Kenshi (https://lofigames.com/) now that it's out of Early Access.



Kenshi is a single player sandbox PC game set in a vast and atmospheric 'Sword-Punk' style open world. With a mix of RPG elements, squad-based control and city-building features, gameplay is completely free-roaming and open: enjoy the freedom and potential to do whatever you want.

Set in an unrelenting world of bloodthirsty cannibals, starving bandits, brutal slavers and wild beasts, survival alone is a grueling struggle… You are not the chosen one. You're not great and powerful. You don't have more 'hitpoints' than everyone else. You are not the center of the universe, and you are not special. Unless you work for it.


I figure with a summary like that it's bound to interest someone around these parts. :)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: LittleZ on December 10, 2018, 11:48:04 AM
I love fighting games like Tekken 7 on my PS4. Sometimes Fortnite, when friends force me. :D
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: LittleZ on December 10, 2018, 11:53:56 AM
Quote from: ZeroSum;1068013
I've been getting into Kenshi (https://lofigames.com/) now that it's out of Early Access.


Looks like RUST ..
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on December 11, 2018, 09:28:48 PM
I've been playing VA-11 HALL-A cyberpunk bar tender action its the most amazing game.
playing A bartender an a 80s dystonia all in the style of A pc88 game. and it has the most fantastic sound track.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on December 27, 2018, 03:16:46 PM
I started playing Paladins on my Nintendo Switch. I even boiught the character pack. So I get all of the characters unlocked. Because the game sort of sucks when you don't have access to all of them.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: shuddemell on January 02, 2019, 10:49:32 PM
Quote from: LittleZ;1068124
I love fighting games like Tekken 7 on my PS4. Sometimes Fortnite, when friends force me. :D

As do I... BTW, you haven't happened to pick up Soul Calibre 6 yet, have you?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kuroth on January 04, 2019, 10:50:13 PM
Enjoyed Kingdom Come on console.  Would have liked a character creator, but it is otherwise one of the better recent RPGs of the past couple years.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on January 22, 2019, 05:29:29 PM
I have played both Overwatch and Paladins. Two games with some similarities. But definitely different approaches to the whole hero shooter paradigm.

The overwhelming playstyle encouraged in Overwatch is hero switching. If you die, you switch to another character that might do better against the other team. This is baked into the game. And expected by the most vocal of the game's fanbase. However, it disenfranchises and punishes those players who just really want to get really good with their favorite character. So yes, there are some definite down sides.

In Paladins hero switching is not a thing. You choose your hero at the beginning of the match. And that's it. You can't switch to another character in the middle of the match. So you have to do your best with the character you have. And that's it. You can't change team composition to metagame the system for victories. In my opinion. Paladins rewards those players who focus on improving their skill, first and foremost.

Yes, I am biased in favor of Paladins. For straight up game play. It just feels better to me.

I also play wildly different styles of characters in the two games. In Overwatch, my preferred character is D.Va.Who is an off-tank. In Paladins, my preferred character is Skye. Who is a flanker.

I came to this conclusion after spending quite a bit of money on a huge statue of D.Va from Overwatch. And I have bought a bunch of other merchandise based on her. So yeah, I really love the character.

But for game play? Overwatch has become too toxic and unfriendly for me. It has catered to the wrong audience for too long. And it has certainly damaged my enjoyment of the game.

Paladins I play on the Nintendo Switch. And I have a blast with it. I managed to pick up the character pack that unlocks every character for quite nearly half price during the holidays. And so far, my experience has been very much of enjoyment.

But I am not sure if most of that enjoyment comes from simply my being new to Paladins. And currently having rose colored glasses toward the game. So I will have to just play more and see if my positivity lasts.

But I have to end this by saying the obvious. Cheaters suck. They destroy the atmosphere and sense of community in a game. They make the players who want to play legitimately for enjoyment to no longer want to play. And if the company doesn't deal with them out of the gate, they take over and lay waste to it all.

Activision Blizzard gets a lot of heat from bad service on their other games. It has certainly creeped into Overwatch. And as a fan of the game and its lore, I'm certainly in a state of mourning.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: WeldonRac on January 30, 2019, 09:11:23 AM
I prefer Overwatch by a mile. Paladins is such an unpolished game and an attempt to jump on the Overwatch hype train. But to each their own, I suppose. We all have our preferences.

I'm currently playing, or replaying should I say, Witcher 3 and I'm going to do the expansions too. Love that game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: LittleZ on February 04, 2019, 10:57:11 AM
Quote from: WeldonRac;1072835
I'm currently playing, or replaying should I say, Witcher 3 and I'm going to do the expansions too. Love that game.

Good choice! I love it too!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on February 04, 2019, 07:50:35 PM
I have a rather centered view of both Overwatch and Paladins. Both games are great multiplayer games. But they are definitely not for everybody. They both have different styles of play that they cater to. So there is a lot to choose from.

If you go to Paladins from Overwatch. Flat out. You shouldn't exact the same approaches to exist or even work there. Paladins is definitely its own ecosystem.

Compared to Paladins, Overwatch is really stripped down and reliable in its character abilities. It has a basic predictability to all of its characters that is always there. If you prefer that? Good on you! Overwatch is a great game. And I have a lot of love for it and many of its characters. But it is definitely its own experience.

Paladins is a more complicated game. Because every character's abilities are up for being modified by an infinite number of different card loadouts each character can have. So you never know what you are really facing from any character an opponant has chosen.

You cannot switch characters mid-match in Paladins. You have to stick with the character you have chosen for the length of the match. So there is no on the fly switching of team compositions. Like there is in Overwatch.

The choice between the two games ultimately comes down to individual preference of play styles.

Both games each have their own poster child sickly overpowered character. Who getting killed by feels massively cheap. With Overwatch, it's Genji. With Paladins, it's Koga. Getting killed by either of them feels like a cheap shot. Instead of an actual earned defeat of an opponant. Because they are just plain, head and shoulders, far more powerful than all of the other characters in the game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on February 05, 2019, 08:24:13 PM
Himeko Sutori. I have no idea if the name actually means anything in Japanese, but it's a strategy RPG largely inspired by Ogre Battle's mechanics, where you control a large army of RPG characters and group them into squads and fight very large battles with them.

It's an Early Access game and incredibly rough, plus there's not a huge amount of story content yet, but it's remarkably fun. I've somehow sunk 20 hours into it already.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on February 14, 2019, 10:42:34 PM
Just started playing Elder Scrolls Online gain from last night.
Wow, has it improved since I played it last several months ago.
Much better interface, UI, quests, ingame help is really good.

I just have the base game too, so haven't bought any of the extra content.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on February 17, 2019, 12:26:59 PM
I discovered something last night that made me very happy with High-Rez Studios. They did something that genuinely surprised me. And I just had to share it.

They recently enabled Paladins Cross-Play with XBox, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Which they announced they were going to do a considerable time ago. However! They did something additional that was a true gift to their customers. Something so very nice.

You see, I downloaded Paladins for the PC last night. I had been playing it on the Nintendo Switch for months. And while I enjoyed it, I also wanted to play it on the PC. The game won me over  enough that I was prepared to buy the Champions Pack unlock a second time so I could play it on the PC as well. But after I loaded my PC version. That is where I got the surprise.

My High-Rez account is universal. It works on all platforms. And when I went into the PC version, I found all of my stuff! All characters unlocked! All in game currency I earned! High-Rez made the accounts universal! So nobody has buy content more than just once. To be able to play it and enjoy the content they gained across all platforms!

It still has DLC. It still has a battle pass. And it still has microtransactions. But a unified account across all platforms? That was a very nice discovery. Something most video game companies these days do not do.

High-Rez Studios are the first video game company I have seen who have done this. And I am very greatful to them for doing so. It makes their games more playable, more enjoyable, and far more consumer friendly.

Yes. This is me being positive for once. Illustrating when a video game company did something I believe to be right. Something very much pro-consumer.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Delete_me on February 21, 2019, 12:12:47 PM
Still playing the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. ...only 40 shrines left to go.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alathon on February 27, 2019, 08:44:19 PM
Lately I've been giving Pathfinder: Kingmaker a go.  It had a rocky release (too early, too buggy), and a lot of people apparently dislike video games where 'normal' difficulty isn't easy, so I think it's fair to say the reviews on Steam are not fully representative of the quality of the product as of February 2019.  It does a respectable job of implementing Pathfinder (D&D 3.75) mechanics in an isometric realtime+pause combat engine.  A pretty solid chunk of the Pathfinder mechanics are there, and the character building has the same pleasantly crunchy feel as Pathfinder (for those who enjoy such things, as I do).

For a totally different genre, revisiting Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance has been a lot of fun.  Not even multiplayer, just finding neat ways to speed run on the missions in 40-50 minutes rather than the usual 90.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ephealy on March 09, 2019, 06:32:28 PM
I still can't stop playing Star Realms on Steam.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: SimonGamer on March 14, 2019, 04:26:43 AM
You might call me crazy but I'm still playing League of Legends and been doing so since 7 years already. :p

I feel like Riot efficiently tackles the repetitivity of the game with their new season changes and stuff. Sure, at some point it might stop being enough but for now that's good. I think they've noticed it themselves as they've began working on a new game :)

As per what I don't like in the game it would be the pain in the ass to make new accounts there - it takes over 2 months of few hours daily play to get an account to level 30 - that's slavery. While there are websites (https://rankedkings.com/lol-accounts) aiming to solve this issue my policy has always been that I'm not going to spend a dime on a game after I've initially purchased it. Thus I hate micropayments, you should pay for a game once, get it and be done on the money part
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on March 14, 2019, 11:54:06 AM
Battle Brothers has been an obsession for me the last few weeks. The graphics are goofy, but great once you understand how they're showing everything you need to know. Took forever to get good enough to beat a lindwurm (i.e., dragon) without casualties.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on March 17, 2019, 07:40:33 PM
Having recently got a PS4 PRo, I've been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and Diablo 3 a fair bit recently.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Redforce on March 22, 2019, 12:29:33 PM
Nothing!
My mother-in-law is staying with us and she is using the big plasma TV my X-Boxes are hooked up to, watching Russian TV.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on March 24, 2019, 07:17:32 AM
Just started playing GTA IV, something I have owned for years, but never even put in the drive. I discover I'm terrible at driving, largely because braking doesn't seem to work well.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Delete_me on March 25, 2019, 02:10:36 PM
Driving in GTA IV is an experience unto itself. It's... terrible, but fun once you get the hang of it.

V's driving was much more enjoyable, but the plot (while interesting) wasn't nearly as well done as IV, in my opinion.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on March 26, 2019, 11:32:37 PM
I uninstalled Apex Legends because I finally got fed up with microtransactions. I'm tired of them being in the games I play.

They actively detract from the fun of playing the games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on March 28, 2019, 08:02:23 AM
Quote from: Tanin Wulf;1080762
Driving in GTA IV is an experience unto itself. It's... terrible, but fun once you get the hang of it.

V's driving was much more enjoyable, but the plot (while interesting) wasn't nearly as well done as IV, in my opinion.

Driving is entirely hit and miss for me, the handling of most of the cars is awful. I'm not looking forward to any missions that require me to chase someone down, or worse race them.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alathon on April 01, 2019, 10:33:52 PM
Quote from: SimonGamer;1078956
You might call me crazy but I'm still playing League of Legends and been doing so since 7 years already. :p

I feel like Riot efficiently tackles the repetitivity of the game with their new season changes and stuff. Sure, at some point it might stop being enough but for now that's good. I think they've noticed it themselves as they've began working on a new game :)

As per what I don't like in the game it would be the pain in the ass to make new accounts there - it takes over 2 months of few hours daily play to get an account to level 30 - that's slavery. While there are websites (https://rankedkings.com/lol-accounts) aiming to solve this issue my policy has always been that I'm not going to spend a dime on a game after I've initially purchased it. Thus I hate micropayments, you should pay for a game once, get it and be done on the money part


It's a competitive PvP game.  I still play as well, on and off, and it's a good thing that new players are required to play a whole bunch of games before they can play ranked.  The potential for frustration on everyone's part otherwise would be immense.  It also adds a price tag to getting account banned -- either you have to do the leveling again, or pay money to buy a leveled one.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 02, 2019, 09:48:10 AM
Still playing GTA4, I'm at least a bit better at gunplay than driving. Cars make nice mobile cover for gunfights, if only it were possible to put them in neutral and roll them forwards.

I've discovered the pinnacle of awful driving: motorbikes. If cars weren't bad enough, they're even worse.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Delete_me on April 02, 2019, 07:07:51 PM
OMG. I never. EVER used a motocycle outside of when it absolutely made me. If I could find an excuse to swap to a car, always did. Those were the absolute worst!

Where you at, mission-wise? (I'm assuming spoilers aren't appropriate for a... 12? year old game.)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on April 03, 2019, 08:27:55 PM
I got "Surviving mars" on PS4.  It's quite fun and once you get used to the console controls, pretty easy to navigate around.
I DID get a wireless keyboard and mouse on the PS4 to use with the game, but I found it more convenient to sit back on the sofa and use the controller, than crouch over a keyboard and mouse.

I got "No Man's sky" on PS4 as well, which is a fun distraction at times.

Also got Horizon zero dawn on PS4, which is GREAT fun, but I generally play that for long gaming sessions on weekends.

So yeah, my PC is a bit neglected atm... poor thing!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 07, 2019, 11:37:55 AM
Quote from: Tanin Wulf;1081961
OMG. I never. EVER used a motocycle outside of when it absolutely made me. If I could find an excuse to swap to a car, always did. Those were the absolute worst!

Where you at, mission-wise? (I'm assuming spoilers aren't appropriate for a... 12? year old game.)

I'm still not that far through. Vlad is dead and I'm just about to meet Dmitri, who I think is about to betray Mikhael.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 12, 2019, 03:47:36 PM
Starting to get really annoyed with GTA4's clunky controls. If I fail this mission to take out Mikhael once more, because I'm fighting to get him to do anything I want, I'll give up.

I've got Sleeping Dogs installed which I haven't even played yet, I thought I should play the inspiration first...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on April 12, 2019, 04:39:35 PM
Quote from: Kiero;1083123
Starting to get really annoyed with GTA4's clunky controls. If I fail this mission to take out Mikhael once more, because I'm fighting to get him to do anything I want, I'll give up.

I've got Sleeping Dogs installed which I haven't even played yet, I thought I should play the inspiration first...

Sleeping Dogs is awesome, I found the control scheme on PC much less annoying than the GTA games.  The fighting is inspired by the Batman Arkham series and is pretty damn fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Cave Bear on April 15, 2019, 08:16:25 AM
Just finished Detention and Deltarune. Now playing Into the Breach and Puyo Puyo Tetris.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Delete_me on April 15, 2019, 05:38:47 PM
Quote from: Kiero;1082582
I'm still not that far through. Vlad is dead and I'm just about to meet Dmitri, who I think is about to betray Mikhael.

I enjoyed that part of the game. That part and the middle I thought were the best parts. Towards the end things felt, to me, like they were lagging a bit. (But it did pick back up, even if I, personally, am not a fan of the final missions, the story did at least pick up again.)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 15, 2019, 05:43:22 PM
What I won't be playing (since I don't have a hot gaming rig or next generation console) is Jedi: Fallen Order (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaCy-qCR1UY). Although in that case because they're expecting me to invest in generic, preppy, white guy protagonist (with a strong Anakin Skywalker vibe), with no customisation. Like it's the 1990s or something, and you can only have the character the developers decided was appropriate. Mass Effect let me make the protagonist my own over a decade ago.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Delete_me on April 16, 2019, 02:56:52 PM
If they prove to me there's 0 loot boxes and 0 DLC that's really mandatory to get the story at launch (I'm OK with stuff that's truly something extra) then I'll think about it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JRT on April 17, 2019, 06:30:13 AM
Quote from: Kiero;1083366
What I won't be playing (since I don't have a hot gaming rig or next generation console) is Jedi: Fallen Order (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaCy-qCR1UY). Although in that case because they're expecting me to invest in generic, preppy, white guy protagonist (with a strong Anakin Skywalker vibe), with no customisation. Like it's the 1990s or something, and you can only have the character the developers decided was appropriate. Mass Effect let me make the protagonist my own over a decade ago.

Yes, but Mass Effect was an RPG, from what I understand this game is an action adventure game akin to Tomb Raider, and features a single protagonist with a history.

