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Meta Board => Off Topic Fun => Topic started by: Kuroimaken on February 13, 2014, 08:03:52 AM

Title: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 13, 2014, 08:03:52 AM
You know what to do.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 13, 2014, 09:16:47 AM
Well, in terrible gaming news, EA is obviously trying to get World's Worst Company award for the 3rd year in a row, by destroying the cherished franchise of Dungeon Keeper, by making it a horrible F2P app game, where you get to dig A SINGLE BLOCK EVERY 24 HOURS!  Unless, of course, you pay for 'gems'.  And, they even went so far as to fly a virtual middle finger to every fan of the old games, by putting the Bullfrog logo on the You Lose flag! (http://s30.postimg.org/juau3ftnl/1392003886135.jpg)  Bullfrog was the company that made Dungeon Keeper 1 & 2 (and quite a few other good games), which EA destroyed to take their IPs.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 13, 2014, 09:43:27 AM
Well, in terrible gaming news, EA is obviously trying to get World's Worst Company award for the 3rd year in a row, by destroying the cherished franchise of Dungeon Keeper, by making it a horrible F2P app game, where you get to dig A SINGLE BLOCK EVERY 24 HOURS!  Unless, of course, you pay for 'gems'.  And, they even went so far as to fly a virtual middle finger to every fan of the old games, by putting the Bullfrog logo on the You Lose flag! (http://s30.postimg.org/juau3ftnl/1392003886135.jpg)  Bullfrog was the company that made Dungeon Keeper 1 & 2 (and quite a few other good games), which EA destroyed to take their IPs.

Why did you tell me this? : (
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 13, 2014, 10:05:38 AM
How the everloving FUCK is EA still in business?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 13, 2014, 10:17:53 AM
How the everloving FUCK is EA still in business?

Too many properties.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 13, 2014, 10:26:26 AM
EA makes an assload of money and fires everyone who works on games that don't make money.

I used to work for Bioware Austin, when SWTOR didn't do as well as expected they let go a huge amount of people.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 13, 2014, 10:44:05 AM
EA has realized most people out there will willingly sell their souls in return for online capabilities.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 13, 2014, 10:48:09 AM
*sigh*

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 13, 2014, 05:50:00 PM
Yeah, I've been boycotting EA for a few years now.  Yes, that means I have not played PvZ 2 or SWTOR.  I think the last game of theirs I ever bought was C&C: Red Alert 3.  I just wish there were more people out there willing to tell EA "no" with their wallets ...

However, if you're pining for some good Dungeon Keeper style gameplay, I've heard lots of good things about War for the Overworld. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/230190/)

Edit: Found this (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1460250988/darkest-dungeon-by-red-hook-studios) just now.  Looks like a really interesting RPG!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 13, 2014, 06:18:08 PM
Yeah, I've been boycotting EA for a few years now.  Yes, that means I have not played PvZ 2 or SWTOR.  I think the last game of theirs I ever bought was C&C: Red Alert 3.  I just wish there were more people out there willing to tell EA "no" with their wallets ...

However, if you're pining for some good Dungeon Keeper style gameplay, I've heard lots of good things about War for the Overworld. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/230190/)

... that's not just DK style. Looking at the rooms, and even the damn floor and wall tiling, that's INCREDIBLY close... :O

Wonder if it'll also go in for dark humour?

Also, I won Civ V + DLC earlier. Didn't pay a thing for it. Even if  I think the Happiness thing is ridiculous: yay, free game~
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 14, 2014, 05:35:29 AM
CiV 5 is awesome. Play with 8 civs and 32 independent states, and no max turns. fun fun fun.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 14, 2014, 07:33:26 AM
CiV 5 is awesome. Play with 8 civs and 32 independent states, and no max turns. fun fun fun.

But Civ IV is the one with the Alpha Centauri mod. :O
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on February 14, 2014, 07:37:07 AM
CiV 5 is awesome. Play with 8 civs and 32 independent states, and no max turns. fun fun fun.

But Civ IV is the one with the Alpha Centauri mod. :O

But Civ 5 has like 9 Touhou civilizations on the workshop and oh my god I CAN NOT get enough of this game  :love
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 14, 2014, 07:42:16 AM
CiV 5 is awesome. Play with 8 civs and 32 independent states, and no max turns. fun fun fun.

But Civ IV is the one with the Alpha Centauri mod. :O

But Civ 5 has like 9 Touhou civilizations on the workshop and oh my god I CAN NOT get enough of this game  :love

I don't even see how a Touhou civ, let alone changing the game into them, is supposed to work or be the slightest bit sensible. Gensokyo doesn't even have enough people for a single city, let alone multiple. :p

I do know some of the changes from Civ IV annoy me. Especially the happiness one. Also flying things' apparent inability to fly over water.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on February 14, 2014, 08:16:36 AM
Well each single character is the leader of a whole civ..... (http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/browse?searchtext=Touhou&childpublishedfileid=0&section=items&appid=8930&browsesort=trend)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 14, 2014, 08:17:11 AM
Well each single character is the leader of a whole civ.....

Because clearly anything potentially lead by Remi or Reimu is going to do well. >_>;

Most of them don't even look that interesting. And Utsuho gets bonuses from wrecking the whole world... :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on February 14, 2014, 08:20:27 AM
They so do do well! :D
Although there isn't a Reimu but there is a Remi.

What's not interesting about turning the world into Gensokyo!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 14, 2014, 08:22:49 AM
They so do do well! :D
Although there isn't a Reimu but there is a Remi.

What's not interesting about turning the world into Gensokyo!

Lack of danmaku.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 14, 2014, 08:23:43 AM
Focus on military research. BAM, done.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on February 14, 2014, 08:25:16 AM

Lack of danmaku.

You are such a killjoy  :pout

Like, it's Civ, not some 3D aerial fighter :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 14, 2014, 08:40:59 AM

Lack of danmaku.

You are such a killjoy  :pout

Like, it's Civ, not some 3D aerial fighter :p

If I'm going to turn something into Gensokyo, simple civ bonuses won't cut it. :p

Also having Eirin as leader of Eientei is horribly wrong (ditto for Utsuho as a leader), even if she is stronger. :<
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on February 14, 2014, 09:15:17 AM
Eiren just comes off as more proactive and memorable than Kaguya I guess *shrugs* :p

And Utsuho got the lead because she was the one who came up from hell to 'take over the world' and burn it to ashes. Nonetheless, her dialogue in Civ does have her mentioning how she's conquering the world to make it a better place for Satori. *andanothershrug*

If I'm going to turn something into Gensokyo, simple civ bonuses won't cut it. :p
Like, I understand that, but you can't get much more out of Civ than that. That'd need to be a whole 'nother game entirely :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on February 14, 2014, 12:07:00 PM
Yes, that means I have not played PvZ 2 or SWTOR.
Honestly, you're not missing a thing on PvZ 2, it's a terrible game.

Most of the new plants are dumb gimmicks, boomerang, punching, spring, etc. that are less useful than the original plants. Some are even counter productive (firebreathers). However there is ten times the amount of zombies with makes things vary between fucking hard to goddamnit this is retarded. The reason? Two fold actually. You can kill a green glowing zombie for "plant food" which kicks a plant into super mode for a few seconds and there are three new touch screen powers can eliminate hordes of zombies in seconds.

With *such* powerful options at your disposal they ramped up the zombie count to insane levels to compensate for it. You've also got mobs that auto kill plants in one hit, including Wall-Nuts, that show up early on as well. Torchbearers in the first map, barrel rollers in the second, and dear god why are there 4 gargantuans coming at me as "wave 2 of 4" on map 3 before the 10th stage?

The catch? The cheapest power costs 800 coins per use, you'd be lucky to bank 125 per stage repetition. Plant food is also pretty damn rare unless you spend coins on it. And if stock piling all those coins only to blow them all on an unsuccessful run pisses you off, it'll send you a a nice little reminder that you can purchase more in game coins with real money.

Yeah, the whole game is pretty fucking unplayable without using touchscreen powers, which means you are ever sinking money into EA to be able to play it. I'm waiting for a decent hack.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 14, 2014, 01:35:32 PM
Well, glad to hear I'm only missing content that's akin to highway robbery instead of a game!

Anyone play La Mulana?  Because there's a kickstarter for the sequel (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playism/la-mulana-2) right now!

Another kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/482445197/unsung-story-tale-of-the-guardians?ref=email), for fans of Final Fantasy Tactics!

The "Japanese Beethoven" deaf composer who wrote Resident Evil and Onimusha music is neither deaf, nor a composer. (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-02-06-music-school-teacher-behind-onimusha-composer-revealed)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 14, 2014, 01:59:16 PM
Whoa... I'd heard the Samuragochi story before but that bit about him not even being deaf is news to me.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 14, 2014, 05:38:37 PM
Civ V: why do I always go for 'marathon' settings? :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 14, 2014, 05:52:29 PM
Civ V: why do I always go for 'marathon' settings? :p

Because you want to spend all day going through a single era? :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on February 14, 2014, 05:55:00 PM
Civ V: why do I always go for 'marathon' settings? :p

I know, right?  :lmao
I also turn off culture and science victories because the bots win those by default at higher difficulties with awesomely unbalanced cheats and bonuses.
I play to set the world on fire. Every world. All worlds. And then I don't clean up the fallout because I need something to replace my Great Wall when it becomes useless :D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 14, 2014, 05:55:51 PM
Another kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/482445197/unsung-story-tale-of-the-guardians?ref=email), for fans of Final Fantasy Tactics!

That looks interesting but I don't know how I feel about the "control different groups of characters in different battles" concept.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 14, 2014, 06:18:00 PM
I refuse to turn the difficulty up on Civ games because that's... boring. :/
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 14, 2014, 06:24:17 PM
I refuse to turn the difficulty up on Civ games because that's... boring. :/
Same here, the difficulty generally doesn't result in AI changes beyond the changes in AI actions made due to not having as much science/money/culture/army/whatever.  I just set it to the fair setting and be done with it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 14, 2014, 06:37:49 PM
I refuse to turn the difficulty up on Civ games because that's... boring. :/
Same here, the difficulty generally doesn't result in AI changes beyond the changes in AI actions made due to not having as much science/money/culture/army/whatever.  I just set it to the fair setting and be done with it.

Which one is that, again? XD (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheComputerIsACheatingBastard)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 14, 2014, 07:29:30 PM
I usually leave the game at Chieftain difficulty.  Lately I've been playing the Civ IV mod Fall From Heaven 2 and dang it's fun, although still somewhat confusing to me.

But at the moment I'm playing Terraria.  It got an update yesterday and it's awesome.  <3  And I'm the equivalent of high right now I think, though I expect that'll change once my body realizes I ate too much today...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 14, 2014, 07:34:41 PM
Oh goddammit, now I'm going to have to play Terraria again.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Skevvix on February 14, 2014, 08:52:34 PM
So I just pre-ordered my copy of ESO: Imperial Edition today.  Anyone esle picked it up yet?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 15, 2014, 12:04:53 AM
So I just pre-ordered my copy of ESO: Imperial Edition today.  Anyone esle picked it up yet?
Dear god why?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 15, 2014, 12:09:24 AM
8 hours on one game in one sleep/wake cycle... ;-;

At least I stopped right before wandering into the Renaissance (I'm beginning to wonder if I'll hit a Cultural Victory before the Modern Age).

Also the Byzantines' extra belief for religions is so very unfair if you start aggressively spreading it (since it lets you have two founder beliefs... like two of money/culture/happiness/faith based on the CPU-controlled cities). XD
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Skevvix on February 15, 2014, 01:08:06 AM
So I just pre-ordered my copy of ESO: Imperial Edition today.  Anyone esle picked it up yet?
Dear god why?

I have been waiting for an Elder Scrolls MMO since Morrowind.  And most of the gameplay I have seen looks pretty good to me.  And I haven't been into anything heavy for a while.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on February 15, 2014, 01:32:39 AM
I played the last beta and ESO is certainly an mmo I'd play if I had the money for it. It's kinda up there with FF realm reborn on my list. :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 15, 2014, 02:29:34 AM
Replaying Curse of Monkey Island.

I wish people would do more 2D-animated point-and-clicks.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 15, 2014, 11:23:58 AM
I played the last beta and ESO is certainly an mmo I'd play if I had the money for it. It's kinda up there with FF realm reborn on my list. :P
...FF 14 is a terrible game, too.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 15, 2014, 11:42:35 AM
I played the last beta and ESO is certainly an mmo I'd play if I had the money for it. It's kinda up there with FF realm reborn on my list. :P
...FF 14 is a terrible game, too.

For some reason I have this image in my head of Triumph The Insult Comic Dog saying "It's a good game...  For me to poop on!"
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on February 15, 2014, 11:46:30 AM
Another kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/482445197/unsung-story-tale-of-the-guardians?ref=email), for fans of Final Fantasy Tactics!

Quote
Instead of a square tile system, Unsung Story will use triangular tiles, with units standing not at the center of tiles, but at the intersections. This gives units six possible directions of movement.

(click to show/hide)
You know, when hex movement is so unpopular that you feel the need to disguise it as something else just to make it palatable...perhaps it's time to ask, "is this a good idea?"

I am curious though.  You said, "another."  What others have there been?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 15, 2014, 11:48:04 AM
Hexes are only unpopular because people can't Geometry too well.

Looks cool to me.  Hope they make their goal and bring out a top-notch game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 15, 2014, 11:49:14 AM
I am curious though.  You said, "another."  What others have there been?

I think he meant "It's another kickstarter for the thread, but this one's special because..."

Hexes are only unpopular because people can't Geometry too well.

Looks cool to me.  Hope they make their goal and bring out a top-notch game.


I have a feeling they went with triangular to perhaps make it easier on people.  Having it based on intersections is more noticeable than hexes perhaps.  Though I definitely don't get why hex is a problem, but I'm also pretty good at math and geometry so I suppose I won't ever see why it's a problem.  *shrug*
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on February 15, 2014, 12:18:48 PM
I am curious though.  You said, "another."  What others have there been?

I think he meant "It's another kickstarter for the thread, but this one's special because..."
Fire Emblem.
Fan hacks.
etc.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 15, 2014, 12:39:53 PM
I played the last beta and ESO is certainly an mmo I'd play if I had the money for it. It's kinda up there with FF realm reborn on my list. :P
...FF 14 is a terrible game, too.

Different people have different standards, but I agree that FF14 is bad. Every FF is bad.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 15, 2014, 12:40:26 PM
I have a feeling they went with triangular to perhaps make it easier on people.  Having it based on intersections is more noticeable than hexes perhaps.  Though I definitely don't get why hex is a problem, but I'm also pretty good at math and geometry so I suppose I won't ever see why it's a problem.  *shrug*

You can't draw proper perpendicular lines in an hex board. 90% degree angles are the most common angles in pretty much all architecture and design, and that's because they're the easiest to do math with.

Also, basing it in triangle intersections is somewhat diferent than hexes, because you can have different units sharing the same "hex" of 6 triangles.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 15, 2014, 12:56:06 PM
I have a feeling they went with triangular to perhaps make it easier on people.  Having it based on intersections is more noticeable than hexes perhaps.  Though I definitely don't get why hex is a problem, but I'm also pretty good at math and geometry so I suppose I won't ever see why it's a problem.  *shrug*

You can't draw proper perpendicular lines in an hex board. 90% degree angles are the most common angles in pretty much all architecture and design, and that's because they're the easiest to do math with.

Nothing to do with also being the easiest to build? :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on February 15, 2014, 01:05:52 PM
Has it been mentioned that GOG is giving away Dungeon Keeper Gold for free?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 15, 2014, 01:12:37 PM
Has it been mentioned that GOG is giving away Dungeon Keeper Gold for free?

Sadly, it was the first thing I bought after finding the site. >.>
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on February 15, 2014, 03:41:17 PM
I played the last beta and ESO is certainly an mmo I'd play if I had the money for it. It's kinda up there with FF realm reborn on my list. :P
...FF 14 is a terrible game, too.

I fell in love with it the moment I discovered the pout emote.
Also I find it really good. Oh well :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on February 16, 2014, 12:28:51 PM
Bravely Default: worth it? I downloaded the demo last night and it seems pretty fun, but extremely grindy. Like they designed the entire game around the combat system.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: VennDygrem on February 17, 2014, 09:43:27 PM
Replaying Curse of Monkey Island.

I wish people would do more 2D-animated point-and-clicks.

"Is it a really eeevil looking doorstop?"
:lmao

As for ESO, I played one of the closed beta weekends and while the game got kind of buggy and laggy at times, it was certainly entertaining enough. Enough for a weekend, at least. Didn't really feel the need to play more than that.

I would absolutely prefer a regular Elder Scrolls game. A co-op gameplay mode would be great as collaborating on delving into a dungeon or taking down a big boss with a friend could be fun, but is ultimately unnecessary to my enjoyment of the game. And I don't need to do that running around with a bunch of people who are likely to take me out of the atmosphere of the game.
I liked SWTOR, too, but found myself enjoying solo gameplay way more than anything multiplayer. I'd rather have another KOTOR game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 17, 2014, 09:48:22 PM
We got kinda screwed on KotOR 2 when it got unceremoniously shoved out the door half-finished, but beyond that... yeah, pretty much everyone wants KotOR 3.  Maybe this time we can even go a little more SWSE with it and not make Force users quite as OP as they were in the previous games.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 18, 2014, 04:52:20 AM
Another new game on Kickstarter!  Blackmore (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iqioi/blackmore-a-steampunk-adventure-game).  It's a steampunk adventure game, with some great talent already on board for game design, plus David Hayter is involved!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nicklance on February 18, 2014, 08:02:09 AM
So I just pre-ordered my copy of ESO: Imperial Edition today.  Anyone esle picked it up yet?
Dear god why?

I have been waiting for an Elder Scrolls MMO since Morrowind.  And most of the gameplay I have seen looks pretty good to me.  And I haven't been into anything heavy for a while.

I've got the Imperial Pre-Order as well.

I played the last beta and ESO is certainly an mmo I'd play if I had the money for it. It's kinda up there with FF realm reborn on my list. :P

I stopped right after I got my relic. I refuse to grind anymore.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 18, 2014, 08:14:47 AM
So I just pre-ordered my copy of ESO: Imperial Edition today.  Anyone esle picked it up yet?
Dear god why?

I have been waiting for an Elder Scrolls MMO since Morrowind.  And most of the gameplay I have seen looks pretty good to me.  And I haven't been into anything heavy for a while.

I've got the Imperial Pre-Order as well.

I played the last beta and ESO is certainly an mmo I'd play if I had the money for it. It's kinda up there with FF realm reborn on my list. :P

I stopped right after I got my relic. I refuse to grind anymore.

You refuse to grind so you pre-ordered an MMO? O_o
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 18, 2014, 08:41:57 AM
That's how MMOs work nowadays. "Give us money so you don't hate this game!"
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 18, 2014, 09:47:03 AM
That's how MMOs work nowadays. "Give us money so you don't hate this game!"
That's how F2P's work.  With sub MMO's they insist on sucking up time, instead.

Seriously, if you don't want to play a grindy MMO then you should cancel that ESO pre-order.  ESO is literally the culmination of every bad thing MMO's have done since WoW.

I mean, is the blatant cash-grab going on with the absurd pre-order bonuses not enough of a red flag for you?  ESO's NDA is also lifted, so you can even go out and listen to the mixed, at best, opinions about the game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on February 18, 2014, 10:09:31 AM
...
I would absolutely prefer a regular Elder Scrolls game. A co-op gameplay mode would be great as collaborating on delving into a dungeon or taking down a big boss with a friend could be fun, but is ultimately unnecessary to my enjoyment of the game. And I don't need to do that running around with a bunch of people who are likely to take me out of the atmosphere of the game.
...
Sort of this.  If I were consulted -- and the sad fact of the universe is that I rarely am -- I'd have much preferred a Skyrim 2.0 with tighter gameplay and a few other tweaks and a robust co-op.  My wife has gotten really into Skyrim, which is almost enough to make me want to pick it up again.  Except, there's no way we could play it together anyway.

Also, what's with Elder Scrolls (side note, Skyrim is my only experience with the series) never continuing/completing plotlines?  [POSSIBLY SPOILERS for an old game:]  If memory serves, the political state at the end of Skyrim is still pretty up for grabs.  Why not make a game where you actually resolve that and/or change the world a bit? 


P.S.:  the in-game social aspect of Skyrim is actually my wife's biggest issue with it.  It's odd what the game does and doesn't keep track of.  You can be THE Archmage, but then go to a town a few miles away, and everyone treats you like some rube off the street. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 18, 2014, 10:36:27 AM
Also, what's with Elder Scrolls (side note, Skyrim is my only experience with the series) never continuing/completing plotlines?  [POSSIBLY SPOILERS for an old game:]  If memory serves, the political state at the end of Skyrim is still pretty up for grabs.  Why not make a game where you actually resolve that and/or change the world a bit? 
Eerr, you "change the world a bit". You either help the righteous Stormcloak rebellion succeed, or help the dirty Imperials that wanted to execute you crush it. Earls fall and rise by your hand.

You can also ressurect the Blades Order, or chop off the millennia-old head of the graybeards, rebuild the thieve's guild, destroy and rebuild the assassin's guild, and a bunch of other important world aspects, like liberating/enslaving small towns, and so on.

Sure, perhaps you would like to crown yourself emperor, but then what? You sit on your throne everyday receiving dignataries, checking taxes income and passing laws? Wouldn't be much of an action RPG then. :lmao

Also, there'll be a lot more dragon skeletons scattered across the landscape when all is said and done. :p

P.S.:  the in-game social aspect of Skyrim is actually my wife's biggest issue with it.  It's odd what the game does and doesn't keep track of.  You can be THE Archmage, but then go to a town a few miles away, and everyone treats you like some rube off the street.
It was kinda random for me. Some times they treated me as if I was  indeed some rube of the street. But other times they praised one of my character's many deeds.

I specially enjoyed when some random dude tried to mug me in the street, and then I could reply "Dude, like, I'm the head of the thieve's guild, show me some respect!", and the bandit was all "Oh, sorry, didn't recognize you", which kinda makes sense when you consider I was under full daedric plate. :P

Point is, coding limitation. Random civilians can't comment in all your deeds, so they probably pick something at random.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 18, 2014, 10:43:05 AM
The guards comment on your deeds. Listen to them a bit--they'll say stuff related to your skills and race (or vampirism, werewolf status, etc) , too. The big issue is that they will just as likely spout the line unlocked by joining the Companions as completing it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 18, 2014, 11:11:53 AM
The guards comment on your deeds. Listen to them a bit--they'll say stuff related to your skills and race (or vampirism, werewolf status, etc) , too. The big issue is that they will just as likely spout the line unlocked by joining the Companions as completing it.
There's a mod for that.  That same mod also reduces the number of adventure-related knee injuries in Skyrim.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 18, 2014, 11:13:35 AM
You also have to consider that there isn't internet or newspapers in Skyrim, and that your character acomplishes extreme things in a matter of days.

Guard 1: Hey, you heard of Billy the new archmage?
Guard 2: Wait, wasn't Billy the newest recruit of the Mage's guild that joined last Tuesday?
Guard 1: Oh, you're right, I must've misheard the name of the new archmage. No way Billy the aprentice would've become archmage in less than a week, right?
Guard 2:Yeah, look, he's coming towards us right now, let's make fun of him!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 18, 2014, 11:18:45 AM
Point is, coding limitation. Random civilians can't comment in all your deeds, so they probably pick something at random.
It would only be a "limitation" if the devs painted themselves into a corner.  Most NPCs already keep track of one of your series of deeds that they care about, adding a couple more that they would care about to a lesser extent (like, oh, single-handedly dictating the entire political landscape of Skyrim, or saving the world from being devoured by a dragon, for a couple examples) doesn't have to be that big of a deal.

Oh, and then there's the really bizarre stuff like various women being totally ready to marry you just because you did some minor, decent thing for them.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 18, 2014, 11:47:26 AM
One game that did the tracking-of-you-doing-stuff really well is Fable. In Fable the things you did really did have a major impact on what the NPC's had to say about you n' stuff.

For once, i don't know or have a mod that fixes that :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 18, 2014, 11:54:01 AM
Thou shall not complain about having been hit by an arrow in the knee! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSpmtgixMbs)

Point is, coding limitation. Random civilians can't comment in all your deeds, so they probably pick something at random.
It would only be a "limitation" if the devs painted themselves into a corner.  Most NPCs already keep track of one of your series of deeds that they care about, adding a couple more that they would care about to a lesser extent (like, oh, single-handedly dictating the entire political landscape of Skyrim, or saving the world from being devoured by a dragon, for a couple examples) doesn't have to be that big of a deal.

Oh, and then there's the really bizarre stuff like various women being totally ready to marry you just because you did some minor, decent thing for them.
You just answered your own question.You are the dragonborn/archmage/guildmaster/savior of the world, your suit alone is probably worth more than that person's whole life earnings. You know important people and live a life of adventure and emotion. You have fame, riches and power. If you also prove you're a nice guy up close, I would say it's only natural for most single women to readily accept your marriage proposal.  :P

It's not like you have much of competition. Not a lot of proper suitors in the world in the gray-brown world of Skyrim where life is cheap and bandits and numerous monsters lurk around every corner.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 18, 2014, 12:10:58 PM
I think the larger limitation is that nobody wants to record all those audio clips for every race/gender combo in the game.  Just... a kind of stupid waste of resources to add a little atmosphere, when you already have the omnipresent guards acknowledging you.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 18, 2014, 12:16:25 PM
I think the larger limitation is that nobody wants to record all those audio clips for every race/gender combo in the game.  Just... a kind of stupid waste of resources to add a little atmosphere, when you already have the omnipresent guards acknowledging you.
The guards aren't omnipresent.  After becoming Thane of Whiterun and killing several bands of bandits in that area, I went to Markath and was forced to endure guards taunting me about my sweet roll being stolen.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 18, 2014, 12:21:14 PM
I think the larger limitation is that nobody wants to record all those audio clips for every race/gender combo in the game.  Just... a kind of stupid waste of resources to add a little atmosphere, when you already have the omnipresent guards acknowledging you.
The guards aren't omnipresent.  After becoming Thane of Whiterun and killing several bands of bandits in that area, I went to Markath and was forced to endure guards taunting me about my sweet roll being stolen.

That's more of a problem with the random selection than the presence of guards. : |
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 18, 2014, 12:33:03 PM
I think the larger limitation is that nobody wants to record all those audio clips for every race/gender combo in the game.  Just... a kind of stupid waste of resources to add a little atmosphere, when you already have the omnipresent guards acknowledging you.
The guards aren't omnipresent.  After becoming Thane of Whiterun and killing several bands of bandits in that area, I went to Markath and was forced to endure guards taunting me about my sweet roll being stolen.

The developers didn't add tags that would restrict what the guards would say to you. They set up flags that would cause new dialogues to show up (becoming a member of the Companions triggers them noting your new membership), but later flags don't disable earlier ones (becoming the Harbinger doesn't untrigger the original flag).

It may be annoying, but look at how much dialogue they recorded for those random lines. They don't have the manpower it would take to edit those flags, and they don't want to invest in that department for future instalments. Editing those flags would take considerable time.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 18, 2014, 12:42:21 PM
One game that did the tracking-of-you-doing-stuff really well is Fable. In Fable the things you did really did have a major impact on what the NPC's had to say about you n' stuff.

For once, i don't know or have a mod that fixes that :P

lol, I remember in Fable once I got my attractiveness and reputation up pretty high all it took was simply talking to a single woman (or man) to get a heart over her head and start asking about a wedding ring.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 18, 2014, 12:48:15 PM
I think the larger limitation is that nobody wants to record all those audio clips for every race/gender combo in the game.  Just... a kind of stupid waste of resources to add a little atmosphere, when you already have the omnipresent guards acknowledging you.
The guards aren't omnipresent.  After becoming Thane of Whiterun and killing several bands of bandits in that area, I went to Markath and was forced to endure guards taunting me about my sweet roll being stolen.

The developers didn't add tags that would restrict what the guards would say to you. They set up flags that would cause new dialogues to show up (becoming a member of the Companions triggers them noting your new membership), but later flags don't disable earlier ones (becoming the Harbinger doesn't untrigger the original flag).

It may be annoying, but look at how much dialogue they recorded for those random lines. They don't have the manpower it would take to edit those flags, and they don't want to invest in that department for future instalments. Editing those flags would take considerable time.
Compared to developing the game as a whole?  There's actually a mod that changes the guard dialogue so that you don't hear the stupid sweet roll comments in a particular hold once you're Thane, and for a game series that's supposed to be about immersive gameplay it's pretty damn lazy.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 18, 2014, 12:55:00 PM
I think the larger limitation is that nobody wants to record all those audio clips for every race/gender combo in the game.  Just... a kind of stupid waste of resources to add a little atmosphere, when you already have the omnipresent guards acknowledging you.
The guards aren't omnipresent.  After becoming Thane of Whiterun and killing several bands of bandits in that area, I went to Markath and was forced to endure guards taunting me about my sweet roll being stolen.

The developers didn't add tags that would restrict what the guards would say to you. They set up flags that would cause new dialogues to show up (becoming a member of the Companions triggers them noting your new membership), but later flags don't disable earlier ones (becoming the Harbinger doesn't untrigger the original flag).

It may be annoying, but look at how much dialogue they recorded for those random lines. They don't have the manpower it would take to edit those flags, and they don't want to invest in that department for future instalments. Editing those flags would take considerable time.
Compared to developing the game as a whole?  There's actually a mod that changes the guard dialogue so that you don't hear the stupid sweet roll comments in a particular hold once you're Thane, and for a game series that's supposed to be about immersive gameplay it's pretty damn lazy.

Given the number of bugs they had to deal with? And the bugs fixing bugs spawned?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 18, 2014, 01:14:33 PM
Indeed, you can always polish a program more. But eventually you have to release it to the public. There will be flaws, that may be corrected by others later on that have the extra free time for it, but the original developers of Skyrim had a deadline to meet. Some things will always slip trough the cracks.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 18, 2014, 01:19:40 PM
Indeed, you can always polish a program more. But eventually you have to release it to the public. There will be flaws, that may be corrected by others later on that have the extra free time for it, but the original developers of Skyrim had a deadline to meet. Some things will always slip trough the cracks.

And a minor annoyance like random guards not showing proper respect to the Archmage/Harbinger/Whatever is not very high on Bethesda's list of things to worry about.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on February 18, 2014, 01:56:47 PM
@Oscelamo

My feeling was that the political conflict was not resolved in any real fashion.  But, maybe I just missed something.  It's been a long time, so maybe I'm just forgetting stuff.  I remember the peace conference, but that didn't seem to feel like any lasting end to the conflict.

The rest of your examples kind of prove my point.  You resurrect some order you've never heard of, and never will hear from again, you affect the leader of some other order, whose existence you find out about like 10 minutes before you do that.  You rebuild this guild or that guild, which, apart from the quests to achieve that end, does what exactly? 

What there really should be is a Skyrim 2 that either picks up your character exploits from Skyrim 1 Mass Effect-style or lets you select a backstory.  Or, at the very least, there needs to be some mention of the Blades Order, et al. in the next Elder Scrolls entry, which I substantially doubt.  Being the Archmage doesn't really affect the player's experience.  You get a cool house, that's about it.  The path to get there is totally cool, but in a game that seemed to tout its gameworld and NPC aspects, it's odd that you don't get to do much with them once you acquire some role.

I'm not sure how I'd go about implementing all of that, maybe just late game questlines or something.  Or, a sequel, as noted above.  Or, a less atomized management of the IP, which I think is a real issue with Elder Scrolls, at least from what I've gathered.  But, the game seemed like it wanted to set itself apart in this regard, but it went through fairly standard (which isn't to say unenjoyable) quest lines to get you to various social positions, and then it was just off to the next set of fairly standard RPG questlines.  And, it probably doesn't help that it was all bookended by bog standard main questlines.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 18, 2014, 02:04:30 PM
@Oscelamo

My feeling was that the political conflict was not resolved in any real fashion.  But, maybe I just missed something.  It's been a long time, so maybe I'm just forgetting stuff.  I remember the peace conference, but that didn't seem to feel like any lasting end to the conflict.

That only happens if you put off dealing with the civil war in favour of doing the main quest. If you pick a side, you can resolve it by helping your side along until they win.

Quote
What there really should be is a Skyrim 2 that either picks up your character exploits from Skyrim 1 Mass Effect-style or lets you select a backstory.  Or, at the very least, there needs to be some mention of the Blades Order, et al. in the next Elder Scrolls entry, which I substantially doubt.  Being the Archmage doesn't really affect the player's experience.  You get a cool house, that's about it.  The path to get there is totally cool, but in a game that seemed to tout its gameworld and NPC aspects, it's odd that you don't get to do much with them once you acquire some role.

The Blades were in at least two of the previous Elder Scrolls games, you know. :/
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 18, 2014, 02:09:40 PM
Indeed, you can always polish a program more. But eventually you have to release it to the public. There will be flaws, that may be corrected by others later on that have the extra free time for it, but the original developers of Skyrim had a deadline to meet. Some things will always slip trough the cracks.

It's kind of hard to sustain that argument when Skyrim uses the same engine Fallout does, and the game-breaking bugs stem from the way their engine handles things - which means some of those bugs go all the way back to Fallout 3.

Given they did not have to code the game FROM SCRATCH again, you'd think they'd dedicate SOME time to, y'know, fixing what they know would STILL be broken in the next game.

Granted, with the kind of community Bethesda games get, and their main attention being on PC consumers, I can see how that's not high on their priority list either...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 18, 2014, 02:14:42 PM
My feeling was that the political conflict was not resolved in any real fashion.  But, maybe I just missed something.  It's been a long time, so maybe I'm just forgetting stuff.  I remember the peace conference, but that didn't seem to feel like any lasting end to the conflict.
The peace conference is an optional quest in case you don't solve the political situation before deciding to go after the final boss.

If you aren't in an hurry to save the world, you can go around conquering forts and cities for either faction until you kill their top leader, and then the other big leader makes a grand speech. Along the way earls and their courts and guards will have been replaced, all that will be left of the other faction are some scattered bases across the countryside, and you're told you can go wipe them out if you please, but they don't pose any real threat anymore to the current government.

Of course, that demands you actually worked up your ranks in either factions, so you may've missed that.

I'm not sure how I'd go about implementing all of that, maybe just late game questlines or something.  Or, a sequel, as noted above.  Or, a less atomized management of the IP, which I think is a real issue with Elder Scrolls, at least from what I've gathered.  But, the game seemed like it wanted to set itself apart in this regard, but it went through fairly standard (which isn't to say unenjoyable) quest lines to get you to various social positions, and then it was just off to the next set of fairly standard RPG questlines.  And, it probably doesn't help that it was all bookended by bog standard main questlines.

Well, I guess the problem here is that Skyrim isn't Mass Effect. Aka you're trapped in some forsaken frozen wasteland whose entire population consists of a few hundred dudes, and half the world is in ruins with the wilderness monsters out of control. You're not the high ranking officer of a capital ship that sits side by side with the most important dudes in the galaxy in the first couple of hours in the game, neither do you get to go around planets with a team of the best hand-picked warriors in existence.

Basicall, it's a matter of scale. You're not expected to worry about high politics in Skyrim, just like in Mass Effect you don't have to worry about dirt-covered raiders randomly trying to jump you in the street, or having to crawl around sewers killing rats with rusty weapons.

Indeed, you can always polish a program more. But eventually you have to release it to the public. There will be flaws, that may be corrected by others later on that have the extra free time for it, but the original developers of Skyrim had a deadline to meet. Some things will always slip trough the cracks.

It's kind of hard to sustain that argument when Skyrim uses the same engine Fallout does, and the game-breaking bugs stem from the way their engine handles things - which means some of those bugs go all the way back to Fallout 3.

Given they did not have to code the game FROM SCRATCH again, you'd think they'd dedicate SOME time to, y'know, fixing what they know would STILL be broken in the next game.

Granted, with the kind of community Bethesda games get, and their main attention being on PC consumers, I can see how that's not high on their priority list either...
Heh, Skyrim vanilla has a lot of bugs, but still less than Fallout 3. :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on February 18, 2014, 02:43:05 PM
...
Basicall, it's a matter of scale. You're not expected to worry about high politics in Skyrim, just like in Mass Effect you don't have to worry about dirt-covered raiders randomly trying to jump you in the street, or having to crawl around sewers killing rats with rusty weapons.
...
I don't have the greatest of recollections of Skyrim's plots.  And, I guess I had forgotten how the political plot was resolved.  Maybe I was expecting to do more with that funky dragon crown. 

But, this statement strikes me as crazy.  You save the world.  I mean, isn't the main plotline apocalyptic?  You are the Hero of Destiny and Dragons have just returned and you deal with them extensively. 

Further, you can (optionally) become the lone Archmage in the entire realm where the game takes place, get at least partly along the way of doing something or other with the High King of, again, an entire realm (and the only realm that matters for the game).  And, deal with the vast Empire's continued dominance/control over this realm. 

How is this not high politics?  How can winning or losing the chilly equivalent of Vietnam not be a big deal?  How are the Harbingers or whatever they called not handpicked uber warriors? 

I guess if you view Skyrim as "I'm a no-name wandering guy in a taiga" then my comments will seem bizarre.  But, then Skyrim is "yet another RPG with scenery porn" and I wonder why they bothered creating all those factions/guilds for you to interact with in the first place. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 18, 2014, 02:54:17 PM
One game that did the tracking-of-you-doing-stuff really well is Fable. In Fable the things you did really did have a major impact on what the NPC's had to say about you n' stuff.

For once, i don't know or have a mod that fixes that :P

lol, I remember in Fable once I got my attractiveness and reputation up pretty high all it took was simply talking to a single woman (or man) to get a heart over her head and start asking about a wedding ring.

Yeah, that's about it! And you could have one spouse per house, and many houses. It was fun.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 18, 2014, 04:05:02 PM
Indeed, you can always polish a program more. But eventually you have to release it to the public. There will be flaws, that may be corrected by others later on that have the extra free time for it, but the original developers of Skyrim had a deadline to meet. Some things will always slip trough the cracks.
Some things?  Skyrim for PC was almost beta quality on release with the battery of bugs present in the game, like rank 5 of the Light Fingers perk making it impossible to steal significant quantities of gold.  Look at the Patch History (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Patch) for the game to see some of the ridiculous stuff that had to be fixed after the game was released.  These don't even address a number of quest-breaking bugs that have to be picked up by the unofficial patches, instead.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 18, 2014, 04:20:29 PM
...
Basicall, it's a matter of scale. You're not expected to worry about high politics in Skyrim, just like in Mass Effect you don't have to worry about dirt-covered raiders randomly trying to jump you in the street, or having to crawl around sewers killing rats with rusty weapons.
...
I don't have the greatest of recollections of Skyrim's plots.  And, I guess I had forgotten how the political plot was resolved.  Maybe I was expecting to do more with that funky dragon crown. 

But, this statement strikes me as crazy.  You save the world.  I mean, isn't the main plotline apocalyptic?  You are the Hero of Destiny and Dragons have just returned and you deal with them extensively. 

Further, you can (optionally) become the lone Archmage in the entire realm where the game takes place, get at least partly along the way of doing something or other with the High King of, again, an entire realm (and the only realm that matters for the game).  And, deal with the vast Empire's continued dominance/control over this realm. 

How is this not high politics?  How can winning or losing the chilly equivalent of Vietnam not be a big deal?  How are the Harbingers or whatever they called not handpicked uber warriors? 

I guess if you view Skyrim as "I'm a no-name wandering guy in a taiga" then my comments will seem bizarre.  But, then Skyrim is "yet another RPG with scenery porn" and I wonder why they bothered creating all those factions/guilds for you to interact with in the first place.

That's how Elder Scrolls games work. :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 18, 2014, 04:27:56 PM
But, this statement strikes me as crazy.  You save the world.  I mean, isn't the main plotline apocalyptic?  You are the Hero of Destiny and Dragons have just returned and you deal with them extensively. 
Oh, sure, the Skyrim storyline is epic, and you do save the world.

But in Mass Effect you save the freaking galaxy, which includes countless worlds. ;)

Further, you can (optionally) become the lone Archmage in the entire realm where the game takes place, get at least partly along the way of doing something or other with the High King of, again, an entire realm (and the only realm that matters for the game).  And, deal with the vast Empire's continued dominance/control over this realm. 

How is this not high politics?  How can winning or losing the chilly equivalent of Vietnam not be a big deal?  How are the Harbingers or whatever they called not handpicked uber warriors? 
Because no matter what you do in Skyrim, at the end of the day you still have a single follower that you can order around at a time. You don't even get your personal carriage or a personal palace.

I guess if you view Skyrim as "I'm a no-name wandering guy in a taiga" then my comments will seem bizarre.  But, then Skyrim is "yet another RPG with scenery porn" and I wonder why they bothered creating all those factions/guilds for you to interact with in the first place.
I see Skyrim as a no-name working himself a name. You start as a pennyless prisioner waiting to be executed, then you work your ass until you're somebody relatively important that gets some respect (altough some guards will always sneer at you, you can always sneak-attack them later). You may never become some super politic, but damn you'll have acess to the top products from the local factions/guilds and get to boss some of their people around.

So basically GTA-fantasy edition. You even get to steal horses! :p


Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 18, 2014, 04:40:40 PM
Further, you can (optionally) become the lone Archmage in the entire realm where the game takes place, get at least partly along the way of doing something or other with the High King of, again, an entire realm (and the only realm that matters for the game).  And, deal with the vast Empire's continued dominance/control over this realm. 

How is this not high politics?  How can winning or losing the chilly equivalent of Vietnam not be a big deal?  How are the Harbingers or whatever they called not handpicked uber warriors? 
Because no matter what you do in Skyrim, at the end of the day you still have a single follower that you can order around at a time. You don't even get your personal carriage or a personal palace.

I've got a huge fucking house with a carriage sitting outside of it.  No mods, just DLC.  :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nicklance on February 18, 2014, 04:57:55 PM
So I just pre-ordered my copy of ESO: Imperial Edition today.  Anyone esle picked it up yet?
Dear god why?

I have been waiting for an Elder Scrolls MMO since Morrowind.  And most of the gameplay I have seen looks pretty good to me.  And I haven't been into anything heavy for a while.

I've got the Imperial Pre-Order as well.

I played the last beta and ESO is certainly an mmo I'd play if I had the money for it. It's kinda up there with FF realm reborn on my list. :P

I stopped right after I got my relic. I refuse to grind anymore.

You refuse to grind so you pre-ordered an MMO? O_o

Let's put it simply, when there are no longer any quests to run, dungeons to go into and content etc. When the only fun is to keep going back to AK, WP to collect non-currency to trade for "highest level gear" I stop.

I don't really mind if there are a hundred quests telling you to kill 10 rats, but running the same dungeons daily can put me to sleep.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 18, 2014, 05:05:45 PM
My feeling was that the political conflict was not resolved in any real fashion.  But, maybe I just missed something.  It's been a long time, so maybe I'm just forgetting stuff.  I remember the peace conference, but that didn't seem to feel like any lasting end to the conflict.
The peace conference is an optional quest in case you don't solve the political situation before deciding to go after the final boss.

If you aren't in an hurry to save the world, you can go around conquering forts and cities for either faction until you kill their top leader, and then the other big leader makes a grand speech. Along the way earls and their courts and guards will have been replaced, all that will be left of the other faction are some scattered bases across the countryside, and you're told you can go wipe them out if you please, but they don't pose any real threat anymore to the current government.

Of course, that demands you actually worked up your ranks in either factions, so you may've missed that.

I'm not sure how I'd go about implementing all of that, maybe just late game questlines or something.  Or, a sequel, as noted above.  Or, a less atomized management of the IP, which I think is a real issue with Elder Scrolls, at least from what I've gathered.  But, the game seemed like it wanted to set itself apart in this regard, but it went through fairly standard (which isn't to say unenjoyable) quest lines to get you to various social positions, and then it was just off to the next set of fairly standard RPG questlines.  And, it probably doesn't help that it was all bookended by bog standard main questlines.

Well, I guess the problem here is that Skyrim isn't Mass Effect. Aka you're trapped in some forsaken frozen wasteland whose entire population consists of a few hundred dudes, and half the world is in ruins with the wilderness monsters out of control. You're not the high ranking officer of a capital ship that sits side by side with the most important dudes in the galaxy in the first couple of hours in the game, neither do you get to go around planets with a team of the best hand-picked warriors in existence.

Basicall, it's a matter of scale. You're not expected to worry about high politics in Skyrim, just like in Mass Effect you don't have to worry about dirt-covered raiders randomly trying to jump you in the street, or having to crawl around sewers killing rats with rusty weapons.

Indeed, you can always polish a program more. But eventually you have to release it to the public. There will be flaws, that may be corrected by others later on that have the extra free time for it, but the original developers of Skyrim had a deadline to meet. Some things will always slip trough the cracks.

It's kind of hard to sustain that argument when Skyrim uses the same engine Fallout does, and the game-breaking bugs stem from the way their engine handles things - which means some of those bugs go all the way back to Fallout 3.

Given they did not have to code the game FROM SCRATCH again, you'd think they'd dedicate SOME time to, y'know, fixing what they know would STILL be broken in the next game.

Granted, with the kind of community Bethesda games get, and their main attention being on PC consumers, I can see how that's not high on their priority list either...
Heh, Skyrim vanilla has a lot of bugs, but still less than Fallout 3. :p

According to Cracked.com, the bolded part is incorrect. (http://www.cracked.com/article_20673_5-video-games-with-disturbing-implications-you-didnt-notice.html)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 18, 2014, 05:11:46 PM
According to Cracked.com, the bolded part is incorrect. (http://www.cracked.com/article_20673_5-video-games-with-disturbing-implications-you-didnt-notice.html)

Hey, that's Oblivion, aka centuries before Skyrim. And Oblivion goes on the most heavily populated area on the setting, while Skyrim is on the northern wasteland.

Well, I guess it's no wonder the Empire lost the war against the pansy elves if they were sacrificing their own people like in the arena like that. :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 18, 2014, 05:40:26 PM
Especially since all the mages in Cyrodil were constantly hanging around the coloseeum, casting short-duration luck spells of obnoxious magnitude before placing bets on bloodsport and obligating the proletariat to pay out the gold after the blood sacrifice.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 18, 2014, 08:44:59 PM
Indeed, you can always polish a program more. But eventually you have to release it to the public. There will be flaws, that may be corrected by others later on that have the extra free time for it, but the original developers of Skyrim had a deadline to meet. Some things will always slip trough the cracks.
Some things?  Skyrim for PC was almost beta quality on release with the battery of bugs present in the game, like rank 5 of the Light Fingers perk making it impossible to steal significant quantities of gold.  Look at the Patch History (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Patch) for the game to see some of the ridiculous stuff that had to be fixed after the game was released.  These don't even address a number of quest-breaking bugs that have to be picked up by the unofficial patches, instead.

I have to agree to that. And there's still a bunch of ridiculous things, even after all the patches, official and unofficial, that remains bugged as hell, as one example:

Horses.

Mountain. Go around it? NOPE. GRAB A HORSE AND GO OVER THE MOUNTAIN.

Horses are the best way to climb a mountain. Screw mountain climbing equipment, screw physics, screw everything, imma just gonna grab this horse and go. WHO NEEDS TUNNELS? WHO NEEDS CAVES FULL OF FALMER AND BANDITS THAT TAKE LONGER TO GO THROUGH?

Skyrim said it. Not me.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 18, 2014, 09:09:04 PM
... you use horses? :O
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 18, 2014, 10:45:47 PM
... you use horses? :O
I tried to.  I really did.  Then I fast-traveled and forgot where I left it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Wrex on February 18, 2014, 10:48:25 PM
So, there is a La-Mulana 2 Demo out. It's not really going to be representative of the final product, but it's still a good level. People who bought the soundtrack will notice that they use one of the bonus tracks for the music in said level.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on February 19, 2014, 12:50:30 AM
... you use horses? :O
I tried to.  I really did.  Then I fast-traveled and forgot where I left it.

I thought owned horses followed you when you fast travel?  Or did I mod that in.  I honestly don't know what's modded and what's vanilla anymore. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 19, 2014, 01:34:10 AM
I'm absolutely fed up with Blighttown (Dark Souls). I've been stuck in the place for 3 hours since killing the boss, and cannot physically make progress without being harassed by the mosquitos so much that they force me off of the platform I'm standing on to my death.

I've put up with the game up to this point, but Blighttown is seriously making me consider quitting.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on February 19, 2014, 05:41:57 AM
In case you didn't hear, Twitch has been playing pokemon in a stream now. Yes, the original one.

The catch?

Viewers get to vote for what actions for the player to take. All actions. Every single step. Which leads to insane results, like taking hours to use Cut, releasing your top pokemons, and constantly running in circles.

This article details several of them. (http://kotaku.com/the-miraculous-progress-of-twitch-plays-pokemon-1524605696) My favorite would be the part where Helix Fossil seems to have been raised to deity status, because somehow most of the time a decision needs to be made, chances are that the votes lead to trying to activate said item.

The biggest question so far is if it's possible to win the game at all with 50 000 people competing to control poor Red's mind at the same time.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 19, 2014, 05:52:29 AM
... you use horses? :O
I tried to.  I really did.  Then I fast-traveled and forgot where I left it.

I thought owned horses followed you when you fast travel?  Or did I mod that in.  I honestly don't know what's modded and what's vanilla anymore. 

I don't know, since they always seemed to be more trouble than they were worth to me. Their only real advantage is... you can go over mountains if you stubbornly decide to try. XD

Skyrim's horses are apparently equal to those mountain goats that can climb a nearly vertical dam.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 19, 2014, 06:22:28 AM
In case you didn't hear, Twitch has been playing pokemon in a stream now. Yes, the original one.

The catch?

Viewers get to vote for what actions for the player to take. All actions. Every single step. Which leads to insane results, like taking hours to use Cut, releasing your top pokemons, and constantly running in circles.

This article details several of them. (http://kotaku.com/the-miraculous-progress-of-twitch-plays-pokemon-1524605696) My favorite would be the part where Helix Fossil seems to have been raised to deity status, because somehow most of the time a decision needs to be made, chances are that the votes lead to trying to activate said item.

The biggest question so far is if it's possible to win the game at all with 50 000 people competing to control poor Red's mind at the same time.

Yeah, I heard about it.  I also heard Twitch.tv gave that one stream its own chat server, so it wouldn't bog down the rest of the streamers.  And, it's been topping 75,000 simultaneous viewers.  Also, there's a vote system in place for "anarchy" or "democracy".  Whichever one is currently not being used needs 75% votes to become enabled.  "Anarchy" is the classic mode, where every chat action gets input (at a roughly 20 second lag), whereas "democracy" ... is more complex.  I haven't seen it in action, so I'm not really sure how it works, other than there are complex inputs that can be made (move left twice, then down three times).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 19, 2014, 07:08:25 AM
I'm absolutely fed up with Blighttown (Dark Souls). I've been stuck in the place for 3 hours since killing the boss, and cannot physically make progress without being harassed by the mosquitos so much that they force me off of the platform I'm standing on to my death.

I've put up with the game up to this point, but Blighttown is seriously making me consider quitting.

Do you have the Master Key?

If so, you can skip Blighttown entirely by taking the elevator to New Londo, moving along the wall to the base of a broken tower, and going past a locked door into the "backdoor" to the swamp (compared to the rest of Blighttown, navigating your way to the swamp is a breeze). The swamp is a pain, of course, and there are still mosquitoes there, but it beats falling to your death.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 19, 2014, 08:56:23 AM
I'm absolutely fed up with Blighttown (Dark Souls). I've been stuck in the place for 3 hours since killing the boss, and cannot physically make progress without being harassed by the mosquitos so much that they force me off of the platform I'm standing on to my death.

I've put up with the game up to this point, but Blighttown is seriously making me consider quitting.

Do you have the Master Key?

If so, you can skip Blighttown entirely by taking the elevator to New Londo, moving along the wall to the base of a broken tower, and going past a locked door into the "backdoor" to the swamp (compared to the rest of Blighttown, navigating your way to the swamp is a breeze). The swamp is a pain, of course, and there are still mosquitoes there, but it beats falling to your death.

Another thing, which works whatever way you go... bring a ranged weapon.  Crossbow works if you don't have much Dex.

Snipe the mosquitos before they get to you, then focus on the blighted mutants.
Go slow, falls are everywhere.
Find the first bonfire, then proceed down to the second at ground level.  If you make it there you're home free.
Rusted Iron Ring helps, but if you don't have it, no need to go all the way back to get it.
Blighttown is rough but you can do it.  You have it for PC?  Give me your ID, we should co-op sometime.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 19, 2014, 09:49:07 AM
Yah, blighttown is pain. But you can dodge and not kill anything there np, if you know where the bonfire's are. There's some good loot to find in upper Blightown, like the Shadow Set, which is a great mid-tier Light Armor set. But there's nothing really all that major in upper blighttown, namely, nothing that can't be skipped. So you just platform-jump until you reach the bottom, Estus, run to the bonfire in the cave at bottom-level, and then you can more easily explore the place, since it's way easier going up rather than down.

The bonfire at the bottom in the cave also leads to another possible entrance to Blighttown, in the Forest you can gain access to by beating Havel the Rock at the bottom of the tower that leads to the Taurus Demon fight. At least i can remember you being able to go through there, or maybe it's in the forest after you open the door with the crest of artorias, but i don't quite know for sure.

The Master Key opens up so many different starting paths it can be daunting for a first play. I'd definitely recommend going for it only on a second playthrough, once you're familiarized with the map enough.

Also, you'll hate Blighttown much more after you get to the point where the toxic dart shooting fiends are. Toxic is PAIN.
Farm the HELL out of those Treants for some glowing purple moss to get rid of it, otherwise, i can guarantee, you will die from toxic very often. Toxic is basically poison, but does double damage per tick, and it also stacks with poison.

So, be prepared.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 19, 2014, 11:18:18 AM
You can actually avoid all but one or two of those toxic shooting dart creatures if you go the New Londo Master Key route and you're headed straight for the lower bell.

Frankly, I'd prefer to go allllllllll the way to Anor Londo before going back to explore upper blighttown, the forest or well... anything in that vicinity actually. Also, you can always get the crest of artorias with some effort, and farm for souls near the entrance to where you use the crest if you feel the need to power-up.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 19, 2014, 01:03:59 PM
You can actually avoid all but one or two of those toxic shooting dart creatures if you go the New Londo Master Key route and you're headed straight for the lower bell.

I had already rung the bell, I was trying to get back to Firelink Shrine. Not 5 minutes after I posted that I managed to get out (and got an upgrade to my Estus Flask). According to TVTropes, Blighttown is the point in the game where people either quit or play to completion. Now that it's out of my way, I have very little that will be as infuriating as dealing with that place's catwalks. And I did take the New Londo Ruins/Valley of Drakes route to get into Blighttown.

Oh, and the reason I was having trouble was because I climbed from the bottom of the swamp to the top-left corner (close to the fortress in the background). I was literally on the other end of the map from where I was supposed to go.
I'm absolutely fed up with Blighttown (Dark Souls). I've been stuck in the place for 3 hours since killing the boss, and cannot physically make progress without being harassed by the mosquitos so much that they force me off of the platform I'm standing on to my death.

I've put up with the game up to this point, but Blighttown is seriously making me consider quitting.

Do you have the Master Key?

If so, you can skip Blighttown entirely by taking the elevator to New Londo, moving along the wall to the base of a broken tower, and going past a locked door into the "backdoor" to the swamp (compared to the rest of Blighttown, navigating your way to the swamp is a breeze). The swamp is a pain, of course, and there are still mosquitoes there, but it beats falling to your death.

Another thing, which works whatever way you go... bring a ranged weapon.  Crossbow works if you don't have much Dex.

Snipe the mosquitos before they get to you, then focus on the blighted mutants.
Go slow, falls are everywhere.
Find the first bonfire, then proceed down to the second at ground level.  If you make it there you're home free.
Rusted Iron Ring helps, but if you don't have it, no need to go all the way back to get it.
Blighttown is rough but you can do it.  You have it for PC?  Give me your ID, we should co-op sometime.

I have it for the 360 (didn't want to deal with modders in a game that's open PVP, and don't want to work with a really low-quality port). The framerate lag in Blighttown is the worst I've ever seen in a 360 game...

Funnily enough, the first time I went into Blighttown was to get a suit of armor (immediately after escaping the Asylum too). I didn't die once during that trip, but that's because I knew what I was doing.

Edit: I'm not particularly specced for much (Bandit with a side-focus on Sorcery/Pyromancy, using Drake Sword+Knight Shield+Crimson Armor+2+Haval's Ring+Ring of Favor & Protection), but I've been fairly sturdy throughout the game (hardest fight I've had was Haval; the Capra Demon took 2 tries at most).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 19, 2014, 01:11:06 PM
TvT is the single worst source for 'where is this game hard'. If you look at the Pokemon pages, apparently the entire game is absolutely impossible to beat. >.>
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 19, 2014, 08:08:43 PM
...you could have completely ignored said framerate lag if you'd played offline.

Just thought you might've wanted to know that. For future reference.

If you've already rung the bell, then you've beaten Quelaag. Kudos on doing that with the Drake Sword, given how much she reduces of its damage.

You should be able to procure a Lightning Spear in the upcoming fortress. It will serve you fairly well against pretty much anything throughout the Anor Londo area, except for its boss. (But then again said boss is an asshole regardless of what you're built to do). And a specific type of enemy which, mercifully, you won't encounter much of.

There are still some frustrating times ahead of you in that section as far as pitfalls go, but nothing as bad as "ground moves while you're trying to cross it" Blighttown.

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on February 22, 2014, 11:54:39 PM
as for EA..they put out madden games if they stopped doing that they would fold with in a three year time frame i bet

as for skyrim , I still love playing it on my 360 from time to time, I wish i had a better video card for my pc just so i could play it with the mods.

I picked up Fable Anniversary and I'm loving it again.


EDIT: I've laos played the bridge simulator on steam,which was fun in an odd way  lol...let's see how cheap i can make a bridge to hold trains and see if it falls on itself. I've also picked up a couple of political sim games,one in which you run for the white house and theo other is one in which you are the president and do all that stuff.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 22, 2014, 11:59:48 PM
...you could have completely ignored said framerate lag if you'd played offline.

Just thought you might've wanted to know that. For future reference.

If you've already rung the bell, then you've beaten Quelaag. Kudos on doing that with the Drake Sword, given how much she reduces of its damage.

You should be able to procure a Lightning Spear in the upcoming fortress. It will serve you fairly well against pretty much anything throughout the Anor Londo area, except for its boss. (But then again said boss is an asshole regardless of what you're built to do). And a specific type of enemy which, mercifully, you won't encounter much of.

There are still some frustrating times ahead of you in that section as far as pitfalls go, but nothing as bad as "ground moves while you're trying to cross it" Blighttown.

Quelaag wasn't too tough: I had Mildred with me and I ended up sitting back with a bow for half the fight (until Mildred ate lava), then got some good staggering strikes in with the Drake Sword. Her attacks were too easy to dodge. Sen's Fortress was damn annoying due to the scythe blade traps (I also got screwed over at the rooftop bonfire; I didn't have enough health to survive the drop).

Anor Londo hasn't been too bad. Four deaths, two of which were due to the Dragonslayer Archers on the rooftop. I don't want to take on the Smoreo fight without getting Solaire's summon, but I need humanity and I'm fresh out because of my deaths. I may have to backtrack for it unless I spend some time farming kills.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 23, 2014, 09:19:49 AM
Solaire is actually not that great a summon and there are lots of folks out there who make decent partners for that particular fight.

Anor Londo itself is also a pretty good spot to farm once you're past the archers: bring a parry-capable shield and equip a nice weapon and you're in business. You can pretty much one-shot most of the knights with the right weapon - either a silver or black knight longsword will do the job nicely.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 23, 2014, 10:35:13 AM
Solaire is actually not that great a summon and there are lots of folks out there who make decent partners for that particular fight.

Anor Londo itself is also a pretty good spot to farm once you're past the archers: bring a parry-capable shield and equip a nice weapon and you're in business. You can pretty much one-shot most of the knights with the right weapon - either a silver or black knight longsword will do the job nicely.

Solaire turned out to be useless: I got invaded while summoning him, the other player appeared in the same room, and he plus the two Sentinels murdered both myself and Solaire.  :shakefist. I hate greifers, and that one had half a star on his Rep score (Xbox's way of rating players, goes up to 5 stars). I tried to go the boss battle alone, but I got cornered and died in three hits (even with Havel's armor).

I two-shot the knights with my Zweihander (got it up to a +10 today, and I want to keep upgrading it).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 23, 2014, 10:41:54 AM
If it helps any, Smough is weak to fire, while Ornstein resists lightning. Personally, I find Smough easier to deal with after power-up than Ornstein, though.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 23, 2014, 11:46:24 AM
If it helps any, Smough is weak to fire, while Ornstein resists lightning. Personally, I find Smough easier to deal with after power-up than Ornstein, though.

Everyone does; Smough's power-up just increases his damage (and changes his resistances), while Ornstien's changes his move list and makes him harder to predict.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 23, 2014, 05:47:21 PM
Ornstein also has a rather obvious blind side on his right. You will never see him sweep from right to left, making it the best direction towards which you can dodge. His hitbox when he thrusts is relatively small for his size as well, except when he lunges.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Wrex on February 23, 2014, 06:00:31 PM
I actually found Mega-Ornstein easier to fight. This is because I use an extremely short ranged weapon (The reinforced club), and once you're inside his reach, he only has one or two moves that he can use, while Smough has a much easier time hitting you, especially with his upgraded bumslam. That said, there is no shame in summoning a horde of phantoms to deal with the pair. Even Solaire can distract one of them, making the first phase much easier to deal with.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Risada on February 23, 2014, 06:29:53 PM
Also, if you have a good way to deal ranged damage (Soul Arrow/Lance spells, Lightning Spear), you can use the pillars to your advantage.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 23, 2014, 07:11:56 PM
Solaire is actually not that great a summon and there are lots of folks out there who make decent partners for that particular fight.

Anor Londo itself is also a pretty good spot to farm once you're past the archers: bring a parry-capable shield and equip a nice weapon and you're in business. You can pretty much one-shot most of the knights with the right weapon - either a silver or black knight longsword will do the job nicely.

Solaire turned out to be useless: I got invaded while summoning him, the other player appeared in the same room, and he plus the two Sentinels murdered both myself and Solaire.  :shakefist. I hate greifers, and that one had half a star on his Rep score (Xbox's way of rating players, goes up to 5 stars). I tried to go the boss battle alone, but I got cornered and died in three hits (even with Havel's armor).

I two-shot the knights with my Zweihander (got it up to a +10 today, and I want to keep upgrading it).

You've dropped the Drake Sword for the Zwei, good good.  Drake Sword is no good to keep around.

If you're still fighting Pikachu and Snorlax, two things of note.  The only way to find humanity at this point, short of backtracking (not recommended) is dropping sign and helping others.  This is because none of the silver knights have humanity, fun fact.  They're gods/giants after all.  (Well, not really, but that's another story...)

Now I always kill Super Pikachu, cause Leo Ring everyone.  Personally I don't think he's that much harder than Super Snorlax, but I suppose I can see where they're coming from.  If you do happen to get a summon, for the first part you can have the summon draw aggro from one while you deal with the other.  After that it mostly depends on which one of the supers you're fighting, but I'd always keep yourself above 1/2 hp.  If you're low on supplies, don't be afraid to play defensive and draw aggro so your summon can wail on him.

Super pikachu's electro-butt stomp is a killer, and he spams it often.  I found shields work better than rolling.  Grass Crest has pretty good electric resistance.

After this is done, the Lordvessel is yours.  I'll be interested in knowing what Lord you seek out first.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 23, 2014, 07:21:02 PM
If it helps any, Smough is weak to fire, while Ornstein resists lightning. Personally, I find Smough easier to deal with after power-up than Ornstein, though.

Everyone does; Smough's power-up just increases his damage (and changes his resistances), while Ornstien's changes his move list and makes him harder to predict.

I have various things to say about Dark Souls...

First is that the part i found most annoying to play through was Sen's Fortress with a close second being the Library after Anor Londo, especially after the auto-death to Seath.

Second is that Blighttown is REALLY easy if you bring a bow and snipe stuff out of the way before you get there. Manual aiming on the bow absolutely ROCKS, and can even make you able to completely bypass all of New Londo by sniping the dude that's up the tower (forgot his name), and getting the Key that unlocks the path to the turn-thing, thereafter you have a new path opened up that's Firelink -> New Londo - Valley of Drakes (bridge part).

Third is that Pyromancy is completely and utter OP, and if you farm the souls you get in the dragon-guarded bridge when he breaths fire and kills all the Hollow Soldiers, you can then fast-track to Lower Undead Burg, kill Capra Demon, go to the Depths and free the pyromancy guy. Then, spend all your multiple-thousand souls into pyromancy upgrades, and go to Blighttown. In Blighttown, look for the woman that's Queelag's sister and teaches pyromancy, and farm souls until you get Pyromancy Gloves up to +15 and have bought all the spells. Shouldn't take long - Each trip up the bridge to the dragon gives you 555 Souls, and you can repeat that in about 15 seconds per run. After you've done that, you can power-through almost the entire game by just spamming Pyromancy that'll 1-hit-kill almost every mob, and even 1-hit-kill or 2-hit-kill almost all bosses with Power Within (which you get in Blighttown, and is just OP and amazing). You can up the damage of Pyromancy by quite a lot by farming Humanity, too. You simply go into the depths, and farm the rats, preferably using the Gold Serpent Ring from Sen's Fortress, until you go to about 30, which is when it stops scaling pyromancy IIRC. You don't even need a goddamn weapon, and can even beat the game at SL1 - as has been proven by multiple youtubers. But how about Queelag you say. She's immune to all pyromancy you say. Well, get a fast-firing bow, hundreds of arrows, and keep shooting at her female body. It has no poise and anything you hit said part with will poise break her and make the spider unable to move. There's also a safe spot in the area where you can do this from. Easily.

Fourth is that Magic is also completely OP, but not so much as Pyromancy, since you actually have to gain levels and stuff before magic really becomes an asset. You also need specialized gear, and Pyromancy doesn't. You can be anything and still have Pyromancy Maxed Out, whereas magic you need to spec for it. It's still very much powerful. In the beggining it's shit. But after you get Greater Soul Arrow and Greater Heavy Soul Arrow, both of which you can get just after Lower Undead Burg, and eventually Homing Soulmass and it's Greater version, which you can get after Sen's Fortress when you know what you're doing, it becomes insanely powerful.

So basically, Dark Souls is really only a difficult game the first or second time you play it, it then becomes a complete joke, because you can overlevel everything and anything, and you can always rely on pyromancy to be your go-to thing. What does it matter that stuff gets harder to kill in NG+ and beyond? You can still roll and dodge.

That's actually the 5th thing i wanted to talk about. Dodging. Dodging is really much, much better than armor, in 99,9% of the game. You can actually complete the game naked because there are NO situation where you're forced to tank a hit (1st Seath fight doesn't count since it's an auto-death either way - and that's why you procured a rare ring of sacrifice before then - That's also my biggest pet peeve with the game. NO GAME WHATSOEVER should force an auto-death). I don't like using Havel's Set for that reason, because it forces mid-rolling even with topped Endurance. It's always better to be less protected, but have the fast roll, than to have an awesome protection and mid-roll. You'll die much more if you aren't able to dodge. This is from experience... Only time it MAY better to wear armor is in PvP, if you use strength weapons and such, because then you can tank poise hits and still dish out the hurt.

Regarding O&S, yeah, Leo Ring beats Smough's Hammer any day of the week. Riposte is so strong after you get a really good piercing weapon, you don't even care anymore. Power Within + Red Tearstone Ring + Leo Ring + Riposte = One shot any parriable enemy in the game. You can actually one-shot Gwin with this i think. Power Within + Red Tearstone Ring is actually how people do 1-shot-all-bosses runs anyhow. Pyromancy gets ridiculous with this. Magic too, but not so much.

Anyway that's my final opinion on the game after dropping it for good.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Wrex on February 23, 2014, 07:39:20 PM
The main asset of Havel's armour is the high poise, not it's resistances. The main argument for the heavier armours is their increased poise value, which light armour can't replicate without sacrificing a ring slot.

The Leo Ring dosen't actually boost parries-it boosts counters. The Hornet ring boosts parries, while a counter hit is a strike on an opponent during a swing animation. Hitting someone with a Warpick and Leo Ring will probably splatter them across the highway of eternity, and is probably one of the real arguments for using Hammer class weapons.

Also, grinding up levels or gear, then complaining the game gets easy, is a little weird. It's easy because you overleveled your gear, what did you expect to happen?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 23, 2014, 07:42:48 PM
Actually, there are two NPCs to get pyromancy spells from in the game (they both teach different spells too) besides the guy you probably freed waaaaaaaaaaaaay back on your way through the Undead Burg. One of them is a covenant (I forget her name, but basically, you trade humanity for going up levels in said covenant). THAT'S the one with the most damaging Pyromancy spells in the whole game. The other one can actually make your Pyro glove go above +15, plus she teaches a crapton of spells herself. While it is true that the Pyro glove is the only investment you need for pyromancy to work, it DOES have a hard cap - and the enemies don't. You also need to invest in attunement for multiple spell slots. So you can't rely on pyromancy all the freaking time...

That said, intelligence-based magic and gear can get pretty freakin' nasty...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 23, 2014, 08:47:48 PM
Actually, there are two NPCs to get pyromancy spells from in the game (they both teach different spells too) besides the guy you probably freed waaaaaaaaaaaaay back on your way through the Undead Burg. One of them is a covenant (I forget her name, but basically, you trade humanity for going up levels in said covenant). THAT'S the one with the most damaging Pyromancy spells in the whole game. The other one can actually make your Pyro glove go above +15, plus she teaches a crapton of spells herself. While it is true that the Pyro glove is the only investment you need for pyromancy to work, it DOES have a hard cap - and the enemies don't. You also need to invest in attunement for multiple spell slots. So you can't rely on pyromancy all the freaking time...

That said, intelligence-based magic and gear can get pretty freakin' nasty...

Quelaag's sister Quelaan (http://darksouls.wiki.fextralife.com/Daughter+of+Chaos), the poor lass.  She is the firekeeper of the Quelaag's Domain bonfire, and leader of the Chaos Servants covenant.  She gives two pyromancies through ranking.  You can also get pyromancies from your friendly neighboorhood Laurentius, from Eingyi after getting an egghead, and from Quelana, the one who upgrades you to Ascended Pryo Glove +5.  Also, pyromancies scattered about the world discovered as loot.

Pyromancies is the key to an (easier) Onebro.  All your souls have a use, and it is to upgrade your pyromancies and buy spells.  That thing is hungry, you can easily sink 60 some levels into just your flame alone.

Between your glove and a good reinforced club (or my weapon of choice, the starting handaxe) and you can take anyone down.  Even the starting pyro armor is pretty beefy once leveled.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 23, 2014, 09:29:56 PM
You've dropped the Drake Sword for the Zwei, good good.  Drake Sword is no good to keep around.

I also have a Black Knight Sword/Halberd, but nowhere near the stats to use either. Same with the Dragon Tooth, which I would love to use against everything (because HAMMER!), but I may have to wait until NG+ for that thing.

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If you're still fighting Pikachu and Snorlax, two things of note.  The only way to find humanity at this point, short of backtracking (not recommended) is dropping sign and helping others.  This is because none of the silver knights have humanity, fun fact.  They're gods/giants after all.  (Well, not really, but that's another story...)

Can't drop sign, I have to be human. I can backtrack to the Painted World and farm the Painted Guardians, but I may have to go back into the Depths and massacre rats.

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Now I always kill Super Pikachu, cause Leo Ring everyone.  Personally I don't think he's that much harder than Super Snorlax, but I suppose I can see where they're coming from.  If you do happen to get a summon, for the first part you can have the summon draw aggro from one while you deal with the other.  After that it mostly depends on which one of the supers you're fighting, but I'd always keep yourself above 1/2 hp.  If you're low on supplies, don't be afraid to play defensive and draw aggro so your summon can wail on him.

Would you recommend kindling the bonfire? I may backtrack to Quelaan and upgrade my Estus Flask to +5 (since I murdered the Anor Londo Firekeeper), but I'd have to sever my covenant first.

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Super pikachu's electro-butt stomp is a killer, and he spams it often.  I found shields work better than rolling.  Grass Crest has pretty good electric resistance.

Fun fact: My Zweihander is strong enough that I can stunlock Smough if I two-hand it. I've been following a video walkthrough and the guy playing used the same weapon (except his was only a +9) with lower stats and managed to stop even the butt stomp.

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After this is done, the Lordvessel is yours.  I'll be interested in knowing what Lord you seek out first.

My first priority is whoring myself out to each of the covenants to get their abilities (except the Way of the White). After that I may hit up Nito.


I have various things to say about Dark Souls...

First is that the part i found most annoying to play through was Sen's Fortress with a close second being the Library after Anor Londo, especially after the auto-death to Seath.

Agreed on Sen's Fortress, but I found a good strategy is to aggro the Snake Men on the catwalks with a bow and just trick them into killing themselves (did the same thing to the Crow Demons in the Painted World). I'm anticipating Seath's insta-kill and have a Rare Ring of Sacrifice in my inventory to counteract the curse+death.

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Second is that Blighttown is REALLY easy if you bring a bow and snipe stuff out of the way before you get there. Manual aiming on the bow absolutely ROCKS, and can even make you able to completely bypass all of New Londo by sniping the dude that's up the tower (forgot his name), and getting the Key that unlocks the path to the turn-thing, thereafter you have a new path opened up that's Firelink -> New Londo - Valley of Drakes (bridge part).

It wasn't nearly that easy for me. The platforming was more of the issue though.

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Third is that Pyromancy is completely and utter OP, and if you farm the souls you get in the dragon-guarded bridge when he breaths fire and kills all the Hollow Soldiers, you can then fast-track to Lower Undead Burg, kill Capra Demon, go to the Depths and free the pyromancy guy. Then, spend all your multiple-thousand souls into pyromancy upgrades, and go to Blighttown. In Blighttown, look for the woman that's Queelag's sister and teaches pyromancy, and farm souls until you get Pyromancy Gloves up to +15 and have bought all the spells. Shouldn't take long - Each trip up the bridge to the dragon gives you 555 Souls, and you can repeat that in about 15 seconds per run. After you've done that, you can power-through almost the entire game by just spamming Pyromancy that'll 1-hit-kill almost every mob, and even 1-hit-kill or 2-hit-kill almost all bosses with Power Within (which you get in Blighttown, and is just OP and amazing). You can up the damage of Pyromancy by quite a lot by farming Humanity, too. You simply go into the depths, and farm the rats, preferably using the Gold Serpent Ring from Sen's Fortress, until you go to about 30, which is when it stops scaling pyromancy IIRC. You don't even need a goddamn weapon, and can even beat the game at SL1 - as has been proven by multiple youtubers. But how about Queelag you say. She's immune to all pyromancy you say. Well, get a fast-firing bow, hundreds of arrows, and keep shooting at her female body. It has no poise and anything you hit said part with will poise break her and make the spider unable to move. There's also a safe spot in the area where you can do this from. Easily.

I have a +10 Pyromancy glove, but I lack the Attunement slots to make good use of it. And they did nerf Pyromancy in a patch.

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Fourth is that Magic is also completely OP, but not so much as Pyromancy, since you actually have to gain levels and stuff before magic really becomes an asset. You also need specialized gear, and Pyromancy doesn't. You can be anything and still have Pyromancy Maxed Out, whereas magic you need to spec for it. It's still very much powerful. In the beggining it's shit. But after you get Greater Soul Arrow and Greater Heavy Soul Arrow, both of which you can get just after Lower Undead Burg, and eventually Homing Soulmass and it's Greater version, which you can get after Sen's Fortress when you know what you're doing, it becomes insanely powerful.

Greater Heavy has been a huge asset for me (death to the Titanite Demons!). I'm working on earning Soulmass.

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That's actually the 5th thing i wanted to talk about. Dodging. Dodging is really much, much better than armor, in 99,9% of the game. You can actually complete the game naked because there are NO situation where you're forced to tank a hit (1st Seath fight doesn't count since it's an auto-death either way - and that's why you procured a rare ring of sacrifice before then - That's also my biggest pet peeve with the game. NO GAME WHATSOEVER should force an auto-death). I don't like using Havel's Set for that reason, because it forces mid-rolling even with topped Endurance. It's always better to be less protected, but have the fast roll, than to have an awesome protection and mid-roll. You'll die much more if you aren't able to dodge. This is from experience... Only time it MAY better to wear armor is in PvP, if you use strength weapons and such, because then you can tank poise hits and still dish out the hurt.

If needed I can switch to the Black Iron set at my leisure (or the Silver Knight set). I like Havel's because I can two-hand my sword and murder the mooks without worrying too much.

The main asset of Havel's armour is the high poise, not it's resistances. The main argument for the heavier armours is their increased poise value, which light armour can't replicate without sacrificing a ring slot.

The Leo Ring dosen't actually boost parries-it boosts counters. The Hornet ring boosts parries, while a counter hit is a strike on an opponent during a swing animation. Hitting someone with a Warpick and Leo Ring will probably splatter them across the highway of eternity, and is probably one of the real arguments for using Hammer class weapons.

Also, grinding up levels or gear, then complaining the game gets easy, is a little weird. It's easy because you overleveled your gear, what did you expect to happen?

Yeah, high poise is awesome. My dodging skills aren't that good, so being able to tank hits is more important to me. The Leo Ring sounds very promising for me, since I do like to interrupt people (even with my sword's low speed).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 23, 2014, 10:25:25 PM
Can't drop sign, I have to be human. I can backtrack to the Painted World and farm the Painted Guardians, but I may have to go back into the Depths and massacre rats.

Not true, you can drop your own sign human or hollow.  You have to be human to summon.

I got stuck in Anor Londo with no humanity once too.  Helping others not only got me that soft humanity I needed, but also helped me practice for my own big fight.

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Would you recommend kindling the bonfire? I may backtrack to Quelaan and upgrade my Estus Flask to +5 (since I murdered the Anor Londo Firekeeper), but I'd have to sever my covenant first.

Extremely, I always kindle to 20, but you can get by with even 15 or 10 (if you don't have the rite of kindling for example).  5 is a reaaaally tight budget.  I don't recommend backtracking.  For one, its a long walk.  For two, it shouldn't be nessicary.

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My first priority is whoring myself out to each of the covenants to get their abilities (except the Way of the White). After that I may hit up Nito.

Good man.  May want to find a divine weapon as backup, and make sure you go in with either the skull lantern or sunlight maggot.  Good luck, Tomb of the Giants is a terrible place where you will die.  :D

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That's actually the 5th thing i wanted to talk about. Dodging. Dodging is really much, much better than armor, in 99,9% of the game. You can actually complete the game naked because there are NO situation where you're forced to tank a hit (1st Seath fight doesn't count since it's an auto-death either way - and that's why you procured a rare ring of sacrifice before then - That's also my biggest pet peeve with the game. NO GAME WHATSOEVER should force an auto-death). I don't like using Havel's Set for that reason, because it forces mid-rolling even with topped Endurance. It's always better to be less protected, but have the fast roll, than to have an awesome protection and mid-roll. You'll die much more if you aren't able to dodge. This is from experience... Only time it MAY better to wear armor is in PvP, if you use strength weapons and such, because then you can tank poise hits and still dish out the hurt.

If needed I can switch to the Black Iron set at my leisure (or the Silver Knight set). I like Havel's because I can two-hand my sword and murder the mooks without worrying too much.

Just a comment here, mid-rolling isn't really that bad.  Really if anything you want to just avoid fatrolls, and fast/mid rolls are just two flavors of "how much do you want to be a glass cannon"?

This isn't to say fatrollers aren't viable, it's just that their playstyle should involve never rolling at all.

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Yeah, high poise is awesome. My dodging skills aren't that good, so being able to tank hits is more important to me. The Leo Ring sounds very promising for me, since I do like to interrupt people (even with my sword's low speed).

Three cheers for heavys!  I do recommend high armor builds for new people just because it gives more room for error in case things go sour.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Wrex on February 23, 2014, 10:37:56 PM
The one Caveat of the Leo Ring is that it only works on Stabbing weapons, like spears, the Warpick, and similar. Some swords have piercing damage thrusts, but not all.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 24, 2014, 12:16:21 AM
I prefer mobility over tanking, but then I'm a crazy asshole.

I prefer not to give them a chance to wreak havoc if I can help it.  :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on February 24, 2014, 12:18:39 AM
Any advice for someone who is just starting out the PC version?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nicklance on February 24, 2014, 06:06:12 AM
Counting down to my early access for ESO.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 24, 2014, 10:46:59 AM
Any advice for someone who is just starting out the PC version?

From what I recall, the PC port was a bit borked, but a lot of fixes have come out on a site called pcgamingwiki.com.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 24, 2014, 11:16:53 AM
Any advice for someone who is just starting out the PC version?

If you mean advice for Dark Souls in general: do not rush. Do not commit yourself too much on attacking. If possible, always lure enemies towards you one at a time, and for fuck's sake, KEEP YOUR SHIELD UP AT ALL TIMES, except when running.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 24, 2014, 12:48:30 PM
Actually, there are two NPCs to get pyromancy spells from in the game (they both teach different spells too) besides the guy you probably freed waaaaaaaaaaaaay back on your way through the Undead Burg. One of them is a covenant (I forget her name, but basically, you trade humanity for going up levels in said covenant). THAT'S the one with the most damaging Pyromancy spells in the whole game. The other one can actually make your Pyro glove go above +15, plus she teaches a crapton of spells herself. While it is true that the Pyro glove is the only investment you need for pyromancy to work, it DOES have a hard cap - and the enemies don't. You also need to invest in attunement for multiple spell slots. So you can't rely on pyromancy all the freaking time...

That said, intelligence-based magic and gear can get pretty freakin' nasty...

The woman you encounter in blighttown (against one of the pillars) sells almost all Pyromancy spells. But yes, the Chaos Servant Covenant is the way to go if you want to get Chaos Fireball, Greater Chaos Fireball, and Chaos Storm, which are the best spells there is. Actually there's one really strong pyromancy you get on the PC-Exclusive DLC, which is Black Flame, and is basically the more powerful Combustion, more than Great Combustion.  The woman in the swamp (near a pillar in Blighttown) too can enchant your pyromancy after +15, this bit i'm actually sure. It becomes a different pyro glove with a bigger fire rendering on the palm, and you can enchant that up to +5.

It gets REAAAAAAAAAAALLY cheaty. Greater Chaos Storm, is just, too, goddamn strong.

Advice for PC Version? Don't play with the keyboard and mouse, use a 360 controller - game was built to work with that controller and you're going to be pained to control via keyboard and mouse. Second bit of advice, for anyone that's just starting Dark Souls is, don't get the Master Key. Like, seriously. There's no area of the game you can't access without the Master Key. What the Master Key does, is enable to do things completely out of the "intended" order, since it opens up access to all sorts of places. But doing things out of order means figthing enemies that are much stronger than your current weapons and stats can deal with, so if it's your first time, do things in the intended order, without the master key.

Meaning it goes something like this: Undead Burg (Optionally kill Havel in the bottom of the tower you climb to the Taurus Demon fight, unlocking a way into the Forest - His ring is really too useful to pass by 50 more carry? WANT) He'll oneshot you if you don't dodge, but he's also slow as hell, and if you predict his moves correctly you can just kill him by roll-backstabing IMPORTANT: NEVER try to parry the guy. - Undead Parish(Ring First Bell) - Get key to Lower Undead Burg and the Forest, kill Capra Demon - Go to Depths, fight the ugly sonovabitch undead/mutated dragon - Gain access to Blighttown - . - Kill Queelag since she's already there, ring the second bell, and also go up the treeroots path(Lots and Lots of Crystal Lizards, meaning lots and lots of Twinkling Titanite) - Backtrack to where you killed havel, or go the Undead Parish way into the forest. Either way, farm souls and buy Crest of Artorias for 20k souls from the blacksmith in the undead parish. I HEAVILY recommend killing the first Hydra at this point, since it's really easy with any weapon with good reach (right from havel's guarded entrance to the forest). - In the now-unlocked part of the forest (from the Undead Parish way), you will fight some really strong ghosts before you get to the locked door that guards the Boss fight, but you can dodge them or join the Forest Guardian covenant and they'll stop attacking you (answer the big cat's question correctly). Alternatively you can farm them for souls pretty easily, if you stay right near the end of the edge of the platform just below where you enter with a shield up. They'll try to jump-attack you, fall to their deaths and you gain souls. Done right it can generate 6000+ souls in 20~30 seconds runs. - After hopefully getting a bit stronger, you can then fight Sif, AKA the big fucking wolf, and get the thing that let's you walk in "darkness" stuff. Cool. - Now go back to Andre and go the way with the large door and the guy sleeping next to it. It'll be open after you rang the two bells. That's Sen's Fortress and a pain to navigate in, full of traps, strong enemies, and all sorts of stuff. After you manage to go through this ordeal, you'll get to the top of Sen's Fortress where you can have the pleasure of fighting the Iron Golem. There's a summon sign for Black Tarkus if you are in human form. If you summon him, he can tank the thing alone and you don't have to do a thing. Seriously. - OK, after you defeat Iron Golem, you can then go the glowing thing, and it will transport you to Anor Londo - don't do that just yet. Go back to Blightown, go up the tree root path and all the way down, will lead you to a beach area where there's a second, stronger Hydra. Kill that thing too. All the way down the path you find a dragon that invites you to join the Dragon Covenant. Covenant is not that great. Dragon Form is kind of useful if you want to combo it with Power Within and Redstone Tear Ring. Anyway, you're there to cut his tail off. It'll not aggro him. You get a pretty decent two-handed dragon sword out of this, if you're specced for strength. - In any case, after you do that, you should go to Anor Londo, do all the stuff you need to do there, kill O&S, either join the Princess Covenant or kill the big woman to get the Lordvessel. Now you can warp between bonfires. Neat. Go back to Firelink Shrine and the ground where the pool is should've opened up, and you can talk to the weird-thing that pops out of the hole. Or you can ignore him.

That final order is up to you, but i heavily recommend you do the Four Kings in New Londo first, since i think they're the easiest to start with, and after the fight it opens up the second ending - another serpent, Kaathe, that tells you a very different story than the Firelink one. The firelink one wants you to extend the age of Fire, the other wants you to END it. Your choice whether you do the former or later - even if you go with one serpent, at the ending you can choose differently, by interacting with the first flame or just walking away from it. I'd then go to after Seath, the entrance to the Library where he resides is in Anor Londo. I'd then go kill Bed of Chaos , and leave the Graveyard and Nito for the final kill, since IMO the Graveyard is the most difficult area in the game. You can place the Lordvessel in the Kiln of the First Flame (accessible via the hole in Firelink Shrine), either before you get all the souls, or after you get all the souls. Depending on what you do, you may alienate one or the other serpent, but if you just go about your business and don't deal with either, at the end you still get to choose. Kaathe also offers you to join the Darkwraith covenant, which is pretty neat because you get a glove you can use to steal humanity from NPC's, since, you know, you can kill basically every NPC in the game.

Moving on... Apart from the advice of following the "easy" and "natural" route for the game if it's your first time, i'd actually advise you to go 50/50 on Str and Dex, and use a weapon such as the Claymore (which you get in the dragon bridge, either after killing the dragon or accessing it from the back through Undead Parish.). The claymore swing is wide, it's fast, it has good damage, and you can upgrade it in the Standard Path for some pretty decent DPS. Another route would be Halberds, and they care more about Dexterity than Strength - BK Halberd is exception. The Lifehunt Scythe is completely and utter amazing, and the Great Scythe you get from the catacombs is also amazing. But the real king of polearms for PvE is the Black Knight Halberd - Upgrade it to +5 and you don't need other weapon for the entire game - it also has very poor scaling with str and dex, which is a downer, but it still deals over 400 damage when fully upgraded, and you can fully upgrade it really fast, just after blighttown... You can get the Black Knight Halberd very early into the game, since you can go through Havel and find a path downwards to the upper left corner of the map leading to a Black Knight wielding a Halberd. Don't go there without 10 humanity at least, and if you can wait until after Sen's Fortress for the Gold Serpent Ring - to guarantee the drop. Another way to go is full-dex - You can get a very awesome weapon that scales well with dexterity, REALLY well actually, the Uchigatana, from the undead merchant in Undead Burg. It also has the bleed effect, so three consecutive hits with it almost always cause 30% of the enemies max HP in damage, plus the weapon damage you're already dealing. It has a pretty high critical modifier, too, meaning it's good for backstabs and parries.

Of course you already read what i said about pyromancy, so do with that what you will :P. Magic is harder at first but gets op after Sen's Fortress if you free Big Hat Logan and buy the really strong spells. Pump that Int, son! 40 is soft cap, 50 is hard cap for scaling damage.

There are many ways to go, and that's what i like. You can even change specs mid-game, which is amazing. They even give you all the starting equipment eventually in the game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on February 24, 2014, 12:50:01 PM
Any advice for someone who is just starting out the PC version?

Do not bother trying to kill the Asylum Demon with your broken sword hit or bare-hands, and don't invest in the Firebombs it takes to kill him. The Master Key is far more useful than any other starting gift: It unlocks the door leading to Gold Pine Resin prior to taking on the Tarus Demon, it allows you to bypass most of Blighttown (as was mentioned earlier in the thread), and it can get you two very powerful items (Dragon Crest Shield and Artorias' Straight Sword; the former is one of a handful of shields that blocks out 100% of all melee damage if you have enough Stamina, and the latter can be used to clear the Catacombs and Tomb of Giants earlier than you should take it on and is also a decent weapon all-around). There are other uses for it, but those are the major ones.

A lot of enemies in this game can be baited into exposing themselves, however your retorts can prove as lethal to you as it is to them if you don't read them (many enemies have follow-up attacks that they don't always use, in order to throw you off of their attack patterns). Generally, lower your shield and walk towards them to trick them into starting their attack animation. Once you see it start up quickly raise your shield and back up as fast as you can (dodge if needed, but don't dodge too early). Once they finish their attack quickly move in and hit them with whatever you want (I use Jumping Strikes with my Zweihander while two-handing it to get some extra damage in, but just a strong attack works). Repeat ad nauseam against non-bosses, and once you get good at it you can start fighting Black Knights for their souls and items. Avoid being grabbed like the plague, and take out toxic-inducing enemies ASAP.

Finally, find a video walkthrough that is narrated by someone who won't get on your nerves. Mimic their playthrough for your first NG, and when you do your first NG+ start experimenting with the paths they took until you find one that seems easiest for you.


For the record, my first NG+ will involve me clearing Undead Burg, ganking Havel+the first Hydra immediately, ringing both bells ASAP and killing Ceaseless Discharge (via glitch), then taking out Pinwheel (I haven't killed either boss in my current playthrough). I'll be following a fairly similar strategy to my first playthrough (Asylum, Firelink into New Londo and Blighttown for Firekeeper Soul+Crimson Armor set, Undead Burg into Parish into first bell into Depths, backtrack to Firelink to do Blighttown the easy way, farm items/souls/humanity as much as I can).

I may eventually go back into Blighttown and clear it properly, provided doing so doesn't make me pull my teeth out in frustration.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 24, 2014, 03:17:06 PM
Any advice for someone who is just starting out the PC version?

We should share GFWL names and co-op some time.  :D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 24, 2014, 04:02:13 PM
Any BK can be riposte'd easily. All of the BK weapons are on the slowish side of the attack animation, the exception being the BK Sword which is pretty quick and difficult to parry. BUT! While the first swing has a fast animation, the follow-up hasn't. So, Shields up, block first, riposte second.

Riposte is ALWAYS a valid strategy, independent of what weapon you use. You can actually get as good riposte's with non-rapier/dagger type weapons just because of sheer damage potential, such as Demon's Greataxe, Man-Serpent Sword or any of the really heavy-strength scaling stuff, despite the dagger/rapier modifier for riposte being quite a bit higher.
Base Damage is really king in Dark Souls. Actually completing the game with rapiers/dagger type weapons is quite a lot harder than using Longswords, which have normally a C/C scaling for strength and dexterity and much higher base damage (also, regular attacks deal more damage, usually, against any non-armored enemy), or Greatswords, like the Claymore, or Ultra Greatswords like the Zweihander. All have usually C/C scaling... Sometimes more heavily leaned towards strength or dexterity. But scaling doesn't matter if you go Chaos enchant on your stuff. Which is exactly how you can create a hybrid Mage/Warrior by spending as few points as possible in Str/Dex and dumping the rest into Int. Basically Str/Dex just for requirements for the weapon you do want to use. A good recommendation, as always, is the Moonlight Greatsword, which has scaling damage for INT and deals magic damage, but a good backup enchanted weapon is great, because it's damage stops being linked to stats.

I don't see the point on ganking Havel early in NG+, since you have all the gear available from the last playthrough, unless you want to go 2 Havel's Ring and go super-heavy armor, which i don't even know if stacks or not. Ring of Favor and Protection does, though, and you should've nearly maxed out Endurance if you like using shields a lot.

Usual NG+ Route is Blighttown -> Queelag  -> First Bell-> Taurus Demon -> Second Bell -> Forest -> Kill Sif -> New Londo, Four Kings (usually sniping the guy in the tower rather than walking all the way to talk to him for him to give you a key, only useful thing he sells is purging stones, and you can get them cheaper in the Bell Tower on Undead Parish.) -> Anor  Londo -> O&S fight -> Kill Gwyn to skip dialogue and gain time and make it darker - spawns less enemies that way to -> Warp to Firelink, jump down the pit, place Lordvessel, warp back to Anor Londo, kill Seath -> warp to firelink, kill Nito - warp to Bonfire after Queelag, glitch-kill Ceaseless, rush Bed of Chaos, kill her - Back to Kiln of First Flame -> Riposte Gwyn, kill him, beat the game again.

Done, and done, aaaaaaand done. Rite of Kindling is not really that much necessary in NG+ since stuff shouldn't be hurting you a lot (minus bosses), plus you kill nearly everything in 1-hit still. So no rushing Catacombs, rush Blighttown instead since you'll want the bonfire after Queelag later down the road when you're goin for Bed of Chaos. Catacomb is also a pain in NG+ because of the Wheel Skellly's, also, Paladin summon is nearly useless in NG+, so you'll want to do that part near the end since that'll give you some time to buff up even more. Bed of Chaos is left for last simply because the way to her is paved with the strongest enemies - Taurus Demons and Capra Demons - and you just want that much more survivability there.

Really, NG+ is a joke. At first the enemies don't do absolutely nothing that remotely will kill you. After half the game, enemies get insanely tough and you're better off skipping most of them just so you don't waste too much time. I'm looking at you, Sentinels! Bosses IMO don't really scale up too well, since they're a bit of a pushover on NG+ with all maxed gear and all. And since almost any gear, apart from certain rings, don't stack effects, it doesn't even become an issue to explore things for gear you probably already have from first playthrough, if you were thorough.

The hardest fights in NG+ are BY FAR the Demon on Asylum Take 2, and the Firesage Demon that guards the path to Lost Izalith. Both have really heavy hitting attacks, and are very tricky to dodge properly. Shielding also doesn't seem to do shit against those explosions, too.

On NG+2 and beyond, is where things begin to get a little more interesting. Since Dark Souls SL cost mechanic is basically 110% of whatever the last level was(from my observation at least it seems to be the case), you will get to a point where you need a shitton of souls to level up, so much that 20k souls isn't even 1/8th of what you need to level up. So you won't level as much as before, and there are hard caps on Vitality and Endurance, but the enemies are still scaling up... So by repeating NG+3, NG+4, NG+5, up to NG+7 (which i think it doesn't scale past that), the game gets progressively harder again. Yes, enemies give more souls on NG+X, but even so it doesn't quite offset the cost of levelling up past a certain SL.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 24, 2014, 04:29:55 PM
...I'm sorry, brujon, but a lot of what you just said goes counter to my experience (and I DID finish the game ten times with the same character. Trust me. It scales beyond that).

Endurance and Stamina aren't the only things with hard caps. Most other stats have soft caps (in the sense that past a certain point the damage increase is barely, if at all noticeable point for point). Realistically speaking, your main damage stat will not matter past 50 - yes, even Strength, YES, EVEN WITH THE HEAVIEST WEAPONS. You're better off diversifying instead of going for the one-trick-pony approach.

Chaos enchants aren't all that hot. While the damage scales with humanity, the base damage is STILL FIRE. Most enemies that aren't other players are going to be more vulnerable against lightning than anything else. (Funny enough, they're usually color-coded for your convenience!) And most players are going to focus on a single approach too. They'll EXPECT you to, as well. Which is how you hose them in PVP. Nothing says "satisfaction" like skewering a lagstabber through the heart after you push him off a 20-ft drop because he didn't expect you to Wrath of God his sorry ass. Seriously, my experience in PVP with Dark Souls basically amounted to people trying to use the environment against me or just circling like utter retards and hoping I didn't move, or attacked them with a slow weapon.

I have no idea how you can find Firesage or the Asylum demon difficult. All you need to do is CIRCLE THEM. See that explosion thing? He telegraphs it from miles away. If you're at his back, all you need to do is roll ONCE. You'll be out of range AND close enough to retaliate once the explosion animation is over.

In fact, the ONE boss you can't just dodge by WALKING is Four Kings. And Nito. Most enemies with a long animation attack have a blind spot you can conveniently walk to with your shield up. You don't even need to roll, unless it has a freakishly long range.

Yeah, NG+ is not as hard when you've finished the game five times over. But that's not because the game itself is easy, it's because you've learned the kind of strategies you'll be needing.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 24, 2014, 06:43:02 PM
That's not the experience i had with DkS... I found NG+ too easy. And i do mean too easy. Stray Demon and Demon Firesage are a pain to dodge. Here's the description of the Stray Demon attack pattern, from http://darksouls.wikidot.com/stray-demon:

The Stray Demon swings his weapon horizontally in a large arc, always starting from his right, then following up from his left.
The Stray Demon raises his weapon above his head, then slams down on the area in front of him, upon impact this causes a large explosion.
The Stray demon swings his weapon from his left, causing a large explosion. This explosion does extend behind the demon.
The Stray Demon floats up into the air for a second and slams back onto the ground, facing the player. Sometimes he just floats up to turn around, without doing the slam.
The Stray Demon will jump back rapidly (sort of like the Tower Knight from Demon Souls' jump back) This is often followed up by two extremely powerful overhead smashes.