Not every game needs character customization or an open world.  For instance, the arguably best RPG in this decade is The Witcher 3, and you play a fixed protagonist.  I think it all depends on the tone of the game and what the developers have in mind.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 17, 2019, 03:34:38 PM
Just got Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 for free, thanks to a voucher on ebay. I was looking for 4-player games for the XBox 360 to get around the numerous fights my children (I have three) have over who's turn it is on the various Lego games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 18, 2019, 04:52:48 AM
Finally gave up on GTA4 and tried Sleeping Dogs for an hour - I'm sold. Even if we overlook the clunky controls and crap vehicle section, the core open-world gameplay of GTA4 is not fun. For a single reason: that Liberty City has the fastest police response time of anywhere in the world, and an infinite supply of cops too. You can't do anything without having cops shooting at you, and after a while spending half the game trying to lose pursuit just gets boring.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Itachi on April 19, 2019, 12:16:34 PM
Quote from: Kiero;1083638
Finally gave up on GTA4 and tried Sleeping Dogs for an hour - I'm sold. Even if we overlook the clunky controls and crap vehicle section, the core open-world gameplay of GTA4 is not fun. For a single reason: that Liberty City has the fastest police response time of anywhere in the world, and an infinite supply of cops too. You can't do anything without having cops shooting at you, and after a while spending half the game trying to lose pursuit just gets boring.
Felt the same about GTA4 too. Have you tried Watchdogs 2? Found it actually good, specially with the different ways to mess with the city through hacking. Forget about the first game though, it's weak sauce.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Itachi on April 19, 2019, 12:18:22 PM
Quote from: Cave Bear;1083316
Just finished Detention and Deltarune. Now playing Into the Breach and Puyo Puyo Tetris.
Into the Breach is addicting as hell. Love the desert team and their control of smoke/sands.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 21, 2019, 12:24:13 PM
Quote from: Itachi;1083817
Felt the same about GTA4 too. Have you tried Watchdogs 2? Found it actually good, specially with the different ways to mess with the city through hacking. Forget about the first game though, it's weak sauce.

I haven't; I'll have to look out for it, see if I can get it cheap.

Loving Sleeping Dogs, even the shooting sections aren't awful like GTA4. It's like someone played GTA4 and looked to fix all the things that were wrong with it. The story is much more engaging, too. They even managed to top the soundtrack (the radio stations in GTA4 are really good) - with the inclusion of Ninja Tunes radio, one of my favourite labels of all time.

I saw rumours of a sequel that was eventually canned, is anyone doing anything with the engine, I wonder? It would make an awesome base for all sorts of open world games.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JRT on April 22, 2019, 06:53:18 AM
Quote from: Kiero;1084023
Loving Sleeping Dogs, even the shooting sections aren't awful like GTA4. It's like someone played GTA4 and looked to fix all the things that were wrong with it. The story is much more engaging, too. They even managed to top the soundtrack (the radio stations in GTA4 are really good) - with the inclusion of Ninja Tunes radio, one of my favourite labels of all time.

I saw rumours of a sequel that was eventually canned, is anyone doing anything with the engine, I wonder? It would make an awesome base for all sorts of open world games.

While I enjoyed this game as well, Square Enix considered this game a failure (it sold only around 1.5 million copies).  Originally, the studio creating this game (United Front Studios) had no title--for a while, Activision backed them and this was going to be the third game in something called the True Crime series, but Activision cancelled the project and Square Enix took it over and this became Sleeping Dogs.  The published was expecting higher numbers and had a poor year with their franchises.

The developer did make a new game in the world using the engine, called Triad Wars, but it was designed as a Free to Play Multiplayer game and only lasted a year--I think the fans were looking for a sequel.  The studio shut down soon after that.  

Only remnants of this games IP right now is supposedly a movie might be made of the story.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 22, 2019, 10:49:53 AM
That's a shame, it's really rather well done. Better than GTA4 and also better than the new system in Assassin's Creed they switched to with AC3.

A movie sounds a little redundant to me, given the plot could have come out of dozens of Hong Kong films made over the last few decades.

EDIT: Now it's getting really circular. Apparently Donnie Yen has the option for the Sleeping Dogs movie, and intends to play Wei Shen. He played an undercover cop in Special ID (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2118775/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_11) not that long ago, and has played quite a number of ass-kicking cops in his time.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on April 26, 2019, 02:04:37 PM
Vermintide II, WoW (Progression Raiding), City of Heroes (shh!)
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on April 28, 2019, 08:07:20 PM
Recently got Anno 1800 on PC (via the Uplay store, rather than Epic)
Very good fun, but you need to set aside a few hours to play it for a session, or it's not worth getting into it.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Delete_me on April 29, 2019, 02:58:38 PM
Replaying the original Assassin's Creed.

My god this game was bumpy... but still was quite fun.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on April 29, 2019, 03:19:24 PM
Quote from: Tanin Wulf;1085136
Replaying the original Assassin's Creed.

My god this game was bumpy... but still was quite fun.

I liked the second and it's semi-trilogies a lot. Then they went and changed the combat system in AC3, which I hated.

Shame, because I love the setting, just can't stand combat in it. Not sure if it will be any better coming out of Sleeping Dogs.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Spinachcat on May 05, 2019, 12:04:34 AM
Been playing Mahjong. Yes, the one that comes with Windows.

Go ahead and laugh. I certainly do!!

I'm neck deep in major projects (and have been for a long time) and I can't muster the energy for fast paced games - feels too much like work right now. I had been thinking of doing some retro-gaming, but I've had a very hit and miss experience with emulators.

BTW, is there any new turn based gaming out there that's worth a look?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Doom on May 05, 2019, 05:42:33 PM
Quote from: Spinachcat;1086208
Been playing Mahjong. Yes, the one that comes with Windows.

Go ahead and laugh. I certainly do!!

I'm neck deep in major projects (and have been for a long time) and I can't muster the energy for fast paced games - feels too much like work right now. I had been thinking of doing some retro-gaming, but I've had a very hit and miss experience with emulators.

BTW, is there any new turn based gaming out there that's worth a look?

Battle Brothers. Just awesome.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Delete_me on May 06, 2019, 03:44:02 PM
Quote from: Kiero;1085138
I liked the second and it's semi-trilogies a lot. Then they went and changed the combat system in AC3, which I hated.

Shame, because I love the setting, just can't stand combat in it. Not sure if it will be any better coming out of Sleeping Dogs.


Yeah. Same here. the 2-trilogy was probably the best. 3... just felt so damned sloppy and slow to react (control wise).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: HappyDaze on May 06, 2019, 03:57:04 PM
I've made it this far not buying or playing Fallout 76. This is the first Fallout game I've opted not to jump into in 20 years, but after seeing it show up as a blip on my stepson's gamedar and then lose his interest after about 30 hours of play, I can see I'm not missing anything. Which is a shame...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on May 08, 2019, 11:53:35 PM
Well when I have had time i have been playing mech warrior online again though thats damn little.

although this time next year if I can swing it my free time may well be all consumed by the new sakura taisen game comeing out.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on June 04, 2019, 06:49:23 PM
I think I'm going to try to play AC3 again. I hope Sleeping Dogs has trained me how to use countering and get familiar with changing controls as things move around.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kosmos1214 on June 04, 2019, 09:45:35 PM
Quote from: Kiero;1090623
I think I'm going to try to play AC3 again. I hope Sleeping Dogs has trained me how to use countering and get familiar with changing controls as things move around.

Armored core?
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: arkamedus on June 05, 2019, 01:23:51 AM
I've been playing CIV6 on my switch for the past few months and although I can't find (or are they even released yet?) any of the expansions, I still find the vanilla version totally enjoyable. The last strategy game I played before that was Warcraft 3 (yikes), so, needless to say, I'm blown away by how complex the interactions evolve over time.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on June 05, 2019, 07:16:07 AM
Quote from: kosmos1214;1090643
Armored core?

Assassins Creed.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Imaginos on June 05, 2019, 10:08:30 AM
I started re-playing Borderlands 2 back at the start of this year.  Put aside the rest of the games (AC Odyssey, Spiderman, RDR2, GoW) and started a new run through.  Then I picked up Borderlands GOTY when they released that.  Played Borderlands The Pre-Sequel.  Now back to Borderlands 2.  Taking a break to play Bioshock for the first time now.  Totally psyched for Borderlands 3 in September.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on June 14, 2019, 09:14:22 PM
I'm going to show a bit of age. But I have charged up my PSP and started playing The 3rd Birthday again.

That game was the sole reason I bought a PSP in the first place. So i already believe that it is a great game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: GIMME SOME SUGAR on June 16, 2019, 05:39:45 PM
NHL 19, mostly EASHL. I played alot of Red Dead Redempton 2 too when it came out.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JBGarrison72 on June 25, 2019, 02:51:28 PM
Currently (and perpetually)... Warcraft III.

4v4 random team ladder matches on BattleNet (the most toxic cesspool on the interwebz this side of those unmentionable image boards).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Tod13 on June 26, 2019, 08:15:21 AM
Still playing Kemco RPGs on Android that I bought during their 99cent sales long ago.

Started playing Villagers and Heroes on Android. We got new phones (with big batteries) and switched to unlimited data (to get international roaming when my wife travels on business). It's fun so far -- multiplatform (PC, Steam, Android, iOS -- all on the same servers). Good, friendly community with end game being basically PVE between content releases.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kiero on June 26, 2019, 10:36:08 AM
Been trying the DLC for Sleeping Dogs, just to get a bit more of that goodness.

Otherwise my kids have been hogging the XBox, I bought the retro Megadrive Ultimate Collection, and it turns out they really like old games. Even if the difficulty is harsh for most of them.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on June 28, 2019, 10:39:39 PM
Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night on Nintendo Switch.

So far I haven't come across any game breaking bugs or frame rate dips that were reported. It plays smoothe.

I'm just not used to the intensity of Metroidvania. This game keep beating me down. But I'm not frustrated by that. It just means i need to learn more about the game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Witch-King of Tsámra on July 11, 2019, 11:09:29 PM
I've been playing through Metro: Last Light
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on July 12, 2019, 01:41:38 AM
I got Battle Brothers during the Steam sale.

It's addictive, but at the same time it's really more of grind than anything else. You don't win because of strategy (or tactics) but simply leveling up your guys, picking the right build, and getting the right weapons.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ThatChrisGuy on July 12, 2019, 09:25:02 AM
Quote from: JeremyR;1095402
I got Battle Brothers during the Steam sale.

It's addictive, but at the same time it's really more of grind than anything else. You don't win because of strategy (or tactics) but simply leveling up your guys, picking the right build, and getting the right weapons.

I want to like that one, and I've restarted campaigns in it several times.  It seems to be the kind of thing I should like, but there's something so un-fun about the early game I just can't get into it.  Advancing past the first few encounters or missions seems to be pure random chance.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on July 17, 2019, 01:22:11 AM
Quote from: JeremyR;1095402
I got Battle Brothers during the Steam sale.

It's addictive, but at the same time it's really more of grind than anything else. You don't win because of strategy (or tactics) but simply leveling up your guys, picking the right build, and getting the right weapons.

Quote from: ThatChrisGuy;1095429
I want to like that one, and I've restarted campaigns in it several times.  It seems to be the kind of thing I should like, but there's something so un-fun about the early game I just can't get into it.  Advancing past the first few encounters or missions seems to be pure random chance.

I've put about 50 hours in it and I feel the same way y'all do. I love it conceptually and it does have its moments but it's just such a grind and so much comes down to min maxing your build.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Alamar on August 20, 2019, 12:09:15 PM
Well As my profile pic would imply I'm a big fan of HOMM3(Heroes of Might and Magic) I've been playing that again lately, also Lords of the Realm 2, Masters of Orion 2 and a bit of Jedi Academy.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Panjumanju on August 21, 2019, 09:37:40 AM
Still playing Street Fighter II: Turbo.
May never stop.

//Panjumanju
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on August 22, 2019, 03:45:02 PM
When I have time for single-player stuff: I'm devouring Rebel Galaxy: Outlaw.

It's Privateer/Freelancer returned! Glorious!
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on September 03, 2019, 01:47:02 PM
Currently playing Dragon Quest Builders 2, which is a cross between a JRPG and a Minecraft-style block builder.

It is a bit odd, in that I completed the main storyline a while ago, but haven't unlocked all of my building tools yet. There are lots of things to do after you finish the game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on September 03, 2019, 07:27:53 PM
Friday The 13th: The Game Ultimate Slasher Edition on Nintendo Switch.

I'm not very good at it. Since I only got it Sunday night. But when I was playing Jason once? I got a TPK on the Councilors. And I didn't really understand the controls when I did it.

But the game is fun. No matter which side you are on. I enjoy the experience regardless. The game is an adrenalin rush.

The only flaw I see with the game? No jumping for any of the characters. But you don't see a lot of jumping in the movies. So there is that.

Ultimate Slasher Edition has all of the DLC that was in the prior versions of the game. Without the paywall. And there are no microtransactions at all in this version. You get the whole game, But without any monetization nonsense.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Armchair Gamer on October 06, 2019, 09:56:26 PM
I've spent the past week working on Dragon Quest XI S for the Switch. I've been a fan of the series for thirty years now, and the latest entry does not disappoint ...

But I just spent today doing Dundrasil and Lonalulu, so those of you who've played the PS4 version will understand when I say the heartstrings have been tugged mightily.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Nihilistic Mind on October 29, 2019, 11:26:18 AM
Playing TitanFall 2 and Dead By Daylight a whole lot lately.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BarefootGaijin on October 29, 2019, 02:36:23 PM
Just rediscovered Tekken. Tekken 7 vs my kids..... ^_^
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: HappyDaze on October 30, 2019, 05:39:54 AM
I've spent the last 4 days playing the Outer Worlds. I like Fallout and Skyrim,  and this game is along those lines. The big struggle is weirdly about corporate capitalism vs anarcho-communism with a few other variations thrown in. Of course,  it's done with typical Fallout styled humor,  so is not too preachy,  and you can complete most quests however you fancy. Best part so far is almost 18 hours of play without a single crash or major glitch.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on October 30, 2019, 05:57:23 PM
Played a a bit of Outer worlds on the Microsoft Gamepass, but not as much as I'd like, as I got the 3rd edition "Arkham Horror boardgame", which I've been roping friends into playing :D  

Hmm, Also "Dawn of man" , a sort of Bronze age Village survival game has got some updates recently, so been trying that out.

Off and on been playing "Hexxit Minecraft" with my kids.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: HappyDaze on November 02, 2019, 01:07:24 AM
Quote from: danskmacabre;1112536
Played a a bit of Outer worlds on the Microsoft Gamepass, but not as much as I'd like

I just finished The Other Worlds this evening. It was pretty good. I missed some of the gameplay options from Skyrim and Fallout 4, but this thing runs really smoothly and I only had one glitch all game (one of my companions just mysteriously died while on my ship...I reloaded the last save and she's just fine) and the story for this one turned out to be really enjoyable. I'm glad I'm done though...I probably played for about 4hr/day for the last week and that cut into my reading time (for games and more).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on November 02, 2019, 02:03:00 PM
I got sucked into Everspace when I'm not playing Classic WoW. It's highly addictive, spend money on perks, get 1% more hull points, etc., make a run, eventually die somewhere, repeat.
And to it's credit, I'm finding new stuff every now and then. Just when I think I've seen all the content, I run into an alien structure or a new type of enemy ship.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Vidgrip on January 22, 2020, 06:07:33 PM
I just finished Deep Sky Derelicts and enjoyed it very much.  It's a turn-based RPG with comic book style graphics.  You explore derelict spacecraft and alien ruins.  It is very similar to Darkest Dungeon if you have ever played that.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on January 22, 2020, 07:14:36 PM
It feels like I spend more time on Steam browsing games than actually buying and playing them.

I got Blazing Chrome  (https://store.steampowered.com/app/609110/Blazing_Chrome/) on a whim, and have been having a blast with it. It's a side scrolling shooter designed to look and play like a 90's arcade game.
Heartily reccomend.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on January 22, 2020, 09:30:09 PM
Quote from: Ratman_tf;1119767
It feels like I spend more time on Steam browsing games than actually buying and playing them.

I got Blazing Chrome  (https://store.steampowered.com/app/609110/Blazing_Chrome/) on a whim, and have been having a blast with it. It's a side scrolling shooter designed to look and play like a 90's arcade game.
Heartily reccomend.

Blazing Chrome has my interest. Since I'm a fan of that style of video game. I'm just waiting for the right sale to pick it up.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shrieking Banshee on January 23, 2020, 09:57:25 AM
Cadence of Hyrule. Dungeon Mode really optimizes the game. Now I like it more then the original necrodancer. More skillbased and tougher.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on February 26, 2020, 12:07:21 AM
I am still playing Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night. And I really like it.

It's challenging. But in a way that doesn't frustrate me. With enough work and growth, I feel I can overcome any challenge the game puts in front of me.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Itachi on February 26, 2020, 12:37:25 PM
Starting a new playthrough of this.

Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on February 28, 2020, 10:23:13 AM
Just tried getting back into Minecraft. But apparently all my old worlds are gone?

That was a huge amount of work lost if cant find it. Looks like my Keep on the Borderlands recreation is totally gone. Not sure if have the urge to do that again. That was alot of work plotting it out and landscaping. But was fun to wander around the place once done. Hopefully havent lost my to-scale build of the TOS Enterprise. sigh...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on April 15, 2020, 10:38:41 AM
Currently playing:

Vermintide II - still enjoying Legend level play with my crew.

Recently dove into:

Spacehulk: Deathwing - VTII in SPAAAAAACE!!! Seriously under-rated game. Multiplayer is awesome. They need to expand this out MOAR.

City of Heroes - I can't get over you. LOVING this game, especially with the Cel-Shader graphics setting on. It's a nice new paintjob! Lots of new powersets. More dev incoming.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Chris24601 on April 17, 2020, 02:24:09 PM
Quote from: tenbones;1126929
City of Heroes - I can't get over you. LOVING this game, especially with the Cel-Shader graphics setting on. It's a nice new paintjob! Lots of new powersets. More dev incoming.
Just saw this. Which server are you running on?

My deep and abiding love of City of Heroes knows no bounds. When I found out it was back it was like suddenly all was right in the world again; I haven't touched my replacement MMO since the day I got back to Paragon City.

If you're ever on the Everlasting shard, look me up. My global is @Myself656.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Witch-King of Tsámra on April 25, 2020, 01:42:31 AM
I've been really getting close to beating The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. I have done most of the quest lines including, The Companions, Civil War as STormcloaks, Dark Brotherhood, Most of the Thieves Guild, College of Winterhold and probably 99% of the Daedric Quests.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on April 26, 2020, 08:38:33 PM
I'm in the middle of doing "Dawnguard" (Skyrim), which has brought me to Winterhold, so I'll be picking up there quests there too.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on April 30, 2020, 10:08:50 AM
Quote from: Chris24601;1127152
Just saw this. Which server are you running on?

My deep and abiding love of City of Heroes knows no bounds. When I found out it was back it was like suddenly all was right in the world again; I haven't touched my replacement MMO since the day I got back to Paragon City.

If you're ever on the Everlasting shard, look me up. My global is @Myself656.


I'm on Torchbearer with a few friends. My global is @Detonator

Our mains are around 40ish (well me and another) but since we sidekick everyone else... it's kinda moot right now.). Yeah it's my replacement MMO since I've boycotted Activision/Blizzard. My roots in COX goes back to the very beginning, my ex-girlfriend was on the of the devs, hence my Avatar (me). It's funny back in the early days, a lot of the posters and images on in-game advertisements were photoshopped pictures from my time with her. LOL! Talk about weird.

But I've always loved the game. Always will.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on April 30, 2020, 07:23:02 PM
Paladins.

I've had a lot of fun in the practice mode for Team Deathmatch with Ying. I have gotten used to her playstyle. And I find it fun.

Playing a hybrid healer like Ying is a definite challenge in the game. Not my usual playstyle.

I usually play Skye. She's just the first character I gravitated to. And I have played her to level 22.

people are going to inevitably compare the game to Overwatch. But even though it has some similarities, it also has a depth of customization to it that Overwatch doesn't. You are really allowed to customize your character to match your preferred playstyle.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on April 30, 2020, 10:22:40 PM
This weekend (With a public holiday on Monday), I'll be playing lots of Total War games including, Thrones of Britannia, Rome 2 (Which I recently got all the DLC for) and Napoleon with the Darth Mod.

I might get in some ESO and Skyrim in between somewhere.

Coronavirus restrictions have been eased somewhat where I live, but I'd rather stay in and play PC games anyway, lol.
I expect most people are gonna be out and about enjoying their new found freedom, so parks, beaches etc will probably be crowded, so not keen on that.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ephealy on May 01, 2020, 12:13:40 PM
Started playing Sentinels of Freedom from Underbite Games - set in the world of the Sentinels Comics / RPG / Card Game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/812870/Sentinels_of_Freedom/
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on May 04, 2020, 02:14:49 PM
Finished through the main story of We Happy Few. For a game that caught some deserved flak early on, the story arcs aren't too bad. I'm not a huge fan of the combat, but that's okay; I'm prone to sneaky stuff and choking out bad guys.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: VisionStorm on May 04, 2020, 06:45:49 PM
I've been playing Torment: Tides of Numenera these past few weeks, delving into the Ninth World and experimenting with an abstracted version of the Cypher System in video game form. It's a pretty dialogue heavy game, focusing more on the story than the action, and I'm pretty far ahead.

Have to get back to it to finally finish the game, but recently got sidetracked with Shadowrun Returns, which I hadn't played in ages and don't recall if I ever finished or not (I tend to get sidetracked with video games a lot). I just felt the Shadowrun itch and couldn't resist. Already have a Mage/Shaman with high skill in Spellcasting and Conjuring, and also median Spirit Summoning skills as well in just like two days (they just hand out Karma like candy in that game :D ).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: xarvis on May 06, 2020, 06:16:16 AM
Just started to play Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I must admit that it was quite a surprise for me to see that it's a very cool game actually.

It's a great medieval simulation game: It takes place in Bohemia after the death of Charles IV and you are playing as a blacksmith's boy – Henry of Skalitz. You are simply trying to survive in a dark war atmosphere. The only problem is it's crawling with bugs and glitches but still, it doesn't spoil the awesome story.

It's both fun and entertaining for me: I wasn't expecting to learn so much about Medieval history and the European culture. Thanks to my Montenegrin passport (https://tranio.com/montenegro/passport/) I have traveled to the Czech Republic multiple times in the past but I must say that the game taught me more about the Bohemian history than my travels. If you are a sucker for medieval simulations for me you should definitely play this game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on May 07, 2020, 11:30:33 PM
Been playing Skyrim again with a Multiplayer mod, which whilst pretty buggy, is quite fun.
You have to sync your quests carefully with other people you want to play with though and even then it occasionally has strange behaviour.

Overall though, it's pretty amazing work for a Fan made Mod.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on May 11, 2020, 11:08:27 AM
I just started playing Death Stranding over the weekend and I'm loving it.  Between the almost zen-like hiking and delivering of packages and the terrifying survival parts vs the BTs it's a game I didn't know I wanted.  It's definitely not for everyone though.

I'm also playing Rune Factory 4 on my Switch when I need to let the adrenaline settle after a session of Daemon X Machina.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on May 12, 2020, 06:43:14 PM
I got Streets Of Rage 4 a few days ago. And I've been enjoying it. It's a nice little button masher.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: J.L. Duncan on May 13, 2020, 03:51:02 AM
Got a retro set just before the shutdown. Currently playing Zelda.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Slipshot762 on May 21, 2020, 10:04:00 PM
modding skyrim...forever...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: TheSHEEEP on June 02, 2020, 01:55:24 PM
TW: Warhammer 2 (with Vampire Coast, this time)

Also: Hi.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on June 04, 2020, 04:40:20 PM
I bought The Takeover for Nintendo Switch. It's a semi-3d brawler in the vein of Streets Of Rage. But the moves you can pull off are spectacular.

It has more special moves and variety than Streets Of Rage 4. But I like both games for their own reasons. And they are a blast to play.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on June 04, 2020, 10:58:00 PM
Lately mostly playing Age of Empires 2 Definitive edition.
An update of the old classic from years ago.
Very well done and enjoying it a lot.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on June 09, 2020, 08:13:51 AM
Tharsis: About an ill-fated mission to Mars and the crews attempts to just survive the remaining weeks to arrival as things go wrong, sometimes lots of things.
An indie game thats pretty off the beaten track as its a dice roller "express" game. Roll the dice to apply to problems, press your luck to try and get a better roll. And the allotment of dice to each crew will diminish as used.
You select from a roster of crew with different perks like you can apply a roll of 5 or better to repairing the ships hull one point. Or a roll of 5 or better could be used to give all crew in the section +1 dice.
Another quirk is that the crew can accumulate stress that can, and oh so very much will, cause them to make very poor suggestions during periodic meetings. And while I am not positive. I am pretty darn sure that higher stress causes your rolls to start skewing to bad results.
The other surprise is that its a rather strategic game and you really do have to plan and think things through to mitigate disasters.

After alot of effort and getting a handle on the system I actually beat it on Hard difficulty and got the good ending. Well as good as the ending gets... ahem.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: louisg on June 15, 2020, 03:48:46 AM
right now im playing world of warcraft wrath of the lich kings and it brings back memories !!!
beside that i play dota2 and COD
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on June 16, 2020, 10:02:54 AM
These days I'm playing Fistful of Frags, a free western themed arena shooter. I'm also getting a lot of mileage out of the old Impression city building games like Caesar, Pharaoh, and Zeus.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: kennystone on July 02, 2020, 02:44:00 AM
The Settlers II 10th Anniversary - An easy strategy that helps to relax...
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on July 02, 2020, 03:13:33 PM
I just blew through My Friend Pedro. It's not bad; if you liked Hotline Miami, you'll like this.

May have to check out Tharsis, that sounds like it might be interesting.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on July 06, 2020, 11:25:55 AM
Been playing the hell out of Conan Exiles here lately. If you're in to the whole survival/builder mmo thing then it's worth checking out. If you want someone to play with hit me up.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on July 07, 2020, 10:17:40 AM
Quote from: Omega;1133246
Tharsis: About an ill-fated mission to Mars and the crews attempts to just survive the remaining weeks to arrival as things go wrong, sometimes lots of things.
An indie game thats pretty off the beaten track as its a dice roller "express" game. Roll the dice to apply to problems, press your luck to try and get a better roll. And the allotment of dice to each crew will diminish as used.
You select from a roster of crew with different perks like you can apply a roll of 5 or better to repairing the ships hull one point. Or a roll of 5 or better could be used to give all crew in the section +1 dice.
Another quirk is that the crew can accumulate stress that can, and oh so very much will, cause them to make very poor suggestions during periodic meetings. And while I am not positive. I am pretty darn sure that higher stress causes your rolls to start skewing to bad results.
The other surprise is that its a rather strategic game and you really do have to plan and think things through to mitigate disasters.

After alot of effort and getting a handle on the system I actually beat it on Hard difficulty and got the good ending. Well as good as the ending gets... ahem.


I picked this up, and Jesus, things escalate fast. The target numbers seem incredibly high, and there seems to be little to no time to regain dice pools. I may need to consult some guides.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Shaddilac on July 08, 2020, 10:02:25 PM
Witcher 3, Fable 3, Greedfall, and for a good don't think time Maneater
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Hawkwing7423 on July 24, 2020, 11:32:43 PM
Playing Avernum - old school RPG, pretty fun so far. Graphics are simplistic.

Just finished Atom RPG which is Fallout (isometric) from a Russian perspective. Had a lot of fun and ordered the sequel (which is not yet done).
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: TheSHEEEP on August 12, 2020, 03:01:18 AM
I've started to play Thief again.

Thief Gold with the TFix 1.27 patch, to be precise - to make it play nice on modern hardware.

What a blast, really. How much you can achieve with just good lighting, good mechanics and good level design is still amazing 20+ years later.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Hakdov on August 12, 2020, 08:28:05 PM
Quote from: xarvis;1128991
Just started to play Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I must admit that it was quite a surprise for me to see that it's a very cool game actually.

It's a great medieval simulation game: It takes place in Bohemia after the death of Charles IV and you are playing as a blacksmith's boy – Henry of Skalitz. You are simply trying to survive in a dark war atmosphere. The only problem is it's crawling with bugs and glitches but still, it doesn't spoil the awesome story.

It's both fun and entertaining for me: I wasn't expecting to learn so much about Medieval history and the European culture. Thanks to my Montenegrin passport (https://tranio.com/montenegro/passport/) I have traveled to the Czech Republic multiple times in the past but I must say that the game taught me more about the Bohemian history than my travels. If you are a sucker for medieval simulations for me you should definitely play this game.

KCD is easily the best crpg I've ever played.  It is super hard at first, but once you figure out how to do things you get a real sense of accomplishment.  If you haven't gotten the dlc's, I highly recommend doing so.  They add a lot to the game.  The Woman's Lot dlc in particular is amazing.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: TheSHEEEP on August 13, 2020, 06:11:55 AM
Quote from: Hakdov;1144618
KCD is easily the best crpg I've ever played.  It is super hard at first, but once you figure out how to do things you get a real sense of accomplishment.  If you haven't gotten the dlc's, I highly recommend doing so.  They add a lot to the game.  The Woman's Lot dlc in particular is amazing.
I agree it is a good game, and the research put into everything is just... just wow.

Not really a true RPG, though, and definitely not a cRPG (which is games like Fallout 1+2, BG, Goldbox games, Age Of Decadence, etc.).
Most of the game is entirely based on player skill instead of character skill, making it more of an action game. Though there definitely is some RPG mixed in, no doubt.

Also not a full simultion, since afaik, nothing in the game except the combat is actually simulated based on a realistic model.
Still, everything is so well researched and realistically implemented that it just manages an immersion level that it might as well be a simulation...

Sorry, I'm a stickler for genre definitions when it comes to video games :)

The only thing I really didn't like about KCD is the main character. You basically just play a village yokel with all his... "charm". Couldn't stand the idiot, and despite all that you pull off with him, he never really changes his simpleton attitude, it's a character that I cannot identify with in any way.
Hopefully, he'll be acting a bit more like - hmm, that goes into spoiler territory, so I won't - in the sequel.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on August 13, 2020, 10:16:22 AM
Quote from: Hakdov;1144618
KCD is easily the best crpg I've ever played.  It is super hard at first, but once you figure out how to do things you get a real sense of accomplishment.  If you haven't gotten the dlc's, I highly recommend doing so.  They add a lot to the game.  The Woman's Lot dlc in particular is amazing.

Is there one that makes the combat system less agonizing? I'm all for making combat a little more complex than Skyrim, but dear God, I felt like I was trying to play Street Fighter -- the original -- while wearing boxing gloves.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: TheSHEEEP on August 14, 2020, 06:06:32 AM
Quote from: Ghostmaker;1144692
Is there one that makes the combat system less agonizing? I'm all for making combat a little more complex than Skyrim, but dear God, I felt like I was trying to play Street Fighter -- the original -- while wearing boxing gloves.
Did you try to pull off combos?
Those are completely useless, absurdly hard to pull off and you can forget about them.
Just use the normal blocks & parrying and you will be good for the entire game.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on August 14, 2020, 07:56:24 AM
Quote from: TheSHEEEP;1144831
Did you try to pull off combos?
Those are completely useless, absurdly hard to pull off and you can forget about them.
Just use the normal blocks & parrying and you will be good for the entire game.

Heck, I couldn't figure out how to get out of -clinches-.

It's a shame too because the game is gorgeous and well done.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on August 19, 2020, 04:14:35 PM
My wife convinced me and my friends to go back to Everquest... classic... on Project 1999.

The nostalgia bomb is both fierce and BRUTAL. And we're loving it.

Sorry Homecoming... I'll be back later. Much later as it appears.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Warder on August 20, 2020, 03:17:14 AM
I have been playing Warframe since four years. Its free and thats the main draw. After doing every mission in the game for hundreds of times, slowly growing to hate the developers shenanigans and beeing increasingly aware its time to move on i feel it hard to let go. The investment of hours makes this hard, the more one spends the more one values the item. Then again when some games come out im dropping this game like hotcackes and going for Mass Effect Trilogy Remaster with actual hype for the next Mass Effect game. I just dread another Andromeda.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BoxCrayonTales on August 20, 2020, 12:44:13 PM
I have been trying out the beta for Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars. It is a strategy game with a RISK-style map, with turn-based combat and card-based mechanics. It is set in the fantasy world of "Nemire," which is inhabited by vampires and some countries are ruled by vampires. Like certain other vampire games, e.g. Warhammer Fantasy, Nosgoth, Bloodlust: Shadowhunter, it has bloodlines/clans as its factions. The three sides at release are the Dracul, warrior rulers, the Moroia, socialite witches, and the Nosfernus, chiropteran necromancers. Though I'm sure that DLC may very add more.

The mechanics are fine, though I found the interface a bit clunky in places. The campaign has special rules different from the skirmish/multiplayer rules, presumably in order to tell a linear story. The last time I remember playing a RISK-style map with a campaign was Lords of Magic: Legends of Urak, so I don't know how prevalent campaigns are in strategy games like this.

The story is light and easy to understand, and it's not riddled with internal contradictions like some game stories I could name, but I get the impression that there's tons of lore beneath the surface that isn't explained anywhere. There's no in-game codex to explain the jargon and history of Nemire.

Overall it's a solid game and I'm optimistic about future developments.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Witch-King of Tsámra on August 30, 2020, 12:28:49 AM
Well I bit the bullet and ordered Crusader Kings 3 Royal Edition. I'm way too much of a fan boy of Paradox to not get it. I've gotten hundreds of hours out of CK2 and Stellaris. I bring this all up because I will be playing CK3 on September 1st. Deus Vult Ladies and Gents, Deus Vult.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Hawkwing7423 on August 30, 2020, 10:42:56 PM
Quote from: arcanuum;1146942
Well I bit the bullet and ordered Crusader Kings 3 Royal Edition. I'm way too much of a fan boy of Paradox to not get it. I've gotten hundreds of hours out of CK2 and Stellaris. I bring this all up because I will be playing CK3 on September 1st. Deus Vult Ladies and Gents, Deus Vult.