See the bolded parst? There's when things get tricky. For most of his attacks, just staying behind does the trick, but that attack has a VEEEEEEERY large radius, and it includes the back of the demon. If he turns and uses the attack, if you don't dodge at the very instant the animation starts, you're almost certainly done in for. The thing does HUGE amounts of damage.

Demon Firesage is even worse. If you don't keep close, he'll do the ranged explosion and get you. It's almost non-dodgeable. Rest of his attacks are the same as the Stray Demon, but they hurt even worse. Since i do not like to use Heavy Armor, the attacks took almost all of my health bar, and i had to try each fight multiple times before i got the dodging right. For me, it's even worse than O&S which most consider one of the hardest fights in DkS.

Chaos enchants are pretty damn good for PvE, which was what i was recommending it for - there really aren't many enemies that are immune or very resistant to fire damage, when you go Chaos+10, it commonly one-shots most stuff, especially on backstabs. For PvP, faith builds are really great, if you spec right, mainly because Wrath of God does sooooo much damage if you are in Redstone Tear Ring mode + Power Within active - Two casts are enough to kill anyone, and if you throw the Estus healing block thing beforehand, they're fucked. That's for people that have max vitality and Ring of Favor and Protection on.  They either run for the hills or get two-shotted. Magic is the same deal, except  it's pretty easy to block, and it doesn't track that well, meaning fights in the forest, for instance, are very hard for magic users. Too many trees to go behind for cover. TFor low-str low-dex builds, enchanting a good low-stat weapon like the Claymore with Chaos, usually takes care of most enemies in the game. For the other enemies, you have your spells, and if you run out, after the Seath fight, if you sever his tail you get the Moonlight Greatsword, which has a pretty nifty ranged R2 attack, and scales extremely well with int.

Also, you forgot the curse breath from Seath. You cannot simply walk away from that one - it simply covers too large an area. Which is why most people will likely use the Crimson Set to fight Seath - very high curse resistance, so if you don't get out ASAP it's still OK since you'll not die from curse.

I know about the soft cap on other stats... Int, Str and Dex all get really diminishing returns after 50. Endurance actually caps at 40, and the only way to get more stamina is Ring of Favor and Protection. Vitality has a soft cap at 50 as well. In fact, all stats have either a hard or a soft cap on 40 or 50. Which is why people at SL70 can fight people at SL120 and still win, just because they specced right and already do the max damage possible. Pyromancy is OP for PvP because you can overlevel it without actually gaining any Soul Levels. And the game CAN be beaten at SL1 by the way, it's just hard as fuck because after a point you simply cannot get hit by anything - Pyromancy, GO!

So yeah, you have a maxed out Pyro glove and all Chaos spells, you go to PvP and troll beginner players by one-shotting them over and over again. That actually plagues the DkS PC community from what i hear. That and hackers that are invincible, short of falling out of the map.

One more point for Pyromancy: It simply does not care which stats you have! Damage is entirely and completely based out of the level of your Pyro Glove, so, sink some souls and it doesn't matter what you're actually specced on, you can still have all pyromancies and maxed out pyro glove.

Also, Magic isn't something you can just take a dip in. Spells scale heavily with INT, and the Catalyst Modifier also cares about your INT. And you can't use the really good spells without investing heavily into INT anyway, the same thing apply for the really good Catalysts. - Same thing applies for Divine. All the good spells are very down the road of Faith. And faith doesn't have a really great scaling weapon like INT does, and divine enchanting things is pointless and dumb... Occult, Magic and Enchanted are all pointless and dumb also. Only worthwhile enchants are Fire, Lightning and Chaos. Lightning is pretty good, but i like Chaos better for it's higher damage potential in PvE.

The "one trick pony" thing is there for a reason... Barring pyromancy, which doesn't care about how many SL you've got, (nearly)every other weapon does care about it. Doing a split 50/50 on STR/DEX works really well with MOST swords, since they are almost always C/C scaling on str/dex. This leaves you with some DEX to use Bows and weapons that scale heavily with dex, like all Daggers, Rapiers and Katanas. But the only Katana worth using is the Uchigatana, the only dagger worth using is the starter thief Bandit Dagger, and the only rapier worth using is Ricard's Rapier. Velka's Rapier might be worth it for it's INT scaling, if you're already into that. And DEX builds actually do require speccing heavily into DEX because a heavy chunk of your damage will come from scaling, since DEX weapons don't usually have high base damages. STR builds are really popular because they're easy to get used to. You have a weapon like the Demon Greataxe, enchant it to +15, and suddenly you're one-shot backstabbing or riposte'ing with the Demon Greataxe. Riposte's with these weapons are tough, though, since you actually have to one hand it(You won't have the str to one hand it) with a shield, then after the parry animation, quickly switch to two-handed, and you'll get the full two-handed parry damage. Demon Greataxe also has a great R2. STR builds are popular because they're easy, straightforward methods into pummeling things to a pulp. They're also easily available from the start, since Reinforced Club is sold in the Undead Burg (great STR scaling), and the Large Club is readily available as a drop in Blighttown, from the huge dudes i forget the name of.

Diversifying is all good and all, but it's not something that you can easily achieve in Dark Souls. You have to be pretty high level in order to diversify, because the game puts you into a conundrum. You cannot use the Demon Greataxe (strongest weapon in the game in physical damage, it has 654 AR at 46 STR in normal upgrade path+15.) until you have at least 31 str, then you can only two-hand it, and you need 46 to one-hand it. If you're going to use STR based weapons, this is what you'll go for, preferably sooner rather than later. The Taurus Demon boss can drop this if you're lucky enough, most easily done with 10 humanity. It completely dwarfs any other weapon in terms of raw, unalduterated power. The Uchigatana has really easy stat requirements... Only 14/14 dex and strength, and it's a truly great weapon that shouldn't be underestimated - 300 bleeding and a nice base damage. It goes up to an A scaling with DEX, and as such, is much more suited to focused-dex builds - which are very nice, but generally weaker than STR builds in PvP. Of course, if you go Dark Silver Tracer or fully upgraded Bandit's Knife, backstabs and riposte's hurt BAD. Also, Lifehunt Scythe has absolutely awesome scaling with DEX and does even MORE bleeding. But then again, high dex.

You have to have priorities... After you achieve your priority, then you can diversify, but that means that diversifying will likely only occur at SL100+, since you'll not want to slack on Vitality or Endurance.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 25, 2014, 07:09:28 AM
I seem to recall a request for TBS games, and I have discovered another one.  Wasteland 2 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/240760/) on Steam.  It's in early access right now, and it look like it's based off the great old Fallout 1&2 games!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 25, 2014, 10:00:52 AM
I seem to recall a request for TBS games, and I have discovered another one.  Wasteland 2 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/240760/) on Steam.  It's in early access right now, and it look like it's based off the great old Fallout 1&2 games!

Actually it is based off of Wasteland 1 which Fallout 1 was inspired by IIRC.  :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 25, 2014, 10:08:42 AM
Actually it is based off of Wasteland 1 which Fallout 1 was inspired by IIRC.  :P

Yeah, I learned that after watching the videos on Steam about the game  :blush  And here I was not knowing anything about the original Wasteland (which comes with the early access purchase!)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 25, 2014, 10:19:54 AM
Actually it is based off of Wasteland 1 which Fallout 1 was inspired by IIRC.  :P

Yeah, I learned that after watching the videos on Steam about the game  :blush  And here I was not knowing anything about the original Wasteland (which comes with the early access purchase!)

I never actually played the first Wasteland so I can't give an opinion about it.

That same company is also working on this game (https://torment.inxile-entertainment.com/), a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment and I'm really excited about it.  It is one of the things that I've kickstarted.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nicklance on February 25, 2014, 05:20:35 PM
I've got an extra beta key for this weekend (ESO). Anyone interested?

Also I think I want to play this game too (http://www.ndemiccreations.com/en/25-plague-inc-evolved)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on February 26, 2014, 10:42:41 AM
Oh, that game.  I wonder if Madagascar is still the final boss.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on February 26, 2014, 04:28:56 PM
Oh, that game.  I wonder if Madagascar is still the final boss.

your thinking of http://www.crazymonkeygames.com/Pandemic-2.html (http://www.crazymonkeygames.com/Pandemic-2.html) and yes..yes it is...stupid mother fucking Madagascar :shakefist
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 26, 2014, 07:41:45 PM
I've been playing the phone game all day. XD
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 28, 2014, 02:22:18 PM
I am in love with War for the Overworld.

It even turned one of  the throwaway lines from DKII into the hatchery replacement. :O
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 28, 2014, 02:30:02 PM
I am in love with War for the Overworld.

It even turned one of  the throwaway lines from DKII into the hatchery replacement. :O

Yeah!  Gotta love the micropigs!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on February 28, 2014, 02:35:25 PM
Heheheh. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGHmr3D4Mnc) 2:14 for the micropiglet line. :p

Though one thing IS annoying me, and that's the cursor's not pointing where I expect.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on March 02, 2014, 12:37:26 AM
For some reason I decided to start playing Scrolls again.  I fucking hate that game, now.  The games don't feel competitive at all.  It's either playing for an hour using your minions to deny everything the other player does, or playing for an hour having every single damn thing you do countered by your opponent's overwhelming board advantage.  The game never lands in the middle-ground because even cards that can be used to stop a snowball are even better at accelerating one.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on March 03, 2014, 04:51:58 PM
For co-op video gaming. (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=12651.0)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on March 04, 2014, 03:04:45 AM
Another Dark Souls noob question:

I've been using all my Titanite shards on upgrading a Spear because I like the reach and the fact that you can block and attack at the same time.  Am I shooting myself in the foot for later?  Is there a better spear-category weapon I should hold out for?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on March 04, 2014, 04:38:36 AM
Another Dark Souls noob question:

I've been using all my Titanite shards on upgrading a Spear because I like the reach and the fact that you can block and attack at the same time.  Am I shooting myself in the foot for later?  Is there a better spear-category weapon I should hold out for?

Good news, there is (almost) no weapon which isn't viable for endgame when fully upgraded.  Some are better than others in certain aspects (spears excel in reach, turtling behind shields, and spamming) but all are viable.

That said, be aware spears in general are on the weaker side of damage dealing.

If you get a spear up to +10, and Ornstien's Soul, you can make his sweet Dragonslayer Spear.  The pros: One of the best spears damage wise, good length, lightning damage, and a projectile attack.  The cons: Lightning damage means split damage, and the stat requirements are kind of high.

If you want a good alternative to the Spear that is still a spear weapon, the Pike is nice, but the Demon Spear is even nicer IMHO.  It also has lightning damage, the longest reach in the game, and looks cool.  Upgrades via demon titanite, and can be bought via Shiva, or found randomly from drops from Anor Londo gargoyles.

Don't worry, titanite will flow like water late game.  Really the only "rare" titanites I find are chunks (which can be farmed) and slabs (which are honestly very hard to get, only one is guaranteed).  You can break green shards into tons of normal shards, and large shards can be farmed at a fair rate in Blighttown.  Bring your rusted iron ring, 10 humanity, and the gold serpent ring to the farming!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 04, 2014, 09:26:36 AM
Furthermore, near the endgame, each knight in Kiln of the First Flame drops upgrade materials like nobody's business.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on March 04, 2014, 01:26:32 PM
Spear & Shield is a good combo for a first playthrough, before you are exposed to and learn enemy patterns.

Dragonslayer Spear scales off of Str, Dex and Faith
Demon Spear scales off Str, Dex

I don't recall any particular required bosses having extreme lightning resist, whereas there are a few with fire resist. Santuary Guardian in the DLC does though.

Both upgrade with Demon Titanite, which can be farmed in Lost Izalith from the Titanite Demon on the bridge. It's quick to do if you open the shortcut using the Chaos Covenant. You should be able to find enough standard titanite to get the base weapon to +10 prior to ascension, no need to wait as long as Kiln... by that time the game is over anyways... outside of NG+/PvP.

Neither can be enchanted with Magic Weapon, Sunlight Blade, etc. If you plan on using these spells, you will want to use a standard spear class weapon basic upgraded +15. In this case, choose the one which weapon set you feel most comfortable with, the damage difference is negligible.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on March 04, 2014, 02:00:18 PM
I don't recall any particular required bosses having extreme lightning resist, whereas there are a few with fire resist. Santuary Guardian in the DLC does though.

Ornstein.

Quote
Neither can be enchanted with Magic Weapon, Sunlight Blade, etc. If you plan on using these spells, you will want to use a standard spear class weapon basic upgraded +15. In this case, choose the one which weapon set you feel most comfortable with, the damage difference is negligible.

Power Within is pretty good for the unaugmentable spears, but I'm partial to Crystal Magic Weapon and Sunlight Blade for buffs.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on March 04, 2014, 02:34:10 PM
Since this is my source for Dark Souls info, is there any word about what's going to happen to it after GFWL dies?  I have it for PC via Steam, but have been wary of diving into it b/c I was worried that all my progress would be erased or I wouldn't be able to play multiplayer, etc.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on March 04, 2014, 02:57:35 PM
If you can't connect to GFWL, you end up dumped into offline mode, similarly if your framerate sucks
You can create an offline GFWL profile that will not make any attempts at network connect
If you use DSFix to generate save game checkpoints (bc corruption sucks), make sure you turn off steam cloud bullshit save
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on March 04, 2014, 04:54:27 PM
Another Dark Souls noob question:

I've been using all my Titanite shards on upgrading a Spear because I like the reach and the fact that you can block and attack at the same time.  Am I shooting myself in the foot for later?  Is there a better spear-category weapon I should hold out for?

All titanite - Even Titanite Slabs, are infinitely farmable/buyable. Titanite Slabs for those who didn't already know, is an extremely rare drop from the Darkwraith knights at the bottom of New Londo, after you drain the water out. But i do mean extremely rare. Even with 10 humanity and the gold serpent ring, expect hours of farming to get a couple.

But you don't want to upgrade all your weapons to +15 anyways, so you don't even *need* many Titanite Slabs.

As for a better spear-category weapon... I didn't play around with spears as much as other weapons, and spears are generally on the weaker side of things. Rapiers are also able to be used while blocking, and the Estoc has a pretty good reach, as well as that juicy riposte modifier all rapiers have. If you're enamored with reach, you might want to think about switching out to Halberds instead of Spears. They have about the same reach, but deal more damage, although can't be used behind a shield like spears can.

Halberds are strong enough that one of them, the Black Knight Halberd, is one of the weapons of choice for speedrunners, since you can get it fairly early on, and it's easily upgradeable via twinkling titanite, which you can get from the many crystal lizards you encounter in the game. Only goes to +5 but by that point it boasts a massive 400+ raw damage capability - more than enough to beat any of the game's bosses. Another Halberd of note is the Lifehunt Scythe, which you get by upgrading any +10 Halberd + Priscila's Soul + 5000 souls at the Giant Blacksmith.

Few weapons can compete with it. 500 bleed means once you fill the enemie's bleed meter, they'll lose 50% of their max HP. 270 damage once fully upgraded. But be careful since the weapon also builds up YOUR bleed meter - by 40 - on every attack - If it fills, you take 50% max hp damage. Ouch. Scales great with Dexterity (B).

Like most have said here, there is no clear-cut decision on what weapon is the best. There are many weapons that are amazing once they're fully upgraded. What exists are the standouts amongst certain classes of weapons - And even then, they're not 100% agreed upon "best weapons".
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on March 04, 2014, 06:59:03 PM
Since this is my source for Dark Souls info, is there any word about what's going to happen to it after GFWL dies?  I have it for PC via Steam, but have been wary of diving into it b/c I was worried that all my progress would be erased or I wouldn't be able to play multiplayer, etc.

It worries me too but have hope, for I have two things which speak well on it.  One is that From did say "We're looking into solutions", whatever that means.  The other is the fact that Dark Souls is popular and From would be fools not to convert it to Steamworks or the like.  Especially since they had only recently gotten a flood of new recruits with the recent Steam Sales the past year.  They're working on it surely.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on March 05, 2014, 01:05:05 PM
Yeah, I was hoping that it would move onto Steamworks.  I guess I'll just wait for a little while for that to develop. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 05, 2014, 01:28:31 PM
Speaking of Dark Souls, my Collector's Edition has been preordered.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on March 05, 2014, 04:50:11 PM
Doesn't matter if Ornstein has lightning resist, as you're not going to be able to make the dragonslayer spear until you beat him, though a relevant point if you get a Demon Spear from a Batwing or Shiva prior.

Halberds have the problem of a long recover time if you miss.

Lifehunt Scythe is the OP with its 50% bleed aux effect. Bloodbite ring from Oswald and/or Bloodshield from Painted World help with the self-bleed immensely, in addition to unhollow/humanity.

Only need a Slab for a weapon if you're going with a +15 upgrade path. As stated previously, Demon Titanite for boss weapons. On that note, it's similarly easier to fully upgrade unique equipment via Twinkling Titanite, as it is sold by the giant blacksmith in anor londo.

For the lols
http://www.youtube.com/dksnunkuruji

April 25 for DkS II PC gaming master race
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 05, 2014, 05:25:38 PM
That's funny, my copy is slated to arrive twenty days from now.  :D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 05, 2014, 05:33:11 PM
lol, at this rate the thread might as well be called the Dark Souls thread.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 05, 2014, 06:03:06 PM
And when it arrives it might well become said thread.  :D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on March 05, 2014, 08:39:44 PM
Maybe we should split the thread, or at least make a new one.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on March 06, 2014, 12:34:27 PM
Maybe we should split the thread, or at least make a new one.

that would be best imo, we did it with skyrim back in the day....
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on March 06, 2014, 12:40:45 PM
Maybe we should split the thread, or at least make a new one.

that would be best imo, we did it with skyrim back in the day....

Considering DS2 is right around the corner, having a dedicated thread would be a good idea. We can leave the previous discussion here though.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on March 06, 2014, 04:47:44 PM
Just when i thought Dartcraft couldn't be any more of an OP minecraft mod than it already is, i come upon this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-5jGon7Gg8

A single item, the Time Torch, that can speed EVERY tile entity, block update, machine updates... EVERYTHING in a certain radius, to RIDICULOUS levels, and if you have more than one the effects STACK.

Now the mod isn't just OP anymore, it can completely destroy servers. I don't even CARE how expensive it is to make. There is NO way to balance out that thing. It's so ridiculously overpowered, and when combined with other mods... Well, INSANITY happens. With Magical Crops you could already make a farm for every single resource in the game. Now you can also make those farms NEAR INSTANTLY mature to a level so ridiculous it would be pointless to even play the game outside of creative anymore. You already could make it super fast with Lilypads of Fertility (Xeno's Reliquary) + Lamp of Growth from Thaumcraft + Watering Can from ExtraUtilities, but if you combine all that with Dartcraft, i think it would crash your game. I'm even tempted to try this out on creative to see if the game would crash due to the number of entities being simultaneously displayed.

I just hope packs start sacking Dartcraft altogether after this, or at least this item is made to config default disabled. The Force Tools and the Force Engine are already OP by themselves, and it's just too easy to get Liquid Force for your force infusing. And you can achieve ridiculous Fortune levels by enchanting your body armor with Fortune as well as your Pick, and then add Grinding and Smelting just for the heck of it and get an insane ingots  from a single ore you mine, more than you would get by processing it with any other mod with maybe the exception of RotaryCraft, and that mod is Gregtech HARD in order for you to figure out how to balance out the Speed/Torque and Power the machines produce in order to make anything function.

People always talk about how EE2 was unbalanced and it made the game unfunny after you got to the point where you had a Power Flower going on. But you had to work pretty hard in order to get the EMC Values to actually MAKE the Power Flower, and by that point you had already achieved what was pretty much endgame in Minecraft. A few quarries set up, energy requirements met for them, a stable IC2 power source that is capable of processing the output of your quarries, and possibly a Logistics Pipe system that autocrafted stuff for you and made you able to request items on the fly from anywhere.

Dartcraft is worse than EE2. It gives you insanely powerful options right off the bat, and obsoletes any other mod start in terms of how fast you can progress in it's tech tree - Like being able to pack and move an entire base by nesting forced-wrench chests into eachother, giving you fly earlier than any other mod except maybe Morph, the Bleeding enchant, that can cause endless deaths if stacked high enough on a player. Unsatisfied with that, it also makes it impossible to have a balanced pack with Dartcraft included by introducing ridiculous items that knowingly will cause very overpowered interactions with staple tech mods.

I refuse to play a pack that has Dartcraft included. It has reached that point where i can't even just ignore the mod and don't use it, i need to actively tell people that the mod is garbage and not to use it unless you don't care about difficulty, progressing on tech trees, and building up a base at all, and just want to reach creative on survival as fast as you can. I need to preach for it's removal on any modpack, for sanity reasons.

These days, mod authors that actively think about balance and cross-mod interactions when designing a mod are getting rarer by the minute. And i just can't grasp just why mods like that are so popular. Why don't just play in creative?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on March 06, 2014, 10:01:55 PM
So I recently bought Fire Emblem: Awakening.  I am new to the franchise, and chose "classic mode."  As I really don't want to permanently lose any party members, I'm doing a lot of trial-and-error to get through battles with zero casualties on my side.

Does anyone here have any advice for newcomers?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Risada on March 06, 2014, 10:07:34 PM
So I recently bought Fire Emblem: Awakening.  I am new to the franchise, and chose "classic mode."  As I really don't want to permanently lose any party members, I'm doing a lot of trial-and-error to get through battles with zero casualties on my side.

Does anyone here have any advice for newcomers?

Abuse the Double Up sistem (putting two units together)... The bonuses you get from this are HUGE as the game progresses and the relationships between characters progresses. Couples will actually give birth to kids you can employ in combat with stats from both parents.

I recommend you play the first time normally. If you plan on making a NG+, analyze possible pairing to generate the childs the way you want.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on March 06, 2014, 10:16:36 PM
So I recently bought Fire Emblem: Awakening.  I am new to the franchise, and chose "classic mode."  As I really don't want to permanently lose any party members, I'm doing a lot of trial-and-error to get through battles with zero casualties on my side.

Does anyone here have any advice for newcomers?


Me too! Things I found out so far:

Make sure to plan your marriages in advance. Chrome gets married to with no notice at the end of chapter 11 to whichever one of 4 women he has the highest relationship score with, so if you want him to marry the Dancer you can't let him develop a relationship with anybody else.

Gale force is the bomb. Any character who can learn it, should. It's acquired by reclassing into Pegasus Knight, then Dark Flyer and getting to level 15

Armsthrift is another nice skill. Learned at Mercenary 1, it gives a percent chance to not degrade your weapon. Useful for high luck characters such as Donnel.

Speaking of, Donnel is fantastic. He has a higher than 100% chance to increase his HP and Luck every time ge levels up, and his other growth rates aren't bad. Put in the initial effort to level him, and he pays off. He also makes a great father, because he gives any female kids the Pegasus Knight class if they didn't have access to it, which means they can learn Galeforce.

In other games, it was HIGHLY recommended to wait to lvl 20 before using a Master Seal. It's not as important this time, because second seals allow you to go back to a base class and get more state increases.

Reeking Boxes spawn enemies that scale to the map you use them on. Using them on the Prologue or Chapter 1 maps will let you level weaker units with little risk.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on March 06, 2014, 10:17:49 PM
Just when i thought Dartcraft couldn't be any more of an OP minecraft mod than it already is, i come upon this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-5jGon7Gg8

A single item, the Time Torch, that can speed EVERY tile entity, block update, machine updates... EVERYTHING in a certain radius, to RIDICULOUS levels, and if you have more than one the effects STACK.

Now the mod isn't just OP anymore, it can completely destroy servers. I don't even CARE how expensive it is to make. There is NO way to balance out that thing. It's so ridiculously overpowered, and when combined with other mods... Well, INSANITY happens. With Magical Crops you could already make a farm for every single resource in the game. Now you can also make those farms NEAR INSTANTLY mature to a level so ridiculous it would be pointless to even play the game outside of creative anymore. You already could make it super fast with Lilypads of Fertility (Xeno's Reliquary) + Lamp of Growth from Thaumcraft + Watering Can from ExtraUtilities, but if you combine all that with Dartcraft, i think it would crash your game. I'm even tempted to try this out on creative to see if the game would crash due to the number of entities being simultaneously displayed.

I just hope packs start sacking Dartcraft altogether after this, or at least this item is made to config default disabled. The Force Tools and the Force Engine are already OP by themselves, and it's just too easy to get Liquid Force for your force infusing. And you can achieve ridiculous Fortune levels by enchanting your body armor with Fortune as well as your Pick, and then add Grinding and Smelting just for the heck of it and get an insane ingots  from a single ore you mine, more than you would get by processing it with any other mod with maybe the exception of RotaryCraft, and that mod is Gregtech HARD in order for you to figure out how to balance out the Speed/Torque and Power the machines produce in order to make anything function.

People always talk about how EE2 was unbalanced and it made the game unfunny after you got to the point where you had a Power Flower going on. But you had to work pretty hard in order to get the EMC Values to actually MAKE the Power Flower, and by that point you had already achieved what was pretty much endgame in Minecraft. A few quarries set up, energy requirements met for them, a stable IC2 power source that is capable of processing the output of your quarries, and possibly a Logistics Pipe system that autocrafted stuff for you and made you able to request items on the fly from anywhere.

Dartcraft is worse than EE2. It gives you insanely powerful options right off the bat, and obsoletes any other mod start in terms of how fast you can progress in it's tech tree - Like being able to pack and move an entire base by nesting forced-wrench chests into eachother, giving you fly earlier than any other mod except maybe Morph, the Bleeding enchant, that can cause endless deaths if stacked high enough on a player. Unsatisfied with that, it also makes it impossible to have a balanced pack with Dartcraft included by introducing ridiculous items that knowingly will cause very overpowered interactions with staple tech mods.

I refuse to play a pack that has Dartcraft included. It has reached that point where i can't even just ignore the mod and don't use it, i need to actively tell people that the mod is garbage and not to use it unless you don't care about difficulty, progressing on tech trees, and building up a base at all, and just want to reach creative on survival as fast as you can. I need to preach for it's removal on any modpack, for sanity reasons.

These days, mod authors that actively think about balance and cross-mod interactions when designing a mod are getting rarer by the minute. And i just can't grasp just why mods like that are so popular. Why don't just play in creative?
I hadn't even heard of that mod, and now... Jeeeez. Yeah.

Trying to work on getting a server up for friends, but they/we/I would like a lot of large mods (Buildcraft, Ars Magica, Thaumcraft), so it's hard to find a computer that can handle it we can use for free.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on March 07, 2014, 05:00:30 AM
So I recently bought Fire Emblem: Awakening.  I am new to the franchise, and chose "classic mode."  As I really don't want to permanently lose any party members, I'm doing a lot of trial-and-error to get through battles with zero casualties on my side.

Does anyone here have any advice for newcomers?
What difficulty are you playing on?
-The game throws you super-weapons right at start, but weapons have limited uses. Make sure to stock up on weaker weapons with lots of uses at shops to deal with small fry.
-Always watch out for what kind of weapons your enemies have equipped. You don't want to run fliers into archers or knights into mages.
-Always check for glowing ground tiles, those have some kind of reward.
-The AI will always attack your most vulnerable units first, so make sure to keep those back.
-On the other hand if nobody else is in range, the AI will happilly attack your super-tough units even if it can't deal damage at all. So basically send your super tough  units ahead to draw enemy fire, then move up with glass cannons and the like. Equip your super-tough units with weak weapons so they don't get all the kills.
-Keeping your units adjacent will develop relationship if they have affinity (aka you'll see they get little hearts after a battle round). Relationship doesn't only grant combat bonuses, it also increases the chance they'll cover each other or make extra attacks.
-Units that reach an S rank in a relationship get married, and you'll eventually get to add their child to your team. Child characters inherit the latest equiped Skill of each of their parents.
-The barracks (acessible on the map screen) stocks up to five free bonuses, and reloads over time. Check it at least once per (real-time) day!
-Random ecounters always grant at least one bullion, that can be sold for 1000 GP. A reeking box spawns one random ecounter and can be bought for 600 GP. You can use it for farming again and again.
-Random ecounters can spawn at random. If they spawn in the same location as a traveling merchant or another enemy, the battle will be tougher, but you'll gain extra rewards.
-Finally, lots of people may be telling you to get gale force in everybody at all costs, but really, there's no need for that if you're playing in normal difficulty. Save that kind of cheese for when you replay in Insane difficulty or something. In your first playtrough, you should just focus on getting a try out ofeverything. The game throws you plenty of different characters for that.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on March 07, 2014, 05:28:55 AM
Thermal Expansion is purpose-built for maximum performance. BC has been improved upon a LOT, and unless you have a shitton of resources flying through their transparent pipes (which causes framerate drops), you should be ok. Ars Magica 2 adds a couple of worldgen structures, but none of it's blocks is particularly resource hungry. Thaumcraft 4 is one of the most well-made mods ever. It's perfectly balanced and it also doesn't have much of an impact in resource consumption, except in some very specific parts which consume slightly more resources, like when you're infusion crafting.

Applied Energistics is an almost lag-free and very cool storage option. Useful alternatives include of course the Iron Chests mod, and i tend to prefer the JABBA barrels mod instead of Factorization Barrels, because i rarely use anything from Factorization apart from barrels, wrath lamps, and, sometimes in very specific builds, routers. Logistics Pipes is now also an option, and it can have nice interactions with Applied Energistics, but i'd advise against relying solely on Logistics Pipes for your sorting because it does tend to increase the amount of resource consumption.

IC2 is a nearly dead tech mod, since nearly everything you can do there, you can do via BC/TE. Quantum Armor might be missed, as well as the Jetpack, but both can be completely replaced by Modular Powersuits, which is better in nearly every respect in regards to Quantum Armor. Don't bother installing IC2 unless you also install Gregtech, because only then IC2 gains real value. A relatively new tech mod that has been released and is interesting is RotaryCraft - downside is it has it's own power system that works out of RL principles of energy provided in terms of torque and speed applied to gears or gearboxes, which makes it rather difficult to master. It's approach is much different from the other tech mods, as it strives to provide realistic energy generation scheme and transfering of power. Upside is that it offers one of the best ore-to-final product rates. Above 5x yield for some ores. But it is SLOW unless you provide the machines with a crapton of power via torque/speed increase. Mekanism is an interesting tech mod, and different enough that in general it is worth a shot - it also provides up to 5x Ore-to-Final-Product ratio, and it IS compatible with TE/BC power - But also has it's own power (Joules, different from MJ - Minecraft Joules), since it's part of the universal electricity API. But you won't even notice that since the machine will happily accept whatever power you provide it with and work just fine - be it RF or MJ energy. What it also does, is bring it's own jetpacks out into the table - one more nail in the IC2 coffin. It's quarry is also the most cool looking one, just saying. Digital Miner is a beast.

A server shouldn't need much power to handle these mods i outlined, especially if it's only for a few people - max of 10~12 simultaneously online.
In servers, what you need to look out for, is tick-rate lag (caused most often by having a crapton of tile entities updates, like machine animations, items flowing in pipes, light updates, redstone updates, often in chunloaded areas), and framerate lag, which is caused by rendering animations and graphics, and is normally clientside. As long as the server has a high uptime, server lag won't be an issue.

Another good tip if you're concerned about resource consumption: ExtraUtilities offer better solutions to pumping lava and quarrying - the Enderthermic Pump and the Ender Quarry. The first, when pumping lava source blocks out, will replace them with smoothstone therefore minimizing the amount of flowing lava blocks and the rendering created by them to induce lag. The second, replaces any mined blocks with dirt, so you don't completely destroy the terrain and preserve natural caves, etc. It's pipes and sorting system are also pretty good and there's just tons of useful blocks, like the Angel Block and the sound mufflers. If you haven't heard of it, check it out. Once you have a modlist let me know and i can maybe make a few suggestions.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on March 07, 2014, 11:58:48 PM
@Risada and Oslecamo:

Thank you for the advice.  I'm doing a lot better in combat now.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 08, 2014, 11:07:35 PM
Killed my first boss in Dark Souls 2.

Gotta hand it to them for setting an awesome tone: killing the first boss in the game results in you extinguishing a species, since said boss is the last of its kind.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on March 09, 2014, 02:03:26 PM
Killed my first boss in Dark Souls 2.

Gotta hand it to them for setting an awesome tone: killing the first boss in the game results in you extinguishing a species, since said boss is the last of its kind.

In related news, I killed Ornstein and Smough. I nearly had Super Ornstein beat when he glitched himself through the fog wall and rendered the battle impossible (homeward bone solved it, but I was livid), Smough caught me off-guard in the rematch (ate a charging uppercut from his hammer), and the third time Solaire distracted Smough while I went to town on Ornstein with some Charcoal Pine Resin.

Super Smough lost over half his health facing off against Solaire and I, with me stunlocking him (Power Within+GMW+Pine Resin) and Solaire being little more than a distraction. Solaire died, my buffs wore off, and I had to switch to 2-handing my sword to keep up the stunlock.

Unfortunately, I had to take the easy route.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 09, 2014, 02:43:08 PM
No such thing as an easy route in DkS2.

Here's how it goes: the game has a new mechanic wherein if you kill a given enemy a certain number of times, the enemy will stop spawning. Sounds like it makes things easier, right?

The game also has this mechanic, however, where your HP gradually diminishes with each subsequent death (maxes out at 50%). You can restore this loss by using an item, the Human Effigy.

Unfortunately, what this basically means is that if you die a sufficient number of times going for a boss fight, you'll eventually have to fight said boss in such a state that the slightest mistake proves fatal. And you can't really grind your way out of the mess, either, since you'll eventually run out of farmable enemies.

There is a way to restore the enemies, of course. It's an item that restores ALL of them (boss included if you killed it), but makes them harder. Higher damage, higher HP, higher defenses. Said item has irreversible effects (it is not yet known whether a NG+ resets the difficulty or not).

There's lots of whining going on at Gamefaqs because of this mechanic right now.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on March 09, 2014, 03:00:36 PM
No such thing as an easy route in DkS2.

Here's how it goes: the game has a new mechanic wherein if you kill a given enemy a certain number of times, the enemy will stop spawning. Sounds like it makes things easier, right?

The game also has this mechanic, however, where your HP gradually diminishes with each subsequent death (maxes out at 50%). You can restore this loss by using an item, the Human Effigy.

Unfortunately, what this basically means is that if you die a sufficient number of times going for a boss fight, you'll eventually have to fight said boss in such a state that the slightest mistake proves fatal. And you can't really grind your way out of the mess, either, since you'll eventually run out of farmable enemies.

There is a way to restore the enemies, of course. It's an item that restores ALL of them (boss included if you killed it), but makes them harder. Higher damage, higher HP, higher defenses. Said item has irreversible effects (it is not yet known whether a NG+ resets the difficulty or not).

There's lots of whining going on at Gamefaqs because of this mechanic right now.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!   :clap  Well played From, well played.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 09, 2014, 03:12:21 PM
That's not even the best part!

The Boss AI LEARNS FROM KILLING YOU. If you display abuse of a certain pattern for your attacks, it will bait you into moving into a specific position and switch patterns on you.

The prime example is the very first Boss. As a giant, you only have two points you can attack in melee, his feet. It has two basic attacks: it will swipe at the ground to attack you or it will attempt to flatten you like a cockroach. It may also switch between one to up to three stomps. Of course, he telegraphs his stomps quite nicely, so as long as you don't commit too heavily to attacking, you'll always have enough time to roll away. Since his swipes don't hit when you're close enough (namely next to his feet), you can just hang around his ankles and attack him as he tries to swipe at the ground...

However, if you do this enough times without killing him, you'll see him begin to tapdance on your ass. He will begin to stomp repeatedly after you, and if you move to get away, he will bait you into thinking there's a stomp sequence so he can swipe you at the right distance!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on March 09, 2014, 08:10:58 PM
Not thinking evil enough for DkSII

Not only is it possible to respawn and increase enemy difficulty, there is a (starting) item that will make enemies attack invading phantoms, Seed of a Tree of Giants.

Please, step into my world  :lol


You can find a few hilarious videos in DkS1 where players used Undead Rapport to similarly dispatch invaders, though it is difficult to do in practice.

I considered a mod/hack possibility where one could extend the duration, and/or have it AoE/all, or even affect bosses. If I had the time, I would have made it happen.

Would have made for an entertaining series, similar to Oro & Peeve's NG+7 Perma-Gravelord co-op


Unfortunately for me, DkSII is colliding with some RL stuff going on, so I'll probably miss the early game invasion crazyness :(

Also waiting for April 25th PC gaming master race edition  :P

(click to show/hide)

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on March 11, 2014, 11:55:01 PM
(click to show/hide)
Tentative List:

Thaumcraft 4
Ars Magica
Buildcraft 2
ThermalExpansion
Forestry
ExtraBees
ThaumicBees
Mekanism
NotEnoughItems
Applied Energistics
Tropicraft
...Mod that makes all the rubber/ copper/ tin/ etc interchangeable.
...Some sort of minimap?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on March 12, 2014, 02:43:19 PM
Speaking of pack depreciation. Buildcraft is pretty worthless. All it offers is a couple of engines to produce energy (ic2/thermal does it better), item transport (applied energistics is unbeatable), and a method to auto mine (thaumcraft's arcane bore, computercraft's turtles, minefactory's stuff, redpower's block breakers & frames, god I could go on forever). BC is almost entirely depreciated the moment you start adding more packs in, it's just their Quarries auto load chunks and are pretty simply to make with no a intelligence requirement to upkeep. IC2 at least supplies methods of power and things to expend it on (armor, resource extensions, auto-processing, etc). Thermal Expansion does this as well and there are pros and cons in each. TE might break the bank on energy loops, more complicated upgrading, and it's crate storage has minimal impact with AE involved. IC2 offers new trees, armor, tools, but for some reason people bitch about Solar Panels.

Whatever you do through, do not install Gregtech. Oh, it's sell point is to make IC2 harder to "extend the game", but dear god what a f*cking pain in the ass. It's not very well made, capable of royally fucking you over (try overclocking an industrial furnace), and has a skyrocketing learning curve that without a wiki NEI tells you it has an impossible circulatory loop (I think it's the machine blocks, they require X but NEI says X is only made from ins. furances which require 34 machine blocks to build). The only positive side to Gregtech is you can use it's Industrial Centrifuge to convert Lava to Tin, Copper, Tungsten, and Electrum. Electrum in turn can be resent through to produce Silver & Gold. Works great with TE thanks to both the infinite energy loop (fixed in 3?) and ability to manufacture lava. Free ingots for all!

Now, in the other packs. Bees suck and annoying as hell without applied energistics stacking the bees for you, it also has no real return rate for use. Forestry is pretty lack luster, certain trees are impossible to create without finding key biomes and establishing a house there (aka impossible with one-claim-only servers), and it's return rate is barely functioning colored blocks (can you use upside stairs yet?). Instead, just pop in the Twilight Forest. Now not only do you have several new wood types to play with, you have actual zones for armed players to hunt for and invade. No joke, the Ghast Towers without flight take highly equipped characters to survive. TW also adds new items, weapons, armor, and some very cool blocks to play with. Like the vanishing one makes a nifty door or even piston free pit drop, hedge blocks are like cacti but can be placed next to each other and damage you while mining them. And honestly, BC's quarry crash bug makes you fight a hill for it's resources rather than cheating up some danger-free auto-mining.

I also second Thaumcraft. Very amazing pack. Consumes quite a bit researching and I could do without Vis griefing the hell out of people, but it's very unique with some very useful items. Rest I'd look at would be support. Minmap, NEI/TMI, anti-grief (if going live), iron chests, maybe flat bedrock, and so on. Stuff people tend to take for granted but forget they are separate mods. Just don't go too overboard with modpacks, Minecraft is a very sloppy game coded by what I can only presume are Mac Users. It's pretty easy for this block game to consume more resources than it takes to run two X-Box 360 games simultaneously.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 12, 2014, 03:06:03 PM
Massive, infinite brood-spawning laser shooting spider.

I shit you not. This is one of the latest bosses I've faced in Dark Souls 2.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on March 12, 2014, 04:58:50 PM
Everyone must play Banished.  It is one of the best city builders I've ever played, if not the best.  It's just amazing.  For those who don't know, it's a medieval era village that you set professions for your (very few at the start) villagers, and set up buildings/farms.  So basically you're managing people, rather than resources, although resources are very very important.  The only things people need to survive are herbs (for medicine, and not much of them), food (lots of food), and firewood (for warmth), with a few things making life easier (coats for warmth, tools for faster working, and education for better working).  One of the best games I've ever played.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 12, 2014, 05:17:34 PM
Yeah, after watching Northernlion review, and then summarily fail hard at let's playing Banished, I had to get it.  With the tips I got from the first 3 let's play comments, I crushed it on normal difficulty, so now I'm trying hard.  The massive drop in starting materials and lower starting population, not to mention only a wagon for storage, makes it significantly harder to start, but it's a good challenge now.

A few starter tips for newbies, don't make farms initially, they're mid-game stuff, after you've established a good foundation.  Put a forester's hut, hunting lodge, herbalist hut, and gatherer's hut together out in some woods, and don't log those trees, with the exception of the foresters who only chop down old growth.  Initially, put 3 hunters and 4 gatherers to work, 1 herbalist, 1 forester, and you'll find you have a good food income start.  Oh, and make 5 or 6 starting houses on normal, or 4 on hard.  Make them wood houses, because you can upgrade to stone later when you have sufficient supplies stored.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on March 12, 2014, 05:55:05 PM
Speaking of pack depreciation. Buildcraft is pretty worthless. All it offers is a couple of engines to produce energy (ic2/thermal does it better), item transport (applied energistics is unbeatable), and a method to auto mine (thaumcraft's arcane bore, computercraft's turtles, minefactory's stuff, redpower's block breakers & frames, god I could go on forever). BC is almost entirely depreciated the moment you start adding more packs in, it's just their Quarries auto load chunks and are pretty simply to make with no a intelligence requirement to upkeep. IC2 at least supplies methods of power and things to expend it on (armor, resource extensions, auto-processing, etc). Thermal Expansion does this as well and there are pros and cons in each. TE might break the bank on energy loops, more complicated upgrading, and it's crate storage has minimal impact with AE involved. IC2 offers new trees, armor, tools, but for some reason people bitch about Solar Panels.

Whatever you do through, do not install Gregtech. Oh, it's sell point is to make IC2 harder to "extend the game", but dear god what a f*cking pain in the ass. It's not very well made, capable of royally fucking you over (try overclocking an industrial furnace), and has a skyrocketing learning curve that without a wiki NEI tells you it has an impossible circulatory loop (I think it's the machine blocks, they require X but NEI says X is only made from ins. furances which require 34 machine blocks to build). The only positive side to Gregtech is you can use it's Industrial Centrifuge to convert Lava to Tin, Copper, Tungsten, and Electrum. Electrum in turn can be resent through to produce Silver & Gold. Works great with TE thanks to both the infinite energy loop (fixed in 3?) and ability to manufacture lava. Free ingots for all!

Now, in the other packs. Bees suck and annoying as hell without applied energistics stacking the bees for you, it also has no real return rate for use. Forestry is pretty lack luster, certain trees are impossible to create without finding key biomes and establishing a house there (aka impossible with one-claim-only servers), and it's return rate is barely functioning colored blocks (can you use upside stairs yet?). Instead, just pop in the Twilight Forest. Now not only do you have several new wood types to play with, you have actual zones for armed players to hunt for and invade. No joke, the Ghast Towers without flight take highly equipped characters to survive. TW also adds new items, weapons, armor, and some very cool blocks to play with. Like the vanishing one makes a nifty door or even piston free pit drop, hedge blocks are like cacti but can be placed next to each other and damage you while mining them. And honestly, BC's quarry crash bug makes you fight a hill for it's resources rather than cheating up some danger-free auto-mining.

I also second Thaumcraft. Very amazing pack. Consumes quite a bit researching and I could do without Vis griefing the hell out of people, but it's very unique with some very useful items. Rest I'd look at would be support. Minmap, NEI/TMI, anti-grief (if going live), iron chests, maybe flat bedrock, and so on. Stuff people tend to take for granted but forget they are separate mods. Just don't go too overboard with modpacks, Minecraft is a very sloppy game coded by what I can only presume are Mac Users. It's pretty easy for this block game to consume more resources than it takes to run two X-Box 360 games simultaneously.
I have people telling me to drop IC2 and BC2. Build craft works with TE and Forestry without a converter. Guess which one I'm dropping?

I happen to like bees, I find it interesting and (shocking) a fun addition. Haven't tried trees yet, don't particularly care. Twilight Forest is fun, yes, but it requires running an entire other world/realm/what-have-you, which causes lag, so I'm not using it. Same reason I'm not using ExtraBiomes (Promised Land).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on March 12, 2014, 09:27:21 PM
Yeah, after watching Northernlion review, and then summarily fail hard at let's playing Banished, I had to get it.  With the tips I got from the first 3 let's play comments, I crushed it on normal difficulty, so now I'm trying hard.  The massive drop in starting materials and lower starting population, not to mention only a wagon for storage, makes it significantly harder to start, but it's a good challenge now.

A few starter tips for newbies, don't make farms initially, they're mid-game stuff, after you've established a good foundation.  Put a forester's hut, hunting lodge, herbalist hut, and gatherer's hut together out in some woods, and don't log those trees, with the exception of the foresters who only chop down old growth.  Initially, put 3 hunters and 4 gatherers to work, 1 herbalist, 1 forester, and you'll find you have a good food income start.  Oh, and make 5 or 6 starting houses on normal, or 4 on hard.  Make them wood houses, because you can upgrade to stone later when you have sufficient supplies stored.

I really like how hard isn't harder due to any rules changes, just what you start with.  And since I want to place myself without having to build around an already built structure (or demolish it later) I just play on hard.  In my current game I've come back from 8 people left, only two of them capable of having children.  So yes.  Everyone in my current 200+ village is related.  I don't think I could ever play easy because of how it starts you with houses....that are too close together for a market in the middle and too far apart for anything else.  If you could choose where these things were at the start that would be awesome.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on March 12, 2014, 11:20:29 PM
Speaking of pack depreciation. Buildcraft is pretty worthless. All it offers is a couple of engines to produce energy (ic2/thermal does it better), item transport (applied energistics is unbeatable), and a method to auto mine (thaumcraft's arcane bore, computercraft's turtles, minefactory's stuff, redpower's block breakers & frames, god I could go on forever). BC is almost entirely depreciated the moment you start adding more packs in, it's just their Quarries auto load chunks and are pretty simply to make with no a intelligence requirement to upkeep. IC2 at least supplies methods of power and things to expend it on (armor, resource extensions, auto-processing, etc). Thermal Expansion does this as well and there are pros and cons in each. TE might break the bank on energy loops, more complicated upgrading, and it's crate storage has minimal impact with AE involved. IC2 offers new trees, armor, tools, but for some reason people bitch about Solar Panels.

Whatever you do through, do not install Gregtech. Oh, it's sell point is to make IC2 harder to "extend the game", but dear god what a f*cking pain in the ass. It's not very well made, capable of royally fucking you over (try overclocking an industrial furnace), and has a skyrocketing learning curve that without a wiki NEI tells you it has an impossible circulatory loop (I think it's the machine blocks, they require X but NEI says X is only made from ins. furances which require 34 machine blocks to build). The only positive side to Gregtech is you can use it's Industrial Centrifuge to convert Lava to Tin, Copper, Tungsten, and Electrum. Electrum in turn can be resent through to produce Silver & Gold. Works great with TE thanks to both the infinite energy loop (fixed in 3?) and ability to manufacture lava. Free ingots for all!

Now, in the other packs. Bees suck and annoying as hell without applied energistics stacking the bees for you, it also has no real return rate for use. Forestry is pretty lack luster, certain trees are impossible to create without finding key biomes and establishing a house there (aka impossible with one-claim-only servers), and it's return rate is barely functioning colored blocks (can you use upside stairs yet?). Instead, just pop in the Twilight Forest. Now not only do you have several new wood types to play with, you have actual zones for armed players to hunt for and invade. No joke, the Ghast Towers without flight take highly equipped characters to survive. TW also adds new items, weapons, armor, and some very cool blocks to play with. Like the vanishing one makes a nifty door or even piston free pit drop, hedge blocks are like cacti but can be placed next to each other and damage you while mining them. And honestly, BC's quarry crash bug makes you fight a hill for it's resources rather than cheating up some danger-free auto-mining.

I also second Thaumcraft. Very amazing pack. Consumes quite a bit researching and I could do without Vis griefing the hell out of people, but it's very unique with some very useful items. Rest I'd look at would be support. Minmap, NEI/TMI, anti-grief (if going live), iron chests, maybe flat bedrock, and so on. Stuff people tend to take for granted but forget they are separate mods. Just don't go too overboard with modpacks, Minecraft is a very sloppy game coded by what I can only presume are Mac Users. It's pretty easy for this block game to consume more resources than it takes to run two X-Box 360 games simultaneously.