I love a lot of their games, like Stellaris and Europa Universalis, but could not get into Crusader Kings 2. I did download Wasteland 3 and did not start yet.
Title: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on August 31, 2020, 08:13:43 AM
Let us know how it is. I'm an old school Wasteland fan from back in the day.

I finished Carrion. Fun game, if you like being the eldritch horror eating people for a change :)
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on September 04, 2020, 08:01:46 AM
I liked Carrion too, a horrific puzzle game shooter platform that is very enjoyable in terms of graphics and gameplay.
My one complaint is that it DESPERATELY needs a map. I know it's a throwback to Metroidvania games but the environments are NOT as linear as those older games. I wound up having to go online and find maps just to track down the last couple of boosts I'd missed.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: TheSHEEEP on September 16, 2020, 02:46:22 AM
I also liked Carrion, but beyond the lack of a map (weird oversight, really) what bothered me more was the abysmally short playtime.


Was done in ~5 hours with most boosts unlocked.
My thoughts were "Cool! I got all the abilities, now the game can start for real. Felt a bit like a long tutorial so far." - and just an hour or so after, the credits rolled.


I really hope they can make a sequel with more meat (hehehe) on its bones.
The game was a success and the ending definitely makes room for a sequel, so fingers crossed!
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Machaeus on October 02, 2020, 01:21:32 PM
Mostly been playing Slay the Spire lately.  I've had a hard time getting into much else.

About a month and a half ago, I beat the Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow "Alter" hack, which was interesting.  The plot doesn't change, but the layout definitely does.  That one area based on "The Arena" from CV: Circle of the Moon - basically a gauntlet of no-magic fight-several-rooms-of-enemies - still evades me though.

Thinking of picking up FF1 again.  NES version.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Witch-King of Tsámra on October 02, 2020, 02:29:10 PM
I have been playing Mafia 2 Definitive Edition and I just got Death Stranding which I started playing earlier today.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Witch-King of Tsámra on October 07, 2020, 05:46:12 AM
Guys. Death Stranding is awesome. I really love the detail and all of the people that Sam meets along the way. Helping people rebuild after an apocalypse is fun. Plus add in Kojima's silly stuff and you get probably one of my favorite games.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Machaeus on October 08, 2020, 04:24:18 PM
Started playing Darkest Dungeon again.

The Butcher's Circus keeps butchering me c:
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on October 13, 2020, 06:44:01 PM
I just picked up Until Dawn for the PS4. It's essentially a teen horror movie in video game form, cast with digital versions of various actors including Hayden Panettiere, Brett Dalton, Rami Malek and Peter Stormare.

The gameplay is pretty basic, mostly walking around exploring and finding clues, combined with quicktime events at dramatic moments. There are choices you can make along the way that have repercussions later on, and there are multiple possible endings. The nice thing about the branching storylines is that the game makes these explicit, with a "butterfly effect" graphic that appears, and a screen in which you can review the various decision/success/failure points and the effect that they had on the current game, which should make it easy to replay for different results.

I picked it up used for $20, and for that price I am happy with it. The graphics are nice, with good likenesses of the actors, certainly better than recent wrestling games for instance. So far the storyline is decent, and the horror is a blend of creepy tension and scenery, with some action, jump scares, and gore.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: TheSHEEEP on October 27, 2020, 07:28:38 AM
I "play" Inquisitor. Personally, I don't know if some have managed to finish the game without the walkthrough or the console because the difficulty is INSANE. Besides the titles of Iron Tower Studio it's a joke.

Yeah, that game...
The aesthetics drew lots of people in. And in the beginning, the game is really very promising. But once you get to those seemingly endless orc mines (or was it bandits?) and have to constantly run back and forth for healing, it just becomes a complete chore.

I wouldn't even say it's that difficult - kill a few enemies, go back to town, repeat until done, that's not difficult. But it is very painful.

I'd say that is a game not worth attempting to play through entirely.
The beginning makes you hope that the game will be better later on, but it really won't.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Warder on October 27, 2020, 02:53:10 PM
Genshin Impact dropped recently. Its a Gatcha, my first one. I really dont plan on spending any money on it, i get what i want free to play. Apparently this stuff is super addictive so ill stay carefull and on my toes thou. And the game itself iss very relaxing. Im having fun running through all the same places, just leveling up.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zarion on November 04, 2020, 07:41:18 PM
Cities Skylines!!!

Also tried some Grounded after my dad got into the early release. Survival game Honey I Shrunk The Kids style, it's fun!
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sparrowhawk131 on November 09, 2020, 01:40:40 AM
Currently Gwent and Witcher3, but also thinking of throwing AC Black Flag into the mix
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Itachi on November 22, 2020, 10:01:46 AM
I just picked up Until Dawn for the PS4. It's essentially a teen horror movie in video game form, cast with digital versions of various actors including Hayden Panettiere, Brett Dalton, Rami Malek and Peter Stormare.

The gameplay is pretty basic, mostly walking around exploring and finding clues, combined with quicktime events at dramatic moments. There are choices you can make along the way that have repercussions later on, and there are multiple possible endings. The nice thing about the branching storylines is that the game makes these explicit, with a "butterfly effect" graphic that appears, and a screen in which you can review the various decision/success/failure points and the effect that they had on the current game, which should make it easy to replay for different results.

I picked it up used for $20, and for that price I am happy with it. The graphics are nice, with good likenesses of the actors, certainly better than recent wrestling games for instance. So far the storyline is decent, and the horror is a blend of creepy tension and scenery, with some action, jump scares, and gore.
If you liked Until Dawn, take a look at Detroit. It's an identical premise only in a sci-fi transhumanist story.

There's also The Council, but this one is slightly different, more of a rpg social simulator than adventure. Pretty good too.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on December 20, 2020, 07:12:13 PM
Playing Age of Empires 2, Definitive edition, which is really fun.
A graphically updated and QOL update to the very old strategy, kingdom builder wargame.
 
The devs reeally have put a lot of work into this.
Sometimes I just like to spectate games and watch people's strategies.
Usually I play SO vs AI, playing various scenarios, quick maps and so on.

It's really cheap too, so great value for money.

Been trying out/going back to other games that I've had for a while such as Stellaris, Witcher 3 and so on with various levels of interest.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: TheSHEEEP on December 21, 2020, 05:32:32 AM
Playing Age of Empires 2, Definitive edition, which is really fun.
Playing AoE 3 Definitive Edition here.
After they botched the release (as they always do, AoE2 DE was the same mess) the game is now in an acceptable state.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on December 21, 2020, 05:06:34 PM
Playing AoE 3 Definitive Edition here.
After they botched the release (as they always do, AoE2 DE was the same mess) the game is now in an acceptable state.

OK, I had a look last at AOE3 night (I did get it on release and it was not great).  Seems a lot better.
Will have a play with that at some stage properly.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on March 02, 2021, 10:45:50 AM
After a long-overdue PC upgrade, I am playing Rebel Galaxy, which is a fun lightweight space trader/combat game from 2015. It's more cinematic than sim. It was made by a small studio, so the scope of it is not that huge, but that is actually a plus in my book. It isn't a space dogfighter, it has more of a 2d naval feel to the combat. For $20 on Steam, I'm enjoying it.

Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on March 02, 2021, 11:43:11 AM
still playing Warframe daily, love Noita and Approaching Infinity.  Yeah, my favorites are all over the place; 3rd person grinder, 2d platformer/puzzler/crafter, and a 2d rogue-like.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Arkansan on March 04, 2021, 10:51:18 PM
Been playing a lot of Holdfast: Nations at War. I'm also looking at getting back in to Stellaris but it's been a long time since I've played last and apparently there has been many changes.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BoxCrayonTales on May 13, 2021, 04:29:09 PM
Currently playing Five Nations (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1565670/Five_Nations/). It's a retro RTS that came out this month, with a 2D spaceship aesthetic. The game uses 2D sprites, and the maps are 2D rather than 3D even though the setting is space combat so there are unrealistic situations like walls in space and such. The playable sides are the five nations of the title: the United Earth Federation (composed of humans and SIRI-like AI helpers), the Sylon Collective (composed of mind uploads united into a swarm intelligence), the Athrael Theocracy (roswell greys with a history channel aesthetic), the Thorun Empire (a medieval civilization bootstrapped by the tech of alien invaders), and the Zhogarn (SST-style bugs). Pretty standard scifi stuff.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: martinjpayne on May 14, 2021, 09:22:21 AM
I've just started playing 'Assassin's Creed Odyssey - Ultimate Edition'... I only bought it because it was 75% off on Humble Store!
Seems a fun game but already a bit repetitive.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on July 22, 2021, 10:36:52 AM
I picked up No Man's Sky and started playing it, and it's doing quite well to scratch the old, 80's era Starflight itch I had.

Tip: Scrape together the nanites and grab the scanner enhancement that boosts credit reward for scanned plants and animals. It's definitely worth it.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on July 24, 2021, 10:59:26 AM
I've wrapped up my first play through Rebel Galaxy. It was a good game, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Now I have to dig up enough enthusiasm to finish off the walkthrough of the game that I wrote up for GameFAQs.

After that, I should probably go back and finish Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: hedgehobbit on July 25, 2021, 11:47:54 AM
I've wrapped up my first play through Rebel Galaxy. It was a good game, and I enjoyed it a lot.

There's a sequel to that game called Rebel Galaxy Outlaws. It isn't the same type of game but, instead, a standard dogfighter. Unfortunately, the game has a serious balancing problem where you can end up with story missions that can't be passed. The guy that made the game, as well as the original Rebel Galaxy, sold the game as an Epic store exclusive. Afterward he got some push back (because that was a thing back then) and decided to quit being a programmer (and went on a podcast called all gamers assholes). Since he was the only programmer working on it, these bugs will never be fixed and the post-launch support for the game will never come.

You can get it on Steam now but don't pay full price. And if you do play it, don't do mining or too many non-story missions at the start of the game.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on August 01, 2021, 11:50:32 AM
Yeah, word of mouth on Rebel Galaxy Outlaws hasn't been too good. I probably won't play it, as 3D dogfighters aren't really my thing.

It's a shame they won't do an actual sequel to Rebel Galaxy, though. That was a solid game.

I'm noodling around with Genshin Impact on PS4. It's fun to wander around in, too bad the characters don't have much personality.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: NeptuneGames on August 04, 2021, 04:35:26 AM
I'm playing Blasphemous and enjoy it. Would like to play some underground RPGs that I discovered recently, but I'm working a lot in this period and can't start anything too complex  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: palaeomerus on September 07, 2021, 06:42:59 PM
I'm back to playing Battletech currently with an SM6 Hate Boat that used to be a Banshee and three runny jumpy punchy laser buddies.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on September 07, 2021, 06:46:28 PM

 The guy that made the game, as well as the original Rebel Galaxy, sold the game as an Epic store exclusive. Afterward he got some push back (because that was a thing back then) and decided to quit being a programmer (and went on a podcast called all gamers assholes). Since he was the only programmer working on it, these bugs will never be fixed and the post-launch support for the game will never come.

You can get it on Steam now but don't pay full price. And if you do play it, don't do mining or too many non-story missions at the start of the game.

Got a link to a YT video or whatever where he has a go at Gamers?
Would be fun to point and laugh at him, ;)
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on September 07, 2021, 06:47:22 PM
I reinstalled No Man's sky recently, as there's been so many updates, it's worth another look.
So far, it's been pretty fun and certainly has a lot more content since  I played it last some years ago.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on September 08, 2021, 07:49:15 AM
I reinstalled No Man's sky recently, as there's been so many updates, it's worth another look.
So far, it's been pretty fun and certainly has a lot more content since  I played it last some years ago.
Agreed. I will give full credit to Hello Games for what has to be the comeback story of the goddamn decade. I can't think of ANY game -- not just vidya, but any -- that's managed to turn things around this well.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Banjo Destructo on September 08, 2021, 12:20:26 PM
I played through about half of Final Fantasy 2, recently.    I made it to the Land of Carnage post-game section in Disgaea 5.  Still playing Eve Online.   No other video games recently.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on September 13, 2021, 10:44:19 AM
While I'm not playing it, I'm seeing a LOT of flak being fired at EA's latest Madden (22).

It seems EA opted for the CDPR/Bethesda school of development, because there are some astonishing fuck ups in this iteration. Bugs where the game forgets you scored points and will decide you lost a game. Bugs where the players glitch out (not to mention the referees). And my personal favorite, a bug that spawns in a fucking house in the middle of the field.

Comedy fucking gold.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: palaeomerus on September 13, 2021, 01:29:37 PM
I miss NCAA and Blitz or at least some Arcadey style of football game. The ONLY EA sports game I currently like is Golf and I'm not a fan of actual Golf coverage or playing the real game.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: King Tyranno on September 13, 2021, 06:50:31 PM
I tried No Man's Sky again after being told it was redeemed and good now.

Remind me to never listen to the Internet again. The game went from disastrous wreck to mediocre survival sim. Has anyone actually played it recently or do you all just get your opinions from the flashy trailers? I really must know because the game I actually played is not the game the internet is describing to me.  It's a dull game with tedious survival mechanics. Backed up by half assed new features that barely interact with one another. Every single thing you do is just a grind to get to the next grindy bit. There's no real sense of agency or reactivity from AI factions compared to say the X games.

Also I played the new Pathfinder game. The characters annoyed me but I'm still enjoying the game.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on September 13, 2021, 08:55:25 PM
I tried No Man's Sky again after being told it was redeemed and good now.
Remind me to never listen to the Internet again. The game went from disastrous wreck to mediocre survival sim. Has anyone actually played it recently or do you all just get your opinions from the flashy trailers?

I'd heard there was lots more content for NMS, so I gave it a go.
There's definitely an improvement, But yeah, the survival part is pretty boring.
Still, that could be that I've played a lot of survival sim type games, so the bar is probably higher quality wise for me.
Since then I've not really played it much, although I might play it again on the weekend to check out some of the new towns features. If that's interesting enough, it might be worth playing some more.

Actually, I reinstalled Freelancer ( a space sim from 2003). As a newish HD graphics mod came out that also fixes some Windows 10 compatibility issues . I've quite enjoyed that.

I didn't really like the Pathfinder CRPG much, it felt quite clunky to me.
I DID get Solasta, a CRPG based on DND 5e, which was pretty fun and moved pretty fast. It had a fun story too.


Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on October 07, 2021, 12:08:47 PM
Currently finishing up Wasteland III (it's excellent if you like tactical turn-based gaming).

About to dive into Back 4 Blood until Battlefield 2042 drops (barring any SJW bullshit... thus far DICE seems to have learned their lesson)

Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: oggsmash on October 07, 2021, 10:50:50 PM
Neverwinter Nights Enhanced edition.   I played it a good bit years ago when it was first released, and had all the expansions (though I did not play the campaign that much, and enjoyed the persistent worlds and playing the player made and premium modules that were available) and I liked it alot.  I do not know if it is nostalgia, or some tweaks they made to the game, or that games are just not really moving forward to my liking, but I enjoy it a lot today as well.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on October 12, 2021, 05:31:20 PM
I'm playing Super Robot Wars V. This one has Space Cruiser Yamato as one of your playable capital ships. So far it's fun, though the SRW games have a tendency to get lost in their own grindy metagame. I'm also enjoying the original player character, who's a cross between Spike from Cowboy Bebop and Maverick from Top Gun.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Mind Crime on October 17, 2021, 03:19:56 AM
Brigandine: Legacy of Runersia. Awful name but love the brigandine games. I try to keep an eye out for anything Atlus ports over. And whatever else catches my eye on psnow. So many options I end up with choice paralyses. Anything to keep me away from the everquest emus.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Kyle Aaron on October 17, 2021, 03:36:54 AM
Day Z. Hey, it's new to me.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: The Witch-King of Tsámra on October 17, 2021, 06:12:15 AM
Finally finishing Alien isolation, playing Cyberpunk Dreams on the reg and I just beat no one lives under the lighthouse which is a weird horror game from wouldn't you know it; Russia.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on October 17, 2021, 03:56:57 PM
Drox Operative 2 is out of beta and I'm digging the carnage.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on October 18, 2021, 11:59:30 AM
I reinstalled No Man's sky recently, as there's been so many updates, it's worth another look.
So far, it's been pretty fun and certainly has a lot more content since  I played it last some years ago.
Agreed. I will give full credit to Hello Games for what has to be the comeback story of the goddamn decade. I can't think of ANY game -- not just vidya, but any -- that's managed to turn things around this well.

Final Fantasy 14.  Went from a disaster of an MMO that gave it's early adopters free play time for almost a year to make up for how bad it was, to being one of the best MMOs going right now.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on October 18, 2021, 01:26:52 PM
I reinstalled No Man's sky recently, as there's been so many updates, it's worth another look.
So far, it's been pretty fun and certainly has a lot more content since  I played it last some years ago.
Agreed. I will give full credit to Hello Games for what has to be the comeback story of the goddamn decade. I can't think of ANY game -- not just vidya, but any -- that's managed to turn things around this well.

Final Fantasy 14.  Went from a disaster of an MMO that gave it's early adopters free play time for almost a year to make up for how bad it was, to being one of the best MMOs going right now.
I stand corrected. Well played. :)
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Reckall on October 19, 2021, 10:55:49 AM
American Truck Simulator. Yup, it is as addictive as they say and no one can explain why.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on October 19, 2021, 11:50:37 AM
American Truck Simulator. Yup, it is as addictive as they say and no one can explain why.
The simulator games have gotten completely out of hand. I saw an ad on Steam for Lawn Mowing Simulator.

What the fuck.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Reckall on October 19, 2021, 12:18:53 PM
American Truck Simulator. Yup, it is as addictive as they say and no one can explain why.
The simulator games have gotten completely out of hand. I saw an ad on Steam for Lawn Mowing Simulator.

What the fuck.

There is a Tank Repair Simulator too.

The only explanation I can give for the success of the "Truck" simulators is not an explanation at all but a remembrance: back in the early '80s, "Truckin'" for Intellivision was the unexpected success story. I and my best friend competed on it all day long (you could play on a split screen). So, there must be something intangible that makes them compelling (the Mod scene is comparable to a flight sim, and some hardcore gamers have thousands of dollar invested in driving gear, super performing graphic cards and three monitors included).

I hear that there is a market for farming simulators too, but I'm not interested.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on October 19, 2021, 09:44:47 PM
I've kinda fallen for Dungeon Encounters by Square Enix.  I'm playing it on my Switch during lunch breaks at work.  It's a very minimalist dungeon crawl game.

You literally move the party along a mapped dungeon grid and all the encounters are already laid out for you.  You can check out anything ahead of time so it becomes more a strategy game than RPG.  If you see Encounter Black 07, you can look in your log and see that that encounter is Skeletons and Wild Boar and then prep your party to fight that.  White Encounter 03, well you know that's a healing shrine.

It's definitely not for everyone, but it's pretty novel and at the moment fairly relaxing to play.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on October 27, 2021, 02:27:25 PM
After the debacle of putting "diversity" into Battlefield 5 - where you could be a black female German (you can't be a Nazi because...) or randomly be Asian and fighting for the Germans...

there was hope that Battlefield 2042 would just be a clean game, were you could ideally make your own toon and have at it. But no... now you have to play one of their Specialists... and this rankled people a bit. But whatever. They they had to announce that "for the first time in BF - Non-Binary characters in Battlefield!"

Queue the wet fart noise.

Sounds like Dice and EA have not learned their lesson.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on October 27, 2021, 02:47:30 PM
After the debacle of putting "diversity" into Battlefield 5 - where you could be a black female German (you can't be a Nazi because...) or randomly be Asian and fighting for the Germans...

there was hope that Battlefield 2042 would just be a clean game, were you could ideally make your own toon and have at it. But no... now you have to play one of their Specialists... and this rankled people a bit. But whatever. They they had to announce that "for the first time in BF - Non-Binary characters in Battlefield!"

Queue the wet fart noise.

Sounds like Dice and EA have not learned their lesson.
Why should they? If the whales pony up the cash, they won't care.

It's the same reason EA keeps releasing sports games that are actually sub-par compared to prior ones, despite minor advancements in graphics. People keep giving them money!
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on October 28, 2021, 11:28:58 AM
Battlefield V did not earn them the money they needed.

BF2042 was admittedly their attempt to reclaim their lost audience. There is a massive level of skepticism about the franchise after BFV. Remember that these guys depend on players engaging in the game for maximum playtime because while they do have microtransactions for skins, if the playerbase bails like they did in BFV, they lose valuable dev-time because EA then will demand that DICE put out another edition of the game pre-emptively which starts the deathspiral.

This kind of virtue signaling is for people that are not long-term players *typically*. They're people that play, if at all, for a bit then move on to other things once the novelty has worn off. The highly competitive long-term players form the backbone of the franchise. They're the ones that love to talk theory, strategy etc. on forums, they're the ones that keep the community alive.

The "whales" are a bit of a misnomer since the monetization of BF while present is relatively low compared to other games. They've fucked themselves in the ass on this. Sure it'll come out but there will be less people buying this game than they expected. Then you'll see the casual fucks, bail... then the damage will be seen clear as day.

Meanwhile Battlefield 4 is still going strong...
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Reckall on October 30, 2021, 10:37:40 AM
After the debacle of putting "diversity" into Battlefield 5 - where you could be a black female German (you can't be a Nazi because...) or randomly be Asian and fighting for the Germans...

I guess no one pointed out how the Japanese fought alongside the Allies in WWI... Or it wouldn't have mattered anyway ::)
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: 3catcircus on November 04, 2021, 05:51:12 PM
American Truck Simulator. Yup, it is as addictive as they say and no one can explain why.
The simulator games have gotten completely out of hand. I saw an ad on Steam for Lawn Mowing Simulator.

What the fuck.

There is a Tank Repair Simulator too.

The only explanation I can give for the success of the "Truck" simulators is not an explanation at all but a remembrance: back in the early '80s, "Truckin'" for Intellivision was the unexpected success story. I and my best friend competed on it all day long (you could play on a split screen). So, there must be something intangible that makes them compelling (the Mod scene is comparable to a flight sim, and some hardcore gamers have thousands of dollar invested in driving gear, super performing graphic cards and three monitors included).

I hear that there is a market for farming simulators too, but I'm not interested.

Yet no one is producing combat flight simulators or whatnot to the same degree as in the 1990s...

I think that the "study sim" is relatively dead aside from Prepar3d, Microsoft Flight Sim and DCSWorld while Am Truck Sim and the like are thriving because of the difference in the amount of time necessary to dedicate to it.  You can hop into Truck Sim and be going in 10 minutes.  For the A-10C in DCS World, any of the addon aircraft in Prepared/ MS Flight Sim, or the Falcon BMS F-16, you'll need to practice and use checklists just to start the engines, turn on the avionics, and align the INS - a process which requires ~ 10 minutes just to align the INS units.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: BoxCrayonTales on November 15, 2021, 06:23:43 PM
I tried playing Red Embrace: Hollywood as an alternative to Paradox's VTM-based shovelware, and I managed to finish one route before losing interest. It's an interactive romance novel with only very loose influence from Troika's Bloodlines, so it didn't really appeal to me. (The same dev is making a new game called Red Embrace: Paradisus, which advertises itself as an isometric RPG but it's pretty casual and doesn't have a combat system. No surprise there.)

It's not Troika, and it's woke (instead of "male" or "female" the game lets you select your pronouns from he/him, she/her, and they/them, but to cut through the bullshit you're an uke/bottom because it's a yaoi game), but it's not the complete mess of bloated obstructive lore and pretentious nonsense that Paradox's games are. While playing thru REH I didn't need a fucking glossary to understand the plot, which was a nice touch. There's only four made up jargons in the game: the names of the three vampires houses (they're the equivalent of the bloodlines in the Troika game), which are just Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin by different names so I won't bother to give their names here, and "strix" (the Latin word for witch/owl according to wiktionary) which is inexplicably used as a name for a person with really tasty blood who gets readily addicted to the sensation of vampire bites.

I didn't connect emotionally with the game so I was just constantly bored during my playthrough and expecting it to get interesting, but nothing interesting happened. What were supposed to be very emotional scenes (like being stuck in a burning building or going on a vision quest) fell flat for me. I don't know if that was just because I didn't connect or because of the general burnout I've been suffering for the last few years, but in any case the game just didn't leave an impression on me.

Aside from that, I'm waiting for the release of Nighthawks which was originally pitched as a VTM game to Paradox before the author was rejected and decided to make an original setting. I've talked to the dev a few times on discord and he seems like a fun guy. He's critical of Paradox.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: caldrail on November 15, 2021, 07:32:31 PM
Just now? Ziggurat 2, a bit like the original Hexen but more structured. I tried to rid the Storm Slum of evil vermin but those pesky Carrots got the better of me. I kid you not.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: hedgehobbit on November 17, 2021, 07:14:51 PM
I hear that there is a market for farming simulators too, but I'm not interested.

Farming Simulator 22 is coming out next week. So now is a good time to jump onboard.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: FelixGamingX1 on November 19, 2021, 09:08:27 PM
Looking forward to Elden Ring, Dragons Dogma 2, Crimson Desert.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Starglyte on November 23, 2021, 11:19:59 AM
I just started playing Final Fantasy 14 after fleeing the dumpster fire that is current World of Warcraft. So far I am really enjoying myself and wondering why, as a former weeaboo, that I never got into this mmo before.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Sanson on December 07, 2021, 05:09:00 AM
The Yakuza series...  all of 'em in fact.  All the Government mandated lockdown nonsense at least gave me oodles of time to sink in knocking them off
at last, and i don't regret a minute of it.

Those Truck Simulator games ARE oddly addictive... and i'm unnerved by how much time i've wasted on Train Simulator. 

Warhammer Total War series took a predictable 2000 hours out of my life... adding to the total i'd already wasted on the tabletop and FRPG versions.

Apart from that...

Stardew Valley, Baldur's Gate and (actual) Mahjong games are pretty much all i've been playing during the past several months.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rytrasmi on December 08, 2021, 01:22:42 PM
I've been playing a ton of Conan Exiles (https://store.steampowered.com/app/440900/Conan_Exiles/) lately and it's bloody fantastic. I resisted for a long time because I can't commit to an online game with clans and PvP raids and stuff. I just don't have the time. But...I've found that if you run your own server and play solo or with a couple friends and it's an amazing experience.

Pros
- True to the source material. I haven't read a lot of Howard, but the game fits exactly with what I have read. It's a dangerous world and you are encouraged to play like a sonofabitch reaver, thief, raider, etc.
- You can build a castle or house or whatever you like. That's a game unto itself
- Good mix of open world with scattered set pieces. Play at your own pace.
- Excellent and evocative graphics, voices, and music. It is a joy to explore the world
- Compelling story that you can progress at whatever pace you want
- Deep crafting system with tons of lore buried in descriptions of stuff you find. The writing is excellent. A two paragraph description of some random item you find evokes all kinds of lore and mystery. In most other games, this would be a throwaway blurb.
- Capture NPCs and make them your thralls! Bludgeon them into unconsciousness and drag them back to your Wheel of Pain to break their will.
- Many "problematic" aspects a.k.a. true to source material giving no fucks about what anyone thinks. Slavery, nudity, crucifixion, cannibalism, etc. My current character worships a god that requires ritual cannibalism, so I subsist off ritually purified human flesh.
- Active community and some really neat and deep mods

Cons
- AI is a bit janky
- Some clipping bugs
- Combat is not as deep or varied as it could have been.
- Crafting is a little complex and it's easy to forget recipes
- You need a few mods to really open the game up

Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: oggsmash on December 15, 2021, 12:28:49 PM
I've been playing a ton of Conan Exiles (https://store.steampowered.com/app/440900/Conan_Exiles/) lately and it's bloody fantastic. I resisted for a long time because I can't commit to an online game with clans and PvP raids and stuff. I just don't have the time. But...I've found that if you run your own server and play solo or with a couple friends and it's an amazing experience.

Pros
- True to the source material. I haven't read a lot of Howard, but the game fits exactly with what I have read. It's a dangerous world and you are encouraged to play like a sonofabitch reaver, thief, raider, etc.
- You can build a castle or house or whatever you like. That's a game unto itself
- Good mix of open world with scattered set pieces. Play at your own pace.
- Excellent and evocative graphics, voices, and music. It is a joy to explore the world
- Compelling story that you can progress at whatever pace you want
- Deep crafting system with tons of lore buried in descriptions of stuff you find. The writing is excellent. A two paragraph description of some random item you find evokes all kinds of lore and mystery. In most other games, this would be a throwaway blurb.
- Capture NPCs and make them your thralls! Bludgeon them into unconsciousness and drag them back to your Wheel of Pain to break their will.
- Many "problematic" aspects a.k.a. true to source material giving no fucks about what anyone thinks. Slavery, nudity, crucifixion, cannibalism, etc. My current character worships a god that requires ritual cannibalism, so I subsist off ritually purified human flesh.
- Active community and some really neat and deep mods

Cons
- AI is a bit janky
- Some clipping bugs
- Combat is not as deep or varied as it could have been.
- Crafting is a little complex and it's easy to forget recipes
- You need a few mods to really open the game up

  I played this at early release, and picked it up again a year and a half ago.  I enjoyed it a lot, and it is MUCH better now than it was at release.  The group I played with, we mostly played on public servers, from the full pvp servers (the people who play online survival games are a special sort of toxic) to more reserved servers where folks were a bit more like reasonable people, and we largely had a great deal of fun, even on the more toxic servers (dodging autists who hunt you like wolves and work around the clock to find and destroy a base can be a whole lot of fun, so long as you adjust expectation).  I was genuinely shocked at just how "howard" a version of the game was.  I have not played in a while, as I was a little bummed by how insanely powerful some of the combat thralls had become (seeing some of them in a fight makes you wonder how in the hell you could ever talk them into being your lackey).  I am sure the group I play with will rotate back around to it again though.   Any mods you like?  We played primarily on console before, but everyone also has gaming PCs and have considered taking the fight to PC where mods can adjust the experience considerably.   
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on December 15, 2021, 12:45:46 PM
I've got two new games to play.

One is GTFO, which looks neat... co-op survival. I like the theme.

The other is Metal Wolf Chaos. Yeah. Because the President should have his own personal mecha :D
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rytrasmi on December 16, 2021, 12:02:11 AM
I have not played in a while, as I was a little bummed by how insanely powerful some of the combat thralls had become (seeing some of them in a fight makes you wonder how in the hell you could ever talk them into being your lackey).  I am sure the group I play with will rotate back around to it again though.   Any mods you like?  We played primarily on console before, but everyone also has gaming PCs and have considered taking the fight to PC where mods can adjust the experience considerably.
Yeah, the combat thralls are totally OP. That said, we have 2 regular players, so tough thralls are essential, as I think the bosses were not designed to be killed by only 2 players. They still manage to get killed though.

Mods we use are: No building placement limits, 3rd person camera zoom limit increase, and one called Pythagoras which just adds some building pieces. The first two are pretty nice QoL, so you don't have to muck around with the sometimes odd limits on where you can build. Zooming out really far is really pretty if your rig can handle it and the vanilla zoom was too tight.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: oggsmash on December 20, 2021, 10:44:15 AM
I have not played in a while, as I was a little bummed by how insanely powerful some of the combat thralls had become (seeing some of them in a fight makes you wonder how in the hell you could ever talk them into being your lackey).  I am sure the group I play with will rotate back around to it again though.   Any mods you like?  We played primarily on console before, but everyone also has gaming PCs and have considered taking the fight to PC where mods can adjust the experience considerably.
Yeah, the combat thralls are totally OP. That said, we have 2 regular players, so tough thralls are essential, as I think the bosses were not designed to be killed by only 2 players. They still manage to get killed though.

Mods we use are: No building placement limits, 3rd person camera zoom limit increase, and one called Pythagoras which just adds some building pieces. The first two are pretty nice QoL, so you don't have to muck around with the sometimes odd limits on where you can build. Zooming out really far is really pretty if your rig can handle it and the vanilla zoom was too tight.

  I know we could take most of the bosses with two people (after some fun times experimenting), but the bosses got a considerable ramp up, and I think part of it was because the thralls got ramped up.  So it has turned into an awkward scenario where a solo player has no chance at all of beating any bosses (I used to be able to solo world bosses, and even after they beefed them up, when I had the time/food/healing and gear, I could still pull it off, but it was a ton harder after they beefed them and the thralls) without thralls, but the thralls are so insane, it sort of looks as if maybe some of the thralls should be named Conan. 

   I hope they can find a bit of balance there somewhere, I know when we got a few combat thralls, after beating bosses with 2-3 players consistently, the experience was completely different, we became healbots for the tier 4 Cimmerian Berserkers (or maybe barely healing if you had the named Berserker, I forget her name) and it was not the same.  For PvP...fighting a Tier 4 geared thrall....well....good luck.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: hedgehobbit on December 23, 2021, 11:39:15 AM
I've been playing a ton of Conan Exiles (https://store.steampowered.com/app/440900/Conan_Exiles/) lately and it's bloody fantastic.

I played this game a year or so ago when it was free on Playstation. It was fun but I found it a bit repetitive having the grind dungeons multiple times to get enough parts to build a dagger that's only slightly better than a normal metal one. Looking at it now, I see that it has a large number of very expensive DLCs, totally $130!  Are these DLCs worth that much money? Has the game changed much in the last year?
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on December 30, 2021, 11:17:59 PM
The other is Metal Wolf Chaos. Yeah. Because the President should have his own personal mecha :D

Wow that brings back memories. One of my players had that wayyyyyy back and played it through to the end. Pretty fun game really.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on December 30, 2021, 11:28:36 PM
Lets see.
Dropped Neverwinter Online after yet more system changes AND deleting over seven adventure areas and a chunk of the story.
Got back into Champions Online and been enjoying it still as its suffered the least changes.
And just a few months ago took a peak finally at Star Trek Online. Seems fun so far though very confusing as so little of the system is fully explained, or explained at all in a rare few cases. Also everything is exponentially more expensive there. 30$ for just ONE ship. Some of the packs can cost upwards of 150$ to 200$! Still, its playable on a free account if all you are interested is playing through the story. Which is so far fairly long.