Both Buildcraft and Ic2 are being deprecated by newer mods. I concede on that. But BC is used as a chassi/support for a lot of other mods, for example:

Buildcraft adds oil world-gen. Oil/Fuel are one of the most compact ways of storing/accessing power. Use it alongside with Railcraft, and you can have Liquid Fuel Boilers cooking that up into some very valuable steam you can then provide to your TE Steam Dynamos or Railcraft's Steam Engines - Or even to the Turbine, converting that steam into some IC2 power. Now ain't that sweet? You can have much more fun, creative, interesting and cool experience with IC2 if you have other mods installed. Thermal Expansion does not add a pump, or a quarry, but Buildcraft does. Not the best pump, but a ok one, and was the only pump in various modpacks.

On Forestry, Bees are DEFINITELY a worthwhile investment, IF you can manage it, and it's a hell of a lot easier when done on single-player, rather than multiplayer, especially on open servers, like you said. But they're worth it, especially if you use it alongside some extra mods specific for bees, like Magic Bees and Extra Bees, which make breeding and storing your bees much easier and hassle-free - Extra Bees machines, especifically, make it possible to have all your bee breeding done in any biome, because of the Acclimatiser and shuffling of traits. Ain't that sweet?  Also, with those mods you can get nearly any resource in the game with bees, sort of like magic crops, but much more difficult to turn up to 11. With the right rig you can automate your entire base using only bees. Check out some of GenericB's older videos for some extreme bee breeding. Forestry also adds a lot of other cool stuff. The new Multifarms are very energy-efficient and while somewhat expensive, not hard to automate and a good return rate. MFR is still more efficient (time wise), but Forestry is definitely not dead but alive and kicking.

IC2 isn't the standard-start mod anymore. There are so many addons to BC and mods that use MJ's, that IC2 is simply not attractive at the start because it requires a power grid of it's own. Also, nearly everything in IC2 is doable, and most of the time done better, by other mods like TE or RC, or Mekanism. By the way, Mekanism adds it's own jetpacks. The only real thing IC2 has going for it is the Quantum Armor, the Crops system, and maybe UU Matter. But IC2 Experimental made using UU-Matter much more difficult, convoluted and complicated than it needed to be. On Gregtech... It really pisses me off, but it makes IC2 worth using again, if only because it offers a late-game that IC2 simply does not have. But i hate it. If i had to choose between IC2 and BC, i'd keep BC. OH, and i just remember another thing that makes BC VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERY worthwhile. Motherf****  gates. Using gate conditionals on things make them SO much easier to automate or regulate, i'm not even kidding. It would be an autopick for me just for that reason, if that was the only thing that the mod offered.

Also another reason to have all of them, is that you can make more complex systems that use all of them in different ways, challenging yourself everytime. Just doing the same super-efficient tactic gets BORING after a while, so, yeah.

I also agree on Twilight Forest and Thaumcraft 4.1  They're both excellent mods.

(click to show/hide)
Tentative List:

Thaumcraft 4
Ars Magica
Buildcraft 2
ThermalExpansion
Forestry
ExtraBees
ThaumicBees
Mekanism
NotEnoughItems
Applied Energistics
Tropicraft
...Mod that makes all the rubber/ copper/ tin/ etc interchangeable.
...Some sort of minimap?

I'd add in:
Tinkerer's Construct - Great scaling on tools, very useful tools that don't break when they're dead, a VERY efficient way of ore-doubling, and some UNIQUE blocks like the Drawbridge and it's Signal Bus/Signal Terminal wireless redstone transmitting. Very useful and cool. IMO it's a must have. I feel bad when i don't have it.
Railcraft (Very cool track things, and very cool and efficient way of generating energy).
Redstone Arsenal - Adds Flux-Weapons and tools and some other cool stuff.
Open Blocks - Just loads of useful blocks
Extra Utilties - Just too many useful things to pass by. No, seriously, this mod is awesome. It even adds it's own dimension that i'll leave to you to find out... But it's dark, and it's deep. Very dark.
Forestry - Cool farms, bees, an interesting starting engine, and BEES and TREES.
Extra Bees - Makes beekeeping much saner at the cost of vast amounts of power.
Magic Bees - Since you have magic mods, why not have magic bees? SWEET!
Biomes O' Plenty - Very interesting terrain generation, MANY blocks added, many little useful bits and pieces.
Carpenter's Blocks - It makes building in Minecraft MUCH more fun. Adds in SLOPES! STAIRS! And all kinds of nifty building gadgets.
Chisel - Of course. It multiplies by infinity the amount of options you have to play with to build your den of evil.
Project Red - It's basically Redpower 2, but all new code, and most of the functionality. Sadly, no Thermopiles, no Pump of Doom, and no frames...
Calclavia MFFS - Who cares about frames? Use forcefields to move entire rigs much easier than with frames. Also a way to protect your base against invaders, and many other things.
Steve's Carts - Seriously, it adds so much cool stuff for you to do with it. Player and Item detectors, modular minecarts... You can automine with this and it'll even lay tracks down for you to go through after it's done. Or you can make a tree farm. Or ALL kinds of crazyness. Awesome synergy with Railcraft, too!
Logistics Pipes - They're back. People who played 1.2.5 knows thi mod was the bee's knees of automation. It made a comeback, but now we have AE, and that's sad because AE's so good it does everything... Well, AE is expensive and requires power. Logistics Pipes are much less expensive (Basic ones, at least), AND the mod interacts very well with AE.
Minefactory Reloaded - SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD, IN YOUR FACE automation is all this mod is about. Ver powerful blocks, with very steep energy costs, but most of the time very worthwhile. Greatly simplifies mobfarms.
and, finally, one of the newest mods:

Factory Manager by VSWE (creator of Steve's Carts. What this mod does, you might think? Well, it has a thing called an inventory cable, and if you run it across every one of your machines, you'll be able to interact with them remotely from any inventory factory manager, creating conditionals, setting triggers, and sending things where they are needed. Check it out in spotlights. I think it's still balanced on the weak side because of how powerful it is, but, still... It's amazing, you can connect your entire base with it and not have dedicated machine runs and deal with 100 covers to hide your piping and whatnot. It's crazy good!

I'd also recommend some adventuring mods, like Roguelike Dungeons and the sort. Really makes overworld exploring worthwhile.

I'll plug in some more suggestions if i can remember them. I'm falling asleep in my chair... Goodnight y'all!

EDIT: All mods by Chicken Bones(creator of NEI) should be included. They're all awesome.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 13, 2014, 12:42:23 AM
I really like how hard isn't harder due to any rules changes, just what you start with.  And since I want to place myself without having to build around an already built structure (or demolish it later) I just play on hard.  In my current game I've come back from 8 people left, only two of them capable of having children.  So yes.  Everyone in my current 200+ village is related.  I don't think I could ever play easy because of how it starts you with houses....that are too close together for a market in the middle and too far apart for anything else.  If you could choose where these things were at the start that would be awesome.

So you haven't made a town hall and allowed nomads into your town?  That's quite an accomplishment, and must've taken you quite some time to get your population up that high!  But yes, I definitely agree that hard is far more fun and satisfying.  Only a tiny wagon to dismantle later, instead of preset buildings if they aren't placed precisely where you wanted them.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on March 13, 2014, 01:58:00 AM
Well, see, I didn't know you needed it to get the nomads.  And I was frustrated saying to myself "where are the nomads!?!  I need more people!  I'm going to die this is it give me people!"  And then I recovered and got to about 125 and then built my town hall.  I got up to about 150 before I accepted my first nomads.  It took about 100 years to get up to that mark, but note that I had lost my entire population twice before.  I think the first one was at about 20 years in, I lost all but about 12, with two breeding age women, and the second was about 60 years with only one.  And I think part of the reason I blew up populationwise so fast that third time is that I had sooooo many houses built.  Enough for about 200 people, and only 10 people were there, so they just kept breeding.  I'm running into an issue again with not enough firewood, and barely enough food.  I just don't have enough woodcutters to keep up with demand.  And tools too.

On the subject of tools, how useless is the quarry and mine?  The mine I can see being used, but the quarry, I just don't think it's worth the space.  You'll not get anywhere near enough stone to make the space loss worth while.  I've emptied half of a quarry and a fourth of another, and still almost all of my stone has come from surface gathering and trade.  Same for iron and coal for the tools.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 13, 2014, 03:25:44 AM
The quarry and mine are basically for when you can't just send labourers out to pick up stone and iron, and if trading's not frequent enough.  My first town had 1 quarry, with anywhere from 2 to 13 workers in it, based upon how much population I could afford to assign at the time, and managed to mostly keep up with my needs so I didn't need to trade for any stone at all.  I had 2 mines going as well, one working for iron, the other for coal, and combined they generally had the same number of workers as my one quarry.  Of course, I had kept my expansion slow enough to match the rate I was gaining materials.

As for food and firewood, I had 3 full forester/gatherer/hunter setups, 3 woodcutters, 3 fishing lodges, probably close to 20 8x8 farms, 10 15x13 orchards, and 5 20x20 pastures to keep my 250+ population going strong.  1 farmer on each farm, 2 on each orchard, 2 on each pasture.  That means nearly half my population was working on food production, 4 foresters per woodcutter, and 1 woodcutter per 100 population, plus I had enough leather coats for everyone plus extras, and everyone had stone housing, both of which help cut back on firewood needs.  And, I made sure everyone's educated by having enough schools (education is a huge boon to production rates!).  As for tools, I was still getting by just fine with a single blacksmith, I just made sure the storage limit for tools was at least as high as the population and that my blacksmith is working on steel tools because they last twice as long.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on March 13, 2014, 03:45:44 AM
I have 1 woodcutter for every 50 people, and it's not keeping up.  All stone houses and educated too.  I think part of the problem is that my blacksmiths can't keep up with demand.  NOt because they can't make tools fast enough (and yeah, steel), but because I don't have any coal, or iron, depending on where the resources are.  I have traded away tools before, but I haven't in a long time.  MOstly I trade coats.  If I have any to trade.  I'm going through these things faster than I produce them.  And my firewood is keeping up enough to keep people alive at least, I just can't get a surplus.

I do need to re-do my food production.  I've got five stations of gatherer/hunter/forester, and a number of farms, and a bunch of fishing docks, but I need to make my farms more efficient.  I made them before I knew the most efficient sizes for them, so my pastures are too small and my orchards are too small.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 13, 2014, 04:29:50 AM
Well, I'm not sure what to say about your firewood problems.  I've been trading away firewood and herbs, because they're plentiful for me, and I get animals or seeds that I don't have in exchange.

I don't know if 8x8 farms are an ideal size for a single farmer, and I figure I could up it to 10x10 without much loss in efficiency.  But orchards are best at 15 horizontal by 13 vertical, because trees get planted at every odd space along rows and every 3rd space down after the 1st is a new row, and you can't go greater than 15 in any dimension for orchards.  Pastures, I just max out at 20x20 so I can have the maximum number of animals possible in it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on March 13, 2014, 08:06:07 AM
Herbs are actually worth something for you?  For some reason, even though it gives a price, traders won't take food or herbs from me.  have not had an excess of booze yet but I'm not hopeful.  I'm thinking that because I craft it, booze might be worth something.

As for efficiency, have you been understaffing the pastures?  Cause I have, and I don't know if there's an issue with that.  They seem to produce food/resources at a sufficient pace.  Regardless, I looked up on the wiki the most efficient sizes, and farms are 8x7, 8x14, or 15x15 (or 12x13 or something, but at that point, why not go 15x15), the most efficient for pastures is either 20x20 or a number depending on type of animal, and for orchards 15x15.  So I don't know if the graphical trees are the important part.  There may be an invisible tree on that last one of something.  Or they may have just been using farmers/square and ignoring the actual yields.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 13, 2014, 12:53:58 PM
Herbs can only be traded to certain merchants, I've found.  But those merchants under-value other goods you might wanna trade away, like firewood or iron, so herbs are actually a valuable trade good to them.  And I haven't been able to stock much booze, either, so I don't know what it's worth ...

I've found that pastures will keep producing even when understaffed, but more workers on it means faster production.  And no, I haven't looked up efficient sizes, but it's good to know that my initial 8x8 farms are close to ideal!  If orchards don't care about the actual shown trees, then yeah, I can see 15x15 being best, but if the trees do matter, then ...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on March 13, 2014, 06:10:47 PM
Have you notied any problem with understaffing farms/orchards?  If so then you'll want the best ratio of farmers to land, in which cause you'll want to check that.  If not, then who cares?  I think I noticed that crops aren't that big on requiring the number it says they require, but I'm not sure.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 13, 2014, 06:16:11 PM
My farms usually reach 100% yield before getting harvested, and even if it begins to snow, the full crop is gathered in time, so I haven't had any problems with a larger farm size for a single farmer.  I haven't paid as much attention to orchards, but since they're a fair bit larger than the farms, I have 2 workers on them, and get a decent yield.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on March 13, 2014, 11:35:51 PM
In regards to Fire Emblem Awakening:

So, I've pretty much used Master Seal items on characters whenever they hit Level 20. The exception was Donnel, who I expected to transition into something truly badass after Villager. It was not to be, instead I used a Second Seal to make him into a Mercenary.

Now Panne's a Level 20 Taguel, and I notice she doesn't have a typical level cap, much like Donnel's Villager class.

Is using Master Seals a good idea long-term? Is there any good reason to use Second Seals? I already have a very well-balanced team (although Gaius is the only one with thief abilities), so changing classes to entirely new roles isn't a large concern for me.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on March 14, 2014, 12:39:28 AM
Picked up "Risk of Rain" today. Hard game. Fun, though.

Anyone have strategies for it?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on March 14, 2014, 12:40:44 AM
In regards to Fire Emblem Awakening:

So, I've pretty much used Master Seal items on characters whenever they hit Level 20. The exception was Donnel, who I expected to transition into something truly badass after Villager. It was not to be, instead I used a Second Seal to make him into a Mercenary.

Now Panne's a Level 20 Taguel, and I notice she doesn't have a typical level cap, much like Donnel's Villager class.

Is using Master Seals a good idea long-term? Is there any good reason to use Second Seals? I already have a very well-balanced team (although Gaius is the only one with thief abilities), so changing classes to entirely new roles isn't a large concern for me.

I generally use Second seals to pick up new skills, such as switching from Mage to Mercenary for a couple levels to pick up Armsthrift, or Cleric for Miracle.  It's also nice because you continue to gain XP as an un-promoted unit, so you level up faster than you would by promoting. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 14, 2014, 08:28:41 AM
Picked up "Risk of Rain" today. Hard game. Fun, though.

Anyone have strategies for it?
More details please?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 14, 2014, 08:42:59 AM
Picked up "Risk of Rain" today. Hard game. Fun, though.

Anyone have strategies for it?
More details please?

It's a 2D platformer/shooter, where the longer you spend on a level, the harder it gets.  You collect XP and money from enemies you kill, and can buy upgrades when you find them.  When you find the teleporter on the level, you can activate it to spawn the boss.  Kill everything on the level after the boss spawns to be able to use the teleporter (mobs stop spawnng 90 seconds after the boss is spawned).  Yes, you can kill it all before the 90 seconds are up and use the teleporter, but it's pretty damn hard, at least for me.  I don't have any real strategies for the game, because I'm not great at this style of game, even though I backed the kickstarter it had.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on March 29, 2014, 11:42:09 PM
Oh man, just beat Chrono Trigger again for the first time since I was a kid.  Still the best RPG ever (at a minimum, that I've ever beaten).  The "added" content in the DS port, however, is offensive to my nostalgia, so I'm going to go ahead and sell the game with my DS on eBay.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 30, 2014, 12:22:37 AM
What'd they add?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on March 30, 2014, 12:32:58 AM
What'd they add?

Shooed in Chrono Cross references.  That game has no business being a Chrono Trigger sequel.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 30, 2014, 12:42:32 AM
What'd they add?

Shooed in Chrono Cross references.  That game has no business being a Chrono Trigger sequel.

Well, it's not a BAD game, but I agree that Chrono Trigger 2 it is not.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on March 30, 2014, 01:02:35 AM
What'd they add?

Shooed in Chrono Cross references.  That game has no business being a Chrono Trigger sequel.
Not totally sure about this, but there was a new sidequest area added after the fall of Zeal that was absolutely atrocious.  Basically just a chain of fetch quests and gimmicky boss fights with no lore.  There were also a few areas added after beating Lavos that aren't very interesting, either.

As for Chrono Cross, I liked it, although to be honest I feel like the Chrono Trigger connections were very forced.  Game would have been better if it was just it's own thing.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on March 30, 2014, 01:26:13 AM
Chrono Trigger is in it's own category when it comes to RPG's... Even though FFVII, VIII, IX and X were all very awesome, i still can't bring myself to liking any of those more than i do Chrono Trigger. It's just so well done, it's simply flawless. It used absolutely everything the platform could do, and it did it perfectly. There's few games i hold closer to my heart than Chrono Trigger, and the one that comes to mind is Ocarina of Time. The only game i beat more than 30+ times.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 30, 2014, 10:19:38 AM
Chrono Trigger was also the one game where I feel Akira Toriyama's art style felt the most organic with what he was effectively doing. The monsters AREN'T basically rehashes of earlier work, Chrono is not basically Goku with a sword (although he's the buffest teen I've ever seen - come to think of it, can anyone remember a Toriyama character with no muscle tone that was also not a girl?)...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on March 30, 2014, 11:01:25 AM
come to think of it, can anyone remember a Toriyama character with no muscle tone that was also not a girl?)...
To be fair Akira Toriyama's prime was the mid 80s to mid 90s. Everyone loved big burly muscle men.

And this;
Quote from: Wikipedia
Jason Thompson declared Toriyama's art influential, saying that his "extremely personal and recognizable style" was a reason for Dragon Ball's popularity.[7] He points out that the popular shōnen manga of the late 1980s and early 1990s had "manly" heroes, such as City Hunter and Fist of the North Star, whereas Dragon Ball starred the cartoonish and small Goku, thus starting a trend that Thompson says continues to this day.[7] Toriyama himself said he went against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest in terms of physical size, designing many of the series' most powerful characters with small statures.[46] Thompson concluded his analysis by saying that only Akira Toriyama drew like this at the time and that Dragon Ball is "an action manga drawn by a gag manga artist."[7] However, James S. Yadao, author of The Rough Guide to Manga, points out that an art shift does occur in the series, as the characters gradually "lose the rounded, innocent look that [Toriyama] established in Dr. Slump and gain sharper angles that leap off the page with their energy and intensity."[47]
Is quite true. Everything from Kid Goku to perfect form Freeza, Vegata's Super Saiyen vs Super Saiyen 2, and Kid Buu. His characters end up like an 80s manly man, but he's always shot for the smaller guy means more power.

He's probably short in real life and has height issues.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 30, 2014, 02:35:42 PM
Chrono Trigger's likewise one of my favorites.  The revised translation for the DS version was nice, but I definitely agree the fetch quests just felt forced and annoying.  The arena mode is basically pointless except to get some items that you probably won't use anyway.  Some of the extras are great though, such as the music player.  After having beat the game completely a few times and gotten the characters to ** level, it's the music box that I keep the cartridge for now.

Alas, I've never played Chrono Cross, so I can't comment on the additions to segue CT into it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on March 30, 2014, 08:41:50 PM
Chrono Cross was a decent-but-not-great attempt at tackling the ideas of fate, destiny, and the philosophical side of chaos theory in much the same way Chrono Trigger tackled time travel and paradoxes.  At least that's what I think the underlying idea was supposed to be -- I was young when I played it and it gets jumbled up pretty badly in the middle because of just how many little side-stories there are going on in the game.

The way Chrono Cross is a bit of a forced sequel to Chrono Trigger is because...
(click to show/hide)

If I had to quantify functional a relationship between Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, I'd say it's less a sequel and more a spinoff in the same way that SaGa was a spinoff of Final Fantasy... I think.  There are a few copies at my local game shop, maybe I'll pick one up and try playing it again.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 01, 2014, 02:02:03 PM
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/3874-Warlords-of-Draenor-6-0-Patch-Note-Preview-Warlords-of-Draenor-6-0-Patch-Note-Preview has me in stitches.  I love Blizz's April Fool's stuff.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 01, 2014, 06:10:54 PM
Chrono Cross was a decent-but-not-great attempt at tackling the ideas of fate, destiny, and the philosophical side of chaos theory in much the same way Chrono Trigger tackled time travel and paradoxes.  At least that's what I think the underlying idea was supposed to be -- I was young when I played it and it gets jumbled up pretty badly in the middle because of just how many little side-stories there are going on in the game.

The way Chrono Cross is a bit of a forced sequel to Chrono Trigger is because...
(click to show/hide)

If I had to quantify functional a relationship between Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, I'd say it's less a sequel and more a spinoff in the same way that SaGa was a spinoff of Final Fantasy... I think.  There are a few copies at my local game shop, maybe I'll pick one up and try playing it again.

SaGa was not a spinoff of Final Fantasy - it was a series of its own, it just got renamed as a FF spinoff in the US to boost sales.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on April 01, 2014, 07:10:12 PM
http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/3874-Warlords-of-Draenor-6-0-Patch-Note-Preview-Warlords-of-Draenor-6-0-Patch-Note-Preview has me in stitches.  I love Blizz's April Fool's stuff.

Best part:

Quote
Crabs have been removed from the game... because if I see another one I’m just going to totally lose it. *sobbing* I’m sorry, I just can’t right now... I just... OK just give me a minute, I’ll be OK.

It seems even they know about That Damned Crab...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on April 01, 2014, 07:26:26 PM
All hail Nivlac, Eredar Lord of the G.R.O.S.S. Legion!

Also, I now want Disney to buy out Blizzard so that Else can be introduced into the World of Warcraft to redeem Arthas.  Hey, it'd be a better love story than Twilight.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on April 02, 2014, 12:08:40 AM
All hail Nivlac, Eredar Lord of the G.R.O.S.S. Legion!

Also, I now want Disney to buy out Blizzard so that Else can be introduced into the World of Warcraft to redeem Arthas.  Hey, it'd be a better love story than Twilight.
I still like Elsa/Jack Frost, to be honest... Tsundere Ice Queen / Undead Teenage Winter Spirit...

Better love story than Twilight.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on April 02, 2014, 02:58:05 AM
All hail Nivlac, Eredar Lord of the G.R.O.S.S. Legion!

Also, I now want Disney to buy out Blizzard so that Else can be introduced into the World of Warcraft to redeem Arthas.  Hey, it'd be a better love story than Twilight.
I still like Elsa/Jack Frost, to be honest... Tsundere Ice Queen / Undead Teenage Winter Spirit...

Better love story than Twilight.
I saw a hilarious pic of that, but I didn't watch Jack Frost and don't plan to, sooo....

Yeah, Blizzard April Fools Patch Notes are awesome.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on April 06, 2014, 11:21:27 AM
Found another Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grimmbros/dragon-fin-soup) game that sounds interesting.  The tag line is "A charming SNES style RPG with Roguelike elements, set in a twisted fairytale world with a cheerful, yet raging alcoholic Heroine".
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on April 06, 2014, 01:39:39 PM
FTL: Advanced is out.  It.  Is. Awesome.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 06, 2014, 04:25:24 PM
Been getting a chance to exercise my sadistic side thanks to Deception IV. The traps are getting increasingly nicer, though to be frank I liked Dark Illusions better than the Trapmobiles, since you only get to watch their gloriously gory animation if the final hit already killed the enemy.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on April 06, 2014, 07:46:41 PM
FTL: Advanced is out.  It.  Is. Awesome.
Eh? What did it add?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on April 06, 2014, 08:05:18 PM
FTL: Advanced is out.  It.  Is. Awesome.
Eh? What did it add?

EVERYTHING.

Seriously, for a free expansion it nearly doubled content.  New race, new ship, layout Cs for most old ships, improved graphics, new events, new weapons, new upgrades!  And I swear to god somehow the final boss hasgotten even harder, oh god.

I am really liking the Cloning Bay, Hacking, and Mind Control.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on April 06, 2014, 09:42:50 PM
FTL: Advanced is out.  It.  Is. Awesome.
I'm having a little bit of trouble getting past sector 5. :(
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on April 06, 2014, 10:26:56 PM
Woo, finally got my first win with the advanced content!  Layout B Federation Cruiser.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on April 07, 2014, 03:15:12 AM
I've beaten it once, lost in sector 5 once, lost to the boss twice.  I think it might be harder now, simply because there' more things.  As counterintuitive as that sounds, one of my problems with the final boss the first time was I had planned on finding a teleporter later on, after sector 4 when I bought an augment for 70 scrap that fully healed my crew after teleporting them.  I never met another store that sold one, and by the time I gave up and tried a different route, I never foudn a store to sell the augment.  70 scrap: wasted.  On the flip side, CHAIN VULCAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That is my new favorite gun.  .8 second charge time with a fully trained gunner.  Yeah, .8.  Less than half the time it takes shields to recover.  I've found it twice, once for free and once from lanius scientists, using 40 scrap for a random weapon.  It's really good if you can reduce their evade to 0 somehow, and wrecks early game.  Late game there's the issue of evade and high numbers of shields, because with missing once you tend to have to start all over.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on April 07, 2014, 11:59:09 AM
Well, I am playing Hard, so that might be the issue.

Hard is definitely harder, but I'm convinced it's do-able.  Much like before, I think what's happening is that I'm getting screwed on not being able to deal with ships that have 2+ shields, mostly.  Of course, that's why the Torus is so good: you have that fantastic Ion weapon built-in from the start.

Another thing that likely helps scrap generation is being able to kill crew without destroying the ship.  I feel like you get about 25% more scrap from not destroying ships.  That said, I don't yet have a ship with this capability.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on April 07, 2014, 12:02:15 PM
Ahh, yeah.  I haven't touched Hard yet.  :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on April 07, 2014, 12:48:57 PM
You absolutely get more scrap (and resources!) from killing the crew, it used to be the way I did everything.  I just haven't been able to reliably do it yet, because I haven't found a teleporter at the right time, and mind control isn't as good at it.  Also, the chain vulcan is just too good at destroying ships....On my last run, I made it to the boss, but on the ship before the boss, I met someone with a 80298346% evade chance for some reason, and he kept hitting my 50% with his missiles.  So I went into the boss with 8 hp left.  Managed to /almost/ make it past the 2nd round.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 07, 2014, 07:19:36 PM
Reminds me of the Dread Lords in GalCiv2 and their unexplainable 852 soldiering. I had like... 60. A single warrior of theirs annihilated roughly 1200 of my troop defenses before it was put down.

That's right, they actually tried to invade me with a SINGLE SOLDIER.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on April 07, 2014, 08:20:31 PM
Pfft, that's nothing, you should try playing Dominions 4 one of those days. Sending lone units to attack armies is relatively common, and the community even has terms like Thug (highly mobile commander that can solo small groups of enemy troops, ideal for harassing) and Super Combatant (can shred trough a virtually infinite number of non-elite enemy troops). At least as long as the RNG gods aren't displeased with you, since the game uses "exploding" dice mechanics. Also combat is always run by AI, players can only choose to give orders before battle, then your commanders follow them to the best of their ability. And by "best of their ability", I mean that they sometimes just do whatever the please.

For example, just today I had an Ermor assassin attempt to sneak attack my vanilla priest that was busy sacrificing virgins to my pretender god.

This should've been a one-sided bloodbath. In Dominions 4 an assassin can force a 1x1 duel against an enemy commander, bypassing the rest of the troops stationed at the province. And while the assassin has great combat stats, dualwields poisoned daggers and whatnot, a vanilla priest has no armor or weapons to speak of, physical stats of a militia, and their lv 1 holy magic contains zero spells that can harm an human opponent, being more focused on damaging undead/demons or boosting troop's morale.

But wait! Since the priest was assigned to sacrificing virgins, said virgins are brought along to the duel. Forming a defensive ring around the priest. The assassin aproaches and quickly eviscerates the poor drugged girls.

Then the vanilla priest steps up. And punches the assassin. And criticals, one-shotting him!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 08, 2014, 12:22:08 AM
*writes down another game to try out*
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on April 08, 2014, 02:36:34 AM
After having the game for so long, I've finally gotten around to playing Guacamelee.  Holy shit, game might be the most intense platformer I've ever played.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on April 08, 2014, 07:21:57 PM
Does anyone know of a way to reset Reus so i can do the game progress again?  I love the game, but now that I've beaten all the acheivements, it's just...flat....I want to reset all the game achievements, not Steam.  I just want to be able to do the whole progression thing again.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 08, 2014, 07:55:12 PM
...wouldn't it be easier to start a new game?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on April 08, 2014, 08:49:10 PM
And Then Smash Happened (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEJBPMcbRkk&feature=youtu.be)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on April 08, 2014, 10:11:47 PM
...wouldn't it be easier to start a new game?

No, see, the progress I'm talking about carries over.  You unlock the things by winning, I want to reset that so I don't have any of the unlocks.  I tried deleting local content and redownloading, but it didn't work.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on April 08, 2014, 11:07:50 PM
And Then Smash Happened (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEJBPMcbRkk&feature=youtu.be)
Froakie has the greatest net coolness evolving to Greninja than any other Pokemon in the game.

EDIT: Also, I hope this means they're de-comissioning Pokemon Trainer as a fighter, and instead just adding Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard as individual characters.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 08, 2014, 11:18:36 PM
...wouldn't it be easier to start a new game?

No, see, the progress I'm talking about carries over.  You unlock the things by winning, I want to reset that so I don't have any of the unlocks.  I tried deleting local content and redownloading, but it didn't work.

That kind of thing is usually locked by account. Can you create a new account and play the same game on it?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on April 09, 2014, 12:08:12 AM
And Then Smash Happened (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEJBPMcbRkk&feature=youtu.be)
Froakie has the greatest net coolness evolving to Greninja than any other Pokemon in the game.

EDIT: Also, I hope this means they're de-comissioning Pokemon Trainer as a fighter, and instead just adding Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard as individual characters.
I think since they have Greninja, Squirtle won't be returning.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: awaken_D_M_golem on April 09, 2014, 06:51:05 PM
I was playing a really old school 80s video game today and got into some kind of Concentration and Keep-Away and Zone, and played for 105 minutes on one quarter.  I am the man.  Course it's in a complete insignificant dusty corner of useless trivia, but still.  I am the man.  Should'a been outside enjoying the sunny weather.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on April 11, 2014, 01:02:22 PM
Pfft, that's nothing, you should try playing Dominions 4 one of those days. Sending lone units to attack armies is relatively common, and the community even has terms like Thug (highly mobile commander that can solo small groups of enemy troops, ideal for harassing) and Super Combatant (can shred trough a virtually infinite number of non-elite enemy troops). At least as long as the RNG gods aren't displeased with you, since the game uses "exploding" dice mechanics. Also combat is always run by AI, players can only choose to give orders before battle, then your commanders follow them to the best of their ability. And by "best of their ability", I mean that they sometimes just do whatever the please.

For example, just today I had an Ermor assassin attempt to sneak attack my vanilla priest that was busy sacrificing virgins to my pretender god.

This should've been a one-sided bloodbath. In Dominions 4 an assassin can force a 1x1 duel against an enemy commander, bypassing the rest of the troops stationed at the province. And while the assassin has great combat stats, dualwields poisoned daggers and whatnot, a vanilla priest has no armor or weapons to speak of, physical stats of a militia, and their lv 1 holy magic contains zero spells that can harm an human opponent, being more focused on damaging undead/demons or boosting troop's morale.

But wait! Since the priest was assigned to sacrificing virgins, said virgins are brought along to the duel. Forming a defensive ring around the priest. The assassin aproaches and quickly eviscerates the poor drugged girls.

Then the vanilla priest steps up. And punches the assassin. And criticals, one-shotting him!

OK. I started playing the game... Now i have several questions i need answered, because i'm really enamored at the complexity of the game...

1st is: I know Ermor is the Ashen Empire on the Middle Ages, and is basically an undead nation , but i haven't found a counterpart in the Early Ages to fulfill that role. I tried Lanka, Mictlan and Helheim. I've been meaning to try out the lizard kingdom, they seem to be good at death, too. Helheim Hangadrotts have decent Undead Leadership, but it's still only to a max of 40. I can summon a Bane with Conj2 and death 2, and he also has 40 undead leadership, but he's a terrible commander - No morale bonus until you get him experienced up. The Mound King is even worse, terrible leadership, no morale bonus, horrible stats, being a lvl 1 death conjuration spell.

Lemme explain to you what i wanted to try out... I've been meaning to figure out if going for a full-caster pretender and smashing through research with a bunch of Revenants summoned, then empowered to Death 2 so they can summon more revenants, and i've been finding that i can mass-produce undead quite easily that way. The problem i'm having is, only the more powerful conjuration spells give me actually USEFUL undead commanders, and to get there, even with a Pretender God with 5 points across the board giving a whooping 100+ research points per turn, takes forever. Conj 3 to 4 takes about 7 turns, and 4 to 5 takes forever. By then nations already have massive armies and it's pretty difficult to manage.

Now, Ermor in the Middle age is PERFECT for this kind of strategy... Because they already HAVE units with massive undead leadership and casters that are able to right-out-of-the-bat animate hordes of undead.

But i haven't found a suitable counterpart in the early ages. The Yomi seem to have some commanders with half-decent undead leadership, and the nation itself has interesting casters that have high-death and also other useful domains, so i can summon some more interesting undead like the Manekin and the clockwork undead i forget the name of.

But it's no match for Ermor in the Middle Ages... But i wanted to play in the Early ages! :/

Shades and ghosts are beastly units so long as the other side has no priests to banish undead, but then you can always summon some beefy flyers to go over quickly and dispatch any enemy priests before your army gets in range of the banishment... Wraiths are also beastly, and undead are excellent for expanding territory because you can stack hundreds of units without having to worry about supplies, since they don't eat.

The other problem i've been having is that water nations are TOO OP. I mean, most nations DON'T have easy access to amphibians, and the units you can hire in coastal regions are complete shit compared to what is brewing below the ocean. I've found that having a pretender god able to cast at least lvl 4 Water seplls is a must, because then you can summon Kraken and own faces... But then said pretender has to be able to go under water, and for most land nations, that's going to be the Master Lich - Which is completely sucky while underwater, and extremely easy to kill.

Tell me your secrets... The manual is 400 pages and i've been struggling with the mechanics. I've found out the hard way that overexpanding eventually ends up with loads of unprotected provinces ripe for the taking, and spaced out commanders that can't defend your homeland when inevitably it ends up getting sieged. Turtling is also a no-go, you gotta expand at least some, else you won't be able to amass troops quickly enough. Temple is a must, but it's 400 gold per, and a Fortress is also needed at least on borders so you can produce more of your sacreds and have defensible positionson weak spots...

But then, no money for army! Arrrrrgh it's so frustrating trying to figure out what is a nice balance of offense and defense and micromanage military placement! But, i've found out a BEASTLY combination of units from Helheim who went undefeated throughout the entire game - Huskarls on the front line tanking the army for the valkyries to take out the commander, while two squads of cavalry (sacred of course) surround the enemy from the left and right flanks and go for the rearmost units, all the while the Hangadrott is constantly buffing the cavalry and casting AOE Air spells. It was fucking perfect. I had 80 units and managed to beat a 200+ army with that setup. WITH NO CASUALTIES.

I still want to play with casters, though.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on April 11, 2014, 02:02:37 PM
Now, Ermor in the Middle age is PERFECT for this kind of strategy... Because they already HAVE units with massive undead leadership and casters that are able to right-out-of-the-bat animate hordes of undead.

But i haven't found a suitable counterpart in the early ages. The Yomi seem to have some commanders with half-decent undead leadership, and the nation itself has interesting casters that have high-death and also other useful domains, so i can summon some more interesting undead like the Manekin and the clockwork undead i forget the name of.

But it's no match for Ermor in the Middle Ages... But i wanted to play in the Early ages! :/
That's mostly a fluff reason, since the game has a background story that connects all ages. Early age is kinda supposed to be all rainbows and flowers, the world's filled with life and magic. Medium age things start getting more gloomy, and Late Ages is kinda preclude to apocalypse as Death spreads everywhere along with industrialization. So early ages there's no undead-only faction, but Late ages almost every faction has Death magic of some sort.

Shades and ghosts are beastly units so long as the other side has no priests to banish undead, but then you can always summon some beefy flyers to go over quickly and dispatch any enemy priests before your army gets in range of the banishment... Wraiths are also beastly, and undead are excellent for expanding territory because you can stack hundreds of units without having to worry about supplies, since they don't eat.
Well, you're kinda lucky you're playing against the AI, because human opponents can and will punish you if you rely only on undeads. There's a late game spell that can outright steal all your undead army in battle at once actually, which the AI will never be able to get.

The other problem i've been having is that water nations are TOO OP. I mean, most nations DON'T have easy access to amphibians, and the units you can hire in coastal regions are complete shit compared to what is brewing below the ocean. I've found that having a pretender god able to cast at least lvl 4 Water seplls is a must, because then you can summon Kraken and own faces... But then said pretender has to be able to go under water, and for most land nations, that's going to be the Master Lich - Which is completely sucky while underwater, and extremely easy to kill.
Well, if you're playing with thrones, you probably don't even need to go underwater, so you can just ignore them.

A level 2 water mage can get the +1 Water bracelet, which in turn allows for the Robe of the Sea that grants another +1 and waterbreathing.

Both air and water allow for plenty of. Also craft the 2-handed trident that auto-casts Favorable Currents for that extra oomph.

I'm pretty sure there's some titans that can go underwater as well. Plus lots of items that allow commanders to breathe underwater (like the above trident).

The coastal ichtlids (the murloc-like thingies) are actually pretty solid, in particular the ones that can throw webs. Web-throwing infantry rocks.

But anyway, it's usually best to first conquer land, only after start going underwater. It's usually considered an advanced for Water Nations that they can't be easily rushed, but water provinces are usually poorer as well.

Tell me your secrets... The manual is 400 pages and i've been struggling with the mechanics. I've found out the hard way that overexpanding eventually ends up with loads of unprotected provinces ripe for the taking, and spaced out commanders that can't defend your homeland when inevitably it ends up getting sieged. Turtling is also a no-go, you gotta expand at least some, else you won't be able to amass troops quickly enough. Temple is a must, but it's 400 gold per, and a Fortress is also needed at least on borders so you can produce more of your sacreds and have defensible positionson weak spots...
Dominions is indeed a very deep and complex game, and every nation has its own tricks but here's some general strategy that's useful
for everybody:
-You're not gonna be able to properly defend all your provinces. Point. Buy 1 province defense in each place just to get an idea of who's attacking you, 10 PD if you find some cool magic site or it's a key chokepoint, 20 if it's a fortress or throne. But you're still gonna lose provinces now and then, the trick is being able to take them back quickly.
-You indeed want to start building a fortess in your first in-game year for more national troops.
-Temples on the other hand are not a must, unless you're going for some advanced dominion-push strategy, but that's something you have to plan for (some nations get 200 gold temples for example). Also, temples are automatically destroyed when your enemy conquers the province, so try to keep them inside fortresses. Your prophet is a much more efficient way of pushing dominion.
-Following on the above, your pretender god should have at least 6 Dominion. It will save you a lot of trouble.
-Medium game when you control big pieces of terrain, armies and army commanders alone don't cut it anymore. You want Thugs. A Thug is any commander that thanks to equipment and inherent abilities can move quickly (flying is best) and take out small groups of enemy troops. A good set-up is Vine Shield(entangle enemies that attack you)+Frost/fire brand(area damage), Horror Helmet (fear), boots of flying, some nice armor, something that grants regeneration, and etherealness if you can cram it in. Now you have an unit that can quickly retake your lost provinces, or quickly move to support your slow big armies when needed.
-If your capital does end up sieged, don't be afraid to burn your gems in summons to quickly raise an army.


But then, no money for army! Arrrrrgh it's so frustrating trying to figure out what is a nice balance of offense and defense and micromanage military placement! But, i've found out a BEASTLY combination of units from Helheim who went undefeated throughout the entire game - Huskarls on the front line tanking the army for the valkyries to take out the commander, while two squads of cavalry (sacred of course) surround the enemy from the left and right flanks and go for the rearmost units, all the while the Hangadrott is constantly buffing the cavalry and casting AOE Air spells. It was fucking perfect. I had 80 units and managed to beat a 200+ army with that setup. WITH NO CASUALTIES.
Ah, the wonders of sacred cavalry. You should try one of the giant nations.

Speaking of which, you noticed that if your pretender god has at least 4 points in a magic path, sacred units will get a boost when blessed by a holy priest, right?

I still want to play with casters, though.
Knowing casters is one of the key parts of Dominions 4. First, you should recruit as much of them as possible. If you're not recruiting a mage every turn in your 3 first fortresses, you better have a very good reason. This will speed up your research and unlock much more options as you get a bigger magic variety.

Also, after you research some nice combat spells or summons, always research Conjuration 4-6, which unlocks lots of great crafting options whatever magic paths you have. Magic items allow for all kind of strategies, like the Sea King's goblet that allows 25 troops to get underwater plus the wielder, or the Flying Carpet that lets a commander and some troops fly around the map. Mobility is key in medium-late game dominions, and magic unlocks all kind of mobility.

Plus, most mages can craft items that boost their magic abilities, allowing them to then craft even stronger stuff, or cast more advanced rituals.

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on April 11, 2014, 05:37:57 PM
Yeah, the Scepter of Death is craftable with 1 death only, and 1 level in construction w00t - and it boosts your death skill +1. I noticed the blessing effect, yes, i also noticed that if you go up to +9 the bonus gets much better.

But it seems like starting with a super-high death magic pretender is NOT a good move. There are MANY spells that use more than one type of gem and thusly require more than one magic path to be partaken.

I've found that the units provided by the Terracota Army are actually pretty damn good, and you get 10 per cast. Which is awesome. But, they're mindless, so if your commander dies they die too, which is a bummer.

Clockwork troops and the Clockwork Horror are wonderful. So much damage. They shred infantry like butter.

From death, the one i liked the best is Summon Behemoth - Undead Elephant ftw. VERY beefy tanky unit, and large enough that it can trample most units that aren't giants or mythological beasts. Costs 20 death gems, which is a piece of cake once you can cast the ritual spell to increase your death gem count by 20 every turn for a few turns. Makes for a pretty good unit to put ahead of the army to break formations.

Yes, i've found that undead and devils, as much as they're excellent troops, are very easily dealt with by priests.

Banishment is AOE...

I once lost an ENTIRE SQUAD of like 40+ mixed undead to a single Berythian priest.

That's one of the things i found interesting about the game. If you can get your army composition just right, it can steamroll almost everything the AI throws at you, unless you're trying to siege a fortress with 200 units in garrison - At which point you'll take so long to break the siege, your units will be diseased and starving and will be steamrolled by the multitude of mooks. Which makes a hell of a lot of sense if i can say so myself.

I assume that Construction and Conjuration are the two schools to master first, followed not long after by Alteration and Thaumaturgy? I liked Alteration a lot more after i saw you can change heat scales of provinces with it permanently. SIGNIFICANT production boosts to important provinces if you can get the heat scale to what's preferred by your race. Thaumaturgy seems like a good school with a lot of utility to it, and construction just works very well because great magic artifacts are so damn good.

I tend to go for Chrone or Great Sage as my Pretender forms because of the 10pp cost for new magic schools, so i can have everything on level 5 with a few tweaks here and there and a dormant god. But i'm beggining to think this may not be ideal, since if i could reduce the level of some schools i could have him be an awake god and start my research 10~13 turns earlier, which might be ideal, since it's bound to be a very hefty research bonus. 5 in all gave me 103RP per turn, enough to go from 0 to almost level 2 in one turn.

What do you think is best - a Warlike Pretender that doubles as a commander with big bonuses, a Scholarly Pretender that supports by casting and forging items - Hybrids that can double roles?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on April 11, 2014, 06:21:49 PM
That's one of the things i found interesting about the game. If you can get your army composition just right, it can steamroll almost everything the AI throws at you, unless you're trying to siege a fortress with 200 units in garrison - At which point you'll take so long to break the siege, your units will be diseased and starving and will be steamrolled by the multitude of mooks. Which makes a hell of a lot of sense if i can say so myself.
If you're having so much supply problems, you should consider crafting Bags of endless Wine and other magic items that grant extra supply. Nature mages also produce extra supply, and make it possible to have negative supply in a province for the lulz.


I assume that Construction and Conjuration are the two schools to master first, followed not long after by Alteration and Thaumaturgy? I liked Alteration a lot more after i saw you can change heat scales of provinces with it permanently. SIGNIFICANT production boosts to important provinces if you can get the heat scale to what's preferred by your race. Thaumaturgy seems like a good school with a lot of utility to it, and construction just works very well because great magic artifacts are so damn good.
You don't really want to rush to master any particular school. As you already noticed, it eventually becomes a crapload of points.

Ideally, you want to set some targets, like Evocation 5, Conjuration 3, Construction 4. See what low-medium research spells would be useful for you in the short run, grab those first, worry about higher levels of research when you have a hundred or so mages researching.

Also, research boosters. Lightless lanterns are excellent, horror marks be damned, but skull mentors or air quills also work well.

I tend to go for Chrone or Great Sage as my Pretender forms because of the 10pp cost for new magic schools, so i can have everything on level 5 with a few tweaks here and there and a dormant god. But i'm beggining to think this may not be ideal, since if i could reduce the level of some schools i could have him be an awake god and start my research 10~13 turns earlier, which might be ideal, since it's bound to be a very hefty research bonus. 5 in all gave me 103RP per turn, enough to go from 0 to almost level 2 in one turn.
Honestly, if you're relying on your pretender for research, you're doing it wrong. Taking a human wizard sage with lots of different low magics is a viable plan-if you use them for site searching and crafting items and casting rituals your national mages cannot. Every faction has some sort of low level mage that you can mass produce at your secondary sorts for your research needs. Anyway, everything at level 5 is basically a waste of design points. You can perfectly afford to just grab 2 on most paths, then craft items to boost it up. Use leftover points to grab order and growth scales to boost income and get recruitable mages to do the boring study work.

For example, with earth 2 you can craft earth boots, that in turn allow you to summon troll king's court. Give the earth boots to the troll king and he's an earth 4 mage.

Nature 2 can craft the thistle mace and vine bracelet, and from there get an ivy lord that can grab those boosters to get a treelord and then a faerie court for some air and whatnot.

If there is a path you want at level 5 for magic, it is Astral. Throw a lv 5 Astral Pretender a crystal coin and starshine skullcap and they can craft a ring of sorcery, and from there a ring of wizardry. Those are the top magic boosters in the game (one boosts half the paths, the other boosts all paths).

What do you think is best - a Warlike Pretender that doubles as a commander with big bonuses, a Scholarly Pretender that supports by casting and forging items - Hybrids that can double roles?
It depends heavily on the nation. Some have great magic variety with their national mages, and thus their Pretender is best being a combat machine. Other nations have horrible magic variety, and then indeed a scholar Pretender is most welcome. But again, remember that magic 5 in all paths is not really a very good plan.

Titan chassis can make great hybrids for the matter. Again, remember that your Pretender doesn't need to cover every magic path-your national mages will be doing some or most of your work for you in that department. A titan with 2-3 magic paths your national mages don't have can provide great magic support and still be ready to fight in the battlefield.

There's also the imprisoned bless build. Grab 1-3 magics at level 9 to make your sacred units virtually unstoppable killing machines.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on April 22, 2014, 08:14:52 PM
So, i won my first 1x1 game against the AI in Dominions... Playing as Ermor in the Middle Ages.

Goddamn, that nation packs some punch. I set the scales on growth/death on maximum Death and prepped my Pretender to go  Burden of Time + Foul Air.

My dominon spread, everyone died, and then the corpses auto-rezzed to Ghouls, Soulless and Longdead Warriors. Even auto-rezzed to Censors and Mound Kings, so i had commanders and cannon fodder to my hearts content. Every single one of the enemy units getting aged and insta-killed when afflicted made for too powerful a combo. My units are all undead so they don't age. The AI couldn't keep up with the sheer amount of cannon fodder i was able to throw at him. At one point i had almost 2000 units besieging his fortress. Hell yeah undead rock. Also, Ermor on Middle Ages has the undead priests able to cast unholy blessings that increase your units resistance to banishment, so it was pretty damn hard to stop the horde. It just kept growing and growing... I had well over 70% of the map and couldn't even keep up with the sheer amount of commanders and cheapo undeads. Some interesting observations, though...

After playing around a bit i saw why you said 1-3 magic paths is all you need Oslecamo. Astral is goddamn awesome, Eyes of God global enchantment is SO MUCH GOOD. Knowing what exactly is in every province is mind blowingly useful - You can really plan out your attacks and strike them where they're at their weakest, and slowly gain more and more land. Another thing, playing an undead nation, my points in fire, water, nature and earth were all but wasted. Playing on a map with almost no water in it at all made water completely useless, and i only used nature and earth to craft some magical items.