PC side been poking once again at FURA and trying to finally finish my old Darkness Gathering pt 1 module conversion.
Mostly finished the Keep part of building to scale the Keep on the Borderlands map in Minecraft.
Stalled on playing through the original Knights of the old Republic for the moment after realizing had botched an encounter with no easy way to backtrack.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gog to Magog on January 06, 2022, 08:46:40 AM
Been playing Street Fighter 5 continuously for practice, just finished the Castlevania Advance collection, am gaming regularly in City of Heroes with friends (hit level 50 last week or so), looking forward to King of Fighters 15 (my boy K9999/Krohnen is back!!!!) and just got the Legacy of Kain collection off GOG so will be playing Blood Omen to show the wife.

EDIT: Also forgot to mention I also play a lot of Gundam Battle Operation 2
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on January 12, 2022, 02:11:48 PM
am gaming regularly in City of Heroes with friends (hit level 50 last week or so),

Which City of Heroes server? Theres apparently more than one now. But so far no private server pack.

I play on Champions with a few friends. The followup as it were to Cryptic's CoH.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Gog to Magog on January 16, 2022, 10:32:27 AM
am gaming regularly in City of Heroes with friends (hit level 50 last week or so),

Which City of Heroes server? Theres apparently more than one now. But so far no private server pack.

I play on Champions with a few friends. The followup as it were to Cryptic's CoH.

I play on Homecoming's Reunion server

Also wanted to add to my current gaming list that I've now picked up SNK vs Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash on Switch. Amazing classic game.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on March 03, 2022, 05:53:19 AM
Just got The Ascent (https://store.steampowered.com/app/979690/The_Ascent/) on Steam.

Twin stick shooter, with Diablo style loot and upgrades. I'm having fun with it. The control are a little janky, and I really hate it when abilities are set to the stick "click" buttons.
Cover is a joke. Trying to shoot from cover just makes you a sitting duck for melee opponents.
But the rest of the gameplay is good, and the music and ambiance are exellent. The music is a ripoff reminiscent of Blade Runner.

Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on March 10, 2022, 04:32:47 PM
Just got The Ascent (https://store.steampowered.com/app/979690/The_Ascent/) on Steam.

Twin stick shooter, with Diablo style loot and upgrades. I'm having fun with it. The control are a little janky, and I really hate it when abilities are set to the stick "click" buttons.
Cover is a joke. Trying to shoot from cover just makes you a sitting duck for melee opponents.
But the rest of the gameplay is good, and the music and ambiance are exellent. The music is a ripoff reminiscent of Blade Runner.

I finished this game a few months ago. TONS OF FUN. I'm looking forward to getting anything from this small studio. Such a solid immersive game and the story is excellent.

Currently I'm playing - Back4Blood and Elden Ring which I just started.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: RebelSky on March 28, 2022, 03:39:46 AM
Lately been playing Warframe. Best Free to Play video game I've ever played. Kicks the crap out of Destiny 2.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: hedgehobbit on March 28, 2022, 07:08:17 PM
I started playing Dying Light 2. It's a weird case. Even though it is almost exactly the same game, mechanics wise, it is worse than the first game in every respect; the map is worse, the setting is worse, the zombies are worse, and the story is worse. Even considering how non-existent the original story was.

They added a new branching path system for the quests, but they force you to make choices without knowing enough information. For example, I agreed to help this woman named Sophie only to find out in the very next cut scene that she's been lying to me the whole time and she doesn't even have the ability to help me, which is the whole reason I'm helping her in the first place. Now she's ordering me to murder 30 people who I now know are completely innocent. Plus because the game only allows one save, I can't even go back and pick the other side. I can either murder 30 people or start the game over from the beginning.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on April 27, 2022, 01:54:31 AM
Did/do you like FTL?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1226510/Trigon_Space_Story/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=a-ab207-02207-2201-b410007c

Free demo. I liked what I saw. I'll probably buy the full game when it's released in a few days.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on April 28, 2022, 10:14:09 AM
I finished Super Robot Wars V on PS4, very enjoyable, would recommend. I may replay it in Game + at some point, there are branching storylines so it would not be the exact same game.

I bought a Nintendo Switch to play the new Advance Wars game on, then Nintendo put an indefinite hold on the release due to the war in the Ukraine. :(

So now I'm playing The Outer Worlds on the switch. For $20, the price was right, and I am enjoying the game. That said, playing the game on any other system would be a big graphical upgrade. The textures on the Switch are not good, and there are no extra shaders or anything. Still, I'm enjoying the game, and would recommend it.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: hedgehobbit on April 28, 2022, 12:57:27 PM
So now I'm playing The Outer Worlds on the switch. For $20, the price was right, and I am enjoying the game. That said, playing the game on any other system would be a big graphical upgrade. The textures on the Switch are not good, and there are no extra shaders or anything. Still, I'm enjoying the game, and would recommend it.

Definitely worth $20 although I didn't really enjoy the entire game because of the issues with the ending. My favorite part of the game was Stellar Bay and it's missions.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: bromides on May 19, 2022, 05:17:25 PM
All my computer game time is in Incest Simulator... I mean, Crusader Kings 3. Maybe one of the best roleplaying sandboxes there is. Yes, you run a domain, but it's about your ruler and his dynasty. How you stay in power over the generations.

(Re)made the ancient Bactrian Empire from a custom Zoroastrian/Tajik start. It's not the best to start on divine marriage that early with a custom character because the game has no real ancestors for your custom characters, so the genetics are very few (and the offspring are more likely to get Inbred). You pretty much stack the deck for Inbred when you marry your twin children to each other that early in the game. (Can't wait for the Game of Thrones mod for CK3!)

Just waiting on the Iberia flavor pack next... then I'll do the Reconquista game again. I've already done it with Asturias and with the Jimenas (Urraca of Leon), but kicking the Moors out of Spain doesn't get old.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on May 19, 2022, 10:59:32 PM
Still playing Warframe from time to time, but I have cut way.  Over a thousand hounds in and I still play a lot of Approaching Infinity (sci-fi rogue like.) 

Just picked up Solar Ash since it was on sale, don't know if I'm going to hate it or love it.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Banjo Destructo on June 02, 2022, 09:58:46 AM
Started a new game in Kingdom Come: Deliverance after about 2-3 years of a break.   I'm busy autistically punching cows to power level some stats in skalitz before the real game starts. KO's some random villagers, etc.   Going to try getting high stats without lowering reputation in skalitz, and no killing like some of those really psychotic playthroughs do, like.. really.. maybe its bad that Henry would just punch cows for hours on end as a detour from helping his dad finish the sword, but Henry wouldn't just run around killing all the guards either, lol.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Wrath of God on June 02, 2022, 03:57:54 PM
Football Manager 2015
Darkest Dungeon
Deus Ex
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: bromides on June 06, 2022, 12:12:04 PM
Spending a lot of time lately in Tom Clancy's The Division 2.

It's a looter shooter set in the United States after a biological weapon attack in NYC destroys the world, which is kind of funny in the time of the COVID plague.

The main play areas are Washington DC and Manhattan (or, the post apocalyptic ruins of those locations).

It's pretty woke, though. The heroic characters definitely have a quota. The main bad guy is a white Caucasian man. Many of the boss fights are against a diverse cast of mostly African Americans or Native Americans, with the occasional Latinx boss. Many of the peon enemies are white.

Having fun with an offensive shield build (using the named holster, Forge, to buff my shield, along with the exotic, Memento).
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: soundchaser on June 06, 2022, 12:38:03 PM
I'm messing around with a MacOs version of Marathon. Clunky and fun!
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Banjo Destructo on June 06, 2022, 02:52:15 PM
I'm messing around with a MacOs version of Marathon. Clunky and fun!
Did you just see the review on MandaloreGaming? I had forgotten about this game until I saw that review recently. I had the demo back in the day on my mac.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Omega on July 09, 2022, 07:58:50 PM
Good ol Games had a sale up for Wizards Crown for 3$ so grabbed a copy as it is the predecessor to the D&D games SSI made. You can see the elements that carried over quite clearly too.

The sort of free-form class system is interesting. The higher a created characters INT score, the more points they have to buy classes. Quite possible to have a Sorcerer Priest, a Fighter Ranger Thief, etc. Combat is brutal and if go tactical mode it can take forever to finish one combat.

Controls are really simplistic yet cumbersome. But you get used to it eventually. Grind-o-rama though.

Oddly the GoG version does not come with the manual. Which you kinda need for the random copy protection questions.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on July 09, 2022, 08:02:23 PM
Still playing Warframe from time to time, but I have cut way done.  Over a thousand hour in and I still play a lot of Approaching Infinity (sci-fi rogue like.) 

Just picked up Solar Ash since it was on sale, don't know if I'm going to hate it or love it.
Solar Ash, love the art, love the story, can't play it even on its easiest settings.  Sigh.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Adeptus on August 02, 2022, 10:45:13 AM
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. I like it, although I'm a bit disappointed by the insufficient integration of strategic and RPG elements.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: danskmacabre on August 09, 2022, 08:48:41 PM
Mostly Elder Scrolls online atm.
Not much else, as I'm running a few Tabletop RPGs atm (online via Discord/Roll20), so that's taking up more of my time.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on August 10, 2022, 10:09:22 AM
I wrapped up The Outer Worlds on the Switch. It was a fun ride, but if I ever want to play the game again, I'll do it on PS4. The Switch version of the game just looks terrible, and I can get a complete version of the game on PS4 for what the expansions would cost me on Switch.

I wouldn't say that I'm experiencing buyer's remorse over buying the Switch, but it's close. I'll be a lot happier if and when they release Advance Wars.

I'm playing the original version of Metal Max Xeno on the PS4. Not the neutered "remastered" version. It's a unique game, but not a AAA title. I like it, but I get the impression it's going to be a fairly short ride.

I've preordered the new Saints Row on PS4, and the Boss Factory app just dropped for it. That's basically the character generation section of the game, packaged as a standalone freebie. I spent an hour or so last night working on my Mick Jagger boss. Too bad they don't have a male English voice this time around.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on August 25, 2022, 08:20:52 AM
Do not, do not, do not waste your money on the new Saints Row. It is flat out broken.

I wasn't able to complete the introductory adventure because I couldn't pick up an item. Then when I saved, so that I wouldn't lose an hour's worth of agonizing progress that I achieved without a working targeting reticle, and restarted, I was back at the start of the level.

I kind of like what I see in the game, would have been nice if I could actually play that game.

This is definitely a Cyberpunk 2077 type situation, where the game was just cynically released in an unready state.

I would say circle back around in a year and see if the game is in beta yet. Because what's there now is alpha code.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on August 25, 2022, 08:50:31 AM
I sprang for a new high end gaming desktop, pondering if I should pick up anything new to put it through its paces. Suggestions?
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on August 25, 2022, 10:39:33 AM
You could always give Warframe a try, it's free to play, so the only cost is bandwidth to download it and drive space.

Warframe is a PvE looter shooter with a crap-ton of lore and customization options.  There are (of course) things to buy, but the are all cosmetic or booster stuff to reduce the grind.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on August 25, 2022, 02:57:59 PM
You could always give Warframe a try, it's free to play, so the only cost is bandwidth to download it and drive space.

Warframe is a PvE looter shooter with a crap-ton of lore and customization options.  There are (of course) things to buy, but the are all cosmetic or booster stuff to reduce the grind.
Yeah, I played it for a while but got bored because it's become grindy as fuck.

I might reinstall it on the new machine just to see how it looks with the new processor and card though.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Fheredin on August 27, 2022, 04:30:37 PM
Got Xenoblade 3. I'm a bit more than 3 chapters in, so I don't know major story spoilers, but I've got a few things to say, already.

I think this is generally a step sideways for the series and reinforces my opinion that Monolithsoft needs to put the franchise on a serious diet. Having two different factions, one with timed cooldowns and another with landed autoattack cooldowns which you want to come off cooldown together so you can use them in Fusion arts to charge your interlink so you can use your Ouroboros form, combined with a class system which is for all intents and purposes a JOB system from Final Fantasy Tactics and you have a game which is right on the ragged edge of becoming an unplayably crunchy mess.

This is massive game design heresy for 2022.

You know what's also major game design heresy for -insert current year-? Unapologetically heteronormal pairings. Ouroboros is unquestionably a marriage metaphor because it involves two characters becoming one composite being (albeit briefly). One character is from Keves, one character is from Agnes, and all of the pairings are preset male-female. Romeo and Juliet reference? Yes, absolutely. How Monolithsoft snuck this out, got a bestseller of the year slot, and SJWs haven't screamed bloody murder is beyond me. And it is amazing.

Story? Like I said, I'm not far into it, but I can comment on a few things.

On my first start of the game, I despised the intro. Then I decided to restart the game at a higher difficulty rather than tweak it in the menu and I was amazed at all the foreshadowing I had gotten far enough in to get. I still think it's a rough intro, but it replays better than it first plays. Also, kudos for having the steamy shower scene there to make a point. Usually, it's just vapid titillation.

Eunie and Ethel having boob windows in their outfits, however, IS vapid titillation. But after XBC2, I am absolutely positive no one is going to side with me in that complaint. I mean, did you see Pyra's outfit?

As a last note, children in adult bodies is a really, REALLY hard concept to pull off, and thusfar XBC3 has done it rather well. So well that I think I'll add the "clone child in an adult body" trick to my writing repertoire, as it lets you get away with a cat-girl named Mio (only a few letters off Meow) still be a compelling character, and practically all the guffaws of strange dialogue or localization gaffes can now be chocked up to the characters not being as articulate as an adult character would be because...they're not adults.


Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on September 02, 2022, 03:16:36 PM
For what it's worth, I was able to get a working install of Saint's Row. I deleted my first installation, and installed only the code off the game disc. That got me a working game, and the additional stuff downloaded in the background without incident.

So now I can aim, shoot, and drive vehicles. The game is still pretty janky around the edges, though. At this point, that's almost a Saints Row tradition.

I don't have much enthusiasm for the game, and I haven't made much progress.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on September 02, 2022, 04:11:57 PM
Space Game Junkie aired a few episodes of Drox Operative 2 and that got me playing again.  I beat the level 100 challenge yesterday and now I'm doing the achievement hunter thing.

For those who are not familiar, Drox 2 is an space action/rogue-lite where you are an agent of the Drox and your goal to pacify a procedurally created sector by sword or silver tongue all the while you level up and equip your ship with a dizzying array of modules and weapons.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: caldrail on September 07, 2022, 10:46:30 AM
I've always played driving and flying sims, still do. But in a more RPG related way, Stellaris and No Man's Sky. Both have gotten a load of updates and expansions that makes the games so much more satisfying.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Slipshot762 on September 09, 2022, 05:02:34 AM
hexen with walpurgis mod, just played through heretic twice using walpurgis and (forgot the other name) a mod that makes everything more melee centric. also age of kings. working on dragonlance d6 and making mini buildings a the 1 inch is 20 feet scale which is now the scale we play at for all things btw.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on September 09, 2022, 07:47:21 AM
Got into playing Rust recently.  I have a private server with a handful of friends on it.  We spent the first few days just getting use to the game, then we got hit with the monthly forced wipe.  Now we're working together to build a fort, explore the more dangerous areas and ultimately try to take down that damn attack helicopter.  Once the wipe hits us again we're going to go every man for themselves with a few agreed upon gentlemanly rules of war.  I might turn on the Halloween event during that to see what it's like.

I just finished Metroid Dread.  I have some gripes, but overall I liked it. 

Now I'm chilling playing In Other Waters. It's a sci-fi virtual novel where you "play" (it has some player input: route plotting, scanning, etc) an advanced AI in a diving suit helping a scientist explore an alien world's ocean.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on September 14, 2022, 03:59:48 PM
Back into Battlefield 1 as a holdover until Darktide drops.

Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Cathode Ray on September 15, 2022, 07:18:00 PM
Arcade Dig Dug.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: oggsmash on September 28, 2022, 09:58:33 AM
  Started back playing Conan Exiles (PC), played it a good bit during early release....it is much, much improved IMO.  Theme, art and play is pretty good.  I would say give it a shot.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: behayos on October 27, 2022, 03:12:02 PM
I play Return to Monkey Island, A game that immerses you in a fantastic universe, travel the world in search of many mysteries.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on October 27, 2022, 04:10:26 PM
Been digging Hardspace: Shipbreaker and doing the daily thing with that.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on November 01, 2022, 04:01:33 AM
Bayonetta 3. Which I preordered four years ago.

I just got it today. And I have been enjoying it. It's everything I could have hoped it would be and more.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: AnnA_Frank on November 03, 2022, 08:15:25 AM
I'm still replaying uncharted on my ps
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Darrin Kelley on November 03, 2022, 10:39:04 PM
I finished Bayonetta 3. And I found it to be a nice conclusion to this phase of the series.