I'd be much better off if i had gone with Death 9 and Astral 5 and then as the game progressed maybe empower my Pretender in more paths. After playing a game to completion i fully realized just how long one match can take. I played Civilization V on max size maps with max number of independents and max number of nations, and even then i'd take maybe 6 or 7 hours to win. This takes much longer. My 1x1 match took at least 4 hours, and i bet if you go on a large size map with 12 or more nations... It's going to be tough, really tough. Also learned the hard way that the Transformation spell isn't a freebie. There's a good chance your pretender dies after casting it... Pretty unfortunate, because it makes it possible to choose a very magic-friendly chassis like the Crone or the Great Sage and then transform into a beast of a form. I also found out the hard way that not all pretender forms have all slots for magic items. Crone and Great Sage only have one hand slot, they can't use two handed weapons, which means no Skull Staff and no +1 to Death. Boo. And the beast forms only have Misc. Slots. I don't like undead or devil pretenders because of the risk of Banishment, so that leaves me with the option of going for a beast researcher to get me some powerful items and summons fast, or grabbing a more beefy form that isn't as good on research but can also lead troops. After playing Ermor on Middle Ages and seeing how the undead game plays out, i think my next move will be to try out a game as Yomi on Early Ages and see how well i can pull off the Undead/Devil interaction. I think it's going to work out pretty well, but i'll see!. It did not work very well... They are very slow researchers, and making my Pretender imprisoned was a very bad move on a tiny map like Frosted Land - You need to be able to very quickly take as many provinces as you can and start ASAP on the offensive.

EDIT 2: I think i finally settled on a favorite nation to play with in Early Ages. Tien'Chi. Their mages are well versed in all paths of magic except for blood, although their death mage only has death and no other path, and just by getting a pretender with Astral 5 i can very easily boost their skills in the various paths to ever higher levels, and then they themselves can cast magic-specific boosters to get ever-rising skills in specific paths - so you can have a specialized caster for certain summons, another for forging, and when you get access to higher level conjuration spells you have access to the Elementals, who are lv5 casters in every elemental path, that can then be boosted to level 9 just with items and no empowerment so you can get to cast the big stuff in late game. Their troops are also incredibly versatile and cheap to buy. The Tower Shield Footmen are extremely good in holding lines and being nigh-immune to arrow fire, and practically immune when buffed a little. The Archers have surprisingly good range and precision, and it can be boosted even further with spells like Flaming Arrow and Wind Guide. Mid-Game you will have access to powerful summons to complement your troops and tank the big guys for you, and also access to battlefield-affecting spells like Rain of Stones. With Tien'Chi you absolutely don't need any sacred troops at all, and going for a bless build is a waste of time with that nation. What they're very good at is site-searching and magic, and mass access to cheap, reliable units on which you can depend for the entirety of the game. So you can skimp a little on your Dominion and just get 6 or 7, and spend the rest on production & growth scales and trading turmoil 3 for luck 3 so you have max events that will be very helpful by providing you with more gems for your casters. Split 33/33/33 research on Enchantment, Evocation & Construction so you can race towards casting Eternal Pyre for 20 fire gems per turn, Riches from Beneath to mass even more troops, and Earth Blood deep well so you can also spam the extremely good earth spells and the magma fire/earth spells that are also extremely good. Also Forge of the Ancients so you get to craft even more magic items because your skill is +1 in all paths for the purpose of forging, making it even easier to get very very powerful mages on the field. For Tien'Chi i found that it's very important to have good production and growth scales so you can mass troops, because your sacreds suck and depend on summons isn't viable until you have very good gem income, which is mid to late game. Constructing palisades and fortresses all over the place is the game-plan for Tien'Chi, to easily mass troops, mages and commanders so you can really expand all over the place really fast, it's just how the nation works best, expanding a lot quickly and site searching all over the place. I think the Nataraja is the best chassis for this kind of game-plan. You don't really need the research bonus of the Great Sage because the mages are already very good researchers by themselves and capable of forging Owl Quills to speed up research faster. Since the pretender will only ever forge one Starshine Skullcap, 1 Crystal Coin, 1 ring of sorcery and then 1 ring of wizardry and give it all to one of the mages with Astral so he can continue to do the same and forge other magic boosters so you can get the really good armor and weapons, making your Nataraja a powerhouse able of four-wielding extremely deadly one-handed weapons, and tank whole armies with the right set of magic items. But then there's the Devi of Good Fortunes, which ends up costing a little bit more than the Nataraja because it doesn't come with Earth so you have to pay the 50 point to grab earth 1 and then a little more for Earth 2, but it does come with gift of waterbreathing 50 and luck bonus, which synergizes well with Luck 3 and Turmoil 3 to bring you tons of gold, magic gems and even very powerful magic items, and makes you able out-of-the-box start to conquer underwater provinces, which can be very important especially if thrones of ascension are underwater or there's a lot of sea next to where you spawn, since it's so much easier to conquer sea provinces with land units which are generally a lot better armed and armored. Without the Gift of Waterbreathing you'll have to wait to get a water bracelet going and then other water boosting items and wait until const 6 to grab manual of waterbreathing to get an army underwater, or depend on subpar amphibians that you recruit on beaches, or grab an amulet and have the Nataraja single-handledly start the conquest of the sea, which is very much doable since there are very few ranged attacks underwater, which are the bane of war pretenders everywhere, and with good armor and weapons it's going to be 4 units down per turn, and very easily you can get a Horror Helmet going to rout them faster. In fact i'm going to test out the Nataraja and the Devi and will report later.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on April 26, 2014, 03:06:33 AM
looks like they got the paperwork all in order http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/04/date-set-for-new-mexico-dig-for-atari-e-t-games/ (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/04/date-set-for-new-mexico-dig-for-atari-e-t-games/)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on April 26, 2014, 04:55:19 PM
looks liek they found the games http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/26/5656288/construction-workers-unearth-legendary-cache-of-atari-games-in-new (http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/26/5656288/construction-workers-unearth-legendary-cache-of-atari-games-in-new)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 26, 2014, 06:59:40 PM
Somehow I always knew, but confirmation of that fact is baffling.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on April 26, 2014, 07:42:05 PM
 :lmao :lmao
I always thought that was a myth!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on April 26, 2014, 08:34:10 PM
anyone have an atari and want to play ET? :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 07, 2014, 11:27:43 AM
Brace yourselves: more pokemon remakes are coming.  http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/57771/pokemon-omega-ruby-and-alpha-sapphire-announced-for-3ds/
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on May 07, 2014, 03:10:28 PM
Ugh... Still desperately trying to get a good grip on Dominions IV. The manual has been an incredible help thus far, as have been some skirmishes i played to test some strategies, like Tien'chi going for an SC awake pretender push. Works very well with the Nataraja. Four arms and no penalties for having weapons on all of them. Or two one handed and two shields that do very different things. Or two 2-handers, for the lulz. Plus all the other spots, ofc. Tien'chi mages also rock. You don't even need mooks if you get communion slave and communion matrix going ready to fire. Tien'chi has access to every path except blood, if you count the hero mages that come with death, so they can absolutely dominate the battlefield once you go 16 communion slaves for a +4 boost on all paths known. EXTREME firepower, total annihilation. Not even kidding. Just have to be careful about cavalry (dealt with by having bodyguards), archers (have some mages ready to go for some protective spells against archer fire), and other enemy mages (dealt with by delivering massive damage through extreme high level combat magic). No, seriously, communion matrix and communion slave is beastly when you have that many paths available. Total rockage with the mages. Too bad the good ones are capital only, and the others are only researchers. Tien'chi commanders absolutely suck, on the other hand. Bad slots, no practical chance of becoming useful as thugs. But, since Tien'chi researches absurdly fast, if you go a bit defensive, you can push out some very interesting strategies. Like getting to Conjuration 9 and having a Wraith Lord boosted to D7 to cast Tartarian Gate. Since Tien'chi also has nature mages, you can then cast Gift of Reason on the Tartarians and have ABSOLUTELY INSANE, but also extremely strong thugs. Since i don't have the latest path, though, Gift of Health global enchantment ISN'T curing their insanity, when it should be. Anyway. Tartarians are absolute monsters, some of the monster types have 700+ health, while titan types usually come with 300ish HP but good slots and some magic paths. According to the forums some are ?7 with all paths, and 20% of the ones you summon already come as commanders. I summoned over 20 of them and didn't get a single commander. Oh well, nothing that mattered much, since i had Mother Oak i could recast Gift of Nature every round and hope for a good one. The beastly strength combined with some pretty good casting, immense HP and all human slots makes for one hell of a Thug, but it's something you need to plan for, and i mean really plan for. Bless build doesn't work as well as one would hope, with the sacreds costing 26g and 4 resources. But the fact they're capital only really slows you down too much, since you won't ever be pushing many per turn. Mictlan, though, is a PERFECT nation for an Imprisoned Bless Build. Cheap & beastly Jaguar Warriors that can be mass-produced, flying sacreds that can be mass produced... They're the perfect nation for bless builds. Fountain of Blood physical form for a high blood start, good dom score and easy access to slaves for your priests to spread dominion & perform rituals. L9 Blood bless is insane. Returning damage is extremely strong. You get nature mages so you can get Gift of Health to cure afflictions and keep your massive blessed army in good shape. But, Mictlan lacks much in terms of undead/demon leadership. But, you only get to fix that much later down the road when you've researched enough into blood you can start getting the demon commanders... Succubi are perfect assassins. They try to seduce, and if the seduce attempt fails, they try to assassinate. Equip them well, and well, enemy commanders won't have a chance. You'll either convert them to your cause or they'll die. Either way, you win. The big beefy commanders won't come until Blood lvl 8 or 9, but with Mictlan, you can afford to not waste much time with other schools and leave the blessings do their thing. Focus on blood, and things start going well. Blood version of Communion Master/Slave works wonders, so only a few levels in evocation & alteration get you the necessary battlefield spells, and you can then focus only on Blood to supplement your army with demons later on. Much useful.

Hoping to discover more strategies with these and other nations and comment them later.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on May 07, 2014, 04:19:00 PM
Finished with finals, so it's time to take on Blighttown.  Wish me luck!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on May 07, 2014, 04:37:01 PM
Tartarian factory and sacred jaguar warriors and communion combos oh my!
...
Hoping to discover more strategies with these and other nations and comment them later.

Yeah, you seem to be discovering the "top" Dom4 strategies allright.  :p

Altough notice the reason the tartarian titans seem to have so much life is probably because Gift of Health also boosts your unit's HP inside your dominion. And yes, sometimes the RNG screws with you and doesn't give you any one with commander status right away, but that's for what Gift of Reason is indeed.


Something you seem to have not explored much yet are offensive rituals. You can really screw over another side's day by chain-casting rain of toads and rain of fire and the various one-shot assassin summons like Earth attack. The not-ancient-greece faction is pretty good at spamming mind hunt because even if the enemy has astral mages to make it backfire, you have cheap priestess to heal your mystic's fried brains.

Another strategy that's pretty fun and effective is playing one of the giant factions, like Niefthelm, Formosia, or Hinnom, that get big beefy guys by default, and then you buff the hell out of them, pimp out their commanders, and they crush all the puny humans that dare cross their path! :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on May 07, 2014, 06:09:32 PM
Yeah i've had trouble with giants before. Found out the best way to deal with them is arrow fire, and i do mean arrow FIRE, because fire arrow is just awesomesauce all around. Gives em' a way to bypass etherealness AND 8 points of fire armor piercing damage? Yes?

I really don't know what the RNG is behind arrow fire, but, from experience, archers have a much higher precision when targetting large enemies. Which is why you NEVER go with a Giant Pretender SC against a bunch of archers before you get very good protection against arrows. They get pincushioned and die. And it's kinda pitiful, an awakened ancient being being slaughtered by a bunch of savages with arrows. But... There.
Which is why you get a pretender with Awe if at all possible, to try and get as much aggro out of him. If Domscore 10 wasn't so goddamn expensive, i'd put it into SC Pretenders, but that drains almost all of the points and leaves pitiful amounts for magic & scales.
I've also noticed it's absolutely unnecessary to mess around with scales unless you're going to be spreading your dominion. The scales only get changed if you get your dominion to that province, and the only way to get dominion to spread is by building temples in key provinces that link to at least 6+ other provinces, and propheting away as your army advances.
Of course, spamming temples become quite possible by the later stages of the game, when you already have big armies and lots of troops and have secured yourself quite a large swathe of the map. I've RARELY seen the A.I using stealthy troops to get provinces in the middle of my territory. It's annoying when it happens, but it's so easily taken care of i don't even bother much. For that, a good contingency is having a capable flying squad, like you said, to retake lost provinces. Tien'chi gets the Celestial Hounds as flying sacred summonable troops, and later Demons of Heavenly Fire, and Tien'chi is already pretty much engineered to research and get spells & items going, having nearly all paths of magic and all. So, site searching is quite easy, and you get a ton of gems. Relatively easy to get to Conj 5 and pump demons and hounds every turn until you get a good sized squad ready to go when you need to quickly retake some provinces.
If PD1 is all you need on most provinces, then i've been extremely overkilling, because most of my provinces are set to at LEAST PD15, which gives them a chance of detecting stealthy units, and the choke points i go for 40 or 50 PD with a fortress. This makes it very hard to siege the fortress, and the forces are most of the time significantly reduced when they do manage to siege it, making it so that i can muster a counter-attack before they can storm the fort.
But, i've been going with Prod2 and growth 3 on Tien'Chi and spreading dominion like crazy, so my income is extremely high, so high that i don't have anything else to spend it on but beefing PD. Not like i need multiple 400+ armies to take over the world or anything. Haven't played on a map big enough to need it.
I've... Been meaning to try other strategies, like dominion push strategies, eliminating enemy dominion to win the game with much less fighting. Pangaea is pretty good at doing this... And i like the fact that Pans auto-produce cannon-fodder for me to throw away as meat shields while my ranged troops wreak havoc amongst enemy ranks.
But... I didn't play Nieflheim or any of the Giant races yet. They are a bit complicated to play with because of the high cost of the troops. Takes some strategy to build enough resources & income to pump out giants like crazy. Fact they like cold is kind of nice, though, since many spells, abilities & summons become more powerful in cold provinces.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on May 07, 2014, 06:33:39 PM
Yeah i've had trouble with giants before. Found out the best way to deal with them is arrow fire, and i do mean arrow FIRE, because fire arrow is just awesomesauce all around. Gives em' a way to bypass etherealness AND 8 points of fire armor piercing damage? Yes?

I really don't know what the RNG is behind arrow fire, but, from experience, archers have a much higher precision when targetting large enemies. Which is why you NEVER go with a Giant Pretender SC against a bunch of archers before you get very good protection against arrows. They get pincushioned and die. And it's kinda pitiful, an awakened ancient being being slaughtered by a bunch of savages with arrows. But... There.
Arrows target an area, and big monsters fill a bigger area, so yes big monsters (and big armies) are easier to hit than lone/scattered humans.

That's why dragons make excellent SC, because they can fly right into the face of archers and then unleash their breath weapons to melt them away (http://fi.somethingawful.com/safs/smilies/a/9/smaug.001.gif)

Which is why you get a pretender with Awe if at all possible, to try and get as much aggro out of him. If Domscore 10 wasn't so goddamn expensive, i'd put it into SC Pretenders, but that drains almost all of the points and leaves pitiful amounts for magic & scales.
I've also noticed it's absolutely unnecessary to mess around with scales unless you're going to be spreading your dominion. The scales only get changed if you get your dominion to that province, and the only way to get dominion to spread is by building temples in key provinces that link to at least 6+ other provinces, and propheting away as your army advances.
Well, again, that may be viable against the AI, but against an human player, if they notice you have a weak dominion, there's a bunch of ways they can rush-push their dominion against you and instakill you.

Remember, dominion has kinda of a snowball effect. The more you have base, the easier it spreads. A dominion base of 6 should spread from your capital to the surrounding lands on its own. But if you just take a dominion of 1-3, some heretics and bad events can suddenly spell your defeat.

Of course, spamming temples become quite possible by the later stages of the game, when you already have big armies and lots of troops and have secured yourself quite a large swathe of the map. I've RARELY seen the A.I using stealthy troops to get provinces in the middle of my territory. It's annoying when it happens, but it's so easily taken care of i don't even bother much. For that, a good contingency is having a capable flying squad, like you said, to retake lost provinces. Tien'chi gets the Celestial Hounds as flying sacred summonable troops, and later Demons of Heavenly Fire, and Tien'chi is already pretty much engineered to research and get spells & items going, having nearly all paths of magic and all. So, site searching is quite easy, and you get a ton of gems. Relatively easy to get to Conj 5 and pump demons and hounds every turn until you get a good sized squad ready to go when you need to quickly retake some provinces.
If PD1 is all you need on most provinces, then i've been extremely overkilling, because most of my provinces are set to at LEAST PD15, which gives them a chance of detecting stealthy units, and the choke points i go for 40 or 50 PD with a fortress. This makes it very hard to siege the fortress, and the forces are most of the time significantly reduced when they do manage to siege it, making it so that i can muster a counter-attack before they can storm the fort.
But, i've been going with Prod2 and growth 3 on Tien'Chi and spreading dominion like crazy, so my income is extremely high, so high that i don't have anything else to spend it on but beefing PD. Not like i need multiple 400+ armies to take over the world or anything. Haven't played on a map big enough to need it.
Haha, yes, when you're winning, eventually you have more gold than you know what to do with. :P

But again using the PvP example, while the AI is perfectly happy to waste away basic troops to try to overcome your PD, human opponents will scout ahead and use thugs or elite squads to sweep PD blobs away with minimal losses, meaning it ends up being a waste of gold, unless you're using it as sudden reinforcments for your actual army to defend a key location.

I've... Been meaning to try other strategies, like dominion push strategies, eliminating enemy dominion to win the game with much less fighting. Pangaea is pretty good at doing this... And i like the fact that Pans auto-produce cannon-fodder for me to throw away as meat shields while my ranged troops wreak havoc amongst enemy ranks.
But... I didn't play Nieflheim or any of the Giant races yet. They are a bit complicated to play with because of the high cost of the troops. Takes some strategy to build enough resources & income to pump out giants like crazy. Fact they like cold is kind of nice, though, since many spells, abilities & summons become more powerful in cold provinces.
But see, that's the beauty of giant nations-You don't need to pump them out like crazy!

The trick is keeping them in line formation, -2 morale be damned. That makes sure all of your giants get to attack and makes it harder to get surrounded.

Half a dozen blessed jotuns are more than enough to chew and spit most things the AI can throw at you. A full dozen blessed jotuns is virtually unstoppable short of their commander being killed and they auto-routing. Skinshifters are pretty good as well at game start, since they get two lives as they transform in werewolves with three attacks when killed. Get ten of them with two turns of recruiting, get them in line formation, and they can take on most indie provinces.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on May 07, 2014, 07:46:51 PM
Morale is one of the easier things to boost. Many items give Inspirational effect, and if you do it right and don't let your commander die, he'll eventually accrue enough exp and Hall of Fame status to give more morale to your troops. Plus, you get to command more units with that commander.
I've found that line formation is a good thing, indeed. Sparse line formation against archers = Godly.

Seriously, once i figured out unit placement on the battlefield, everything suddenly became much, much easier. Archers can be very far back if they got r35+, and you can get much more mileage out of the archers by placing your ground troops far back and giving the Hold and Attack command. With Tien'Chi, this is very, very viable. The Tower Shield footmen, even the basic ones, are really resilient to arrow fire. With a couple of low level spells to compliment their defenses, they can tank the arrow fire while your own archers decimate the enemies ground troops, and when they come to meet yours, they're pretty much done.
If you have cavalry or air troops available, it becomes even better. Put horses in both corners and tell them to attack rearmost. They decimate archers & mages alike - just have to get it right. The Light Cavalry and Heavy Cavalry you can get from some plains provinces (The Horse Tribe provinces) are pretty damn good, especially the heavy cavalry, though the resource cost is extremely steep. Lances do bonus damage on first attack, and the horses trample, so the rear is very quickly decimated while your troops wait the dumb AI ground troops to foolishly advance while taking heavy casualties from arrow fire/spells. Tien'chi also has the Call Ancestor spell available almost at start. 1hp ethereal with paralyze. Not the greatest, but eventually you get one that calls 20 of them instead of the one, and then you can really start wrecking stuff. Multiple mages casting multiple instances of the spell results in whole armies being paralyzed before the Ancestors can be put down. Then it's an easy win. It's pretty gem-efficient, too. Much better than Earth Meld, as good as the spell is - so that can give you a notion of the power of that national. Just 5 mages can put out a HUNDRED ancestors/turn, using only 1 gem each. If all of them have the freebie gem item, the first 100 is free of charge. 100 ethereal spirits with paralyze is pretty scary, even for a big arm. In fact, giants are f**** by this spell because they are easily surrounded by a bunch of them and are bound to eventually lose their saves against the paralyze.

Does it show that i love this nation? I really do. My kind of gameplay ties in very neatly with their mechanics. On the other hand, i WANT to like R'lyeh in the early age... I really do. I love H.P Lovecraft and i love Aboleths in D&D. I love that they can slave others...
But they're so locked down underwater, it's not even a joke. They don't have nature mages to build Kelp Fortresses. Most Aboleths are aquatic, not amphibian, so you HAVE to craft items to take them inland. Mermen and Ichtyds can only go so far, you need your Aboleths on the ground to do support and ranged. Because of that, you're somewhat limited on what pretender you need to build. Kelp Fortresses are a must if there's more than one underwater nation, so you need to have nature at least high enough to boost to a level where you can cast Kelp Fortress. You need troops to take on the land, so you gotta have some summons, but Aboleths have very poor magical diversity - so your Pretender needs to step in and fill the void. I just feel so locked in... I must say, i think R'lyeh in the early ages is a sucky nation. Oceania and Atlantis are stronger underwater nations, and that cave-dwelling nation i forget the name off is much better off with nearly all amphibian troops and diverse magical repertoire, to take the seas from both of them. I kind of feel like the dev's saw that water nations had a really large edge on early gameplay so they gimped them a lot. a LOT. Correct me if i'm wrong here... But i see playing as a underwater nation is kind of a challenge.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on May 07, 2014, 08:24:21 PM
Early age pretty much all of the water nations are on the weaker side if not outright suck indeed, hopefully the devs will fix that on the future.

Things get better on the other ages tough. Middle Age Atlantis and R'lyeh are actually nice (Oceania and Pelagia still kinda suck tough), the Late Ages Atlantis and Mictlan are pretty good actually. Late Ages R'lyeh is kinda of crazy land, as you start spawning a variety of insane commanders and magic troops as your population auto dies.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on May 07, 2014, 09:14:08 PM
Late Ages sound interesting, especially one nation - Forget what it was - that is a vampire nation. It seems like Late Ages is as much or even more fun than EA, at least for some nations.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on May 09, 2014, 06:29:46 AM
I've got an extra copy of Fez and Offspring Fling, if anybody wants them.  Bought as part of a Humble Bundle when I already owned them. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on May 09, 2014, 07:03:29 AM
Did I ever told you how awesome of a person you are linklord? :love

(want!)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Risada on May 10, 2014, 01:50:35 PM
Finished with finals, so it's time to take on Blighttown.  Wish me luck!

Good luck!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on May 10, 2014, 02:03:57 PM
I wish you find a master key and take the shortcut like any reasonable person would.  :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Risada on May 10, 2014, 02:30:52 PM
I wish you find a master key and take the shortcut like any reasonable person would.  :p

Oh, come on... Blighttown through the normal way is SO much more fun! /jk

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on May 10, 2014, 11:14:05 PM
Eh... Shortcut is fine if you know where to jump & fall to descend faster and get the second bell going fast, but if you're going down the platforms, doesn't really make much difference from which side you're coming. Less toxic dart shooting freaks, i guess.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: awaken_D_M_golem on May 11, 2014, 03:15:02 PM
robots tech robots to play Pac-man
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/science/robots-teach-robots-to-beat-them-at-pac-man.html?_r=0

THEY'RE COMING FOR US ALL !!!
 :D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on May 11, 2014, 04:40:37 PM
Rumours! (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=812089)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on May 13, 2014, 04:13:48 PM
Full Volcarona sweep, (http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-119689282) then my Lucario barely holds on (http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/ou-119697945) for a second win.

Finished XCOM: Enemy Unknown last night; I named all of my soldiers after my friends, and I have to say... watching the last cutscene, with the Volunteer being one of my best friends and having survived since the first contact so long ago with plain old Sectoids... man, that was sad.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on May 24, 2014, 06:07:00 PM
Game Dev Tycoon is fun. Also on offer today. Go buy it. : D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on May 24, 2014, 06:11:37 PM
Game Dev Tycoon is fun. Also on offer today. Go buy it. : D

Yes, yes it is.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 03, 2014, 01:40:12 PM
Rumours! (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=812089)

And now further evidence! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0YvHBxv-3Y)

Seriously, Beast Souls (or whatever it ends up being called) looks freaking amazing!  Dark Souls with wild west guns?  Hells yeah!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on June 03, 2014, 01:45:23 PM
Rumours! (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=812089)

And now further evidence! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0YvHBxv-3Y)

Seriously, Beast Souls (or whatever it ends up being called) looks freaking amazing!  Dark Souls with wild west guns?  Hells yeah!

Beast Souls is delicious and moist.  Me and my friend were joking around that since DaS2 seems a little more advanced (with iron bridges and complex windmills and stuff) that the game would keep going into the future.  Then Beast Souls popped up.  I know its not in the same world but it makes for a hilarious DaS3 set in an age of the wild west.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 03, 2014, 03:13:02 PM
Don't know how i feel about Beast Souls, on one end it is OMFGWTFBBQ Dark Souls Grimdark Western GAMEPORN YESYESYES.

On the other hand, feels like cheap capitalization on the innovation they managed to start on a dusty genre that started all the way back at Demon's Souls. And they didn't even bother to produce a sequel to that game, instead starting another franchise with a starkingly similar backstory, exact same engine and gameplay, and then starting a sequel on that (because it made more hype, not really because it was a better game, although it was, on several aspects. But they really had to straight-out copy characters, backstory wholesale in many parts, and even characters?).

The one thing i'm finding about Demon Soul's is, i think i liked the atmosphere of that game a bit better in Tower of Latria has a BLOODY GREAT atmosphere that i don't think any level of Dark Souls has to offer in comparison. I feel the rest of the game is a bit underwhelming, in comparison to Dark Souls, though, if i have to be honest. The closed-off ending to Demon Soul's didn't rule out a prequel, or a return of the Soul Art or the Old One, even though the Good Ending is bit closed off, the Bad Ending could be chose as canon and make for an easy sequel.

Oh well.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on June 03, 2014, 04:07:08 PM
Don't know how i feel about Beast Souls, on one end it is OMFGWTFBBQ Dark Souls Grimdark Western GAMEPORN YESYESYES.

On the other hand, feels like cheap capitalization on the innovation they managed to start on a dusty genre that started all the way back at Demon's Souls. And they didn't even bother to produce a sequel to that game, instead starting another franchise with a starkingly similar backstory, exact same engine and gameplay, and then starting a sequel on that (because it made more hype, not really because it was a better game, although it was, on several aspects. But they really had to straight-out copy characters, backstory wholesale in many parts, and even characters?).

The one thing i'm finding about Demon Soul's is, i think i liked the atmosphere of that game a bit better in Tower of Latria has a BLOODY GREAT atmosphere that i don't think any level of Dark Souls has to offer in comparison. I feel the rest of the game is a bit underwhelming, in comparison to Dark Souls, though, if i have to be honest. The closed-off ending to Demon Soul's didn't rule out a prequel, or a return of the Soul Art or the Old One, even though the Good Ending is bit closed off, the Bad Ending could be chose as canon and make for an easy sequel.

Oh well.

Yeah the reason for that is legal issues.  I believe (Sony?) owns Demon Souls so they wouldn't let From go about putting it on other consoles or doing things without permission.  So they made Its-Not-Demon-Souls-But-Is aka Dark Souls.

Due to some interesting wording previously, there is some rumor that Beast Souls IS Demon Souls 2.  The name may or may not be different due t legalese again.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 03, 2014, 07:05:28 PM
I'll look that up. I love legalese, lol.
But... Yeah, Demon's Souls had some interesting ideas that sadly were sacked. Other things were vastly improved - no jumping? meh. no climbing down stairs fast? meh. Equip Load & Item Load? nope. Taking a big risk clicking that shiny pile of treasure if you haven't read a walkthrough? Fuck that. (Talking about the fact if you click to pick up the items, if they can't fit they're dropped instead of simply not being picked up. Meaning you lose them, because inventory management is done at the Nexus, and leaving the area means forsaking dropped items.)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 03, 2014, 09:28:00 PM
Terraria's mine cart and fishing patch...  <3
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on June 03, 2014, 10:34:24 PM
Terraria's mine cart and fishing patch...  <3

Whenever the Lunar update comes out I'm going to have to install the game again...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on June 10, 2014, 04:12:12 PM
Star Fox.

STAR FOX!

STAR FOX!!!!! (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-10-star-fox-headed-to-wii-u-report)

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on June 10, 2014, 04:46:32 PM
I'd be excited about Bloodborne, but I don't have plans for a PS4 the way my wallet currently stands.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 10, 2014, 04:49:09 PM
i'm excited about the Halo collection..but like you my wallet can't handle my plans for an xbox one right now
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 10, 2014, 07:43:00 PM
Splatoon caught my attention for "I want to try out whatever they were drinking when they designed this game":
-You play as an human that can turn on a squid that can turn into an human.
-Your weapons shoot ink, with the members of each team sharing the same ink color.
-Besides being able to take down opponents, ink also splatters on the floor and walls, turning it to your side's color.
-In squid form you can't shoot, but you move much faster while upon ink-covered surface of your team's color, plus being harder to detect, being able to bypass certain terrain obstacles, and even moving up walls.
-At the end of the match, victory goes for the team that has covered most of the map in their color!

People will surely call me crazy, but I believe there's plenty of potential for fun in this title.

Also, Hyrule Warriors allows you to play as the Zelda girls saving Hyrule for a change! I'm sorry Link, but our princess is conquering another castle. :D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on June 10, 2014, 08:31:53 PM
Splatoon caught my attention for "I want to try out whatever they were drinking when they designed this game":
-You play as an human that can turn on a squid that can turn into an human.
-Your weapons shoot ink, with the members of each team sharing the same ink color.
-Besides being able to take down opponents, ink also splatters on the floor and walls, turning it to your side's color.
-In squid form you can't shoot, but you move much faster while upon ink-covered surface of your team's color, plus being harder to detect, being able to bypass certain terrain obstacles, and even moving up walls.
-At the end of the match, victory goes for the team that has covered most of the map in their color!

People will surely call me crazy, but I believe there's plenty of potential for fun in this title.

This sounds familiar.....
(click to show/hide)

Quote
Also, Hyrule Warriors allows you to play as the Zelda girls saving Hyrule for a change! I'm sorry Link, but our princess is conquering another castle. :D

Gawd when does that come out and what is it for again? D:
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 10, 2014, 08:50:42 PM
Hyrule Warriors should come out sometime in 2014 for Wii U. Here's Midna kicking some ass (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nck3ml-6TYs).

And here's the development interview for Splatoon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWdPJeY7eYg), with gameplay excerpts and whatnot.

Oh, and the Zelda U (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=XZmxvig1dXE#t=179) trailer is nothing short of gorgeous. And yes, that's the actual game world in action they say, not just a pre-rendered shiny video.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on June 10, 2014, 08:58:21 PM
My body is ready.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 10, 2014, 10:56:23 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/attempted-robbery-unfolds-on-gamer-s-livestreaming-webcam-180551611.html
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: VennDygrem on June 11, 2014, 10:31:59 AM
You're not alone regarding Splatoon. Even before I saw anything about it,  my brother talked about how excited he was about it. Looks like an actually interesting,  creative spin on a usually overcrowded genre.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on June 11, 2014, 10:38:49 AM
Dammit
(click to show/hide)
That is the easiest f*cking stage in the game. Why are people still bitching about it to this day? :(
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on June 11, 2014, 10:53:30 AM
Because it was the hardest stage in the game?

Everything else was super easy compared to that shit.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on June 11, 2014, 11:05:11 AM
As far as Souls/FromSoft

Project Beast / Bloodborne was shown off at E3

http://kotaku.com/dark-souls-successor-is-coming-to-the-ps4-1588412673

Some background on FromSofts situation as a company

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIzpZuq7h2Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GQcIEKmFQg

Yes, Sony invested in Demon's Souls and now Bloodborne, so it's going to be an exclusive, unless they allow otherwise. Boo. My platform of choice is PC, despite having a PS3 and Demons/DSI on it, I have DSI/DSII on PC and vastly prefer it.

From the perspective of one of the creators/directors, (Miyazaki?), they prefer no sequels. So, in some sense, DSII is a fluke.

(click to show/hide)

---------------------------------------------------


As to the madness of some old school NES games, I've seen most of the Angry Video Game Nerd series, and some of that crap I did end up defeating when I was a kid, but as I watch the videos, I wonder how I ever did it / survived the frustration. Practice until mastery?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: awaken_D_M_golem on June 11, 2014, 07:09:24 PM
I just rolled over Junior Pac Man at 999 990 points.
Now I need to go do something (else) with my life.

 :pout
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on June 11, 2014, 07:26:15 PM
Because it was the hardest stage in the game?
The controls are amazingly streamlined compared to the knight game on the Atari and even Flappy Bird likes it's extremes.

Everything else was super easy compared to that shit.
The sewer jump in stage 3 requires perfect alignment and limited usage of the jump button to even make it to the platform let alone deal with the respawning enemies that attempt knock you into the water forcing you to go through the building again and in PC port this is literally impossible to do (can't do the correct hop size). After that there is a rooftop section that murder-fucks anyone that doesn't wait ten minutes for the NPC to walk off the edge.

Stage 4 has insta-kill platforming every-fucking-where, including an unobtainable full-pizza that leads to your death just to remind you how cruel the damn game is. And if you picked up a game genie, because it's awesome, you'd be treated to a game freezing bug if you attempted to use infinite health to beat the game.

And if you ever survived long enough to learn this, the 5th boss is set up to randomly spawn in one of a couple different locations. Meaning the second time you ever make it to this point in your life, you'll go the wrong damn way wasting everyone's time and life. Also side point, Shredder's gun insta-kills if you ever have the unfortunate luck not to jump over it.

No, the damn was easy. Easiest part in the entire game, hell I've made it through there without even getting hurt before.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 11, 2014, 09:14:10 PM
I have not played DS2 yet. I did do some fumbling around in the first stage of the game, but wasn't impressed with the visuals, they seemed "too clean" for me. Combat is more or less the same as far as i've experienced (didn't know about power stance dual wielding, thought it was automatic).

What can i expect?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 12, 2014, 06:20:08 AM
More highlights from Nintendo's E3:

Bayonetta 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvP4EFjagfU) not only will come to EU/NA this fall, it will include the original Bayonetta for free!

Devil's third (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yTldFe2m-A) allows you to play a badass mercenary carving a bloody path trough your enemies with guns, katanas, axes and plenty of blood mixed in. So violent youtube won't let you see the trailer without logging in. Should be coming this year as well.

(http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/772/921/b22.gif)
Iwata and Reggie confirmed as characters for Super Smash Brothers! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qc7SA1QqVI)

Xenoblade Chronicles X (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg2PTVi7fl8#t=100) gets a new trailer, but still only coming out in 2015 it seems.

Hyrule Warriors Zelda gameplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MhnjzoyhKo#t=486)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 12, 2014, 01:39:35 PM
Now I'm curious how Bayonetta might be made as a D&D character.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on June 12, 2014, 01:44:23 PM
From the perspective of one of the creators/directors, (Miyazaki?), they prefer no sequels. So, in some sense, DSII is a fluke.

Then what the fuck does that make King's Field 2 onward, all ~15 games in the Armored Core franchise, and Lost Kingdoms 2?

Hell, we all know that Dark Souls was the sequel to Demon's Souls in everything but name.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on June 12, 2014, 09:01:39 PM
(http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/772/921/b22.gif)
Iwata and Reggie confirmed as characters for Super Smash Brothers! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qc7SA1QqVI)
At first I was like  :twitch
Then I was like  :bigeyes
And now I'm like  :love
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 13, 2014, 01:43:22 AM
Damn I wish I could play Dark Souls.  Alas, POS computer and lack of funds for a new one kinda hinder that wish.  Then again, I have way too many other unfinished games and such...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 13, 2014, 02:16:26 AM
I'm meh towards the WiiU..honestly I feel if they followed Saga's example and published for the other consoles and  keep doing the handheld stuff they would turn a huge profit.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 13, 2014, 05:54:06 AM
Because that worked soooo well for Sega, right? :rolleyes

Besides,  it's important that at least one of the big consoles out there doesn't cost as much as a good PC, neither charges you extra for online play.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 13, 2014, 12:43:12 PM
Because that worked soooo well for Sega, right? :rolleyes

Well they tend to have a massive number of characters folks love..and i hear " I wish they put Zelda or whoever on the whatever other than WiiU" and

The company ended up with an operating loss of 46.4 billion yen, or $457 million, for the fiscal year ending in March, managing to move 590,000 3DS units and 310,000 Wii U units in the last quarter (ie. the first three months of 2014).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/05/07/nintendo-misses-wii-u-and-3ds-sales-targets-posts-229m-loss/

and hten there's the lack of major third party support

http://popcultureblog.dallasnews.com/2014/06/nintendo-hopes-to-win-third-party-support-by-doubling-down-on-wii-u-courting-indies.html/

http://wiiudaily.com/2014/03/wii-u-third-party-publishers/

Watch Dog looks like it's going to be the only major TPS game currently....


EDIT: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-s-plan-to-quietly-kill-the-wii-u/1100-6418177/

This might help them turn a profit...but only for a short time I feel
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 13, 2014, 02:47:47 PM
Please, Sony spent 5 years in the red when it came to financial reports not that long ago. (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/191983/Sonys_first_profit_in_five_years_no_thanks_to_PlayStation.php)

I don't remember any Xbox ever turning any significant profit for Microsoft either.

So big deal, Nintendo went trough a bit of tough time, but they're finally getting their stuff togheter, coming out with their main franchises for the Wii U.

Third party will follow when Wii U starts selling better due to Zelda U/SSB/Bayonetta 2/Xenoblade Chronicles/Hyrule Warriors.

It already started selling better due to Mario Kart actually. (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/465552/mario-kart-8-boosts-uk-wii-u-hardware-sales-666/)

Kinda of a repeat of the 3DS situation. When it launched it was simply missing any true big titles. I love Nintendo, but damnit, they should've realized by now that 2d platformers on their own don't sell that many home consoles on their own anymore! :P

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on June 13, 2014, 02:54:51 PM
Watch Dogs and Bayonetta 2.

Also, Sega has no fanboys left.  The Sonic franchise at present is drawing as much ire from it's traditional fanbase as it is praise, and it's not earning many new fans with it's new games, and their downright illegal handling of media for their Shining franchise has flat lost them all Western support for their games.  Most (if not all) other franchises owned by Sega are developed by 3rd-party developers.  Basically, Sega makes money as a production house for games much moreso than an actual developer.  Of course, even more money than that is earned from their army of Pachinko machines in Japan... but still.

On the other hand, Nintendo is fine.  They're sitting on a ridiculous pile of cash and have their headline titles coming to the WiiU in 2014 and 2015.  They're also launching amiibo, which is going to plain print money for them.  It's possible that Nintendo is going to release a new console in 3-4 years, but at the same time is that really that ridiculous?  That would give the WiiU a 5-6 year lifespan, which is very much in-line with every console generation other than the immediately previous one.  Also, people can say whatever they want about the WiiU's horsepower, it's clear that Nintendo knows how to put hardware to use far better than Sony or Microsoft with Mario Kart 8 running at 1080p60.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 13, 2014, 04:07:03 PM

Third party will follow when Wii U starts selling better due to Zelda U/SSB/Bayonetta 2/Xenoblade Chronicles/Hyrule Warriors.


may but right now  EA :

http://www.ea.com/coming-soon Nothing for the WiiU

Activsion

http://www.activision.com/games?cc=US;i=1;q=*;q1=Coming+Soon;q2=Wii+U%3Cspan+class%3D%22trademark%22%3ETM%3C~2Fspan%3E;sort=release-date;x1=release-type;x2=platforms   only 3 and two are tie ins

Bethesda doesn't have anything either this year

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/9/5793660/ubisoft-unreleased-wii-u-games  I guess that's smart

I guess we'll just wait for 2015-16 and see what happens

What the WiiU really needs is to make a deal for an only on the WiiU game from a third party....

SSB and Zelda aren't enough of a reason for me to go get a WiiU...I'm more likely to go spend the $450 it will cost to get an xbox one and the games it has that I want to play.

I have a Wii but that i's only cuz I won it in a contest and I haven't played it since I got one game for it a while back, which i bet would have worked better if i got it for my 360 lol.

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 13, 2014, 11:08:25 PM
I would get a WiiU for Bayonetta 2. And ONLY Bayonetta 2. The Zelda franchise has never really done much for me... And both the DS and 3DS have more interesting games in my opinion (though the latter could use a better Castlevania).

With that said, SEGA is actually turning a relatively nice profit thanks to PSO2.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 14, 2014, 04:01:19 AM
Kuroimaken, since you like PSO2, didn't you hear about the Xenoblade Chronicles X incoming game for the Wii U?

Original trailer. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ue5DSuDbTgw#t=9)
2013 Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuwBpOLtFps)
Gameplay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_wnLmYn5IE)
First 42 minutes of gameplay from E3 2014 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwgVanoq_a4)

It's, like, PSO 2 with an actual open world. And giant transforming robots and giant alien dinossaurs. I would expect that to be of your interest. :p

Also Splattoon indeed seems to be exciting other people over the net
(http://i.imgur.com/UpOf9FR.gif)

What the WiiU really needs is to make a deal for an only on the WiiU game from a third party....

You mean like, Bayonetta 2, that's only been mentioned at least a dozen times in this thread, including in the post before and after yours? :eh
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 14, 2014, 05:36:16 AM

What the WiiU really needs is to make a deal for an only on the WiiU game from a third party....

You mean like, Bayonetta 2, that's only been mentioned at least a dozen times in this thread, including in the post before and after yours? :eh

Lol, my mistake..but thats mainly due to 1. Never hearing of the company 2. not really hearing of the game till now.  I'm only familiar with the big name publishers at least big name to me being EA, Activsion, etc..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_publisher#Major_publishers

ahh, upon looking to see what  PlatinumGames Inc.  has made, It looks like I have never heard of any of them.  So to me it looks like a niche game/publisher.

I'm guessing that you however are a true and true  Nintendo player.

 Nintendo had me during the 64 and part of the gamecube era..but then my taste in games shifted and the other consoles ( mainly the xbox since that's what my friends had) kept up with those taste in games and they grew with me, offering the online stuff,ability to double as a dvd player.  If my friends want to play Wii Sports resort ( the only game that sees any play for my Wii) I'm fine with that and then after about 10 mins or so we're back to to my 360.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on June 14, 2014, 05:43:37 AM
ahh, upon looking to see what  PlatinumGames Inc.  has made, It looks like I have never heard of any of them.  So to me it looks like a niche game/publisher.

Oh my god.  I'm... I'm so sorry.

Please, go play Metal Gear Revengeance or.... maybe W101 or something.  Just.... you need to be saved brother.  Am remember to LET'EM RIP.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 14, 2014, 11:29:39 AM
ahh, upon looking to see what  PlatinumGames Inc.  has made, It looks like I have never heard of any of them.  So to me it looks like a niche game/publisher.

Oh my god.  I'm... I'm so sorry.

Please, go play Metal Gear Revengeance or.... maybe W101 or something.  Just.... you need to be saved brother.  Am remember to LET'EM RIP.

Ummm those games just don't interest me  and here's an article from today talking about Nintendo's lack of Twitch and why the company is doing the opposite of the others.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/06/14/yup-nintendo-is-still-stuck-in-the-past.aspx
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 14, 2014, 11:39:14 AM
I believe you may recognize a game or two by Platinum, from when their original members were under a different name: Team Viewtiful ...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 14, 2014, 02:40:25 PM
I believe you may recognize a game or two by Platinum, from when their original members were under a different name: Team Viewtiful ...

That name means nothing to me as well
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on June 14, 2014, 03:12:04 PM
trappedslider -- What you are basically saying here is...

1) First party Nintendo games don't interest you.

2) Developers who made 3rd-party exclusives for Nintendo consoles don't interest you.

3) You'd rather spend the money it'd cost to buy a WiiU + 2-3 games on JUST an XBox One.

So tell me, why the hell do you care about the WiiU?  Nintendo is NOT marketing to you because you've already clearly made up your mind that you're not going to buy one.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 14, 2014, 04:12:43 PM
trappedslider -- What you are basically saying here is...

1) First party Nintendo games don't interest you.

They do interest me just not enough as it currently stands to buy the console..my nostalgia may be strong but it's not that strong.

Quote
2) Developers who made 3rd-party exclusives for Nintendo consoles don't interest you.
Apparently I don't know very many of the smaller publisher's would be more correct

Quote
3) You'd rather spend the money it'd cost to buy a WiiU + 2-3 games on JUST an XBox One.
Xbox one has the following games that appeal to me coming out : The Halo collection, the new CoD, Watch Dogs ( which is out now and I can play it on my xbox 360. But from what I read the folks working on the WiiU port are looking at how to integrate the game pad for a way better experience but that wont come out till the fall :( ) Destiny,Battlefield: Hardline (which odd because I didn't like the other BFs lol)

Quote
So tell me, why the hell do you care about the WiiU?  Nintendo is NOT marketing to you because you've already clearly made up your mind that you're not going to buy one.

I care cuz I love the characters and some of the games that Nintendo has and I'd wish they would just make them mulitplat but that would mean they would become a publisher only. That would also say that the market can't handle more than two big consoles at least for a time. So hopefully SSB and it's other nostalgia trips will keep the WiiU sells going strong. sorry for not being a Nintendo fanboy who   buys games and consoles based on nostalgia alone.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 15, 2014, 11:51:25 AM
ahh, upon looking to see what  PlatinumGames Inc.  has made, It looks like I have never heard of any of them.  So to me it looks like a niche game/publisher.

Oh my god.  I'm... I'm so sorry.

Please, go play Metal Gear Revengeance or.... maybe W101 or something.  Just.... you need to be saved brother.  Am remember to LET'EM RIP.
For fuck's sake, if you own a wii, play freaking Okami. Seriously. I may be wrong but at one point Platinum was Clover, right?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 15, 2014, 12:21:26 PM
Okami is veeeeeeeery very good indeed. And it's so much better to play it on a Wii. Drawing in the air is very very fun;
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 15, 2014, 02:18:24 PM
Huh, I would have thought Okami would be higher-priced, but on Amazon it's only $25 or so.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on June 15, 2014, 05:09:09 PM
Okami is veeeeeeeery very good indeed. And it's so much better to play it on a Wii. Drawing in the air is very very fun;

I will also suggest Okami as well.  And thank you for reminding me, Clover IS Platinum.  Man, Okami is awesome.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on June 15, 2014, 07:44:30 PM
Huh, I would have thought Okami would be higher-priced, but on Amazon it's only $25 or so.
It was popular on the PS2 and was re-released on the Wii with some extra content and graphical upgrades, where it became a must-own for anyone who didn't have the PS2 version.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 15, 2014, 10:05:59 PM
IMO it's a must own even if you do have the PS2 version. Playing on the Wii is much more fun than playing it on the PS2.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 24, 2014, 04:06:18 PM
Capcom is now open to buyout. (http://shoryuken.com/2014/06/17/capcoms-takeover-defense-ends-after-shareholder-vote-open-to-buyout/)

And Ubisoft is cranking out the lies to cover their asses over why Watch Dogs on PC contains hidden graphics files from last year's E3 that made it look so good then but so terrible now. (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-20-ubisoft-explains-why-watch-dogs-on-pc-contains-hidden-graphics-files)  Hell, there have been reports that by turning those old files back on, the stuttering issues in the game actually disappear, so the game improves performance because of it!  The exact opposite of what Ubisoft is saying!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Risada on June 24, 2014, 04:14:33 PM
Capcom is now open to buyout. (http://shoryuken.com/2014/06/17/capcoms-takeover-defense-ends-after-shareholder-vote-open-to-buyout/)

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

This is some serious stuff happening... I am worried now...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 24, 2014, 04:23:53 PM
I am not particularly surprised by this, given the absolute FIASCO that was Resident Evil 6...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Risada on June 24, 2014, 04:25:57 PM
I am not particularly surprised by this, given the absolute FIASCO that was Resident Evil 6...

Well... I don't follow RE, so I wouldn't know...

Damn... And I quite liked Dragon's Dogma... Thank the Old Ones we have Dark Souls...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 24, 2014, 04:47:48 PM
Capcom is now open to buyout. (http://shoryuken.com/2014/06/17/capcoms-takeover-defense-ends-after-shareholder-vote-open-to-buyout/)

And Ubisoft is cranking out the lies to cover their asses over why Watch Dogs on PC contains hidden graphics files from last year's E3 that made it look so good then but so terrible now. (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-20-ubisoft-explains-why-watch-dogs-on-pc-contains-hidden-graphics-files)  Hell, there have been reports that by turning those old files back on, the stuttering issues in the game actually disappear, so the game improves performance because of it!  The exact opposite of what Ubisoft is saying!

Dark Souls II is also a victim of this HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE business etiquette and game desing. If you stop to pay attention to the game that was released, and then look back to the early beta copies that were distributed to some members of the Dark Souls community and the gameplay footage you find on them, you'll see a much, much better graphic than what made it to the final release. More detailed textures and meshes, many more particles on the fire animation, deeper blacks, etc.

There are videos about it on youtube that do side by side comparisons. There's also other things, like enemy positioning and some enemy types that were completely removed from the final release.  This is really, REALLY f***** wrong, and companies that do this should be fined. The graphics i see on game trailers and early betas are directly related to whether i'll buy the game on release or not - i don't want to be tricked.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 24, 2014, 05:00:33 PM
Oh for fuck's sake, the graphics are fine.

I'm terribly sorry if the industry pampered you in that department, but everyone AND THEIR DOG who owns the PC version has already pimped out their copy with all the prettiest graphics packs they can get, it's what the whole "PC Master Race" argument is about. "No console version will ever be as pretty as the PC!"

I am SO sick and tired of hearing people complain about the graphics in Dark Souls 2. THAT'S WHAT MODS ARE FOR.

I wanted to be challenged in new and interesting ways. I was. I wanted to face new bosses. I did (well, some of them were basically just bigger humanoids with large weapons, that much I'll grant).

Yes, Dark Souls 2 wasn't designed by the same director. Said director is currently working on Project Beast. Get over it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 24, 2014, 05:08:10 PM
I'm not sure who i'd want to buy Capcom....
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 24, 2014, 05:18:22 PM
Oh for fuck's sake, the graphics are fine.

I'm terribly sorry if the industry pampered you in that department, but everyone AND THEIR DOG who owns the PC version has already pimped out their copy with all the prettiest graphics packs they can get, it's what the whole "PC Master Race" argument is about. "No console version will ever be as pretty as the PC!"

I am SO sick and tired of hearing people complain about the graphics in Dark Souls 2. THAT'S WHAT MODS ARE FOR.

I wanted to be challenged in new and interesting ways. I was. I wanted to face new bosses. I did (well, some of them were basically just bigger humanoids with large weapons, that much I'll grant).

Yes, Dark Souls 2 wasn't designed by the same director. Said director is currently working on Project Beast. Get over it.

Kuro, it's not so much about "PC is master race" as it is that the company didn't deliver the product as originally advertised.  We should expect quality products regardless of the system.  We should absolutely hold the developers to their promises lest they think they can half-ass the products and try to screw the consumers.  We should demand excellence.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on June 24, 2014, 05:22:16 PM
Oh for fuck's sake, the graphics are fine.

I'm terribly sorry if the industry pampered you in that department, but everyone AND THEIR DOG who owns the PC version has already pimped out their copy with all the prettiest graphics packs they can get, it's what the whole "PC Master Race" argument is about. "No console version will ever be as pretty as the PC!"

I am SO sick and tired of hearing people complain about the graphics in Dark Souls 2. THAT'S WHAT MODS ARE FOR.

I wanted to be challenged in new and interesting ways. I was. I wanted to face new bosses. I did (well, some of them were basically just bigger humanoids with large weapons, that much I'll grant).

Yes, Dark Souls 2 wasn't designed by the same director. Said director is currently working on Project Beast. Get over it.

Kuro, it's not so much about "PC is master race" as it is that the company didn't deliver the product as originally advertised.  We should expect quality products regardless of the system.  We should absolutely hold the developers to their promises lest they think they can half-ass the products and try to screw the consumers.  We should demand excellence.

I don't play Dark Souls, but I do also get pissed when the game I buy looks nothing like the demo/trailers.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on June 24, 2014, 05:25:03 PM
I'm not sure who i'd want to buy Capcom....


Nintendo.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 24, 2014, 05:28:35 PM
I'm not sure who i'd want to buy Capcom....

Anyone who wants to take that massive library of beloved IPs and have the company make great games with them again ...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 24, 2014, 05:42:43 PM
I'm not sure who i'd want to buy Capcom....


Nintendo.

and then all of those IPs become WiiU exclusives...and megaman appears in the next SSB,along with resident evil iconic characters etc..
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 24, 2014, 06:07:47 PM
BUY THEM NINTENDO!

But yeah, Capcom was doing a pretty bad job with their own IPs.

We would certainly get Megaman 3ds (or whatever new portable Nintendo comes up with in the next years).

And Megaman's already confirmed for the next SSB for quite a bit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmCVzjGVFy4):P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 24, 2014, 07:28:54 PM
Oh for fuck's sake, the graphics are fine.

I'm terribly sorry if the industry pampered you in that department, but everyone AND THEIR DOG who owns the PC version has already pimped out their copy with all the prettiest graphics packs they can get, it's what the whole "PC Master Race" argument is about. "No console version will ever be as pretty as the PC!"

I am SO sick and tired of hearing people complain about the graphics in Dark Souls 2. THAT'S WHAT MODS ARE FOR.

I wanted to be challenged in new and interesting ways. I was. I wanted to face new bosses. I did (well, some of them were basically just bigger humanoids with large weapons, that much I'll grant).

Yes, Dark Souls 2 wasn't designed by the same director. Said director is currently working on Project Beast. Get over it.

Kuro, it's not so much about "PC is master race" as it is that the company didn't deliver the product as originally advertised.  We should expect quality products regardless of the system.  We should absolutely hold the developers to their promises lest they think they can half-ass the products and try to screw the consumers.  We should demand excellence.

The industry has been morally bankrupt for years, it's not like they've only started now with this nonsense. Day-one DLC, content on disk you have to pay to unlock...

I am immensely frustrated with how when time comes to complain, it's the dressing that people moan about and not the goddamn content!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on June 24, 2014, 07:51:34 PM
Oh for fuck's sake, the graphics are fine.

I'm terribly sorry if the industry pampered you in that department, but everyone AND THEIR DOG who owns the PC version has already pimped out their copy with all the prettiest graphics packs they can get, it's what the whole "PC Master Race" argument is about. "No console version will ever be as pretty as the PC!"

I am SO sick and tired of hearing people complain about the graphics in Dark Souls 2. THAT'S WHAT MODS ARE FOR.

I wanted to be challenged in new and interesting ways. I was. I wanted to face new bosses. I did (well, some of them were basically just bigger humanoids with large weapons, that much I'll grant).

Yes, Dark Souls 2 wasn't designed by the same director. Said director is currently working on Project Beast. Get over it.

Kuro, it's not so much about "PC is master race" as it is that the company didn't deliver the product as originally advertised.  We should expect quality products regardless of the system.  We should absolutely hold the developers to their promises lest they think they can half-ass the products and try to screw the consumers.  We should demand excellence.

Have you ever seen a fast food commercial?

Yeah, nobody is ever getting fined for a bought product not being as pretty as the advertised one.
Ever.  :tongue
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 24, 2014, 08:52:48 PM
Just because we're complaining about the dressing doesn't mean we don't complain about other parts of the game as well. Personally, i haven't played a lot of Dark Souls 2 yet, just about an hour or so, because i haven't bought the game yet, though a friend brought it over and i dicked around with it for a bit. I've watched a lot of gameplay footage, though, and while the graphic is much superior than it's predecessor, it's nowhere NEAR the level of detail that was advertised in the trailers & early gameplay footage.

And it's more than that. They've made the torch useless. Remember how in early gameplay footage we'd hear all that jazz about how the game would be dark & gloomy and you'd absolutely need a torch in order to see in some areas? That's all but gone, the one area i've seen that's really dark and needs the torch are the ones prior to the rat covenant - no other area needs it.

And the difference is MAJOR. You just need to look at parallel gameplay footage in order to see it. The trailer/early gameplay has MUCH better contrast, blacker blacks, whiter whites, it has much more particle effects going on (look at the sparks from the torch, just look at how they're in the trailers/early gameplay and then in the actual game). The difference is SMALLER on the PC Release, but it's definitely NOT small, it's huge. Even the models for some of the armor, weapons and scenery has much better quality in the early gameplay footage and trailers.

Now want to know what's REALLY sad about that? It's that the trailer/early gameplay was on THE PS3, and it STILL had much better graphics than what it has now, and it still ran at smooth 30fps, which, for PC is kind of bad, but for consoles it's the standard. Do i feel cheated because of it? Hell yes, i do.

Of course i feel much more unsatisfied when i find out there's extensive cut-content present on the CD that the modders have to basically unlock for you, or that ends up being re-introduced later on in a patch or via DLC - the latter easily being the worst offender. I've felt about it that way with Skyrim, with all the unused dialogue and quests, with all the gamebreaking bugs that were left for the fans to fix, with fan-made models, shaders, lighting, meshes and EVERYTHING ELSE better than what was in the original game... Then the same with Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, and i hear it was the same with Oblivion (though i didn't play it extensively because i hate the skill system - i know there's a mod that changes it, i'll eventually get around to it).

I've also felt about that with Borderlands 2, when they simply cut out an entire monologue by Handsome Jack where HE EXPLAINED WHY THE WILHELM FIGHT WAS SO EASY - i mean, come on, why would they take that out? I've seen it too, it was good writing. And it was a cheap shot to add not one, but TWO DLC-Only characters that are THEIR OWN DLC. I MEAN COME ON, THAT'S F**** UP... We've had Captain Scarlet and her Pirate Booty, Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage, Hammerlock's Big Game Hunt and Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep DLC and NONE of them introduced a new playable character. NONE. The last DLC is huge, and didn't introduce a new character... And then there's the headhunter DLC's, which are tiny, have little new dialogue and honestly are kind of broken.

Can i go on? Absolutely, it's becoming an increasingly common problem. But just because there are worse offenders than Dark Souls 2 it doesn't mean that it's not something huge that's worth a good amount of criticism on the part of fans. Well, they gave us a complete game... We should like... be happy about that, right? No. It's their job.

Mods should be primarily about adding new content and modifying non-intended aspects of the game... To keep it fresh and improve it's longevity and replayability value. Mods that improve any aspect of the game are also always nice, but they should not be assumed to exist by the developers, and quite honestly, by now they ARE assuming they're going to be made, and that's why so much effort is being put to make the game highly moddeable.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 24, 2014, 08:58:50 PM
Shovel Knight is coming out in 2 days! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgnD4WRzgjI)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 24, 2014, 09:05:00 PM
I'm not sure who i'd want to buy Capcom....

Anyone who wants to take that massive library of beloved IPs and have the company make great games with them again ...

Square-Enix has been surprisingly proactive about keeping the IPs of the many companies it absorbed relatively alive (particularly Eidos). It might even mean we'd get to see another Breath of Fire game.

I like how the company has been turning around so far, its treatment of FF notwithstanding...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 24, 2014, 09:08:33 PM
I'm not sure who i'd want to buy Capcom....

Anyone who wants to take that massive library of beloved IPs and have the company make great games with them again ...

Square-Enix has been surprisingly proactive about keeping the IPs of the many companies it absorbed relatively alive (particularly Eidos). It might even mean we'd get to see another Breath of Fire game.

I like how the company has been turning around so far, its treatment of FF notwithstanding...

Actually, yes, that would be a great acquisition! 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 24, 2014, 09:21:08 PM
Just because we're complaining about the dressing doesn't mean we don't complain about other parts of the game as well. Personally, i haven't played a lot of Dark Souls 2 yet, just about an hour or so, because i haven't bought the game yet, though a friend brought it over and i dicked around with it for a bit. I've watched a lot of gameplay footage, though, and while the graphic is much superior than it's predecessor, it's nowhere NEAR the level of detail that was advertised in the trailers & early gameplay footage.

And it's more than that. They've made the torch useless. Remember how in early gameplay footage we'd hear all that jazz about how the game would be dark & gloomy and you'd absolutely need a torch in order to see in some areas? That's all but gone, the one area i've seen that's really dark and needs the torch are the ones prior to the rat covenant - no other area needs it.

And the difference is MAJOR. You just need to look at parallel gameplay footage in order to see it. The trailer/early gameplay has MUCH better contrast, blacker blacks, whiter whites, it has much more particle effects going on (look at the sparks from the torch, just look at how they're in the trailers/early gameplay and then in the actual game). The difference is SMALLER on the PC Release, but it's definitely NOT small, it's huge. Even the models for some of the armor, weapons and scenery has much better quality in the early gameplay footage and trailers.

Now want to know what's REALLY sad about that? It's that the trailer/early gameplay was on THE PS3, and it STILL had much better graphics than what it has now, and it still ran at smooth 30fps, which, for PC is kind of bad, but for consoles it's the standard. Do i feel cheated because of it? Hell yes, i do.


These two bolded statements contradict each other. You can't claim one thing and then the other.

I've already finished the game three times. Watch all the gameplay footage you want, it doesn't compare to the actual experience. You try going through The Gutter or Black Gulch without a light. It can't be done. You'll fall to your death so many times it won't be funny. Try to fight The Sinner at a range without someone lighting up the place for you. Try to get around to certain areas. Yes, better contrasts, again - that's what the mods are there for. This difference between the trailer and the actual game footage does NOT actually impair the actual gameplay experience. You won't be having the time to get worried about how pretty the flames look when the dragon breathes on you, you'll be worried about GETTING THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY.

A friend of mine pointed me to a review of Dark Souls 2 that was actually well thought-out, but unfortunately I can't find it right now. The guy complained about how they did enemies this time around, how some bosses were repetitive (valid concerns even though I didn't entirely agree with them). Not one of his points was about graphics.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 24, 2014, 10:38:45 PM
I might not have played it, personally, but i saw a lot of people do, and also some LP's like ENB. And i did except the area before the rat covenant, i just didn't remembered it's name. Sure, there's a couple spots where the torch is useful.

Now go watch early game footage and compare how useful the torch was THEN. Much different, am i right?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 25, 2014, 08:22:08 AM
Again: I would give up using the torch ENTIRELY if they gave us new and different bosses to fight.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on June 28, 2014, 10:12:35 PM
I could get behind Nintendo buying Capcom. Let's face it, Capcom just releases sequels anyway and I've always wanted to Hadoken Mario in the face on the console.

Which come to think of it is something else us "Master PCers" have gotten to do  :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on June 29, 2014, 12:33:50 AM
Brujon, to be fair to Borderlands 2, the last DLC (which was the Tiny Tina one, correct?) made a point of only using characters that Tina knew.  I think it would have been wrong to add a new character at that point.  Now, the others?  sure, they could have been added then.  The pyro would have been a great fit with Torgue's arena.  Hammerlock's Hunt was not a great campaign though....I did not enjoy that one all that much....I thought the story was pretty good, but the gameplay was just.....it reminded me of the DLC campaigns they experimented with in the first one.  Namely, the issue with EXTREMELY LONG TRAVEL TIMES.  I really liked the Pirate Booty one, especially because it added new guns, and the same with the Torgue one.  And the Tiny Tina one.  But not the Hammerlock.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 29, 2014, 01:50:41 AM
Tiny Tina's DLC is basically D&D... If any DLC could've introduced new playable characters, it could've been that DLC, i mean... D&D is supreme king of playable classes, lol...

Also, Gaige and Krieg were basically retconned in. Especially Krieg - i mean, they even made a new cinematic video to explain how the hell he got there... Gaige didn't even had a cinematic video and instead they made some Echo recordings that were released on twitter. There's not even a cinematic of Gaige getting to the train. At least for Krieg, we know. Also, Tiny Tina *DID* knew Gaige and Krieg, because they *were* on the train with the other vault hunters (hence why they end up at Windshear Wastes after the crash).

The whole reason they didn't add new characters in Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragonkeep, or even acknowledged explicitly either Gaige or Krieg everywhere else on the entire game (outside of the Echo recordings in the main campaign, there isn't a SINGLE reference to neither Gaige nor Krieg in the entirety of Borderlands 2), is because they are DLC characters - meaning there will be a WHOLE LOT of people that didn't buy them, and henceforth don't have them available. They OPTED for this business model instead of one where they added the characters TOGETHER with a DLC.

At this point, i don't even know what the hell they're going to do with them in Borderlands 3. Also, touching on game balance... Krieg and Gaige are completely off the charts unbalanced, they break the game in so many ways it's not even funny - especially Krieg. If you just spec Krieg right, he's outright unstoppable - he doesn't even NEED a weapon, or any items, for that matter. You can finish the game naked with Krieg, and i'm not even joking. Gaige, on the other hand, can be severely broken just by using Anarchy together with Close Enough and not even having to aim anymore, just melt stuff all around you by shooting at the ground. Utterly ridiculous. Not that Salvador is any better, either, what with Money Shot and all.

In fact, you DON'T have balance in Borderlands 2, especially after Level 50. The second level cap increase made matters even worse. UVHM was already ridiculous, now it's even more ridiculous. Raid Bosses are insanely unbalanced. In fact, Raid Bosses in this game are made difficult by ramping their artificial difficulty up so high they one-shot or two-shot any character regardless of what shield or health they have.

Don't get me wrong. The game is FUN, i love it, i have over 200 hours on Borderlands 2 and that's because i didn't have enough time to play MORE of it. I absolutely love the loot & shoot nature of it, but truth be told, balance in Borderlands 1 was MUCH better than in 2, and the loot generation system also was much better. In BL1 i didn't have to farm for 2 hours to get the weapon i wanted, and i could do without legendaries. BL2, not so much. There aren't any instances where i can prefer to use a purple rather than a legendary, and the drop rates are just outright awful - to the point where you need to save Doctor's Orders mission in order to farm Legendary Loot Midgets to get your loot straight if you want to succeed in higher difficulty levels.

Oh, not to mention Creature Slaughter DLC...

When we got Miss Moxxi's Underdome in Borderlands 1, we got a MEGA DLC that added a BANK (something we didnt have prior), a big and fun, difficult, 10 stage slaugtherdome, and a metric shitton of fun. The Creature Slaughter in Borderlands 2? Single map, 5 rounds, done in about 30 minutes, or less if you have good gear.

What Borderlands 2 has going for it is some very talented writing by Anthony Burch, very good, appropriate and fitting graphics, and a ton of humor, and that makes me keep wanting to play it. But the game has BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG flaws. Big, glaring red flaws. And they need to be fixed for Borderlands 3 and the Pre-Sequel, because i don't know if the impact is going to stay the same if they keep just focusing on writing and humor and simply forget about balance & game design.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on June 29, 2014, 02:41:58 AM
Balance?  In Borderlands?  Ha!

Anyways, during the original campaign, neither Gaige nor Krieg made appearances, except where you the character played them.  Because they are not NPCs.  Notice how none of the other PCs were in Tina's campaign.  Except as PCs.  So if you played as either one (I did Gaige and soldier, can't remember the name), they would be in the campaign.

Quote
When we got Miss Moxxi's Underdome in Borderlands 1, we got a MEGA DLC that added a BANK (something we didnt have prior), a big and fun, difficult, 10 stage slaugtherdome, and a metric shitton of fun. The Creature Slaughter in Borderlands 2? Single map, 5 rounds, done in about 30 minutes, or less if you have good gear.

They added the bank in BL1.....so there was no need for the big addition in BL2.  And they added their own bank level addition in the base game, with Claptrap's Stash.  Again, no need for a DLC to add it, and taking away a major thing from DLC.  I don't mind that.  Don't get me wrong, I liked BL1 a little more, but they did fix some issues I had with the original.  Traveling is less annoying, for instance.  Though I don't know why you've had a problem with loot.  Though.....I have a tangent on that I will talk about at the end of this post.  Anyways, the legendaries were about the same power level as BL1 for me, at least relative.  Some were crap, some great, some amazing fun (infinity pistol!).  I do think that orange weapons SHOULD be significantly better than purple ones, but in the game it seemed like some orange were not all that much better, and I could trade out for a purple of only 5 levels higher.  Even though I was using a gun 5-10 levels lower than me, though, I was doing fine.  The game was pretty easy, save for the raid bosses.  One thing I wish they would change, however, is infinite bullets.  I never run out of bullets.  I bought bullets only with characters that are bullet hoses, and it was never any chunk of change worth caring about.  So why have it be a thing?  By level 10, I will have more than enough money to fill all ammo from 0 without making a dent in my cash.  The only thing it does is be annoying.  I have also never run out of bullets.  Past level 10.

Tangent: there is NO good way to do loot in video games.  Absolutely no good way.  A common complaint about BL loot is that you get so many white and greens.  And you get a LOT of whites and greens.  But the thing is, you kind of need to.  The rare guns are, well, rare.  And if you got them more frequently, they wouldn't be special or rare.  But boasting about the 98759627394652753 guns is kinda pointless if 90% of them are useless past level 8 or so when you finally have a good supply of blue+ guns.  They aren't worth much cash at all either, so that's also annoying.  But again, they have to be, because otherwise it breaks the economy.  You can't really fix the rarity issue either because if guns dropped less frequently, it would mean rare powerful drops are also less frequent.  So it solves nothing on that front.  It would make having more expensive white/green weapons more viable....but then again it breaks the economy by being the primary method of getting new guns, selling cheap ones.  If the rare ones are scaled appropriately it solves nothing either.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 29, 2014, 03:06:33 AM
I will address the issue of loot, since it's the most pertinent one. As a baseline for loot done right, i'll talk about Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction

The equivalent of green were the magic weapons, and blue/purple the rare weapons. Orange weapons were Uniques, and white's Socketed/Normal/Ethereal. Uniques were generally all-around better, and some, but not all, had some unique ability specific to them as well - but not every unique. Some Uniques were better than others. Rare weapons were procedurally generated as well as magic weapons, but the procedural generation could lead to some interesting results, meaning that some Rare weapons were actually *BETTER* than Unique weapons, but those weapons, because of the procedural generation, were actually RARER than the Unique weapons they surpassed. Now, for Magic Weapons. Generally, they were much worse than Uniques or Rares, but before you could get some of the better Rares and Uniques, loot tables in some instances contained magic weapons that had better +%damage or +%attack speed or a combination of the two with higher %'s than the rare/uniques from that same loot table - but then again, it would be hard to have a "perfect drop" of a magic weapon that was actually better than the unique (again, due to procedural generation ocurring inside of a range).*I won't go into socketed weapons, runewords etc, because it does not compare well to Borderlands*

Borderlands 1 had that, but BL2 does not. I'll explain. In BL1 you could find a purple Atlas SMG with -70%+ recoil reduction, 96%+ accuracy, insane rate of fire, damage and good magazine size, that was generally all-around better than a Bitch - a pearlescent weapon, much much much more rare than the purples. But to get that good a purple to drop, you'd need to have phenomenal luck in order to get all the right barrel/grip/foregrip/accessory/sight combination.

In Borderlands 2, you are hard-pressed to actually find a purple that surpasses the unique in DPS. In fact, if you go look at Admiral Bahroo's videos on Top 5 in Slot for Borderlands 2, there's only ONE purple weapon that makes the Top 5, and it's the Plasma Caster SMG's -- Which are ERIDIUM weapons, so they're RARER than purple, but still more common than legendary. I find that making Legendary weapons all around better with no exception is bad practice, because it instantly obsoletes every other weapon category. After farming bosses for a while, you tend to basically IGNORE anything that's less than orange rarity because of that fact. In Borderlands 1, you NEVER stopped looking at stats for purple weapons, even when you already had almost every Legendary in the game.

Why? Because it had a small, very small chance, of being better than what you currently held. And that's AWESOME, because the whole point of loot in a game is making you giddy with anticipation as to what you're getting. NOT farming a boss for THREE STRAIGHT HOURS in order to get ONE DROP that has a 1/300 chance of dropping.

That's my gripe with Borderlands 2 looting system. Past level 10 or so you no longer care abou White weapons. Past level 15 or so, anything less than Blue is not worth a look unless you're having extremely bad drops. Past level 20, it's purple or bust until you hit the level cap... How's that not boring? :/

In Diablo 2 you'd keep an eye out for rares EVEN AFTER YOU HIT 99. You'd ALWAYS be on the lookout for Rares & Uniques, and you'd ALWAYS want to keep an eye out for socketed weapons, too, because of Runewords. Etc, etc, etc... So every time you killed a boss or a mini boss enemy, you'd scan the ground, giddy with anticipation, just waiting to see what he'd dropped. While you leveled, it wasn't until late Nightmare difficulty you stopped caring about magic items. How does that compare to what we have in Borderlands 2?

They also did other things that kneecapped the loot system, like removing manufacturer weapon variety and enforcing manufacturer gimmicks instead of leaving that up to specific prefixes or rarer weapons. Why can't i have a Vladof Shotgun? I could in BL1. Why can't i have a Hyperion Assault Rifle? I could in BL1. Why did they merge Pistols and Revolvers? Why did they get rid of Anarchy SMG's? Why can't i have an elemental Jakobs weapon? I could have an explosive Jakobs sniper in BL1. The list goes on... It all adds up to a number of weapon variety in BL2 that's actually SMALLER than BL1, and yes, someone did do the math correctly...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Wrex on June 29, 2014, 03:53:34 AM
I should mention that no one liked the Tomb of the Giants in Dark Souls 1, and the easiest form of illumination (And if you're not using a guide, probably you're only one) there took up one hand slot. I'd imagine most people wouldn't have enjoyed most of the game requiring you to use one hand for a Torch.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 29, 2014, 05:38:39 AM
I actually don't care about loot unless it's purple or orange in Borderlands 2, because of the golden keys.  I currently have over 200 banked, and every 5 or so levels, I spend a couple dozen outfitting my character with a new set of all purple gear, and then over the next few weeks, I get enough codes for more golden keys to refill what I've expended.  Plus, if I were to ever get down to 50 or so left, I know the PC trick to keep all my golden keys, and could then just use them indefinitely to maintain my purple gear at level.  Nothing like always sporting a purple Bandit rocket launcher, purple Jakobs sniper rifle with +180% crit damage, a purple Torgue assault rifle, and one other purple gun as suits my mood, plus a purple class mod, purple grenade mod, and purple shield.  I leave on the rare loot increase relic, just to improve the chance of finding an orange.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 29, 2014, 10:58:57 AM
I should mention that no one liked the Tomb of the Giants in Dark Souls 1, and the easiest form of illumination (And if you're not using a guide, probably you're only one) there took up one hand slot. I'd imagine most people wouldn't have enjoyed most of the game requiring you to use one hand for a Torch.

Well, there was the Sunlight Maggot. But you had to either get to the end of Lost Izalith or have access to the Chaos Servant covenant shortcut to get it. Aside from that, there's Cast Light, but that's a spellcaster-only solution (and it's not a particularly useful one in DkS2, given how ungodly short the duration on that one is).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 29, 2014, 12:31:49 PM
I actually don't care about loot unless it's purple or orange in Borderlands 2, because of the golden keys.  I currently have over 200 banked, and every 5 or so levels, I spend a couple dozen outfitting my character with a new set of all purple gear, and then over the next few weeks, I get enough codes for more golden keys to refill what I've expended.  Plus, if I were to ever get down to 50 or so left, I know the PC trick to keep all my golden keys, and could then just use them indefinitely to maintain my purple gear at level.  Nothing like always sporting a purple Bandit rocket launcher, purple Jakobs sniper rifle with +180% crit damage, a purple Torgue assault rifle, and one other purple gun as suits my mood, plus a purple class mod, purple grenade mod, and purple shield.  I leave on the rare loot increase relic, just to improve the chance of finding an orange.

That's another issue. I, too, have over 200 keys. I choose not to use them, however... I think it makes the game a bit boring, actually.

Also, the Vault Hunter's Relic doesn't increase the chance of oranges, sadly. From the wiki: "The wording of the effect is subtle and somewhat misleading. For each Vault Hunter's Relic present in the game, the procedural generation algorithm which creates all the loot in Borderlands 2 decreases the weight emphasis of its Common table (by 0.06). In layman's terms, 6% of loot that would have been white instead gets a free upgrade, generally to green." ( http://borderlands.wikia.com/wiki/Vault_Hunter's_Relic)

So, no increases in the chances for oranges. Slight increase in the chances for other rarities, however, but nothing statistically significant.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on June 29, 2014, 10:58:03 PM
i'll talk about Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction
Woot, a game I've played!

Let's see.
White was mundane crap of uselessness.
Blue was common magic items you trashed and sold on vendors for unfair prices.
Yellow was uncommon magic items you trashed from named monsters.
Green were set items (D&D has those), there is like 30 sets of up to 5 items each. You trashed more sets than you completed.
Gold were uniques (aka all named specific weapons & armor).
Runewords were D&D's artifacts, if D&D offered artifacts to 3rd level PCs.

In Diablo II, without mods, you didn't have storage space to store items and made 400 mules to hold items no one in their right mind would use only to subsequently get hit with a ladder reset and lose them all (haha!).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 29, 2014, 11:52:37 PM
Didn't say D2 was a flawless game - no game is flawless. But give me one better example of a good loot system? D2: LOD was absolutely great. Yes, Uniques were better than most non-uniques, even rares - but that's not true in every instance, and i even mentioned it was a case of yellows having a possibility of being better than uniques in a certain level range when taking loot tables into consideration, because yellows could have better overall statistics that mattered to you, while many uniques had statistics that didn't matter. In higher level play, uniques, set items and runewords completely dominate play, yes, but...

You can't get high level runes in a low level game - higher tier runes simply don't SPAWN until nightmare, and the higher leveled ones are not easily farmable until Countess in Hell difficulty - by that point you're already 70+ - pretty high level play there. High level set items fall into the same category, AND there were MANY Nightmare and Hell-only uniques, too.

You're also wrong about blues. Grandmaster and Master were blue-only prefixes that increased AR by 151/200 to 250/300 AND Damage by 101/151 to 150/200. They couldn't spawn on Rare weapons. Bear in mind these can spawn on any weapon category in the game, meaning you can slap these onto a Elite Maul and go to town with a Whirlwind Barbarian that doesn't care about attack speed. Some of the Suffixes are also Magic only, and don't appear on Rares.

On a different note, you could have Kings (one lesser than Master), +121-150 AR +81-100% Dam STACKED with Cruel's 300% damage increase, on top of Grinding, and up to 3 suffixes on a Rare item, meaning you could have INSANELY high attributes in a Rare weapon... Like on top of those 3, you add the top tier suffixes for Lightning/Poison damage on top of the top tier Attack Speed suffix... You'd have an absolutely INSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANE weapon if you rolled this good on a top tier Rare, and if you rolled an ethereal one, it'd be even better - you'd then socket it with Charsi's quest and slap a Zed onto it to make it indestructible ;). And you're saying to trash them because they *CAN* drop from named monsters? Clearly you didn't play a lot of D2 PvP, otherwise you'd know that a *GOOD* rare can be *BETTER* than some uniques for some builds, and you grind especifically for some combination.

In fact, you'd save Charsi's reward of making an item Rare for when you'd reach a level where you had the chance of dropping Ethereal Elite's, so you could have a chance of spawning a beast of an item such as the one i described, which would be better for some builds than the majority of the uniques. For a whole lot of scenarios, Rares are actually BETTER than uniques when rolled optimally. I'm not even talking anything about Charms... The vast majority of the charms that are going to eat up the entirety of your inventory when doing serious PvP are going to be magical charms, not even rare ones, just magical.

As for Set Items, yes, the vast majority of them are crap, but there exists 46 item sets in the game... More than 50% extra than the 30 you mentioned, and yes, some sets are pretty good, most are situational, and only some set items are actually good enough on their own to actually merit use.

Uniques are, of course, great items, and Runewords, some of the latter ones are *really* powerful. But when you look at the drop rates for the runes you need in order to get said runewords... Ahhh, now it gets interesting... You see, you have runes that have worse drop rates than uniques, and cubing to upgrade runes takes *a lot* of runes to get you the runes you want. You'd need to farm for a insane amount of time in order to get the more uncommon runes, and to get the best runewords. And *gasp* SURPRISE! The lower level runewords are SHIIIIIIIIIT.

And, oh yeah, the more insane Runewords are also Ladder only. So... You won't even get to see them in single player? Or in non-competitive multiplayer?

SorO, i usually respect your opinion when you exhibit knowledge on the matter, but in this case, you clearly have not played competitive Diablo 2, and you clearly don't know what you're talking about. Your opinion about Diablo 2 loot is that of someone who has, maybe, played a bit of Diablo 2 online before Ladder was introduced and the more dramatic changes happened, but not enough to really be knowledgeable about what was really good, really bad, or really hard to get.

As for the storage problem, yes, Diablo 2 has a massive problem with the inventory size. They tried increasing the stash size but it wasn't enough to completely solve the issue, and, inevitably, you had to have mules in order to keep all of your collected loot, ESPECIALLY because all of the trading involved in D2 play meant you had to have a lot of SoJ's and other bargaining chips to actually get useful items, so you inevitably had to store "currency" items a whole lot if you meant serious business. That's a flaw in the game concept, that was compounded by Blizzard's move against increasing amounts of Mules by requiring a character to have completed at least up to Horadric Cube in order to avoid automatic deletion, meaning you couldn't just create a character and leave it at that, you had to at least get started with Act 2, which, of course, meant you had to have a character to rush you through Act 1 and beggining of Act 2 to get your mules, which is a MAJOR PAIN IN THE ASS.

But i said, D2 wasn't perfect. It is STILL the best known example of handling loot in a game other than MMORPG's, and it did that better than even MOST of those as well. And the game is more than a decade old. My point? They could've tried harder with Borderlands 2, and they could've playtested it a bit more in order to introduce a bit more balance in the way loot generation is handled as well.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on June 30, 2014, 10:16:16 AM
Ahem ...
In higher level play, uniques, set items and runewords completely dominate play, yes, but...
How is this not exactly what you were complaining about with BL2? 

And ...
NOT farming a boss for THREE STRAIGHT HOURS in order to get ONE DROP that has a 1/300 chance of dropping.
I was a fairly casual D2 player.  And, we're referencing something from like decades ago.  But, the hardcore D2ers that I know would regale me with accounts of hundreds, if not thousands of Baal, etc. runs with stacked magic find.  This strikes me as comments made through rose-colored glasses.  That's fine, D2 was a fucking awesome game.  But, it doesn't need nostalgia to make it more awesome.

Also, I think high-end gear/play in all these games gets kind of crazy.  It's hard to build a loot system that works when people are at best in slot or near best in slot gear.  The one good thing BL has going for it is that different pieces of gear can substantially affect your playstyle and your experience. 

As a side note, I have a lot of ambivalence about various loot systems.  I do sort of like BL's (and Diablo 2's, if memory serves) drop rates associated with specific bosses.  Meaning that if you want a given run or a Hellfire you can farm Scorch or some dead barbarian chieftains.  On the other hand, I find boss running tedious.  And, it kind of leads to deformed tactics and builds.  I kind of just like playing the game -- you come across bosses and so you need to plan for them, but you don't equip yourself 100% for them.  Or, if you do, with something like BL2's raid bosses, it's not a career b/c you don't have real incentive to run them 940,000 times. 

So, I guess I'd prefer a set-up where awesome gear can drop fairly organically within the game.  So, your incentive is just to kind of keep running around.  This might wreck the rarity element, I suppose, but in a world of duping and save game editors, I'd rather put the emphasis on the end-user experience, even if that is at the expense of some sort of in-game economy nonsense. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 30, 2014, 11:05:07 AM
Quote
So, I guess I'd prefer a set-up where awesome gear can drop fairly organically within the game.

That's something that in spite of its failings (the lack of a dodge button, the fairly blocky animations, etc.) the first Phantasy Star Online did marvelously right. Anything and everything could drop rare weapons. Some rarer than others, some more powerful than others (Spread Needle was rather infamous for its attack power to hit ratio). But they were all awesome in some fashion.

I remember running around with a Human Ranger, female, and a bazooka that blasted Rafoie shells. It was a strictly subpar weapon for one-on-one encounters, especially those with fire resistance, but I had a TON of fun with it. It was an actually unique piece of equipment.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Stratovarius on June 30, 2014, 11:16:58 AM
For those looking for a D2 like fix, Torchlight II tends to have decent loot drop and fun without forcing constant reruns of Hell Mephisto, Baal, and the Moo Moo Farm (and yes, I had a different character specifically built for each of those.) It's made by members of the D2 team, after all, although it doesn't have the tactical depth that a high level Diablo 2 did. Never run across an aRPG that has, actually.

Was one of those Diablo 2 players with a ridiculous number of Pats/Mats running around. Hell, one time my brother and I beat the game (ie, Hell) using a Necromancer/Elemental Druid combo with 12 level skills and under only. All I can say is don't. Don't ever.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 30, 2014, 01:41:06 PM
Ahem ...
In higher level play, uniques, set items and runewords completely dominate play, yes, but...
How is this not exactly what you were complaining about with BL2? 

And ...
NOT farming a boss for THREE STRAIGHT HOURS in order to get ONE DROP that has a 1/300 chance of dropping.
I was a fairly casual D2 player.  And, we're referencing something from like decades ago.  But, the hardcore D2ers that I know would regale me with accounts of hundreds, if not thousands of Baal, etc. runs with stacked magic find.  This strikes me as comments made through rose-colored glasses.  That's fine, D2 was a fucking awesome game.  But, it doesn't need nostalgia to make it more awesome.

Also, I think high-end gear/play in all these games gets kind of crazy.  It's hard to build a loot system that works when people are at best in slot or near best in slot gear.  The one good thing BL has going for it is that different pieces of gear can substantially affect your playstyle and your experience. 

As a side note, I have a lot of ambivalence about various loot systems.  I do sort of like BL's (and Diablo 2's, if memory serves) drop rates associated with specific bosses.  Meaning that if you want a given run or a Hellfire you can farm Scorch or some dead barbarian chieftains.  On the other hand, I find boss running tedious.  And, it kind of leads to deformed tactics and builds.  I kind of just like playing the game -- you come across bosses and so you need to plan for them, but you don't equip yourself 100% for them.  Or, if you do, with something like BL2's raid bosses, it's not a career b/c you don't have real incentive to run them 940,000 times. 

So, I guess I'd prefer a set-up where awesome gear can drop fairly organically within the game.  So, your incentive is just to kind of keep running around.  This might wreck the rarity element, I suppose, but in a world of duping and save game editors, I'd rather put the emphasis on the end-user experience, even if that is at the expense of some sort of in-game economy nonsense.

While Uniques and Runewords more or less dominate higher level play, i do mean *higher* level play, like, 70+. And even at that level range, you can STILL find Rares that are better than uniques, and magic items are still relevant at least in the form of Charms, and owing to the Horadric Cube you can also upgrade Whites, Blues & Rares, so even that "irrelevant" loot still remains somewhat relevant.

Like i said, people saved the Charsi & Anya quests rewards for when they were at least 61+, so they could get an Ethereal Elite, upgrade it to a Rare with Charsi, then socket it with the Anya reward to make it indestructible. Rares (Eq. of Purples) COULD be better than Uniques (Eq. of Legendaries), especially when you take into consideration that MANY of the uniques had gimmicky or useless abilities side by side with useful abilities, while a perfectly rolled rare would have 100% useful statistics all around. Plus, we're talking about some MAJOR RNG here, since you'd have to roll for the top elite, have it be ethereal, and have it be rolled perfectly with all 3 prefixes & 3 suffixes you want, which is a very slim chance, as not all rares have 3 & 3, and to get all of the 6 that you want amongst the multitude of prefixes that exist, is prettty difficult. So while, yes, you could roll a perfect Rare that would give you better Damage/DPS than Uniques or Runewords, it'd be very difficult to actually find one that made it so. And like i said, Uniques & Runewords were *generally* better than 90% of Rares, mainly because of +Skills and +Attributes leading to higher damage increases than pure damage stats for some builds, at least after you'd cross from mid-level to high-level play, since before that Rares are generally on par or superior to uniques.

That's what i miss on Borderlands 2. Do i find strange that *MOST* legendaries are strictly better than purples? No. But i'd like it if they made purples more relevant, making them superior to at least *SOME* of the legendaries, and on par with them in some cases. But with the Golden Chest that'd be a little overpowered, which is very unfortunate. But my main gripe with Borderlands 2 is that greens, blues & purples become obsolete TOO FAST. And by too fast, i mean as soon as you complete the main campaign and start TVHM purples are basically obsolete. TVHM is the equivalent of Nightmare difficulty on Diablo 2... But that didn't start to happen in Diablo 2 until after at least Nightmare Mephisto, or 3/5's into the 2nd difficulty level, and the process wouldn't finish until you killed Nightmare Baal and started Hell. On Hell, yes, most definitely you won't be able to survive if you don't have godly gear and that means farming bosses, including backtracking to Nightmare and farming Baal, farming Hell Countess for runes, farming gems for acquiring socketed items, etc...

Also, the depth of the loot system in Diablo 2 meant you had a thriving online community that traded and dueled for items, while in Borderlands 2 you just dupe the item (no excuse for not fixing it in almost 2 years), and trade is a mechanic that isn't used *at all*.

They're very different games and very different game systems, and Diablo 2, while an older game, has a much better grasp on balance, loot distribution, and making you keep rolling for Rares even long after you have all-uniques gear.

EDIT: If you google it, you'll see Rare showoff threads on multiple forums for Diablo 2 - that's how rare a perfectly rolled rare was to get - and the reason why i think Diablo 2 did loot better than any other non-MMORPG game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on June 30, 2014, 03:00:17 PM
First off, from my understanding duping was an epidemic in D2.  As were hacks, etc.  So, it's unfair to complain that Borderlands has that problem without recognizing that D2 did as well.  I seem to recall Stones of Jordan being used as currency ...

Second, the RNG you're talking about, well, wasn't that an integral part of D3's loot design philosophy?  And, that was a disaster b/c the RNG was simply too big, so that it wasn't even worth the time it took to identify most rares.  This led to like a dozen rounds of retuning.  Perhaps D3 did a particularly bad job at calibrating it, but your EDIT seems to indicate that super-rare rares that are awesome is a good thing.  I think we've seen that is a suspect claim. 

I don't disagree with the assessment of blues and greens in BL2, excepting those with unique effects.  But, I think your complaint has shrunk.  You're complaining that at the beginning of a second playthrough, that people are going to blow through lightning fast anyway (in both BL2 and D2) that the not ultra-great gear ceases to be relevant a few hours earlier.  That's not exactly a giant indictment.  Especially in Borderlands, where you don't have to reroll a character to change its build. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 30, 2014, 03:52:26 PM
Ultra-rare rares due to RNG is a good mechanic because it means Rares stay relevant from 1-99, even though they become less and less relevant as time passes and your CLvl and ILvl increases and makes Elite Uniques available. I didn't play D3, so i sadly can't comment on that :/

Duping was a problem on D2, for a time, but Blizzard was constantly trying to stop duping and regularly banned accounts that duped, and also cracked down on maphacking and all sorts of glitches/bugs used to plow through online play. Blizzard really did a good job with D2 trying to keep up with the latest exploits. Stone of Jordan was used as a currency, yes, but not because people duped them. If duping was so easy, there wouldn't be any trading on Diablo 2 whatsoever, just like there isn't any trading on Borderlands 2 whatsoever. You see a piece of equipment you like, you dupe it, no big deal. On Diablo 2 you had to know the people you ran Baal/Mephisto with so that they wouldn't ninja loot the crap out of whatever dropped, because it wasn't easy to just dupe it and give it to everyone. Like you said, duping was an EPIDEMIC in D2... Meaning it would surface every now and then, get quickly patched, and things would go back to being normal. In Borderlands 2 it's an ENDEMIC, meaning it's always there, always present, and is never patched - and i believe they've had multiple chances of patching this.

The RNG in Borderlands 2 is too big - for legendaries. You have a tiny, tiny chance of 3% for a legendary to drop, from a pool of MANY legendaries.  More often than not you'll spend hours farming Warrior in order to get a good Conference Call, and hours farming Terramorphous to get the legendary class mods he drops, then days farming Vermivorous in order to get a Norfleet, even more days to get the Norfleet YOU WANT... And also Vermivorous is only farmable by 1 person if they abuse a glitch with Captain Scarlett's DLC and the Hyperius area where the game auto-adjusts as if there were 4 players - but you can leave the area without triggering the fight and getting trapped and go to Caustic Caverns where you'll have a better chance of getting Vermi to spawn.

In any case, farming loot in Borderlands 2 is an ARDUOUS process made even more difficult because you have no way of improving your odds or manipulating the RNG. You're completely at the mercy of RNJesus blessing you with the weapon you want.

D2? Not the case. You had Magic Find, which you stacked higher and higher in builds made specifically for the purpose of finding good items - and the database of loot tables meant you KNEW where you had to farm to find specific items, and you did that. In the process of looking for an specific Unique you got a lot of "junk" items that do not belong to your build, but can make you RICH in battle.net due to trading.

I remember that on my glory days of playing exclusively D2 for hours a day i had multiple mules FILLED TO THE BRIM with Grandfather's, Windforces, various runes, max socket elite ethereals, perfect gems, circlets, ammys, set items, etc... Do i do this on Borderlands 2? No. If i don't get a legendary that's useful for any of my characters i'll sell it to a Vendor or drop it on the ground. Why? Because trading doesn't exist in Borderlands 2, and multiplayer is akin to Open Battle.net on Diablo 2, where cheating was the norm. Which is, to me, another problem. The online gaming community of Diablo 2 was much more sophisticated and evolved than the one in Borderlands 2. You had safeguards, anti-cheating technology, ways to report people and a bustling economy that in it's glory days meant you could buy accounts for REAL MONEY. Does Borderlands 2 has anything that even compares to that? No, it doesn't.

The reason why SoJ's became a currency is because they're a Unique that can drop fairly early on, it has some useful attributes, especially +1 All Skills, making it a useful amulets for almost every class, while at the same time, it's not good enough that it's the best choice for ANY build. This makes it the perfect item to use in trades, as it's always going to be useful. That, AND the community NEEDED a currency, because Gold is useless,  and SoJ's kind of fit the part. So, i could sell a perfect Windforce for 20~30 SoJ's on a good day back when it still was the best bow, and then i could trade maybe 2 or 3 Windforces for a perfectly rolled Rare Colossus Blade for my Barbarian --> Another good example on how Rares can be worth much more than Uniques in some instances. Then they added CRAFTED items, which are upgraded versions of Rare items, that have the potential of being the best items in the entire game, but take up some pretty rare resources in order to get. Cube recipes ROCK!

And then, while you farmed to get these items you also got a bunch of situationally useful ones - including Sets... Of course, once better runewords were added, Runes became standard currency in place of SoJ's and you'll be laughed at on Battle.Net if you try to trade anything for SoJ's nowadays, except if you play Classic.

Also, TVHM wasn't blown through "lightning fast". It was the final frontier before the first level cap increase and UVHM was added. For people that don't own the expansion, didn't pre-order or bought the Collector's edition, the level still only goes up to 50. So for a good while, 30~50 was HIGH LEVEL play, and you'd only be able to get through with godly gear, which meant backtracking to Warrior and farming for legendaries which you would keep using even if they're 8 levels behind the enemies you're facing because they're just THAT good (Pellet count on Conference Call/Interfacer is insane. Sandhawk & Unkempt Harold are godly with The Bee shield after the nerf because they still get the multiplication effect on amp damage), and, apparently, Gearbox balanced the game AND the Raid Bosses around legendary items & equipment. Try and fight Pyro Pete the Invincible alone without a Sandhawk or Unkempt Harold + The Bee with Maya, or try to solo a Raid Boss as Axton or Zer0 without these staples. Can't be done. Granted, Raid Bosses are supposed to be a 4-player challenge, but even if you go in a party of 4 to defeat the raid bosses, if you have purple equipment you'll have a rough time. Not to say it can't be done - it can - but it'll take a whole lot of effort, and many deaths.

Super rare rares are only super rare becaus of how loot generation works. You have 20 or so categories of Prefixes and the same number of Suffixes, with 6 or more gradations each, and a Rare Weapon that can be 2 prefixes 1 suffix, 1 prefix 2 suffixes, 2 prefixes 2 suffixes, 2 prefixes 3 suffixes, 3 prefixes 2 suffixes, and 3/3, with a lower % chance of getting a 3/3 rare than of getting a 2/1, 1/2 or 2/2 one, and a massive loot table with a BIG variation on what the base item is, if it's socketed or not, if it's ethereal or not, etc... It's because of PROBABILITY. If you're looking for an specific combination of 3 prefixes and 3 suffixes in a Rare *Elite* and *Ethereal* weapon, on the higher end of the variation that can exist within these desired prefixes and suffixes, of course the chance is going to be a tiny, tiny, tiny one. Rares are already a reduced drop rate, and getting good rares is even rarer. Most of them you DO end up selling to vendors because they're useless pieces of shit. But sometimes, you could end up with a gem of a weapon you'd post in a forum about how good it was. To verify that, just boot up Hero Editor and use the item generator to slam 3 prefixes and 3 suffixes in a desired item, and see just how godly it is. Then do the same for Crafted rares, which have 4 fixed properties + 2/2 affixes.

There are people playing this game 14 years after launch, because the loot system is so intricate, so complex, that even now people are excited about finding that one super-rare rare that's going to make their character the best. People are still excited about being richer than everyone else on B. Net and showing off their perfectly rolled rares and perfectly rolled uniques, as well as their impressive collection of assorted miscellaneous equipment, inventories full of magic +skill charms, +2 skills ammys & circlets (another good example of blue items staying relevant throughout high level play).

When you play D2 at the highest level of competitive play you end up discarding the notion that Runewords > Uniques > Rares > Magic > Whites, and that "it kind of depends" is a much more accurate notion on how stuff works in Diablo 2 loot system. You can have magic items that are relevant throughout the entire game, and in fact, +2 skills ammys/rings/circlets can't even be found before you're high level. Horadric Cube recipes involving runes, perfect gems and Jewels can give you pretty amazing Crafted items which are just crafted Rares that can be better than the perfectly rolled uniques & runewords people grind for months to get - and even when you're already level 99 you still blow all your cash gambling at Gheed in Act 1 Hell in order to try and get more charms, ammys, circlets, rings, etc... that you will use in trading later on to get even more godly equipment.