I did not agree at all with any of the online controversies about it. I just enjoyed the game from beginning to end.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on November 04, 2022, 02:14:15 AM
Finished Act II of Hardspace.  I like the game, but the story is on rails and it is some heavy handed bullshit.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on November 18, 2022, 11:16:33 AM
My gaming slate has been cleared...

All things are Darktide.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on November 18, 2022, 01:11:46 PM
Got derailed by Mass Effect Legendary Edition going on sale a while back.  So, I'm all the way back to ME1 with a planned run all the way to the end.  Much nostalgic feels.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: jenkinslord on November 23, 2022, 07:25:36 PM
Recently passed GTA, now I'm addicted to diablo. From city to dungeon:) but it's a super addictive strategy game. Now I'm on 3 parts and I wish I had 4... The gist is simple - you make a choice between several characters and go on a journey through a dungeon, during which, of course, you have to fight all sorts of demons.  The first part I went through really long time, then my friend said that I can speed up with the runes yesgamers.com (https://www.yesgamers.com/diablo-2/faith-runeword). But it's up to the player, I tried a few runes only. Well, at the end of course we have to fight the main boss in the game - Diablo. Btw, the game has cool soundtracks!
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: caldrail on December 03, 2022, 03:03:54 PM
I'm back on Stellaris for a while now the v3.6 update is out. I seem to be doing better than usual (less attacks from outraged hostile civilisations) but the Galactic Community has formed and things are hotting up dramatically. My big worry at the moment is a vassal state I developed out of primitive natives that is looking toward a mercantile empire more and more, and they don't like me since I got the initial contact completely wrong - hey, there wasn't much of a clue, okay?
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: goob256 on December 07, 2022, 08:45:56 AM
All I've got for gaming is a PC and Linux box, but I've got my Linux box hooked to the TV with some emulators. I only play games I own the cartridge for (kinda taboo to pirate games if you're a developer) so I only have 3 (4 because one is Final Fantasy I/II combined) games. I started playing Final Fantasy III for DS. Almost beat it one time but I committed to that castle near the end of the game too soon and couldn't beat the Cerberus. So I'm playing again, since this game doesn't require a stylus it's good for the controller and my brothers friend just gave me a big TV where the text is still readable if you lay out the screens left/right.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on December 07, 2022, 01:18:15 PM
Rather than upgrade my PC with an expensive video card, I bought a subscription to NVidia's GeForce Now service. For $100, I get 6 months of streaming games from a RTX 3080-enabled PC in a data center.

Considering a gaming PC at that level would cost over $1000, it seems like a decent deal. Yeah, if I use the service long enough, I could have bought the card, but by that point the hardware would be obsolete. Plus, if I want to game on my PS4, I can drop the streaming service.

You have to buy the games on a separate service like Steam, but that's fine by me.

The streaming works well, and the games look pretty at 1080P. I'm playing Cyberpunk 2077 with the graphics turned up.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on December 09, 2022, 11:08:37 PM
Finished MassEffect 1/2/3 Legendary edition.  It was nice to try out all the DLC and and try a romance option that I had passed on before (Ashley, no one, Ashley again.)  The nice thing about playing it on the PC is that I can apply some mods to make the game play like I wanted it to (heat sinks for ME2 and ME3.)

Drox Operative 2 is still my filler game, trying to get to level 100 in hardcore perma-death mode.  This is my third or fourth attempt.  Drox2 likes to do one-shot kills/ambushes at the higher levels.

Actually fired up Elite Dangerous again now that the Thargoid war is a thing.  Remains to be seen if my nice ship is a hot mess since it is a year or two since I had last played regularly.

I think I have finally kicked the daily Warframe habit even though I still follow the community.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: hedgehobbit on December 12, 2022, 02:04:43 PM
Finished MassEffect 1/2/3 Legendary edition.

This showed up as one of the Playstation's free games this month so I downloaded it. I was hesitant to play it as I was afraid that it might have been "updated for modern audiences." I never played these games before and I'd like them to be as close to the originals as possible.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on December 19, 2022, 09:35:24 PM
Finished MassEffect 1/2/3 Legendary edition.

This showed up as one of the Playstation's free games this month so I downloaded it. I was hesitant to play it as I was afraid that it might have been "updated for modern audiences." I never played these games before and I'd like them to be as close to the originals as possible.

Thanks for the heads-up on that. Mass Effect Trilogy is definitely worth downloading.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on December 26, 2022, 06:14:45 AM
Prodeus was my christmas gift to myself. It's Doom with modern gameplay features and a pixelation filter.
I put it on ultra-easy and just shoot chaos monsters in the face. It's fun. I might up the difficulty after beating it once.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: hedgehobbit on December 28, 2022, 04:50:47 PM
I've been playing Days Gone lately. I'm a bit surprised because I expected it to be a low effort, 8 hour adventure game but it is a pretty huge game. I think the creators were going for a Red Dead Redemption with zombies and motorcycles, especially with the camp and the main character who is a huge asshole (although Deacon from Days Gone is a much less likeable than Arthur).

The two main mechanics, motorcycles and massive hordes of zombies are both well implemented although the hordes only factor into a few missions and can otherwise be ignored unless you want to try and fight them.

But, just like Dying Light 2, the game is notable in the insertion of The Message. You've got the intentionally ugly lesbian WOCs that treat you like crap but you follow them around like a puppy dog, and your main love interest emasculates you in just about every cut scene but you can't choose anyone else (despite the fact that she literally tells you to go away). Not as bad as DL2's Lawan but still annoying. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through and just met a white dude who quotes the bible and loves America. The clock is ticking on how soon before they will reveal that he's the bad guy.

And it isn't just the lack of romance options but the entire game lacks any choices whatsoever so expect your character to do stupid things with no say in it at all.

The zombies in the game are really just a background threat and 90% of the time you are murdering other humans. Just for a change, I'd like to see a zombie game where the zombies are the main threat.

Even with all that, the game mechanics are pretty fun and the game world is nice to roam around. So I'd recommend playing it if you can get it cheap and you have a high tolerance for woke nonsense.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on December 29, 2022, 08:33:15 AM
Now that I finally have a week off, I've begun playing Cyberpunk 2077 in earnest.

In general, I like the game, but I feel I'm not very good at it. :)

I had to replay the initial firefight dozens of times before I finally made it through. Now I'm in another big firefight, and again it feels like I'm not doing it right. The solution to that is just to keep on doing it until I figure it out.

I may need to upgrade my game controller. I've been using an inexpensive wired XBox clone (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZGD53JF), and I'm finding it too sloppy for CP2077.

Update: My 8BitDo Ultimate Wired Controller (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9B2ZFGZ) arrived this morning. It is SO MUCH BETTER than the cheapie controller. Went from struggling to get on targets to being able to hit effortlessly. And, like the cheap controller, it works perfectly out of the gate. Strong recommend. It turns out I was not the weak link in the system!
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on December 29, 2022, 05:06:19 PM
Finished Prodeus on Ultra Easy. It's fun, if you're into Doom shooters. The level design is excellent, and it scratched my Metroid Prime exploration itch a bit.
I'm replaying on Medium for my second play though.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: behayos on March 01, 2023, 10:44:59 AM
I play fire emblem engage, it's an excellent return to the source of the series! I really prefer this combat system than that of Threehouse.



TweakBox (https://tweakbox.mobi/) Tutuapp (https://tutuappx.com/)
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on March 21, 2023, 05:48:43 AM
https://getmodnow.com

Low effort spam. At least try to engage with some engrish and copypasta.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on March 23, 2023, 07:59:08 AM
I finally started playing Elden Ring.  The only "Souls" game I've played before was Bloodborne and I loved it.  Everything from the setting to the style to the combat clicked with me.

By comparison, I really like Elden Ring's setting and look, but I find the world feels empty.  I think that's a result of the openness of it all.  Bloodborne's city just felt more claustrophobic with more going on.

I still take some exception when people say the games are always fair in their difficulty.  Nah, there's some cheap ass shit in them.  Still enjoy it though.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baron on April 13, 2023, 12:52:40 PM
ATM I'm replaying American McGee's Alice. Prior to that I was playing Gemini Rue but I got bogged down as it wasn't engaging me. Before that I played Unavowed, which I really enjoyed (especially because it's set in NYC).

And then I've always got Master of Magic, Alien Crossfire and Beyond the Sword installed. I've been toying with Caster of Magic, Civ IV A New Dawn, Dune Wars and Final Frontier Plus. You can see I'm a Sid Meier fan.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ForgottenF on April 13, 2023, 09:48:06 PM
I finally started playing Elden Ring.  The only "Souls" game I've played before was Bloodborne and I loved it.  Everything from the setting to the style to the combat clicked with me.

By comparison, I really like Elden Ring's setting and look, but I find the world feels empty.  I think that's a result of the openness of it all.  Bloodborne's city just felt more claustrophobic with more going on.

I still take some exception when people say the games are always fair in their difficulty.  Nah, there's some cheap ass shit in them.  Still enjoy it though.

The "hard but fair" moniker is honestly less true of Elden Ring than of any other game in the series. Trying not to be the obnoxious Souls fan here, so I'll just say that if Elden Ring burns you with either its repetitiveness or its encounter design, don't give up on the series. If you loved Bloodborne for its tone and level design, you'd probably really like Dark Souls (1) and Demon Souls (If you can get a hold of it). If you were more into the combat, you'd probably get a lot of good times out of Dark Souls III.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ForgottenF on April 15, 2023, 01:22:27 PM
I recently picked up Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, a first person action RPG on PC. It's in super early access at the minute, but looks like it has promise to be the best new Elder Scrolls-like in quite a while.

Also played the demo not long ago for a turn-based first-person RPG called Hellslave, which will probably be the next thing in my queue
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: cavalier973 on April 19, 2023, 09:42:25 AM
Might & Magic 6, the Mandate of Heaven.

I have multiple games going, each trying a different tact. Even though I have owned this game since 1998 or so, I have never completed it.

It’s too much fun starting out with new characters, and the end game is tedious—the interior of the pyramid takes forever to traverse, and it’s one of those “pull the lever in this chamber to open the door in a chamber on the opposite side of the pyramid”.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: RickyPena on May 05, 2023, 03:47:41 AM
i'm playing Z Legends 2 is an action adventure game developed by developer Zitga Studios. In Z Legends 2, players will participate in matches with different opponents to achieve the highest score. The game offers many different characters for players to choose from, each with their own special skills and powers. Besides, players can also upgrade the character's skills and equipment to defeat the enemy more easily. Besides, there are many other attractive games waiting for you on my personal page.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Reckall on May 06, 2023, 05:41:25 AM
I’m playing Dead by Daylight online. It is a fun asymmetrical horror movie simulator with a Killer on one side and four Survivors who must power the exit gates and escape the “trial”. They have both original and “licensed” DLCs, with the licensed ones ranging from Halloween, to Hellraiser, to Ringu (the original Japanese one).

The game has devolved from what meant to be basically a party game into a strong “meta” with a toxic community, but playing Michael Meyers, Sadako (who actually come out of the TV holy fuck!) or the Demogorgon from Stranger Things is quite the experience.

My other current game is Europa Universalis 4 as England - and the war against France is not going well…
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on May 06, 2023, 08:53:37 AM
I’m playing Dead by Daylight online. It is a fun asymmetrical horror movie simulator with a Killer on one side and four Survivors who must power the exit gates and escape the “trial”. They have both original and “licensed” DLCs, with the licensed ones ranging from Halloween, to Hellraiser, to Ringu (the original Japanese one).

The game has devolved from what meant to be basically a party game into a strong “meta” with a toxic community, but playing Michael Meyers, Sadako (who actually come out of the TV holy fuck!) or the Demogorgon from Stranger Things is quite the experience.

My other current game is Europa Universalis 4 as England - and the war against France is not going well…
Yeah, DbD looks good on paper until you play against survive-with-friends (SWF) groups and then it gets painful. It's also got horrendous balance issues, all tilted inexorably towards survivors, which makes playing as killer spectacularly unfun.

Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Klava on May 07, 2023, 09:48:44 PM
i'm playing swtor. mostly as my Star Wars fix, but a small social guild of very positive people i joined about a year ago is nice as well. lets me practice my spoken english too.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on May 08, 2023, 05:58:25 AM
i'm playing swtor. mostly as my Star Wars fix, but a small social guild of very positive people i joined about a year ago is nice as well. lets me practice my spoken english too.

Man, I love SWTOR, but hate the upselling of microtransactions.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Klava on May 08, 2023, 12:11:43 PM
Man, I love SWTOR, but hate the upselling of microtransactions.
really? hasn't been my experience, tbh. i don't think i spent a dime on it apart from subscription fees, but then again i don't play their dress-a-space-barbie game at all :P
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Eirikrautha on May 08, 2023, 10:58:48 PM
i'm playing swtor. mostly as my Star Wars fix, but a small social guild of very positive people i joined about a year ago is nice as well. lets me practice my spoken english too.

Man, I love SWTOR, but hate the upselling of microtransactions.

God, I'm dating myself, but I read that as SWOTL at a glance.  And I was like, "Hey, Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe was the one of the best sims of it's time!  I need to replay that!"
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: GiantToenail on May 12, 2023, 05:22:56 PM
Right now I'm playing old-school ascii roguelikes, specifically I'm playing Sil-Q.

It's set place in LOTR lore-wise and the end goal is to steal a gem from the witch-king's crown with all the wits and weaponry you can muster along the way and on the way back.

It has item improvement and crafting via anvils/smithing-skill along with stealthing past enemies entirely instead of using a bow/sword; stealth in conjunction with a bow/sword works well too.

The races aren't balanced against each other, they're genuine to the literature I think; which I find neat!

Instead of magic, there's great tales of triumph and valor told through song which grant the user with buffs as long as the tale is being sung, depleting voice points as time goes on; pretty flavorful as magic goes.

I heard somewhere that the races are less about picking a specialization and more so a flavorful way of picking your difficulty, I guess I can see it but I'd rather duke it out with a dwarf than prance around like an elf any day, difficulty is the spice of life!
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on May 14, 2023, 01:09:54 PM
Playing Minecraft as a solo journaling game where I have a character and write from their perspective.  It's actually been a rather enjoyable blend of gaming, creative writing, and a solo RPG.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: DuckPickle on June 26, 2023, 01:14:58 PM
Now I'm actively playing diablo4. I bought it a month ago and have already played 200 hours. it's super cool! 8) I improved my character a lot with the help of these guys, here's a link (https://boosthive.eu/) to them.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baron on June 26, 2023, 01:26:33 PM
Recently I started playing Atom RPG, an indie take-off on Fallout I & II. It's set in an alternate timeline, in the ruins of the Soviet Union. Turn-based. Lots of fun, but what I'm missing most is the oldies soundtracks from Fallouts III, IV and New Vegas. :-) Oh, and I can't read the signs over the stores, which are in Cyrillic.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Klava on June 29, 2023, 02:54:19 AM
Oh, and I can't read the signs over the stores, which are in Cyrillic.
use the force your phone camera and google translate? :P
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baron on June 29, 2023, 02:55:43 AM
Or, I can role-play my character as illiterate. ;-)
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Baron on July 14, 2023, 06:09:19 PM
Finished ATOM RPG (111 hours!) and just started the sequel, Trudograd. You can import your character from the first game and tweak him a bit.

Overall I really enjoyed ATOM. It was very nostalgic. I had a couple of problems with how the writer decided things would go in some cases. And there are the typical issues you get sometimes. For example, if someone cheats you and you gun them down (quite in-character for the post-apocalyptic wasteland) the entire city goes aggro on you. Whether there were (surviving) witnesses or not.

But overall a great gaming experience, especially at the price.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on July 14, 2023, 06:58:33 PM
Been getting caught up on a lot of the content for No Man's Sky that has come out over the years.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Reckall on July 16, 2023, 02:10:01 PM
Been getting caught up on a lot of the content for No Man's Sky that has come out over the years.
The amount of new content is unbelievable - and, AFAIK, it all came with free patches. From what I see, right now it offers more than what was originally promised.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rgalex on July 21, 2023, 11:00:13 AM
Just finished playing Generation Zero with some friends and we’re looking for a new multiplayer game on the PS4/5.  More specifically, we’re looking for something that is 4 (or 5) player cooperative, but everything coming out these days seems to be PvEvP.  We just want to play together without having to compete against randos.  Shooter, action game, fantasy, sci-fi, whatever.  Any suggestions?
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Scooter on July 21, 2023, 03:22:43 PM
Spacewar!  61 years since its debut and still fun to play
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: tenbones on July 26, 2023, 11:14:44 AM
I'm back to raiding with my guild in WoW... I feel like Al Pacino now.

Beyond that, I'm playing Wartales (brilliant game) and the Dungeon of Naheubeuk (which if you haven't checked out and like turn-based strategy combat - it's hilarious and awesome).