You don't have ANY of that in MOST games, even MMORPG's don't have a loot system that's as intricate and complex as Diablo 2: LoD. It's not even a fair comparison, to compare Diablo 2 to Borderlands 2, so obvious is the difference between them. But i still believe that it can be MASSIVELY improved in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and Borderlands 3 (Borderworlds). If they just took from Diablo 2 and took steps to ensure that there is going to be an economy and that all item rarities are going to stay relevant throughout the game, it'd be a much more interesting prospect than what we currently have, and it would be a complete innovation, since there isn't a First Person online RPG that does all of that.

I hope i have clarified a bit more on how complex and rich the loot system is on D2, and why i hold it as a gold standard.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on July 01, 2014, 12:38:25 AM
Duping in BL2 (and 1) was really easy because there's nothing the developers could possibly do to stop it (on console).  I'm not sure how PC worked, but on console it is literally impossible to stop duping without having games auto-save constantly.  But you know what?  It doesn't really matter.  The game was not meant to the ultra balanced from the start.  It's not a competitive game, it's not a hardcore game, it makes fun of hardcore games.  There are loots that literally call themselves out for being unbalanced.  My only issue with the loot is what I said earlier, too many useless whites and greens.  Blues, purples, and oranges were all useful in their own right.  I have used a blue gun for much of various characters because it was a great drop, and I've even shared it back because it was so amazing.  Same with purple.  I don't know why you haven't seen any of the lower tier weapons/equipment better than some oranges, because I certainly have.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on July 01, 2014, 02:14:42 AM
Duping in BL2 (and 1) was really easy because there's nothing the developers could possibly do to stop it (on console).  I'm not sure how PC worked, but on console it is literally impossible to stop duping without having games auto-save constantly.  But you know what?  It doesn't really matter.  The game was not meant to the ultra balanced from the start.  It's not a competitive game, it's not a hardcore game, it makes fun of hardcore games.  There are loots that literally call themselves out for being unbalanced.  My only issue with the loot is what I said earlier, too many useless whites and greens.  Blues, purples, and oranges were all useful in their own right.  I have used a blue gun for much of various characters because it was a great drop, and I've even shared it back because it was so amazing.  Same with purple.  I don't know why you haven't seen any of the lower tier weapons/equipment better than some oranges, because I certainly have.

Some orange weapons are so gimmicky they're worse than white weapons, but we don't talk about those. (Hail, for instance. So gimmicky it's worse than a white assault rifle)

To dupe in Borderlands 2, you do this -> Have the weapon you're going to dupe in your inventory. Start a trade. Put the weapon up for a trade. Have your friend select duel, so you can duel for the item. Accept. Drop the weapon on the ground, have him kill you.

The way dueling for items work, the *stellar* programming involves deleting the item in your inventory and then spawning an exact copy of the item on the winning player's inventory. The game never actually checks to see if your inventory still contains the item, it only checks for the item when you start the duel for it. When you get killed a *fresh* copy of the item appears on your friends inventory, and the item you dropped is still on the ground. Voilá, you have duped yourself an item.

You can even do it 4 items at a time. - this particular method of duping could be foiled by something *as simple* as a check for the item in the losing player's inventory before the new item is spawned in the winning player's inventory.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on July 01, 2014, 10:45:21 AM
Can we just have it read into the record that Diablo 2 was the quizatz haderach of loot mechanics and move on? 

I'm going to point to the fact that the idea that rares can trump legendaries on a perfect roll, but that roll will be very unlikely, was very much implemented in a game fairly recently.  By Blizzard no less.  And, it was by all accounts a disaster.  To the point where no less than a dozen hotfixes were introduced to eventually abandon that approach.  I'd suggest looking at the response to D3, both critical and fan, and then see if that influences you're thinking.  It also has the "real economy" that you tout as an example of D2's awesomeness.  It was so awesome and cool that they got rid of it. 

Which is to say whatever it is that makes D2 the One True Way, it's not that stuff.  Or, at least not solely that stuff. 

And, I'd have to ask my friends, but I believe their reports were that the absurd "economy" (due to duping and bots) in D2 made trading a less than fun experience. 

I had written some other stuff, mostly pointing out where I think Brujon is wrong in his assessment of Borderlands 2 (e.g., TVHM, relative value of various weapons), but I don't see that as particularly relevant to the point at hand.  I loved D2, and readily admit that there are things I'd really like Borderlands (and other games, for that matter) to implement into its loot system from other games, including/especially D2.  I guess my real point is that whatever it is that made D2 great, it's not the stuff that Brujon is pointing to. 

I've taken my turn on the really rare rare merry go round.  That was the bet that Blizzard made with D3, and they were wrong.  Part of that's my opinion, b/c there were many elements of that game I hated.  But, part of it is relatively objective since they scrapped huge elements of their original approach to loot.  Whatever it is that makes D2's loot system worth emulating, it has to be a lot more subtle than just that.

That being said, I do hope that Borderlands, and really some other action RPGs (god knows I'd love a good one, Torchlight 2 was that for a while) implement a lot of what made D2's loot system great and deep and engaging.  So far, for me, BL2 and Torchlight 2 have done the best at it recently, though there's a lot more they can do. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on July 01, 2014, 10:51:13 AM
Didn't say D2 was a flawless game - no game is flawless. But give me one better example of a good loot system?
DDO.

On Diablo 2 you had to know the people you ran Baal/Mephisto with so that they wouldn't ninja loot the crap out of whatever dropped
Ahh the good ole days before instanced loot and ninja looting was another method of greed & griefing that pissed everyone off. Horrible times.

First off, from my understanding duping was an epidemic in D2.  As were hacks, etc.  So, it's unfair to complain that Borderlands has that problem without recognizing that D2 did as well.  I seem to recall Stones of Jordan being used as currency ...
Uber Diablo requires thousands of them to be turned in to spawn server wide as a SoJ sink, hilarious when you think about it.

Can we just have it read into the record that Diablo 2 was the quizatz haderach of loot mechanics and move on?
Sure, and I agree with you wholly. Let's talk DDO's loot now ^_^
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on July 09, 2014, 02:53:15 AM
Tomodachi Life.  How can something that's so pointless be so entertaining.

Then again, making dirty songs to get past Nintendo's censor's is a hoot.  And not too hard either.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on July 16, 2014, 04:59:20 PM
It seems like Nintendo noticed Fire Emblem Awakening was an huge sucess, since it revealed four characters from that title for the new super smash brothers! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GodHx-REx30)

Ok, Chrom seems to just be a final smash element, and female Robin Avatar is just an alternate skin for the male Avatar. But Marth and Ike are officially back, so still four different characters all from Fire Emblem.

Also, FALCHION PUNCH!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: X-Codes on July 16, 2014, 06:17:02 PM
I'm going to point to the fact that the idea that rares can trump legendaries on a perfect roll, but that roll will be very unlikely, was very much implemented in a game fairly recently.  By Blizzard no less.  And, it was by all accounts a disaster.  To the point where no less than a dozen hotfixes were introduced to eventually abandon that approach.  I'd suggest looking at the response to D3, both critical and fan, and then see if that influences you're thinking.  It also has the "real economy" that you tout as an example of D2's awesomeness.  It was so awesome and cool that they got rid of it. 

Which is to say whatever it is that makes D2 the One True Way, it's not that stuff.  Or, at least not solely that stuff.
D3 had a battery of problems, not just loot.  The problems they created because of poor endgame balance, a complete lack of character customization, and a poorly implemented RMAH meant that they had to get the loot pretty much perfect just for the game to not be shit.  They didn't.

If you want a successful, entertaining game where Uniques do not necessarily out-weigh endgame rares, then play Path of Exile.  You don't have an excuse not to because it's free and funded by microtransactions.

And, I'd have to ask my friends, but I believe their reports were that the absurd "economy" (due to duping and bots) in D2 made trading a less than fun experience.
It was fine if you went to a fansite like diabloii.net and trade on their forums instead of trying to get noticed in the spamfest trade chat channels.  If you wanted hacked or duped gear on Ladder in D2, you generally had to hunt for it pretty hard.  Casual traders wouldn't come across them.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on July 16, 2014, 06:42:02 PM
Have I mentioned that back when Diablo3 was released, so was PSO2, pretty much, and it was (still is!) fun, free and rid of anything except cosmetic microtransactions?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on July 16, 2014, 06:49:35 PM
Have I mentioned that back when Diablo3 was released, so was PSO2, pretty much, and it was (still is!) fun, free and rid of anything except cosmetic microtransactions?
Now that you mention it, have you managed to log to PSO2 in recently? Seems like they suffered a ddos attack that took the servers down for some time, and I haven't been able to log in for the last couple of weeks, altough that may also be because I'm using PSO tweaker for easier patching.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on July 16, 2014, 06:56:18 PM
Yes I have. Had the same problem for a while, but it seems to work fine now.

Of course, today's scheduled maintenance time so...

EDIT: Oh wait, that's not for eight hours yet. Yay!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on July 17, 2014, 12:56:42 PM
If you want a successful, entertaining game where Uniques do not necessarily out-weigh endgame rares, then play Path of Exile.  You don't have an excuse not to because it's free and funded by microtransactions.
I've actually tried PoE.  But, I couldn't really get into it.  The skill system was a bit ... involved, which led it to be opaque.  Or, more opaque than even most other aRPGs are nowadays.  That, and I also wasn't in love with the gameplay, which is pretty essential.  I might try it again at some point, though my time is tightly limited. 

I'm not exactly hurting for games to play.  My Steam account has a ton of things I haven't even installed yet, and that's not counting the console that is gathering dust.  But, a relaxing team-based beat 'em up would be nice.  Although I don't have time to really do much of anything nowadays. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on July 17, 2014, 02:11:13 PM
I like PoE but I get tired of trying to grind for items with more linked sockets in the higher difficulty levels.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 16, 2014, 02:56:06 PM
https://games.yahoo.com/news/nintendo-responds-petition-robin-williams-051127322.html and Nintendo says silence while other companies have said they will indeed do something for Mr. Williams.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 16, 2014, 03:12:13 PM
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the 3DS!!

Oh my god I'm go impossibly happy right now I finally got this~

I only got into the series with Tri on the Wii, but that became my freakin favorite thing ever, ever.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on August 16, 2014, 10:32:18 PM
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the 3DS!!

Oh my god I'm go impossibly happy right now I finally got this~

I only got into the series with Tri on the Wii, but that became my freakin favorite thing ever, ever.

I've never gotten into Monster Hunter before, how is that game?  It always struck me as Dark Souls + Pokemon, except it's Gotta Kill Them All.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 16, 2014, 11:17:21 PM
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the 3DS!!

Oh my god I'm go impossibly happy right now I finally got this~

I only got into the series with Tri on the Wii, but that became my freakin favorite thing ever, ever.

I've never gotten into Monster Hunter before, how is that game?  It always struck me as Dark Souls + Pokemon, except it's Gotta Kill Them All.

I played the original PS2 version. It was a great game, just a shame most of the content was locked behind online play. I hate content walls of any kind. So, from my experience, you basically grind for materials, craft weapons, upgrade your gear, go to tougher enemies, grind even better materials, rinse, repeat. Hardly an original formula, but it's well done, the battles are nice, and most importantly, you don't need to grind for several hours to get what you want.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 17, 2014, 03:44:06 AM
It's epic boss fights the game <3
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on August 17, 2014, 07:54:51 AM
It's epic boss fights the game <3

Seeing that one of my best games of all time is SotC, another Boss Fight The Game, I may have to look into this.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Wrex on August 17, 2014, 08:02:26 AM
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is another game with a heavy focus on boss fights, even if it's a spectacle fighter with only mild RPG elements. Just keep in mind that the game does expect you to know how to play,- button mashing against anything but the first boss will get you ground into a thin, red paste.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on August 17, 2014, 09:43:47 AM
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is another game with a heavy focus on boss fights, even if it's a spectacle fighter with only mild RPG elements. Just keep in mind that the game does expect you to know how to play,- button mashing against anything but the first boss will get you ground into a thin, red paste.

I have (and love) that game.  It's so deliciously absurd, and really acted as the aloe to the travesty of the similar timed DmC. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 17, 2014, 09:19:02 PM
Too bad it had next to zero to do with actual fucking Metal Gear Solid.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Sinfire Titan on August 18, 2014, 12:55:04 AM
Too bad it had next to zero to do with actual fucking Metal Gear Solid.

That's nothing new for MGS though. There's been weird, out of place shit in that series for years.

Personally, I blame MGS2.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 18, 2014, 06:40:54 AM
Do you mind citing what you think was out of place for it? If nothing else, I've thought MGS has been consistent in terms of quality.

Revengeance is just too crazy of a departure from the series' overall tone, though. Sure, Ground Zeroes has the 1970's iPhone, like Peace Walker has the impossibly advanced AI, but...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 19, 2014, 12:11:24 AM
well Nintendo responded to the petition http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/08/18/nintendo-responds-to-robin-williams-in-the-legend-of-zelda-petition?watch

they better do something considering he named his daughter Zelda and did some commercials for them.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 19, 2014, 03:57:18 AM
i got invited to take part in the beta for Warlords of warlords of draenor  :cool
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on August 19, 2014, 04:02:57 PM
i got invited to take part in the beta for Warlords of warlords of draenor  :cool
Awesome~
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 19, 2014, 05:01:57 PM
As I play i'll post pics and my thoughts
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 19, 2014, 06:37:38 PM
so, the garrisons have their own set of achievements, but before i get into the cheevos and changes with them; i'm going to tlake about the garrisons.

So you start by building your barracks, this is what the area looks like before you do anything,  (http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk309/trappedslider/garrison1.jpg)

Once you build the barracks you gain the ablity to call upon your forces to help you out ( I haven't done this yet and I plan to post a pic of the barracks later today.

Getting back to the cheevos, Along with the garrison getting it's own section with subgroups, there's a section entitled Legacy, which is for old cheevos that from a quick look have been replaced.  One of the legacy cheevos gives you the title Leeeroy, there's a new cheevo for the new dungeons that does the game. Along with the few of the brawler's guild cheevos been replaced.  I also plan to get a screenshot of the cheevo list as well.

EDIT: maybe a new thread is in order
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on August 19, 2014, 08:00:15 PM
A new thread, or many spoiler tags, methinks. Are "cheevos" achievements?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 19, 2014, 08:33:07 PM
A new thread, or many spoiler tags, methinks. Are "cheevos" achievements?
yeah, i'll do a new WoW thread when i play again and get more screenshots
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 20, 2014, 04:32:59 AM
then there's this http://www.puppygames.net/blog/?p=1574 (http://www.puppygames.net/blog/?p=1574) which not WoW related
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 22, 2014, 02:54:35 PM
well another company says "ehh no dice" to the Wii U https://games.yahoo.com/news/yet-another-hugely-popular-gaming-franchise-spurns-wii-163541469.html

and Ubisoft states what always happens https://games.yahoo.com/news/super-smash-bros-could-ignite-141900990.html along with no more M rated games for the console
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on August 22, 2014, 04:33:30 PM
Has anybody played Five Nights at Freddy's?  It's a scary as shit horror game on Steam.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 22, 2014, 07:46:16 PM
moved to the correct thread http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=14449.0
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 22, 2014, 10:38:10 PM
WoW is aging. When is Blizzard going to start development on a new WoW instead of shitting out an expansion every couple of years? They've already got years of hands-on experience on making the most popular MMORPG of all time and at one point the most popular online game of all time, and WoW subscriptions are dropping every year. The game has aged. A shiny new engine with shiny new graphics would bring in lots of new players and i might even play it as well. There's also the fact that if they made a new game people would have to start over and there wouldn't be a massive content gate you need to traverse in order to get to end game, which i assume is getting to become quite a problem with a massive game like WoW. It's not like they don't have enough money or expertise, so what's taking them so goddamn long? The game is what, a decade old?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 22, 2014, 10:47:34 PM
WoW is aging. When is Blizzard going to start development on a new WoW instead of shitting out an expansion every couple of years? They've already got years of hands-on experience on making the most popular MMORPG of all time and at one point the most popular online game of all time, and WoW subscriptions are dropping every year. The game has aged. A shiny new engine with shiny new graphics would bring in lots of new players and i might even play it as well. There's also the fact that if they made a new game people would have to start over and there wouldn't be a massive content gate you need to traverse in order to get to end game, which i assume is getting to become quite a problem with a massive game like WoW. It's not like they don't have enough money or expertise, so what's taking them so goddamn long? The game is what, a decade old?

They were working on project Titan but  In May 2013 the development process for the game was rebooted, as Blizzard decided to go in a different direction with the game. So maybe something from this years blizzcon but i doubt it
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on August 28, 2014, 04:24:24 PM
Started a new copy of Dragon Age 2 in preparation for Inquisition.
Long story short? Don't fuck with rogues. (http://imgur.com/aQKoOle)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on August 28, 2014, 04:33:22 PM
I'm pretty sure Blizzard is a sinking ship ...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 28, 2014, 06:10:23 PM
Stagnation after success will do that.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 28, 2014, 06:28:35 PM
I'm going to disagree, I don't think blizzard is going to be going anywhere anytime soon despite what some folks want or think.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on August 28, 2014, 06:39:32 PM
I take the middle ground.  Blizzard will be fine, but I suspect it will be awhile until they have a flagship title again.  I suspect they will try several (failed) attempts to get WoW or a WoW clone back, and then find something new.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 28, 2014, 07:43:29 PM
A sinking ship is still seaworthy right up until there's enough water in the hull, Trapped.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 28, 2014, 07:55:08 PM
I'm going to disagree, I don't think blizzard is going to be going anywhere anytime soon despite what some folks want or think.

Yeah but thats the point. You're right, they're not going anywhere anytime soon. That is stagnation.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on August 28, 2014, 08:43:00 PM
I'm going to disagree, I don't think blizzard is going to be going anywhere anytime soon despite what some folks want or think.
I think they laid off a substantial number of people a while ago.  And, they already merged with a much larger company.  So, yeah, I don't think they are going anywhere -- there's little reason for Activision to try and get rid of the brand at this point. 

My point was that Blizzard is not particularly relevant to the video game space:  their most recent titles have been expansions or console ports.  Nothing remotely approaching innovative, and their revival projects (Starcraft, Diablo) have been marred with numerous false starts.  Their proposed new projects have stalled and been scrapped after years of development.  These are not typically a good sign in any field, especially a competitive one like high end video games presently is.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 28, 2014, 09:31:28 PM
I'm going to disagree, I don't think blizzard is going to be going anywhere anytime soon despite what some folks want or think.
I think they laid off a substantial number of people a while ago.  And, they already merged with a much larger company.  So, yeah, I don't think they are going anywhere -- there's little reason for Activision to try and get rid of the brand at this point. 

My point was that Blizzard is not particularly relevant to the video game space:  their most recent titles have been expansions or console ports.  Nothing remotely approaching innovative, and their revival projects (Starcraft, Diablo) have been marred with numerous false starts.  Their proposed new projects have stalled and been scrapped after years of development.  These are not typically a good sign in any field, especially a competitive one like high end video games presently is.

Same could and has been said about Nintendo...

Let's look at history,every time a new MMO is set to come out everyone says it's the WoW killer, but it hasn't worked out that way now has it? As pointed out a number of times the only thing that will kill WoW is whatever Blizz is working on next
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 28, 2014, 09:37:11 PM
Rather you can't kill an MMO that is already dead in the water :v

WoW's just a floater right now.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 28, 2014, 09:42:34 PM
Rather you can't kill an MMO that is already dead in the water :v

WoW's just a floater right now.

Now, now, let's not start comparing it to turds.  :cool

Even though it totally is.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 28, 2014, 09:55:11 PM
i'm getting the feeling that neither one of you enjoys WoW or blizzard :v

EDIT: just like i'm not a current fan of how Nintendo is currently operating
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 28, 2014, 10:03:19 PM
i'm getting the feeling that neither one of you enjoys WoW or blizzard :v

EDIT: just like i'm not a current fan of how Nintendo is currently operating

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of Nintendo :v




There's yer problem  :lmao
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 28, 2014, 10:10:39 PM
i'm getting the feeling that neither one of you enjoys WoW or blizzard :v

EDIT: just like i'm not a current fan of how Nintendo is currently operating

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of Nintendo :v




There's yer problem  :lmao

Haters gonna hate  :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 28, 2014, 10:12:01 PM
i'm getting the feeling that neither one of you enjoys WoW or blizzard :v

EDIT: just like i'm not a current fan of how Nintendo is currently operating

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of Nintendo :v




There's yer problem  :lmao

Haters gonna hate  :P

(http://trentbynum.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/luigi-death-stare.jpg)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 28, 2014, 10:12:50 PM
i'm getting the feeling that neither one of you enjoys WoW or blizzard :v

EDIT: just like i'm not a current fan of how Nintendo is currently operating

I think WoW is the crack cocaine of the gaming world and is actually due for proper removal. At least if it crashes naturally from fatigue we won't have a sudden case of "forced detox".

Diablo 3 was something I briefly enjoyed.

Last couple of things I REALLY liked from Blizzard were Brood War and Diablo 1.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 28, 2014, 10:13:49 PM
The only thing I dislike about Nintendo is how they created the "casual" plague that now sweeps the entire world.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 28, 2014, 10:15:00 PM
The only thing I dislike about Nintendo is how they created the "casual" plague that now sweeps the entire world.

Coincidentally, Nintendo actually recently stated that they also hate how they create the "casual" plague and wanted to cater to core gamers this whole time  :eh
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 28, 2014, 10:16:16 PM
Now that we know what we all hate..let's work on what we all like  :D

The only thing I dislike about Nintendo is how they created the "casual" plague that now sweeps the entire world.

Coincidentally, Nintendo actually recently stated that they also hate how they create the "casual" plague and wanted to cater to core gamers this whole time  :eh

Got a source for this?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 28, 2014, 10:18:28 PM
The only thing I dislike about Nintendo is how they created the "casual" plague that now sweeps the entire world.

Coincidentally, Nintendo actually recently stated that they also hate how they create the "casual" plague and wanted to cater to core gamers this whole time  :eh

By marketing the Wii as an exercise machine for all ages and printing money while they were at it.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

On the plus side, at least the Wii helped create feedback in the general media about videogames actually having positive effects.

Which we knew all along, but hey, gotta educate the mundies.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 28, 2014, 10:19:17 PM
I was exaggerating a little bit, but I DO HAVE A SOURCE :O

http://www.gamnesia.com/news/miyamoto-nintendo-is-focused-on-core-gamers-not-passive-ones#.U__i6GMl-P8
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on August 29, 2014, 01:04:05 AM
i'm getting the feeling that neither one of you enjoys WoW or blizzard :v

EDIT: just like i'm not a current fan of how Nintendo is currently operating
Consider me jilted.  Like Kuro, I was disappointed with D3.  And, just with their products in general.  The Starcraft resurrection has been mismanaged, etc.  I am not into MMOs at all, so my feelings on WoW are essentially nil.  I judge the game company by the quality of its products, and then a bit by the quality of their service, relationship to the community, etc.  By my estimation, they have not done well, and that's while sitting on some prime video game IP.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: DDchampion on August 29, 2014, 06:57:10 AM
Blizzard is hardly the only big game producer that can be accused of stagnation nowadays.

What number is after Call of Duty nowadays? 6? 1741? Kinda lost count. And then all of its clones.

 Then there's stuff like the latest version of Civilization an dungeon keeper.

And everybody seems to be doing "remastered" versions of their previous games nowadays. "Pay full game price for slightly shinier graphics!"

The thing is that Wow keeps making great money for Blizzard. Perhaps not much as before, but still more than enough for them to keep supporting it. And the guys in charge see that data and go "Why should we bother doing an innovative mmo when people paying every month for the same old thing?".

And similarly while people keep buying Call of Duty and Halo +1 and remastered versions, company executives will keep churning them out. Because there's plenty of people buying those.

I blame Sony and Microsoft for having started the graphic warz, where they brainwashed countless people that it doesn't matter how crappy gameplay is as long as it has high frame rate and pretty textures and glow effects.

Anyway, it looks like Blizzard is too  busy nowadays entering the freemimum model like Heartstone (that I've heard is quite popular, even if I never played it myself) and Heroes of the Storm.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 29, 2014, 10:05:40 AM
Blizzard is hardly the only big game producer that can be accused of stagnation nowadays.

What number is after Call of Duty nowadays? 6? 1741? Kinda lost count. And then all of its clones.

 Then there's stuff like the latest version of Civilization an dungeon keeper.

And everybody seems to be doing "remastered" versions of their previous games nowadays. "Pay full game price for slightly shinier graphics!"

The thing is that Wow keeps making great money for Blizzard. Perhaps not much as before, but still more than enough for them to keep supporting it. And the guys in charge see that data and go "Why should we bother doing an innovative mmo when people paying every month for the same old thing?".

And similarly while people keep buying Call of Duty and Halo +1 and remastered versions, company executives will keep churning them out. Because there's plenty of people buying those.

I blame Sony and Microsoft for having started the graphic warz, where they brainwashed countless people that it doesn't matter how crappy gameplay is as long as it has high frame rate and pretty textures and glow effects.

Anyway, it looks like Blizzard is too  busy nowadays entering the freemimum model like Heartstone (that I've heard is quite popular, even if I never played it myself) and Heroes of the Storm.

The graphics warz is older than Sony and Microsoft. Hell, it is ALMOST older than Sega and Nintendo (if anyone remembers, the Game Gear boasted colorful graphics as opposed to the Game Boy's black and white-ish color palette; opening salvo right there).

The stagnation of the video game industry's business model has been discussed multiple times here, I think we're all in agreement. As long as there are cocksuckers buying Call of Duty and Battlefield for increasingly "shinier" graphics, they're gonna keep churning it out.

I didn't much mind the latest Civilization, but then again I only played the fourth game before that - it's one of those gems of a game you only discover too late.

And yes, the rehashing is getting quite old. How many remakes/remixes did Final Fantasy 4 get? At least three, I think. Cashing in on the nostalgia factor is a really cowardly way to make money off your material.

The gaming industry model has grown to become a lot like Hollywood's - safe bets only. The indie community is pushing out some great and interesting ideas, but there's still a lot of rough edges they need to trim. By contrast, the veterans of the industry are coming up with increasingly amateuristic moves.

And I better not even touch on the subject of DLC. That shit makes me violent.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on August 29, 2014, 11:09:21 AM
What's wrong with the newest Civilization?  They keep putting out relatively cheap DLC that actually revives the game for me.  Like, whole new take on it revival.  I know I would be done with the game if it weren't for the DLC.

Quote
I blame Sony and Microsoft for having started the graphic warz, where they brainwashed countless people that it doesn't matter how crappy gameplay is as long as it has high frame rate and pretty textures and glow effects.

no.....Maybe Sony.  Maybe.  But not Microsoft.  It happened much earlier than Microsoft's involvement.  They just continued the trend (kinda).  Blame the 90's.  And I mean EARLY 90's.  That's when the graphics war actually started.  Also, Halo was a really good series (except 4), so it's not like it was a clone each time (except 4).  Try CoD and MoH and Battlefield.  Those are the ones that have suffered from the cloned condition.  In the past 13 years, there have been 4 primary storyline Halo titles.  Then a couple non-storyline ones (Reach, Wars, and ODST).  Ignore number 4 because it's not by Bungie, noting that the core gameplay changed, and the story was never rehashed.   Whereas CoD Modern Warfare, the first game was great, the second game sacrificed campaign for multiplayer, and the third game had a crap campaign but good multiplayer (not great, good).  The later versions were even worse.

@Kuro:  I like DLC.  I do.  As a gamer, I do.  It's just that SOME DLC is bad.  Particularly the stuff like new outfits and whatnot.  As I mentioned above, Civ5 has DLC that's well worth the price.  It's much cheaper than a new game, adds a significant amount of playability and rules changes (not for the sake of rules changes, but actual new mechanics), and doesn't require a new system/game install.  For instance, trading was added in DLC.  So was religion.  And a significant number of scenarios/civilizations (I think it's 3 new civs every DLC?).  On the other end of the spectrum you have EA's games.  Their DLC amounts to nothing of importance, or something that makes the game essentially "pay to win".  So there's a good and a bad side to DLC.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 29, 2014, 12:27:04 PM
My perception of DLC as an evil is colored from observation of Tecmo-Koei and Capcom.

Personally, I'd prefer a game stay in the oven one more year if it means it's gonna be extra-awesome. Actual continued development on a game CAN be good (your example with Civ5 is pretty spot-on). As a F2P example we have PSO2, which has been basically printing money for Sega in Japan without one OUNCE of it being pay to win, and which has just yesterday released a totally new class and area - speaking as someone who played it from launch I can tell you it's come a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on August 29, 2014, 01:45:34 PM
Yeah, basically the times when DLC is good is when a finished game comes out that has extras.  When it's bad it's when an unfinished game comes out that needs extras.  need versus has.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 29, 2014, 02:10:17 PM
Heck, many things you see in DLC are things that you used to get for free in previous game generations. Extra costumes and joke weapons, new game modes, that kind of thing.

I point you towards Resident Evil 5 versus Resident Evil 4 as an example.

Sometimes it doesn't even NEED said things, but it is much better with them than without.

And then you have games like Record of Agarest War, where you can basically buy your advancement into the game or slog through the increasingly annoying difficulty curve until you reach a point in the game where your resources don't matter anymore.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 29, 2014, 05:14:58 PM
http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/08/29/new-nintendo-3ds-reveal/
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 29, 2014, 08:13:25 PM
What's wrong with the newest Civilization?  They keep putting out relatively cheap DLC that actually revives the game for me.  Like, whole new take on it revival.  I know I would be done with the game if it weren't for the DLC.

And the Workshop helps get even MORE miles out of that game than the DLC ever did.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/08/29/new-nintendo-3ds-reveal/

I'm quite excited about that actually. It's almost like a new system rather than an update to the 3DS. Almost.
Supposedly there is also suppose to be more RAM on top of the improvement on the CPU so that'd also be sweet :p
And double joysticks! Finally a proper way  to control ingame cameras! (Freagin Monster Hunter is so annoying without one ~.~ )
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 29, 2014, 08:32:25 PM
I am completely indifferent to the New 3DS until a game comes out for it that I desperately wish to play.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 29, 2014, 08:35:13 PM
Well DS games are suppose to be compatible.

Also Xenoblade Chronicles is gonna be on the New 3DS.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on September 01, 2014, 12:54:01 AM
 :D Mighty 9 demo is out!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 03, 2014, 03:53:33 PM
Fall line up for the WiiU http://www.examiner.com/article/wii-u-schedule-released-with-games-from-now-to-2015
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on September 03, 2014, 04:37:29 PM
Fall line up for the WiiU http://www.examiner.com/article/wii-u-schedule-released-with-games-from-now-to-2015

Is that... every game that launches in that window?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 03, 2014, 07:08:51 PM
Fall line up for the WiiU http://www.examiner.com/article/wii-u-schedule-released-with-games-from-now-to-2015

Is that... every game that launches in that window?

looks like it at least from now to 2015....
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 09, 2014, 11:22:03 PM
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/microsoft-said-to-be-in-advanced-talks-to-buy-minecraft-maker/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 MS in talks to buy Minecraft
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on September 10, 2014, 12:46:28 AM
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/microsoft-said-to-be-in-advanced-talks-to-buy-minecraft-maker/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 MS in talks to buy Minecraft
Didn't Notch / Mojang / someone high-up make a comment about not having Minecraft "certified" for Windows 8 a bit back?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 10, 2014, 09:27:44 AM
If microsoft buys Minecraft the game will become utter shit. I hope this doesn't go through.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on September 10, 2014, 10:01:16 AM
As long as the development team doesn't change I don't see why that will happen....
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on September 10, 2014, 10:50:04 AM
As long as the development team doesn't change I don't see why that will happen....
Quote
While Mr. Persson is said to accept that he may not stay for more than six months if a deal is struck, Mojang is pressing to try to ensure that Microsoft retains its younger developers.

Honestly, nothing but good news. The game is coded poorly and consumes way to much in resources to run and it's an utter bitch to mod it. And unlike modding back in the glory days, everything users sided is about money. Want to download my coding pack? Watch PlanetMinecraft's advertising to pay for the link collection, watch my adfly bullshit (sometimes x2 or x3 in a row) for the actual file link. Servers activity attempt to limit users to help them create a micro-transaction market, such as Economy and the dumb housing mod that hooks into it (spend real money, claim more land!) or marking certain items (alchemy bags) as donator tier 3 only. It's all bullshit.

Microsoft, even being a greedy bastard, can't make it worse and they won't banhammerz mods since that's a huge reason for Minecraft's success, but their forced code standardization and optimization will be amazing.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 10, 2014, 02:12:07 PM
Considering how Minecraft is one of the biggest sellers on the Xbox, I suspect that M$ will cut development of the game for any system but their home consoles.  This means the newly released version on the PS4 would basically die.  The PC version might even have its development stalled until the console version is 1 or 2 updates ahead of it, so that the Xbox version would be the "definitive" version of Minecraft, instead of the reverse.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on September 10, 2014, 04:42:39 PM
I really really doubt that last part will happen.  the PC version is already TOO advanced for an xBox.  The console will be able to moderately emulate the features of the PC, but PC will always be more advanced.  And if somehow they do stall PC development until console is caught up or ahead in version number, the PC will always have an advantage in being able to outperform the console.  In other words, the most it could possibly do, is make it so that the console is a beta version of the PC version to come.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on September 10, 2014, 05:14:44 PM
As long as the development team doesn't change I don't see why that will happen....
Quote
While Mr. Persson is said to accept that he may not stay for more than six months if a deal is struck, Mojang is pressing to try to ensure that Microsoft retains its younger developers.

Honestly, nothing but good news. The game is coded poorly and consumes way to much in resources to run and it's an utter bitch to mod it. And unlike modding back in the glory days, everything users sided is about money. Want to download my coding pack? Watch PlanetMinecraft's advertising to pay for the link collection, watch my adfly bullshit (sometimes x2 or x3 in a row) for the actual file link. Servers activity attempt to limit users to help them create a micro-transaction market, such as Economy and the dumb housing mod that hooks into it (spend real money, claim more land!) or marking certain items (alchemy bags) as donator tier 3 only. It's all bullshit.

Microsoft, even being a greedy bastard, can't make it worse and they won't banhammerz mods since that's a huge reason for Minecraft's success, but their forced code standardization and optimization will be amazing.
Soro, they actually shut down the server-bullshit (I know that much, possibly the mods as well, can't remember) when the EULA changes happened? Or at least I think that's when it was. I remember that there was a big "donations can't change what you can do in the game" ruling by Mojang, so donators could only get different-colored names or something.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 10, 2014, 05:25:48 PM
I really really doubt that last part will happen.  the PC version is already TOO advanced for an xBox.  The console will be able to moderately emulate the features of the PC, but PC will always be more advanced.  And if somehow they do stall PC development until console is caught up or ahead in version number, the PC will always have an advantage in being able to outperform the console.  In other words, the most it could possibly do, is make it so that the console is a beta version of the PC version to come.

It may be too advanced for the 360, but not the Xbone, I believe.  And that's the console M$ is trying its damnedest to get people to buy and use.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on September 10, 2014, 06:42:25 PM
PCs will always be more powerful on average than consoles.  And they will always have more tools for use than consoles.  For example, mouse and keyboard gives PC much more versatility with the game than consoles can have unless they blur the lines between console and PC enough that the only difference is NO difference...

Also, there's the performance thing.  PCs will have better performance.  A major difference that WILL NOT CHANGE is that PCs have an arbitrarily large world, and the console will be capped.  And a business reason they won't change the current release order: it's about 19765298456297465 times easier to check and fix bugs on a PC release than a console release.  That way, they can get the new features out, get the stuff checked, balanced, and then release it on console.  I would, however, expect a tighter schedule between updates and and port to console.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on September 10, 2014, 06:51:52 PM
Soro, they actually shut down the server-bullshit (I know that much, possibly the mods as well, can't remember) when the EULA changes happened? Or at least I think that's when it was. I remember that there was a big "donations can't change what you can do in the game" ruling by Mojang, so donators could only get different-colored names or something.
Have you read the EULA?

Quote from: https://account.mojang.com/documents/minecraft_eula
ONE MAJOR RULE
The one major rule is that you must not distribute anything we‘ve made. By “distribute anything we‘ve made” what we mean is “give copies of the game away, make commercial use of, try to make money from, or let other people get access to our game and its parts in a way that is unfair or unreasonable”. So the one major rule is that (unless we specifically agree it – such as in brand and asset usage guidelines) you must not:

* give copies of our Game to anyone else;
No brainer.

* make commercial use of anything we‘ve made;
This year the CEO of ALS will make over one million dollars in personal profit off a none-profit organization simply by soliciting for donations.

try to make money from anything we‘ve made; or
They don't make mods and are not hosting the server.

* let other people get access to anything we‘ve made in a way that is unfair or unreasonable.
* They didn't make the mods people limit either.

…and so that we are crystal clear, what we have made includes, but is not limited to, the client or the server software for our Game. It also includes modified versions of a Game, part of it or anything else we‘ve made.

Otherwise we are quite relaxed about what you do - in fact we really encourage you to do cool stuff - but just don‘t do those things that we say you can‘t.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 10, 2014, 08:03:02 PM
PCs will always be more powerful on average than consoles.  And they will always have more tools for use than consoles.  For example, mouse and keyboard gives PC much more versatility with the game than consoles can have unless they blur the lines between console and PC enough that the only difference is NO difference...

Also, there's the performance thing.  PCs will have better performance.  A major difference that WILL NOT CHANGE is that PCs have an arbitrarily large world, and the console will be capped.  And a business reason they won't change the current release order: it's about 19765298456297465 times easier to check and fix bugs on a PC release than a console release.  That way, they can get the new features out, get the stuff checked, balanced, and then release it on console.  I would, however, expect a tighter schedule between updates and and port to console.

Not disagreeing a word of that.  But remember when M$ promised that Halo would come out on PC shortly after Xbox?  And how many years later did that happen?  They have a hard-on for making one of their consoles finally turning a profit, and will readily screw over PC users every chance they get just to boost console sales, games sales be damned.

Hell, look at the latest Tomb Raider game.  M$ ensured console exclusivity for an indeterminate amount of time (last I had heard, anyway) just to try and boost Xbone sales.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on September 10, 2014, 08:08:08 PM
PCs will always be more powerful on average than consoles.  And they will always have more tools for use than consoles.  For example, mouse and keyboard gives PC much more versatility with the game than consoles can have unless they blur the lines between console and PC enough that the only difference is NO difference...

Also, there's the performance thing.  PCs will have better performance.  A major difference that WILL NOT CHANGE is that PCs have an arbitrarily large world, and the console will be capped.  And a business reason they won't change the current release order: it's about 19765298456297465 times easier to check and fix bugs on a PC release than a console release.  That way, they can get the new features out, get the stuff checked, balanced, and then release it on console.  I would, however, expect a tighter schedule between updates and and port to console.

Not disagreeing a word of that.  But remember when M$ promised that Halo would come out on PC shortly after Xbox?  And how many years later did that happen?  They have a hard-on for making one of their consoles finally turning a profit, and will readily screw over PC users every chance they get just to boost console sales, games sales be damned.

Hell, look at the latest Tomb Raider game.  M$ ensured console exclusivity for an indeterminate amount of time (last I had heard, anyway) just to try and boost Xbone sales.

Thats there exact same reason for trying to buy Minecraft all of a sudden. They only want it to boost sales of Windows Phone.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on September 10, 2014, 10:02:14 PM
PCs will always be more powerful on average than consoles.  And they will always have more tools for use than consoles.  For example, mouse and keyboard gives PC much more versatility with the game than consoles can have unless they blur the lines between console and PC enough that the only difference is NO difference...

Also, there's the performance thing.  PCs will have better performance.  A major difference that WILL NOT CHANGE is that PCs have an arbitrarily large world, and the console will be capped.  And a business reason they won't change the current release order: it's about 19765298456297465 times easier to check and fix bugs on a PC release than a console release.  That way, they can get the new features out, get the stuff checked, balanced, and then release it on console.  I would, however, expect a tighter schedule between updates and and port to console.

Not disagreeing a word of that.  But remember when M$ promised that Halo would come out on PC shortly after Xbox?  And how many years later did that happen?  They have a hard-on for making one of their consoles finally turning a profit, and will readily screw over PC users every chance they get just to boost console sales, games sales be damned.

Hell, look at the latest Tomb Raider game.  M$ ensured console exclusivity for an indeterminate amount of time (last I had heard, anyway) just to try and boost Xbone sales.

They aren't trying to make the console break even.  They don't care about that.  What they DO care about is making money from people buying media for it.  The consoles generally lose the company money overall, but the game and movies and such make that up and much much more.  They won't screw over PC because that would lose them money from the deal.  PC is still the biggest pillar of the Minecraft profit.  Also merchandising.  I wouldn't say they would try to screw over anyone, at least not more than anyone else, except Apple....they screw over their fans regularly.

Also, the Tomb Raider thing?  It'll be available within months of the xBox release.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 11, 2014, 09:38:25 AM
PCs will always be more powerful on average than consoles.  And they will always have more tools for use than consoles.  For example, mouse and keyboard gives PC much more versatility with the game than consoles can have unless they blur the lines between console and PC enough that the only difference is NO difference...

Also, there's the performance thing.  PCs will have better performance.  A major difference that WILL NOT CHANGE is that PCs have an arbitrarily large world, and the console will be capped.  And a business reason they won't change the current release order: it's about 19765298456297465 times easier to check and fix bugs on a PC release than a console release.  That way, they can get the new features out, get the stuff checked, balanced, and then release it on console.  I would, however, expect a tighter schedule between updates and and port to console.

On the other hand, it's about a bazillion times easier to pirate...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on September 11, 2014, 01:18:51 PM
On the other hand, it's about a bazillion times easier to pirate...
I don't know about that.

You have to wait for PC games to hit the torrent sites with the DRM completely ripped out of it and then you run into problems of the torrent being blocks by ISPs, claims made against you (typically by the ISP threatening to drop service), and the "game" is piggbacked by a trojen. It is however pretty ironic that hacked games run better than the full-versions.

Within a few months of the X-Box, 360, and probably the 360-again, their OSes are hacked to download entire discs. Heck, I was playing PS2 games on a friend's Xbox during that console generation. Computers can run emulators for console games pretty easily and the PS4's has already been released. Sure a PC is doing the pirating, but it's doing the pirating of console gaming which has little to no DRM to rip out giving you one quick and easy program to run most of the games per console out there.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on September 11, 2014, 02:54:58 PM
PCs will always be more powerful on average than consoles.  And they will always have more tools for use than consoles.  For example, mouse and keyboard gives PC much more versatility with the game than consoles can have unless they blur the lines between console and PC enough that the only difference is NO difference...

Also, there's the performance thing.  PCs will have better performance.  A major difference that WILL NOT CHANGE is that PCs have an arbitrarily large world, and the console will be capped.  And a business reason they won't change the current release order: it's about 19765298456297465 times easier to check and fix bugs on a PC release than a console release.  That way, they can get the new features out, get the stuff checked, balanced, and then release it on console.  I would, however, expect a tighter schedule between updates and and port to console.

On the other hand, it's about a bazillion times easier to pirate...
I wonder if services like Steam are essentially iTunes-ing (yeah, I'll make that a word now) game piracy.  iTunes is a good example that if you make it easy for people to buy something, and it's not absurdly expensive, they just will do that rather than bother jumping through hoops, even fairly easy ones, to pirate it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on September 11, 2014, 02:58:36 PM
PCs will always be more powerful on average than consoles.  And they will always have more tools for use than consoles.  For example, mouse and keyboard gives PC much more versatility with the game than consoles can have unless they blur the lines between console and PC enough that the only difference is NO difference...

Also, there's the performance thing.  PCs will have better performance.  A major difference that WILL NOT CHANGE is that PCs have an arbitrarily large world, and the console will be capped.  And a business reason they won't change the current release order: it's about 19765298456297465 times easier to check and fix bugs on a PC release than a console release.  That way, they can get the new features out, get the stuff checked, balanced, and then release it on console.  I would, however, expect a tighter schedule between updates and and port to console.
On the other hand, it's about a bazillion times easier to pirate...
I wonder if services like Steam are essentially iTunes-ing (yeah, I'll make that a word now) game piracy.  iTunes is a good example that if you make it easy for people to buy something, and it's not absurdly expensive, they just will do that rather than bother jumping through hoops, even fairly easy ones, to pirate it.

I've always been of the opinion that this is the case, and why I claim most DRM methods beyond it aren't worth it.  The trick about fighting piracy isn't punitive methods, but ease of use.  In doing so, piracy shrinks naturally.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 11, 2014, 04:23:01 PM
Ease of use and cheap options are definitely piracy killers.

Bit of a video game rant:  I nuked my hard drive's OS partition and reinstalled, then updated everything and went to Steam to play stuff.  Did Terraria for a bit...  Until I got a BSOD that flashes so fast I couldn't get a read on it.  I wonder if I ought to force it again.

Oh well, at least it still runs Torchlight 2 right.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 11, 2014, 09:44:24 PM
On the other hand, it's about a bazillion times easier to pirate...
I don't know about that.

You have to wait for PC games to hit the torrent sites with the DRM completely ripped out of it and then you run into problems of the torrent being blocks by ISPs, claims made against you (typically by the ISP threatening to drop service), and the "game" is piggbacked by a trojen. It is however pretty ironic that hacked games run better than the full-versions.

Within a few months of the X-Box, 360, and probably the 360-again, their OSes are hacked to download entire discs. Heck, I was playing PS2 games on a friend's Xbox during that console generation. Computers can run emulators for console games pretty easily and the PS4's has already been released. Sure a PC is doing the pirating, but it's doing the pirating of console gaming which has little to no DRM to rip out giving you one quick and easy program to run most of the games per console out there.

Speaking as someone whom essentially lives in Pirateland, I can tell you that's bunk.

PC games have to be cracked individually, that's true. However, they are often cracked REALLY damn fast compared to consoles. Consider this: the PS3 was released in 2006 and it wasn't until well into 2010/2011 that it was hacked. Even so, it was hacked because of leaked developer code. Then Sony plugged the hole with 3.50 (fixes came out really fast), and then 3.55... at which point there was a LEAP and the pirates actually caught up to Sony with up-to-date CFW. Worse: at the time, the ENTIRE CONTENT of the PS Store became readily available for them. When Sony plugged THAT hole, it was a good year and a half before anything new arose on that front. Right now, the PS3 is essentially an open box and it can run both PS2 and PSP ISOs as well as PSOnes. Cracking hardware is one hell of a LOT harder than cracking software, so while once your console is hacked you're basically screwed software sales-wise, you're golden as long as it's not done or as long as you can offer something that piracy doesn't (hacked consoles even offer online playability nowadays, if you don't mind the risk of being banned).

With all that said, yes, ease of use and low prices beat the crap outta piracy every time.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 13, 2014, 04:21:58 AM
What could have been from Sledgerhammer games : https://games.yahoo.com/news/shelved-call-duty-third-person-191500948.html uncharted/CoD set in Nam

Also use your 3DS as your contoler for SSB https://games.yahoo.com/news/super-smash-bros-wii-u-234100993.html

And who remembers the Sega Dreamcast? https://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/happy-15th-birthday--sega-dreamcast-165659599.html
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 13, 2014, 01:16:01 PM
DAMMIT, Trapped. I remember. T_T
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 15, 2014, 12:32:27 PM
well MS bought Minecraft for $2.5 Billion http://online.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-agrees-to-acquire-creator-of-minecraft-1410786190


Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on September 15, 2014, 12:38:50 PM
yup.  Microsoft's going to make a lot of money with this, it'll be interesting to see how well they work with Sony and company on the other platforms.  Because Mojang is still a thing (just part of Microsoft) I have a feeling this will go over well, but maybe a bit better than MC is now.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 15, 2014, 02:58:50 PM
here's a non pay wall article http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/15/technology/minecraft-microsoft/
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on September 18, 2014, 08:50:19 AM
Dominions 4 level of combat detail keeps awing me. Here's a sample battle I had recently:

-On the enemy side, around a hundred ancient chinese soldiers including a bunch of heavy chariots plus amazon archers.
-On my side, a pair of huge oni kings each dual-wielding custom crafted lighting spear+flaming sword plus a bunch of magic bling.
-Enemy chariots speed up ahead of the rest of the enemy army. If I had regular infantry they would probably trample all over it even if they had a spear wall, and then chop up the survivors with their falchions. But since I have huge onis they're not only immune to trampling from the puny human vehicles, they also manage to repeal the chariots with their long-reach lighting spears, leaving them sitting ducks for a counter-attack.
-Oni king #1 instagibs one of the chariots, oni king #2 isn't as lucky and fails to kill another chariot despite hitting its attacks. However clicking on said chariot, I see that the damage was still enough to trigger a pair of afflictions. In this case, losing both left and right arms, meaning he can't swing his falchion anymore.
-Armless chariot driver goes "This is just a flesh wound!" and procceeds to try to headbutt oni king #2! Yes, you heard that right, the programmers for this game didn't only include the possibility of a unit getting both its arms chopped during combat but still alive, it even unlocks a new attack!
-China+amazon alliance is routed by the pair of oni kings after the surviving chariots finally panic due to the damage inflicted (and oni kings having a natural fear aura plus magic helmets that further amplify their fear) and turn back, trampling all over their own lines.