I've been eyeballing Battlebits - played a few rounds, and it's fun. I miss the days of Battlefield 3/4 and Battlefield 1...
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on July 26, 2023, 04:39:05 PM
Caught up on NMS content, between my frigates and settlement, I'm literally generating more money than I can spend.  :-)

Space Cat Tactics just dropped it's a tactical space combat game with some fun characters and writing, looking forward to starting that.  I also modded the ever loving crap out of CP2077, so I might dive off the deep end of that rabbit hole.

Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: I on July 27, 2023, 11:05:32 PM
WarTales.  Easily in the top 10 list of best computer games I've ever played.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Reckall on August 04, 2023, 07:29:27 AM
I got a free copy of Baldur's Gate 3 Deluxe (legally, don't ask) and I played the beginning.

I will say that the opening is something I could have written for a campaign of mine. It is a blast, relentless, everybody against everybody else, and your characters (you with the beginnings of a small party) are thrown around - literally - almost without agency. I like to put my players in situations where they are Indiana Jones and what happens arount them is the boulder. Actually, the beginning reminded me of something similar I pulled a few years ago - when a whole air war arrived out of the blue around their placid flying ship...

The beginning is also Planescape plus Spelljammer - the original ones - plus Dragons out of Top Gun arriving in a way that, I swear, I'll copy at the first opportunity. Some writers just know the classics.

The gameplay uses D&D 5E but the interface and other elements show that the studio behind the project did the Divinity series (esp. Original Sin 2). You can also see elements from Dragon Age: Origins. One thing that surprised me is how good the facial animations are. My character is original and yet she expressed a wide variety of emotion in a credible, naturalistic style. A nice plus. Also, there is an unusual fluidity between gameplay and cut scenes. I can't exactly point my finger on why but no cut scene gave me the idea that the game was stopping cold for exposition.

Is the game woke? Well, I only played for a couple of hours. You can create brutish male thieflings with female voices and even choose the genitals (I didn't check) - but you are not forced to do it. I created a simple female paladin (genitals --> Normal) and this involuntary led to the fact that the strong characters in my beginning were all females. So, in a way, I created wokeness. Nothing else.

It is my understanding that you can fuck a bear. It is also my understanding that the dimensions of this game rival GTA V - so maybe you can also fuck a bear somewhere. Yes, this led to people running in circles with their hair in flames while screaming "DEGENERATES! FURRIES!", because of course America is the only country in the World. However, since America isn't the only country in the World, I'll simply won't fuck a bear. Or maybe I'll do, just to see what happens.

Ah, no, I almost forgot: parts of the game are narrated in voice-over by a Dungeon Master. It is another nice touch but the DM, alas, is female. So I guess that this is the end. The game is doomed.

Meanwhile, the first two hours were a pleasure to play - but I'm one of those degenerate Europeans. Don't forget this when you filter my opinion.

For sure, more to follow.

Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: critical_fumble on August 11, 2023, 10:43:55 PM
Nethack. I always  come back to it. @
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: KenCoxy on October 27, 2023, 11:09:15 AM
Nethack's classic appeal is hard to resist. It's like a journey through a pixelated labyrinth of adventure and surprises that never gets old. I've had my share of epic battles with powerful monsters and those unexpected moments that keep me coming back for more.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Cathode Ray on October 27, 2023, 12:24:32 PM
Baby Pac-Man for Atari 7800, and the newly released modern rehashes of Shark! Shark! and Astrosmash.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ghostmaker on October 30, 2023, 09:04:04 AM
Nethack's classic appeal is hard to resist. It's like a journey through a pixelated labyrinth of adventure and surprises that never gets old. I've had my share of epic battles with powerful monsters and those unexpected moments that keep me coming back for more.
All of the Nethack games and their varying children -- Moria, Angband, etc -- are great for whiling away time.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Banjo Destructo on October 30, 2023, 09:58:45 AM
Haven't really played any games in a few weeks, been trying to play some Starfield but I don't have enough time.  I wasn't over-hyped for Starfield so I kinda just have been enjoying it for what it is instead of believing it would be something greater.    I will say that I am waiting for the mod tools so I can throw a bunch of star trek based stuff into the game, I've already got my phaser models ready to import.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Wrath of God on November 04, 2023, 02:51:13 PM
Football Manager 2015.

Deus Ex.

We. The Revolution.

First one is specific. Second is classic. Third I recommend - especially since of views dominating here - it's this weird strategy about being corrupt drunkard judge during French Revolutions (well much compressed version of French Revolution) and making trials trying to maintain own life in face of public wrath, keep falling family together and survive intrigues among revolutionaries.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: KenCoxy on November 07, 2023, 10:05:18 AM
Nethack's classic appeal is hard to resist. It's like a journey through a pixelated labyrinth of adventure and surprises that never gets old. I've had my share of epic battles with powerful monsters and those unexpected moments that keep me coming back for more.

As for Counter-Strike, it's been a blast. I've been mainly rocking the AWP sniper rifle lately, trying to land those sweet headshots. The adrenaline rush you get in CS is unmatched, and it's the perfect game to unwind after a long day.
Now, about those CS2  (https://bitskins.com/market/cs2)skins – they're a game-changer, seriously. They add a whole new level of customization and personality to your weapons.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Colin Conn on November 10, 2023, 05:23:56 PM
I have a heavy recommendation for Dave the Driver

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1868140/DAVE_THE_DIVER/
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on November 12, 2023, 03:28:20 AM
I found Baldur's Gate boring and ended up playing Edge of War more than it

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1786070/Edge_of_War/

In some ways it's similar, clearly they copied the Divinity Original Sin games, it uses an almost, but not quite D&D system, and it's unfinished (and might end up that way, as the publisher dropped it so the developers are working on it best they can) but it's actually fun.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: JeremyR on November 12, 2023, 03:30:45 AM
Baby Pac-Man for Atari 7800, and the newly released modern rehashes of Shark! Shark! and Astrosmash.

One of my best gaming purchases this year was a Retron-77 which plays actual Atari 2600 carts (of which I have 100s) on a TV with HDMI and has an actual, durable joystick (unlike those Flashbacks that have POSes). Atari announced their own version, albeit for twice as much money.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rkhigdon on November 15, 2023, 10:21:53 AM
If MMOs count, then I've been playing a lot of Embers Adrift lately.  Still a lot of development work to do, but it really gives a good old school vibe and the community has been fantastic.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Banjo Destructo on November 16, 2023, 09:05:36 AM
I'm back on Landlord's Super, just a fun little game.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on November 23, 2023, 04:48:14 PM
Just ordered a PS5 Slim, it arrives tomorrow. It comes with Modern Warfare whatever, and Astro's Playroom. I also ordered Stray and Cyberpunk for PS4, as there is apparently a good update for the PS5.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: ForgottenF on November 23, 2023, 09:12:13 PM
I found Baldur's Gate boring and ended up playing Edge of War more than it

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1786070/Edge_of_War/

In some ways it's similar, clearly they copied the Divinity Original Sin games, it uses an almost, but not quite D&D system, and it's unfinished (and might end up that way, as the publisher dropped it so the developers are working on it best they can) but it's actually fun.

Oh is that actually good? I just went and culled a bunch of CRPGs off of my Steam Wishlist, including that one. But I was assuming it was real-time-with-pause, rather than true turn-based. Maybe I should add it back.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on December 02, 2023, 02:27:56 AM
I'm back into Eve Online for a while. Man, they have improved the starter game. Lots of starter missions and career path guidance to get new players rolling.
It's still a dense game with a steep learning curve, but this is much better than when I started many years ago.
Game's free to play with an "Alpha" clone. Alphas have some limitations compared to an "Omega" subscription, but new players will take a while to get to that point.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: hedgehobbit on December 02, 2023, 12:26:18 PM
I just started playing Fallout 76 as it is free (somehow, not sure). It is a pretty terrible RPG as the multiplayer aspect means that nothing you can do can possibly affect the game word. All your actions result in are faction affinity which only affects what stuff you can buy from them (unless you go all agro and turn them into enemies). The game is super feminine and almost every faction is run by women. Their is only one faction run by a man and a female NPC literally says "we just let him think he's in charge". Oi

Anyway, because the game is so old there is a strange aspect that there are all these 500+ level characters that can vaporize any enemy is seconds. So you'll be sneaking up on a Raider outpost and some random dude will just fly in (all high level characters have jump packs), kill them all, and be gone before you can even see his name.

On the plus side, the player base is always nice and will eagerly try to help low level characters (sometimes being annoying about it) and will give you any resource you ask for. And the game is still being updated, with new content coming next week.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: rytrasmi on January 16, 2024, 12:19:10 PM
Lethal Company. It is 100% a low-level dungeon crawl in space. Multiplayer only, so friends are good but the community is also pretty chill.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Thornhammer on January 19, 2024, 04:49:55 PM
The trailer for the new Indiana Jones game was encouraging.

1937, so no decrepit Indy. Troy Baker doing a fine impression of Harrison Ford. Graphics are nice. First and third person. Raiders March. Hot, throbbing bullwhip-on-Nazi action.

I know a lot of unfortunate stuff can be revealed between now and when the game releases, but it looks good so far. Indiana Jones needs a win (which is not a phrase I thought I would ever have to say).
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: yosemitemike on January 21, 2024, 04:21:14 AM
I just started playing Fallout 76 as it is free (somehow, not sure). It is a pretty terrible RPG as the multiplayer aspect means that nothing you can do can possibly affect the game word. All your actions result in are faction affinity which only affects what stuff you can buy from them (unless you go all agro and turn them into enemies). The game is super feminine and almost every faction is run by women. Their is only one faction run by a man and a female NPC literally says "we just let him think he's in charge". Oi


I quit playing about the third time that I was randomly logged into a server where someone had their camp where mine was and I had to find a new location and rebuild it.  At last there are NPCs now.  When I was playing, there weren't any beyond a few robots.  The only other people were other players.   
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lythel Phany on January 21, 2024, 10:13:02 AM
I'm replaying Pillars of Eternity and might finally finish it this time. Then move unto Pathfinder:Kingmaker maybe.

Still unsure if I want to play Disco Elysium, lots of people love it but my brief play of intro made game feel "pretencious". Might be because of my stat choices back then.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on January 21, 2024, 05:13:10 PM
Been playing a lot of Genshin Impact and Approaching Infinity lately, I guess I like the grind for grin's sake.  Also playing, some Girl Genius: Adventures in Castle Heterodyne.

On the bright side, GI does have some pretty graphics and lots of story.  And, AI is great procedural fun and play nice when the internet fails (which sadly happened too freaking often last week.)

My son says that I should revisit Warframe since some of the new content is pretty nice.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: yosemitemike on January 22, 2024, 03:35:24 AM
I spent around $80 to get the new expansion for Final Fantasy XIV and reactivate my account.  So, naturally, I have barely played it and am spending most of my time playing Path of Exiles.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: King Tyranno on January 26, 2024, 08:43:24 AM
So I keep coming back to this game yearly at least. It was one of my favorites as a young teenager aged 12 when it first came out. As a lover of military science fiction (which I know is going to cause some eyerolls because true intellectuals "know" that Starship Troopers is heckin gross and fascist) I keep coming back to good old Quake 4 and it's campaign. I love it. It has a couple interesting twists in the middle of it that help make the gameplay and story even more fun.

Concurrent with my yearly playthrough someone started doing Quake lore videos which are highly polished and intriguing. These videos do an excellent job of piecing together the lore for all 6 Quake games. Quake 1,2,3,4, Enemy Territory, and Champions and tying that into Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. Especially the Dreamlands. It puts the games into a cohesive timeline. Which made my playthrough feel all the more richer.









I know the idea of Quake having lore at all and people being interested in it might seem strange. So give the videos a look if you don't believe me.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Ratman_tf on January 31, 2024, 05:57:08 PM
After years of playing Eve Online solo, (with a short stint in the rpg.net corp) I joined Brave* and moved down to nullsec*. I was curious and have never left highsec*.
So far, it's kind of amusing. I feel safer in a region* where there is no NPC law*. Joining a big corp is doubtless the reason. When I'm ratting* or mining, I'm surrounded by corp-mates, and there is a standing fleet keeping an eye out for intruders*.

*Brave: A player owned corporation. Like a guild in other MMOGs.
* nullsec: a region of space where there is no NPC guardians.
* highsec: regions of space where NPC guardians will attack players who get rowdy and try to destroy other players.
* region: parts of the Eve galaxy that include a set of solar systems adjacent to each other.
* NPC law: Concord is the computer controlled NPC guardians who are nigh-unkillable and will attack players who attack others, or who have gotten their reputation so low they are kill on sight by Concord.
* ratting: Hunting and destroying NPC pirates for bounties and loot.
* intruders: nullsec territory can be attacked and taken over by other players.

I'm having fun, though I'm so broke IRL I'm unable to pay for the subscription and am limited in how high my skills and available tech and ships can go.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: 1stLevelWizard on February 01, 2024, 12:30:34 AM
In around 25 hours I'm going to be going into a listless, death-like state as I hole up and play Persona 3: Reload.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Aldarion on February 02, 2024, 12:49:23 PM
I am currently playing the Sunrider series. Right now I'm on Sunrider: Liberation Day.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on February 07, 2024, 07:46:42 PM
I've been playing No Man's Sky for the last month or so.

Yes, I heard all about the problems back in the day. But in 2024, the game is pretty well fleshed out, and I've enjoyed it so far.

The basic functionality of running around exploring planets and making money is pretty solid. I've run into one or two minor bugs, but nothing that prevented me from doing what I was trying to do.

The procedurally generated planets, creatures and flora all work pretty well. IMHO, they have hit a good balance between having different places look different, without having to reinvent the game everywhere you go. The underlying mechanics work everywhere.

The major flaw is an underlying lack of personality. NPCs are generally shallow. You're going to play this game for the gameplay, not the characters you meet or a compelling story arc.

You can pick up the game for $30, and at that price it's a good deal, even if you just explore around trying out the game options. The basic game is compelling and fun.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on February 07, 2024, 08:07:18 PM
Picked up Enshrouded and I'm enjoying it so far.  My son and his friends are playing it, but I doing the solo thing to get into the slowly unfolding lore and 'get gud' before I do any co-op play.  If you like the fantasy survival game and don't mind a early access build, it is fun stuff.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Chris24601 on February 20, 2024, 09:22:02 PM
Now that it’s got the official license, City of Heroes: Homecoming has dropped a sizable update with new powers, new story arcs, new costume parts and a revamp/update of what they’re referring to as the “New Player Experience” (basically making it easier for new players to get onboard).

So, I’ll probably be spending the next month just playing with all the new options.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: zircher on February 21, 2024, 02:01:10 PM
Been playing a lot of Cosomoteer lately, enjoying the ship/puzzle building/design grind it offers.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: yosemitemike on February 21, 2024, 04:49:46 PM
I've been playing No Man's Sky for the last month or so.

Yes, I heard all about the problems back in the day. But in 2024, the game is pretty well fleshed out, and I've enjoyed it so far.



They have fixed and revamped it so much since then that's it's only nominally the same game.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on March 07, 2024, 09:19:56 PM
Still playing No Man's Sky, coming up on the 40 hour mark.

I've certainly gotten my money's worth out of the game, and it's been enjoyable. If all you want is to jump in your starfighter and fly around exploring weird planets, this will certainly scratch that itch.

The major con so far is that not all of the systems in the game mesh together well. You can wind up in the position of owning a star fleet, and still having to stomp around mining basic resources and dumpster diving for artifacts in order to build everyday stuff. It seems like at some point you should transcend the basic grocery-getting of the universe and move on to bigger things, but it doesn't seem to work that way.

Or maybe I just haven't stumbled onto the right plot thread. There are some storylines I don't care about, and have neglected.

Anyway, I recommend the game, it is a good value for the money, but it probably won't make it into my all-time favorites list.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: hedgehobbit on March 10, 2024, 10:10:48 PM
The major con so far is that not all of the systems in the game mesh together well. You can wind up in the position of owning a star fleet, and still having to stomp around mining basic resources and dumpster diving for artifacts in order to build everyday stuff. It seems like at some point you should transcend the basic grocery-getting of the universe and move on to bigger things, but it doesn't seem to work that way.

The need to drop down to a planet and do some mining never 100% goes away, but there are lots of items that can be unlocked for bases that will autocollect various items for you. Unfortunately, unlocking all the base object that collect resources requires you go down to planets and mine for resources.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Lurkndog on March 13, 2024, 08:56:47 AM
I'd really love to see a No Man's Sky 2, where they take the feature salad that is the first game, and streamline everything so that it works together better and has quality of life improvements.

For instance, there are at least three different systems for building bases: building wall sections, building complete modules, and building with cuboids. None of them really integrate well with the others, and cuboids are kind of a buggy mess.
Title: Re: Video Games: What are you playing?
Post by: Cathode Ray on March 21, 2024, 09:12:45 PM
Playing Crazy Climber and Mr. Run & Jump for Atari 2600 lately.