Mind you, I now have a bunch of limp oni kings because of all the puny humans who can only hit their legs, and my pretender god who is a super oni king of kings lost an eye to a lucky enemy arrow crit at the start of the game, so I like to imagine he's been wearing a badass eyepatch ever since. Also my oldest surviving oni king has accumulated a bunch of afflictions that tecnically should've reduced it to an useless cripple, but he's gained so much experience, including luckying out in the hall of fame that he actually compensates his afflictions and keeps kicking ass all around (the top commanders in each game gain random bonuses from "One of your stats becomes better, why yes my frail humie mage having extra strength is sure come in handy" to "You're so fat that you gain a bunch of extra HP but also tire out faster").

After the battle, the oni kings get busy reanimating the dead puny humans into undead troops.

Amusingly enough, playing a nation of onis and their bandit lackeys who love raiding and unholy necromancy rituals isn't that evil in Dominions 4. Like, one of the other factions in that match is a race of bloodthirsty giants who eat the local population every turn and should that run out will start eating each other. Luckily they still didn't decide to attack me.

Mind you, most of my onis are quite gluttonous. They won't eat the local population or each other, they'll just gobble up all as much food as they can and if there's not enough to go around, they'll just let the non-oni starve. :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on September 19, 2014, 12:21:27 AM
(click to show/hide)

Oh well would you look at that! Something just got added to my Steam wishlist!
What's that? It just happens to be Dominions 4!? What a coinkidink!  ;)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 22, 2014, 03:49:04 AM
Got back into Torchlight 1 for a bit so I could finish the game with the Alchemist since I haven't done that already.  I got a few mods and ended up exploiting a miscalculation in the way buying and selling low cost stuff like town portal scrolls go (full ranks in Barter combined with a few items that decrease vendor prices) so I could get however much gold I wanted, then proceed to enchant the hell out of items due to having the "no disenchants" mod.  Haven't gotten very far on the new alchemist, but dang it's been fun to see what pops out and how things go when decked out so much.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on September 22, 2014, 08:43:06 PM
Banished is 60% off now at the Humble Store!  Great game, and I need to play it more, because wow is it awesome.  Too bad Minecraft is...Minecraft.....must play Crash Landing and Agrarian Skies....
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on September 22, 2014, 09:00:32 PM
I got pointed at Humble by a friend to get Tropico 3 for free.
Don't care for the game, but coincidentally I saw Jet Set Radio for like a lil' more than $1 there.
I remember this game from when was a wee thang. Yes I am definitely buying this :D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 22, 2014, 10:35:36 PM
I keep installing more and more mods on Skyrim...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on September 22, 2014, 10:39:07 PM
I got pointed at Humble by a friend to get Tropico 3 for free.
Don't care for the game, but coincidentally I saw Jet Set Radio for like a lil' more than $1 there.
I remember this game from when was a wee thang. Yes I am definitely buying this :D
Yeah, I got an email from them for that deal too.  I loved Tropico 4 and Tropico 5 is pretty good too.  Have no desire for 3, because, you know, newer ones I already have.... Seriously though.  Banished.  One of the best city building games I've ever played.  Only major issue I have is the inability to flatten land/reuse quarry/mines for something.  You might get some land that LOOKS okay, but there's a tiny 1-2 tile spot that blocks all construction.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 23, 2014, 02:29:47 AM
I keep installing more and more mods on Skyrim...

Good
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on September 23, 2014, 03:03:34 AM
I keep installing more and more mods on Skyrim...

I did that too, and now my game crashes when I try to put on or take off certain armor. 

On a related topic, I hate how it's cheaper to buy the Legendary Edition than it is to buy the two DLCs that I don't have. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 23, 2014, 10:23:41 AM
I keep installing more and more mods on Skyrim...

I did that too, and now my game crashes when I try to put on or take off certain armor. 

On a related topic, I hate how it's cheaper to buy the Legendary Edition than it is to buy the two DLCs that I don't have.

I haven't had a single mod-related crash or problem in my game for a long time. Have you tried using BOSS to solve your load-order problems? Most mod-related issues stems from having two or more mods modifying the same underlying game code, which can sometimes be made less disruptive by modifying load-order. What mod you think might be causing the issue?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 23, 2014, 02:16:31 PM
I keep installing more and more mods on Skyrim...

I did that too, and now my game crashes when I try to put on or take off certain armor. 

On a related topic, I hate how it's cheaper to buy the Legendary Edition than it is to buy the two DLCs that I don't have.


I haven't had a single mod-related crash or problem in my game for a long time. Have you tried using BOSS to solve your load-order problems? Most mod-related issues stems from having two or more mods modifying the same underlying game code, which can sometimes be made less disruptive by modifying load-order. What mod you think might be causing the issue?

Also I have found that using TES5Edit can be helpful in finding and fixing errors
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 23, 2014, 02:18:00 PM
On a different note blizz has officially canceled Titan https://games.yahoo.com/news/blizzard-cancels-next-gen-mmo-170002288.html
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on September 23, 2014, 04:07:02 PM
On a different note blizz has officially canceled Titan https://games.yahoo.com/news/blizzard-cancels-next-gen-mmo-170002288.html
Aw.

That means more WoW, though, so... -shrug- They'll still make money hand over fist for a while yet.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 23, 2014, 04:32:41 PM
On a different note blizz has officially canceled Titan https://games.yahoo.com/news/blizzard-cancels-next-gen-mmo-170002288.html
Aw.

That means more WoW, though, so... -shrug- They'll still make money hand over fist for a while yet.

The MMO-Champion (http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/4343-Blizzard-Cancels-Titan-Project) article says Blizzard is likely working on another project called Prometheus now, but it's just a rumor.  Chances are the former Titan team isn't being added onto WoW or any of the other game teams, so they're doing their own thing.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 23, 2014, 05:31:07 PM
On a different note blizz has officially canceled Titan https://games.yahoo.com/news/blizzard-cancels-next-gen-mmo-170002288.html
Aw.

That means more WoW, though, so... -shrug- They'll still make money hand over fist for a while yet.

The MMO-Champion (http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/4343-Blizzard-Cancels-Titan-Project) article says Blizzard is likely working on another project called Prometheus now, but it's just a rumor.  Chances are the former Titan team isn't being added onto WoW or any of the other game teams, so they're doing their own thing.

No, they already mentioned that they reassigned members of the Titan team to WoW, which partly why Warlords has had stuff dropped, because they had to bring folks up to speed which took time away from Warlords.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on September 24, 2014, 10:53:38 AM
I keep installing more and more mods on Skyrim...
My wife just got back into Skyrim.  Can you tell me what your favorite mods are?  We're on Steam.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 24, 2014, 12:12:15 PM
I keep installing more and more mods on Skyrim...
My wife just got back into Skyrim.  Can you tell me what your favorite mods are?  We're on Steam.

Where do i even start... Well, first, Nexus is a better resource for modding than Steam Workshop will ever be. You just need to install Nexus Mod Manager & run BOSS to figure out load-orders for you and you're set.

I'll start with mods that address what i tend to see as designer oversights and slowly go to mods that fundamentally change the way the game works. Let's get started.

First, Unofficial Patches. Download all of them. Main game, Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn. They fix broken quests and handle all sorts of bugs that wouldn't be addressed by the official patches, and now that ESO has launched, probably never will.

Esbern Sound Fix is a mod that fixes a very specific bug that wasn't addressed in these unofficial patches, which is a very minor bug with sound clips from an important NPC in the main quest, Esbern.

Weapons and Armor Fixes Remade fixes problems with several weapons that had bad pointers... One Handed weapons that called for Two Handed Perks and other such nonsense.

When Vampires Attack/Run For your Lives are another two amazing mods that deal with what i see as design oversight. Basically, after you progress to a certain point in the storyline, cities will start experiencing Dragon & Vampire attacks. Normally, when that happens, ALL of the NPC's in town will join in the fighting, even those that have no business fighting in the first place, like shopkeepers and quest givers. And that can break quests and turn entire towns useless if enough NPC's die. What this mod does is, get this, when the town is attacked, all NPC's that aren't GUARDS retreat back to their homes and let the PROFESSIONALS deal with it. And Guards respawn.

A Quality World Map is an amazing mod. Not only it enhances the textures of the world map in Skyrim, it also highlights ALL OF THE ROADS. YES. FINALLY I CAN SEE THE PROPER PATH I SHOULD TAKE IF I WANT TO GO FROM A TO B! Lanterns of Skyrim is another mod that enhances travel, placing lanterns on roads. It's a very minor thing, but it helps a lot when travelling at night and helps immersion tremendously.

SkyUI is an amazing mod that is required by several other amazing mods that fixes a problem that is common in games nowadays: The interface is optimized for consoles, which means it's not optimized for PC users. The SkyUI interface is optimized for PC users and makes it easier to sort through inventory, includes a search bar for your inventory/containers, etc... It's amazing.

So far, those are mods i consider to be "Core" mods, mods that just make the game run smoother and with less problems. Now i can get into mods that affect gameplay mechanics and mess with game balance issues.

Character Creation Overhaul makes the process of creating a new character more finely tuned, more like it was on Oblivion. Race has less of an impact on character's starting skills and levelling up, and you can choose Major skills that will level up faster, as well as create/choose a Class that will give a large starting boost to a skill as well as make it level up faster. It also re-introduces the mechanics of Birthsigns, which, of course, removes the mechanic of having to find Standing Stones. (You still have a book you can read to change the Birthsign or completely remake the character(not reset perks) if you so choose).

Complete Crafting Overhaul Remade completely change the way crafting works. It messes with armor recipes, smoothing out the "pattern" used in creating armor more uniformely across categories, gives you a way to recycle equipment, makes it so you need more ore to create ingots, makes ore heavier... It changes a lot, i recommend you read the mod at Skyrim Nexus.

there are a lot of other mods... I believe i posted a list somewhere here previously. I can post it again if required. This should be enough to get you started.

A good rule of thumb is to browse the categories in Nexus and download the ones with the highest number of downloads. They're generally awesome.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 24, 2014, 02:10:17 PM
we had a skyrim thread somewhere around here but here's my list of mods that i use

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on September 24, 2014, 02:15:39 PM
I keep installing more and more mods on Skyrim...

I did that too, and now my game crashes when I try to put on or take off certain armor. 

On a related topic, I hate how it's cheaper to buy the Legendary Edition than it is to buy the two DLCs that I don't have.

I haven't had a single mod-related crash or problem in my game for a long time. Have you tried using BOSS to solve your load-order problems? Most mod-related issues stems from having two or more mods modifying the same underlying game code, which can sometimes be made less disruptive by modifying load-order. What mod you think might be causing the issue?

If I had to hazard a guess, it's either Immersive Armors causing the problem (because it's only the modded armors that crash the game), or the interaction between Immersive Armors and Winter is Coming (cloaks). 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 24, 2014, 03:07:14 PM
Try and run BOSS and see if it picks up any conflict. I personally use Immersive Armors & Weapons and i haven't had a problem, so i can vouch for that mod not causing trouble.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on September 27, 2014, 03:05:04 PM
Speaking of Skyrim mods, do they have any Zelda themed ones or do I have to use my imagination?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 27, 2014, 03:15:00 PM
Try searching for Zelda here ... (http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/searchresults/?)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on September 27, 2014, 03:34:23 PM
Speaking of Skyrim mods, do they have any Zelda themed ones or do I have to use my imagination?

This one looks pretty cool. (http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/40615/?tab=3&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmodimages%2F%3Fid%3D40615%26user%3D1&pUp=1)
But wait, there's more! (http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/searchresults/?src_order=1&src_sort=0&src_view=1&src_tab=1&src_language=0&src_descr=zelda&src_showadult=1&page=1&pUp=1)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 27, 2014, 05:47:12 PM
I can now finally play a proper spellblade.

Apocalypse Spell Package (bunch of new, useful spells) + balanced magic (magic now properly scales damage with level, amongst other things) + Bound Weapons Redux (adds a bunch more bound weapons, including Bound Pickaxe & Bound Woodaxe).

I also installed a nice mod called Bandolier Bags & Pouches, which adds 7 new slots for your character and dozens of new recipes where you can, guess what, equip several bandoliers, bags and pouches, that actually appear on your character model and increase your carry weight! They come in several colors, including dyed Black & Red leather.

Ever wondered where Dovahkiin keeps all his goodies while he's travelling? That's where. Combined with Wet & Cold's Cloaks & Backpacks you can now look like a proper adventure, fully geared up.

Plus, now i can actually carry enough stuff that i don't need to IMMEDIATELY start the MQ and get Breezehome just so i can stash my loot somewhere, plus, i can now actually properly loot a dungeon, instead of leaving mostly everything because i'm getting overencumbered.

Two other mods i recommend:

Windstad Mine & Heljarchen Farm.

These two require Hearthfire. Both are new player homes, with a twist. Windstad Mine is an abandoned mine near Windstad Manor (Hearthfire added player home close to Ustengraav near Morthal), filled with bandits. You find an abandoned cart between Riverwood & Whiterun that gives you the location. After you clear out the bandits you can purchase the deed to the mine from a guy at Highmoon Hall in Morthal.

The mine is huge, and can be upgraded to provide both metal & income to the Dovahkiin. At first, the mine provides Iron, Corundum and Silver, but you can later expand the mine into two more shafts that provide the other metals. You can either craft the materials required to renew the mine or you can spend gold and contract workers to rebuild the mine for you. In addition to the mine, you also expand the outside of the mine into a small city, complete with a fishery, guard posts, your own blacksmith...

Did i forget to mention that the mine's veins are infinite? Once you rebuilt the mine enough, you can hire miners to extract the mine's content for you, passively generating income & metal, which you can then come to collect.

Heljarchen Farm is mostly the same thing, but instead of ores & metal, you get to farm goodies. I haven't played with it much, but it's from the same author and the idea seems more or less the same.

Both seem like good alternatives to generating a good amount of income that's not looting the hell out of every ruin you encounter in Skyrim, but they don't come cheap. Both require a LARGE investment in order to start running, so you don't get it all for free. In fact, my testing told me you need 20k+ in order to fully furnish the mine if you don't want to craft anything. Farm should be more or less like that as well.

I'm planning on getting the mine & Windstad Manor, then gunning for the farm. To fund these endeavors, i plan on wiping Blackreach clean of it's gems & dwarven metal and selling the crap out of enchanted dwarven bows. When i'm done, every child in skyrim will have a Dwarven Bow.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 27, 2014, 07:39:07 PM
. When i'm done, every child in skyrim will have a Dwarven Bow.

And then only you and Braith will remind
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on October 01, 2014, 07:22:35 AM
So in dominions 4 there's this faction called Ulm, that has an heavy focus on forging magic items, in particular having spammable national mages that get to build stuff at discount, which is pretty nice considering that magic items need rare magic gems to build.

During middle and late ages Ulm  also gets an interesting National Spell.  Iron Blizzard. Unique in that is a spell that demands both Holy and Earth magic to cast. There's many other dual-magic spells in the game, but no other that demands Holy magic as one of its components.

What does Iron Blizzard do?

It summons 30+ magic blades out of thin air and shoots them at the opponent, and then they also pierce armor and deal double damage against magic beings to boot. Is also relatively cheap to cast during combat and thus your holy mages can spam it almost every round.

So basically Ulm is a nation that allows you to build an army of magic smith-warriors that in combat pray to craft a virtually unlimited amount of blades that make short work of their opponents without holding anything.

Dominions allows you to create an army of Shirous/Archers from Fate/Stay Night!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on October 01, 2014, 12:50:28 PM
Gilgamesh. :v

Gun be king~
Gun buy this effin game if it ever gets a sale~
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on October 01, 2014, 02:28:31 PM
I stayed up til sunrise plating Civ 5 last night. It's difficult to get a Culture victory when the other nations on your continent go for Military.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on October 01, 2014, 03:40:04 PM
I stayed up til sunrise plating Civ 5 last night. It's difficult to get a Culture victory when the other nations on your continent go for Military.

I saw a beautiful Let's Play of a guy avoiding that pitfall. He basically got all the nations in his continent to keep warring on eachother and got them to funnel all their trade routes to him so that in 500+ turns he only had war declared on him once, and that only lasted a few turns, because the guy had to make peace with him in order to more effectively war on the other nations.

When the AI has too many trade routes with you they're much less likely to declare war on you because they end up economically depending on you. In some ways, having the other CIV's go for military victories can actually help you achieve a cultural victory because you're not competing for wonders.

The guy was playing Gandhi on Deity. It was amazing, totally worth watching 30+ episodes. Guy had only 3 cities for the entirety of the game, yet he still managed to push through 1000+ tourism per turn. Liberty is so OP when you go for a culture victory...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on October 01, 2014, 06:44:33 PM
I stayed up til sunrise plating Civ 5 last night. It's difficult to get a Culture victory when the other nations on your continent go for Military.

I saw a beautiful Let's Play of a guy avoiding that pitfall. He basically got all the nations in his continent to keep warring on eachother and got them to funnel all their trade routes to him so that in 500+ turns he only had war declared on him once, and that only lasted a few turns, because the guy had to make peace with him in order to more effectively war on the other nations.

When the AI has too many trade routes with you they're much less likely to declare war on you because they end up economically depending on you. In some ways, having the other CIV's go for military victories can actually help you achieve a cultural victory because you're not competing for wonders.

The guy was playing Gandhi on Deity. It was amazing, totally worth watching 30+ episodes. Guy had only 3 cities for the entirety of the game, yet he still managed to push through 1000+ tourism per turn. Liberty is so OP when you go for a culture victory...
Any chance of a link?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on October 01, 2014, 08:06:47 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6kW8VzeW-U

India LP on Deity. Absolutely mad awesome skills for an intriguing cultural victory with only 3 cities.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on October 02, 2014, 12:05:17 AM
Speaking of Let's Plays, the most-watched ones for Wolfenstein: The New Order are by German LPers.

I have to wonder how much of it is due to people going "I wonder what the Germans think of this game?" vs. Germans checking out the game due to most depictions of Nazis in media being censored in that country.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on October 02, 2014, 10:51:29 PM
Just thought I'd share a cool video game image.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on October 02, 2014, 11:06:12 PM
Nice.  Still doesn't trump this, though ...
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Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on October 02, 2014, 11:40:53 PM
I see your bloodthirsty killer and raise you...
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Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on October 03, 2014, 04:28:45 AM
"Bloodthirsty" is kinda of a tame descrition for Link when you consider this...

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Shadowhunter on October 16, 2014, 07:40:53 PM
Ok, so I updated Path of Exile yesterday. I am currently playing 2 shadows, one ice mage and one Flicker Strike claw&shield user. Both were at level 24 when I started playing again.

Today I've had the most awesome luck in skill gem drops I've ever seen. First a Quality Blood Rage drops. I freak out, that's a Cruel difff. Act 1 reward, I'm at Normal diff. Act 2.
I proceed to incorporate it into my build. Less than three hours later, a fucking Multistrike drops. That's a Merciless diff. Act 3 reward. So now I'm blinking about the place, killing all the things and having so much fun it's almost surreal. Sure, it's nothing I wouldn't have gotten in time, but the fact remains that I can play it NOW as opposed to LATER is worth so much to me.

I guess Flicker Strike really appeals to the same part of my brain that likes those over-the-top flash-step things in anime, as well as the part that loves Haste above any other spell (and subsequently the Swiftblade PrC).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on October 17, 2014, 11:43:21 AM
I so wish I could play Path of Exile, but this laptop is definitely too old for it (hello Inspiron 8600!).  At least I have Torchlight 2 for my hack'n'slash needs.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on October 17, 2014, 11:50:11 AM
I'd probably like PoE more if I played the standard league instead of always trying to be in the new leagues since I don't have time to play it as much as I'd like.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on October 20, 2014, 11:45:19 PM
I'm enjoying South Park: The Stick of Truth.

It's actually a pretty good RPG, with a pretty good rules system and turn-based combat.

I absolutely LOVED the fact that you can use the environment to avoid enemy battles. They don't just shove the solution in your face(except the first few times they introduce this to you), either, you have to think a little. AND you get XP for defeating them that way, so you don't feel ripped out of your rewards. In fact, you feel MORE rewarded.

The way they made every weapon & accessory tie-in with the tone and humour of the series is amazing. The whole time i was playing this, i was feeling like i was actually inside an interactive South Park episode, and that's saying MUCH for this game.

10/10
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on October 22, 2014, 06:26:26 AM
First rule to have a game selling on Steam: do not make a public threat to kill the guy that owns Steam (http://kotaku.com/indie-dev-threatens-gabe-newell-has-game-removed-from-1648678869).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on October 31, 2014, 02:32:54 PM
http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/31/nintendo-wii-u-premature-eulogy/  (http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/31/nintendo-wii-u-premature-eulogy/)

Saying good bye to the WiiU...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on October 31, 2014, 05:41:35 PM
Ugh. Did they have to bring down Bayonetta 2 with it?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on October 31, 2014, 06:13:28 PM
Why exactly are you calling making a sequel possible at all "bring it down"? Sony didn't give a single fuck. Microsoft didn't give a single fuck. EA, Blizzard, Activision, Sega, they didn't give a single fuck either. Nintendo gave Bayonetta a second chance. It's now up to the fans to put their money where their mouth is.

Besides, Nintendo had stabilized the Wii U and is currently making a profit out of it. (http://www.tweaktown.com/news/40836/nintendo-shocks-with-big-profit-turnaround-with-stronger-wii-u-sales/index.html) And they have more great games coming, like Zelda U and X. And I bet they have Metroid U on the works as well.

Not to mention the Wii U has been outselling Xbox One (http://bgr.com/2014/06/18/wii-u-vs-xbox-one-sales/) for some months now. So yeah, Wii U's second place and people still go around crying DOOOMMMEEEDDD! :eh

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on October 31, 2014, 06:18:34 PM
Why exactly are you calling making a sequel possible at all "bring it down"? Sony didn't give a single fuck. Microsoft didn't give a single fuck. EA, Blizzard, Activision, Sega, they didn't give a single fuck either. Nintendo gave Bayonetta a second chance. It's now up to the fans to put their money where their mouth is.

Besides, Nintendo had stabilized the Wii U and is currently making a profit out of it. (http://www.tweaktown.com/news/40836/nintendo-shocks-with-big-profit-turnaround-with-stronger-wii-u-sales/index.html) And they have more great games coming, like Zelda U and X. And I bet they have Metroid U on the works as well.

Not to mention the Wii U has been outselling Xbox One (http://bgr.com/2014/06/18/wii-u-vs-xbox-one-sales/) for some months now. So yeah, Wii U's second place and people still go around crying DOOOMMMEEEDDD! :eh

Thank you. I didn't want to have to bother calling that article stupid myself  :lmao
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on October 31, 2014, 06:25:45 PM
Such clickbait.

Much opinion piece.

How wrong.

Actually, this upcoming Black Friday I plan to finally get my Wii U.  I had said before I'd buy it when they released the games I was waiting for, Bayo 2 and Smash.  Well, that's coming to pass.  Now I just need to avoid medical bills long enough to justify the purchase.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on October 31, 2014, 06:31:41 PM
I was waiting on Monster Hunter 4, but thats next year :v

I can totally wait till xmas tho because Smash and Hyrule Warriors!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on October 31, 2014, 07:13:43 PM
Why exactly are you calling making a sequel possible at all "bring it down"? Sony didn't give a single fuck. Microsoft didn't give a single fuck. EA, Blizzard, Activision, Sega, they didn't give a single fuck either. Nintendo gave Bayonetta a second chance. It's now up to the fans to put their money where their mouth is.

Besides, Nintendo had stabilized the Wii U and is currently making a profit out of it. (http://www.tweaktown.com/news/40836/nintendo-shocks-with-big-profit-turnaround-with-stronger-wii-u-sales/index.html) And they have more great games coming, like Zelda U and X. And I bet they have Metroid U on the works as well.

Not to mention the Wii U has been outselling Xbox One (http://bgr.com/2014/06/18/wii-u-vs-xbox-one-sales/) for some months now. So yeah, Wii U's second place and people still go around crying DOOOMMMEEEDDD! :eh

Each generation you see the previous generation of consoles essentially disregarded or whittled down. You know one of the cool things about the PS2? It could play PSOne games. As in pretty much all of them. Region lock was the only real issue. Then on the PS3, backwards compatibility was a thing at first, and then not at all, until Sony decided to pull its "PS2 classics" crap when they stated that the PS3 could never emulate PS2 games on any level after a certain point and the hackers proved them wrong.

I worry that Bayonetta 2 may remain exclusive to the WiiU even past the point of generation-switching, or in the event someone decides to code a WiiU emulator.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on October 31, 2014, 08:33:04 PM
Each generation you see the previous generation of consoles essentially disregarded or whittled down. You know one of the cool things about the PS2? It could play PSOne games. As in pretty much all of them. Region lock was the only real issue. Then on the PS3, backwards compatibility was a thing at first, and then not at all, until Sony decided to pull its "PS2 classics" crap when they stated that the PS3 could never emulate PS2 games on any level after a certain point and the hackers proved them wrong.

I worry that Bayonetta 2 may remain exclusive to the WiiU even past the point of generation-switching, or in the event someone decides to code a WiiU emulator.
The Wii can play gamecube games. The Wii U can play Wii games.
The 3DS can play DS games that could play GBA games that could play GB games.

You worry too much. Nintendo is renowed for maintaining retro-compatibility on their systems.

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on October 31, 2014, 10:31:04 PM
Such clickbait.

Much opinion piece.

How wrong.

Actually, this upcoming Black Friday I plan to finally get my Wii U.  I had said before I'd buy it when they released the games I was waiting for, Bayo 2 and Smash.  Well, that's coming to pass.  Now I just need to avoid medical bills long enough to justify the purchase.

So any other games you want for it or is that just it?

Why exactly are you calling making a sequel possible at all "bring it down"? Sony didn't give a single fuck. EA, Blizzard, Activision, Sega, they didn't give a single fuck either

Those companies also don't give a fuck about the WiiU either i might add. Unless one of them has decided to support the WiiU oh wait no they don't
http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/09/25/150-games-for-everything-but-wii-u-highlights-nintendos-third-party-problem/

Here's a score sheet of who's supporting the WiiU https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Ai1Th0yKWMfMdE9RaDJpM1hHd2lCbnRJMzZtODdUMHc&output=html

 Over all the  piece while "dumb" does have a point the only thing driving the sells of the WiiU are: Smash,bayo 2 or in the words of the article : " loyalists' money and a string of exclusive first-party titles with familiar names "
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on November 01, 2014, 12:03:15 AM
Such clickbait.

Much opinion piece.

How wrong.

Actually, this upcoming Black Friday I plan to finally get my Wii U.  I had said before I'd buy it when they released the games I was waiting for, Bayo 2 and Smash.  Well, that's coming to pass.  Now I just need to avoid medical bills long enough to justify the purchase.

So any other games you want for it or is that just it?

There are others, those were just my main system sellers for me.  Other things I want; Wonderful 101, Hyrule Warriors, maybe Monster Hunter, Star Fox, and of course the typicals (Zelda, Mario, etc).

I really hope they do well on the Star Fox.  It's been so long I've nearly forgotten the sweet sweet taste of G-Diffusers.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on November 01, 2014, 12:56:50 AM
There are others, those were just my main system sellers for me.  Other things I want; Wonderful 101, Hyrule Warriors, maybe Monster Hunter, Star Fox, and of course the typicals (Zelda, Mario, etc).

I really hope they do well on the Star Fox.  It's been so long I've nearly forgotten the sweet sweet taste of G-Diffusers.

Fan boy * he said while looking up the cost of the Master Chief collection* lol
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on November 01, 2014, 06:45:34 PM
Behold The Internet Arcade with over 900 classic coin op games from before and some after you were born : https://archive.org/details/internetarcade (https://archive.org/details/internetarcade)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on November 07, 2014, 04:11:03 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmKEf-AYhJE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmKEf-AYhJE) Over watch trailer and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr5jVkHenSY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr5jVkHenSY) game player...looks and plays like TF2 with a blizz spin
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on November 07, 2014, 05:02:36 PM
OMG Blizzard has a new franchise?  :o
I must watch out for flying pigs.

I must admit, I wasn't really interested in Hots (burned out of dota long ago) and Heartstone (a game based on the card game based on the mmo based on the rts... Eerr, no thanks). And TF2 never really attracted me either.

But I may give overwatch a shot when it comes out (cheap pun is cheap). At least is a colourful shooter. Where everyody isn't wearing silly hats on top of their bland uniforms. Assuming it's free to play start of course.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on November 07, 2014, 05:22:44 PM
It looks amazing. I'm hooked.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on November 11, 2014, 04:48:10 PM
Another class based shooter? nothx Blizzard, I'm sure it's another skinner box.

I'll take my Quakeworld or Q3 Team Fortress, thanks.

(get off my lawn?)

FFS just publish on the PC already and/or name your favorite mobile OS. None of the closed platforms offer a value proposition anymore.

Bloodborne/FromSoft going back to PS exclusivity makes me ill, even if they are getting dev help and added promotion... mreh.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on November 11, 2014, 11:59:40 PM
Wooooo I bought Dominions 4.

The ingame screenshots were always making me unsure if I actually wanted to play it but I went and did and I freakin love it after just one game I didn't even get far in cause gotta get up for work ~.~
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Shadowhunter on November 16, 2014, 07:45:04 PM
Ok, so my Path of Exile luck keeps on happening. 660% increased unarmed damage Facebreaker, re-rolled with a divine orb into 705% increased unarmed damage dropped recently. Naturally I start a Marauder to play around with it.
With two pretty decent rings, the unarmed dps on infernal blow goes from 50-something to 600 something at level 23. Oneshotting almost everything.

Next up, I found a cool guy who traded me an Alpha's Howl for 1 Exalted Orb. For anyone who knows what that means, let me clarify:
A 20% quality, 2 red, 2 green, 4-linked Alpha's Howl. Sure, almost the lowest Evasion roll (81% increase within the 80-100% span) and average cold resistance roll (25 in the 20-30 span), but still...

I'm not very versed in the trading price between players in PoE, but since the other guy in the trade chat wanted to sell a non-linked AH for 1 Exalt and 10 chaos, I think I got a bargain and a half.


That makes up for the bloody Orc Lieutenants and their bloody guards repeatedly killing me in WoW.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 17, 2014, 03:12:42 PM
Curse you Clicker Heroes.   :shakefist  I like you too much.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on November 19, 2014, 03:18:57 AM
http://www.technobuffalo.com/2014/11/18/nintendo-thinks-rival-consoles-and-the-aaa-market-are-boring/

Miyamoto Calls the other companies and AAA games boring but forgets that his company relies on the same games like clockwork.....along with his own company having little to no 3rd party support..yes they may have finally turned a profit but it was dependent on Smash Brothers

Also two years into the WiiU review http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-the-year-two-review/1100-6423304/


and in other gaming news :

Blizz is offering free time to make up for launch problems https://games.yahoo.com/news/blizzard-offers-free-world-warcraft-203002440.html
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 21, 2014, 10:13:12 PM
I wish I knew C++ so I could go into SimulationCraft and add things that ought to be there for WoW.  The biggest thing I'd like to do is get all the damage stuff worked out for healers so they can be simulated and we can tell Blizz "Hey, we'd like to be roughly equal if for nothing else than questing or killing stuff when we're not healing."

As it stands at least I can look at the code and pick out whether some abilities are in when they shouldn't be, or see stuff that should be in but isn't.

And Blizz has expressed interest in getting certain healers able to do some DPS and healing at the same time which means sims to help see the numbers could be helpful.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on November 24, 2014, 05:00:41 PM
Anybody want a copy of Insurgency (http://www.playinsurgency.com/)?  I've got 3 to share.  First come, first served.

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Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on November 24, 2014, 05:08:31 PM
Anybody want a copy of Insurgency (http://www.playinsurgency.com/)?  I've got 3 to share.  First come, first served.

(click to show/hide)

Yoink!  Thanks!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on November 24, 2014, 06:01:51 PM
Snagged one!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on November 25, 2014, 10:59:40 AM
Bloodborne is going to have a procedurally-generated area! (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-11-20-bloodborne-dev-teases-a-proceedurally-generated-area)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on November 25, 2014, 03:12:31 PM
Bloodborne is going to have a procedurally-generated area! (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-11-20-bloodborne-dev-teases-a-proceedurally-generated-area)

Eh, maybe. "Appears differently" could mean a number of things. Now, randomized enemy placement has certainly been asked for by the community for a long time.

Still upset its going to be a console exclusive.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on November 25, 2014, 04:24:36 PM
I think Bloodborne is gonna be the game that makes me buy a PS4.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on November 25, 2014, 04:54:12 PM
I think Bloodborne is gonna be the game that makes me buy a PS4.

I know it's gonna be it for me. The question is when.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on November 25, 2014, 11:37:10 PM
Monster Hunter is the best thing ever, ever. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS1gFCppUyQ)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on November 26, 2014, 03:35:14 AM
Actually, this upcoming Black Friday I plan to finally get my Wii U.  I had said before I'd buy it when they released the games I was waiting for, Bayo 2 and Smash.  Well, that's coming to pass.  Now I just need to avoid medical bills long enough to justify the purchase.

I'm in the same boat.  I want to get a Wii U this week to play Bayonetta 2 (which I actually already own...bought it to get Best Buy's Gamers Club Unlocked for $30), and to a lesser extent also Smash (omg, Shulk's in it!  And Baten Kaitos got a song!) and Hyrule Warriors (mixing two of my 3 favorite series...what could possibly go wrong?).  Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have all 3 or they'll be on their way to me.

Then next year is Xenoblade Chronicles and Zelda U.  About time Wi U had some games I wanted.  :)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on November 26, 2014, 11:11:48 AM
Pokemon transfer?

So I recently heard you can use Pokemon Colosseum to transfer Pokemon from Gold to Ruby. Thus my RBY Pokemon can be used in B/W. True?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on November 26, 2014, 06:33:54 PM
Actually, this upcoming Black Friday I plan to finally get my Wii U.  I had said before I'd buy it when they released the games I was waiting for, Bayo 2 and Smash.  Well, that's coming to pass.  Now I just need to avoid medical bills long enough to justify the purchase.

I'm in the same boat.  I want to get a Wii U this week to play Bayonetta 2 (which I actually already own...bought it to get Best Buy's Gamers Club Unlocked for $30), and to a lesser extent also Smash (omg, Shulk's in it!  And Baten Kaitos got a song!) and Hyrule Warriors (mixing two of my 3 favorite series...what could possibly go wrong?).  Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have all 3 or they'll be on their way to me.

Then next year is Xenoblade Chronicles and Zelda U.  About time Wi U had some games I wanted.  :)

MONSTER HUNTER 4G NEXT YEAR WITH XENOBLADE & ZELDA U  :love
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on November 26, 2014, 08:59:12 PM
Actually, this upcoming Black Friday I plan to finally get my Wii U.  I had said before I'd buy it when they released the games I was waiting for, Bayo 2 and Smash.  Well, that's coming to pass.  Now I just need to avoid medical bills long enough to justify the purchase.

I'm in the same boat.  I want to get a Wii U this week to play Bayonetta 2 (which I actually already own...bought it to get Best Buy's Gamers Club Unlocked for $30), and to a lesser extent also Smash (omg, Shulk's in it!  And Baten Kaitos got a song!) and Hyrule Warriors (mixing two of my 3 favorite series...what could possibly go wrong?).  Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have all 3 or they'll be on their way to me.

Then next year is Xenoblade Chronicles and Zelda U.  About time Wi U had some games I wanted.  :)

MONSTER HUNTER 4G NEXT YEAR WITH XENOBLADE & ZELDA U  :love

Quite so!

I have my Wii U now, been playing Smash.  Also have Bayo 2, and got Mario 3D World and Nintendoland as part of the package.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 26, 2014, 09:28:19 PM
One of these days I'd like to play Bayonetta 1.  Blah...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on November 26, 2014, 09:32:29 PM
One of these days I'd like to play Bayonetta 1.  Blah...

Then get Bayo 2.  Bayo 1 is in Bayo 2.  And yeah, that means I have a duplicate now.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 26, 2014, 09:39:28 PM
One of these days I'd like to play Bayonetta 1.  Blah...

Then get Bayo 2.  Bayo 1 is in Bayo 2.  And yeah, that means I have a duplicate now.

Huh, I have more reasons to eventually get a Wii U then.  But the next electronic anything I get has got to be a computer...  This 10 year old laptop isn't cutting it anymore.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on November 26, 2014, 10:06:52 PM
One of these days I'd like to play Bayonetta 1.  Blah...

Then get Bayo 2.  Bayo 1 is in Bayo 2.  And yeah, that means I have a duplicate now.

Huh, I have more reasons to eventually get a Wii U then.  But the next electronic anything I get has got to be a computer...  This 10 year old laptop isn't cutting it anymore.

I know dem feels.  Which reminds me... ah, I'll post it in another thread, but I'm laptop hunting, in hopes Cyber Monday will get me something.

If you do get a Wii U, get the one with Mario 3D world in it, the one with cat-Mario.  It has proven surprisingly fun.

(EDIT: Belay that, I'll post it here.  Gaming laptops is videogame related!

So 'm wanting to update my laptop and I want a "gaming laptop".  Or at least something that can run minecraft.  I'm not looking at any high-end games, but seeing as my old laptop gets single digits in fps in minecraft and the only steam game I know runs is FTL, the thing needs an upgrade.

I have been doing my own research on the matter, but I'll pick your brains.  Do you know of a good laptop suitable for games?  They're all very expensive and I have concerns about the graphic card, GHz, or power supply being insufficient.  Specifically I am looking at the three digit range, lower being better obviously and ideally not over $700 post-discounts.

Any knowledge in that subject?)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 26, 2014, 10:50:03 PM
I have some knowledge on that subject, yeah.

It really depends on which games you want to play.  Minecraft on its own isn't typically a problem, and if I recall correctly there's a mod or whatever that helps it run much better.  I think it's Optifine?  http://www.minecraftdl.com/optifine-fps-boost-mod/

Power supplies aren't a problem on laptops unless you're overclocking stuff, (which I don't recommend on laptops unless you REALLY know your stuff).  As far as CPUs and GPUs go, I'm a little out of the loop but with a bit of research I could get back up to date.  The big thing to note is it's best to go with a standalone GPU.  Avoid Intel integrated graphics like the plague.  AMD "integrated" graphics are a different matter, but it still tends to be better to have the CPU and GPU separate.

Maybe try looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740%20600029658&IsNodeId=1&name=Dedicated%20Card&Order=PRICE or something?  If the CPU is Intel then the Core 2 is the minimum to go for while the i5 processors are likely overkill for your needs.  As far as AMD goes, Phenoms are still viable but they're seen as a budget option.  There's A-series stuff like Bulldozer that's much more recent.

Hm, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231521 might work for your price range and it has a large screen too.  The CPU and GPU are solid, as is storage capacity and RAM.  Windows 8 isn't such a pain anymore and supposedly when Windows 10 comes out MS will be giving free upgrades.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on November 27, 2014, 12:09:37 AM
Sadly, those numbers were WITH Optifine.  Without, it was hitting 4-5 fps.  Now I can get 9-14, depending if I'm in motion or not.  As for the suggestions.

Fascinating, that's... that's actually pretty good.  *Adds it to his possible choices*

I brought up the power supply issue since I recall, during my troubles upgrading my desktop, that I needed a new power supply to match up with my newly beefed up graphics card.  The idea of them selling a computer with neat features but not the power to back it up wouldn't surprise me.  So I was cautious.  That, and I am accustomed to laptops being difficult to impossible to upgrade in any way, and I didn't want to rule out upgrades in the future.

I remember the main things one looks for is the graphics card, the RAM, and the GHz.  Hard drive size is less of an issue for me, things tend to be big enough and I have an external terabyte for storage.  Was there anything I'm missing from that?  It's been a while since I went shopping so I had to relearn a bunch of things.

Also can you tell me more about Win 8?  To be honest I'm not a fan, and I like Win 7.  The every-other-windows rule seems to apply so far, so I'm wary.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on November 27, 2014, 12:18:14 AM
10 years, wow.  I can understand needing a new one, mine is 5 1/2 and it's getting pretty slow / over heating.  Still, I'm intentionally waiting till windows 9 10 (wtf, Microsoft?) is released and bugs fixed before i think of upgrading, b/c windows 8 is the 4E of windows (and 8.1 is the essentials line).  :)  Probably will try to hold out till next black friday.

I did hear that apparently there's still a few computers being sold with Win 7, though...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on November 27, 2014, 12:49:04 AM
For those with a computer eye, opinions on this laptop: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152570

Especially in comparison with the other one shown previously: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231521

Windows 8 aside, it looks kind of good.  I know you said i5 may be overkill, but I rather err too strong than too weak.  More importantly there are enough reviews (and human looking reviews) where I think I can trust them a bit.  The biggest weakness seems to be people not liking ridged trackpads, and windows 8 (which is an issue with Win 8 and not the laptop itself).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 27, 2014, 02:03:33 AM
There are still some computers sold with Windows 7 due to demand, yes.

Alas, I can't give any firsthand experience with anything past Vista.  This old thing still runs XP and I'm not confident in its ability to do 7 and still handle some of the software I have like Adobe CS2.

Laptops don't tend to have power issues, but there are exceptions here and there.  Read through the comments to see if there are any glaring issues.  In this case I don't expect there to be since ASUS and MSI tend to do pretty well.

As far as the two laptops go, if you're okay spending the $780ish on the MSI laptop then it will definitely be good for several years.  The ASUS one is still good though.  I'm not sure on the performance difference between the two CPUs and GPUs.

Huh...  If the cart thing is accurate, you could actually upgrade the MSI to an i7 processor and 1TB HDD for the same $780.  If that's the case then OMFG get it!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on November 27, 2014, 02:22:34 AM
Huh...  If the cart thing is accurate, you could actually upgrade the MSI to an i7 processor and 1TB HDD for the same $780.  If that's the case then OMFG get it!

Oh?  Wait, where do you see that, my curiosity is peaked!

(EDIT: Wait, I see it.  789.  It.... it looks like that may be the case indeed!)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on November 27, 2014, 07:48:19 AM
There are still some computers sold with Windows 7 due to demand, yes.

Alas, I can't give any firsthand experience with anything past Vista.  This old thing still runs XP and I'm not confident in its ability to do 7 and still handle some of the software I have like Adobe CS2.

Laptops don't tend to have power issues, but there are exceptions here and there.  Read through the comments to see if there are any glaring issues.  In this case I don't expect there to be since ASUS and MSI tend to do pretty well.

As far as the two laptops go, if you're okay spending the $780ish on the MSI laptop then it will definitely be good for several years.  The ASUS one is still good though.  I'm not sure on the performance difference between the two CPUs and GPUs.

Huh...  If the cart thing is accurate, you could actually upgrade the MSI to an i7 processor and 1TB HDD for the same $780.  If that's the case then OMFG get it!

Windows 7, when properly configured, is actually faster than XP due to certain optimizations they've made.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0%2c2817%2c2355703%2c00.asp

Do note, that this was made with a stock installation of Windows 7, that is, without changing any settings. If you disable stuff like Aero and other cosmetic settings, it can get significantly faster.

There's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't upgrade from XP to 7. Seriously, you can google it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on November 27, 2014, 11:28:24 AM
Win7 really is a nice OS and you can disable AERO and such. There really isn't a reason not to use it other than cost (sometimes it's more effective to buy a cheap comp).

Really, even Win8 can be ran on a computer designed for XP (the work comp I'm on now for example). But 8 isn't exactly a useful version for desktops or laptops.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on November 27, 2014, 11:31:16 AM
8 definitely isn't useful if you don't have a touch screen either. I'm just really annoyed at how use to having a touch screen I got when I got Windows 8 because I can't stop trying to touch the screen of other computers running 8 despite that they don't have touchscreens -_-'
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on November 27, 2014, 03:02:19 PM
My only complaint about Win 7 is that I need to keep my graphics card un-upgraded in order to play Age of Empires 2 w/o all sorts of weird mixed up coloring issues and a massively shrunk play screen and that I can no longer play Diablo 2 at all.  I guess you can't expect newer OS's to support old games forever, but I never had the issues back when my computer had Vista.

XP is great too, but I think they stopped supporting it (security updates, etc...) completely now, so running it is outright dangerous.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on November 27, 2014, 03:09:09 PM
D2 works fine on my Win7 Laptop. Even did a LAN based play though using Hamachi last spring.

Are you sure your issue is the "upgraded" video card you're talking about even works properly?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on November 27, 2014, 03:47:56 PM
My only complaint about Win 7 is that I need to keep my graphics card un-upgraded in order to play Age of Empires 2 w/o all sorts of weird mixed up coloring issues and a massively shrunk play screen and that I can no longer play Diablo 2 at all.  I guess you can't expect newer OS's to support old games forever, but I never had the issues back when my computer had Vista.

XP is great too, but I think they stopped supporting it (security updates, etc...) completely now, so running it is outright dangerous.

It's a problem with Explorer and there's a "fix" you can do in order to play AoE2 without weird coloring problems.

1. Open Notepad
2. Type:
taskkill /F /IM Explorer.exe
age2_x1.exe
Start explorer.exe
3. Save as a .bat file
4. Use it to start the game

You shouldn't have any coloring issues. Weird fix, i know, but i've used it and it works.

Strangely enough, i've installed Diablo 2 here, played with SorO briefly on Hamachi and also had zero problems. I think you just need to make sure you have the latest patch and you'll have no problems. Maybe latest driver for your card as well.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 27, 2014, 09:35:47 PM
Yup, cost is the factor for me upgrading to Win7 from XP.  And indeed there are no more security updates so this laptop is likely to get issues if it's not behind the filters and such my dad has set up for the house network.

I need to get a larger external hard drive for this thing, but that won't take much since upgrading from 160 gig or so ought to be cheap.

For reference, my current laptop is an Inspiron 8600 with 2GHZ Intel Pentium M and ATI/AMD Radeon 9600M.  And 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Raineh Daze on November 27, 2014, 10:08:17 PM
Yup, cost is the factor for me upgrading to Win7 from XP.  And indeed there are no more security updates so this laptop is likely to get issues if it's not behind the filters and such my dad has set up for the house network.

I need to get a larger external hard drive for this thing, but that won't take much since upgrading from 160 gig or so ought to be cheap.

For reference, my current laptop is an Inspiron 8600 with 2GHZ Intel Pentium M and ATI/AMD Radeon 9600M.  And 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM.

Everything about that makes me wince.

An old i3 with equal or better RAM and a separate GPU should be dirt cheap, now.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on November 27, 2014, 11:00:47 PM
For reference, my current laptop is an Inspiron 8600 with 2GHZ Intel Pentium M and ATI/AMD Radeon 9600M.  And 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM.
Quote from: http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mobility-Radeon-9600-Pro.2171.0.html
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600
The predecessor version of the ATI Radeon 9700 Mobility differs by its low clock speed and the worse Z-compression (was improved with 9700). In the beginning it was the fastest graphic card, which was available for notebooks, but nowadays it is part of the lower performance segment.

Beware of versions with 32 MB memory, in most cases they only have a 64 bit memory bus, which deterioriates the speed severely.

ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro was a higher clocked version with 350 MHz core- and memory clock (compared with the 300 MHz in the standard version). ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro was a higher clocked version with 350 MHz core- and memory clock (compared with the 300 MHz in the standard version). Further only a version with 128 MB was allowed to get this name.
Code: [Select]
Manufacturer ATI
<snip>
Codename M10
Pipelines 4 / 2 Pixel- / Vertexshader
Core Speed * 300 MHz
Memory Speed * 300 MHz
Memory Bus Width 128 / 64 Bit
Memory Type DDR
Max. Amount of Memory 128 MB
Shared Memory no
-
DirectX DirectX 9, Shader 2.0
technology 130 nm
Features Powerplay 4.0, Hyper-Z II, SmartShader 2.0
Notebook Size medium sized
Date of Announcement 01.06.2004
Information 9600 Pro mit 350 / 350 MHz Taktraten und 128 MB Speicher
Link to Manufacturer Page http://www.ati.com/products/mobilityrade...
Kind of just a plain poor review isn't it?


And my 450ish laptop I bought 4 years ago is AMD A6-4400 @2.7GHz.
(click to show/hide)
So I'm sure you can do a lot better, for cheaper, this day and age.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on November 28, 2014, 10:31:43 AM
Nintendo Patents Game Boy Emulation For Use In Mobile Devices, In-Flight Entertainment

http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/28/nintendo-patents-game-boy-emulation-for-use-in-mobile-devices-in-flight-entertainment/?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000591

Once again Nintendo protects it's patents..nothing major..what a shame
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on November 28, 2014, 10:36:09 PM
My only complaint about Win 7 is that I need to keep my graphics card un-upgraded in order to play Age of Empires 2 w/o all sorts of weird mixed up coloring issues and a massively shrunk play screen and that I can no longer play Diablo 2 at all.  I guess you can't expect newer OS's to support old games forever, but I never had the issues back when my computer had Vista.

XP is great too, but I think they stopped supporting it (security updates, etc...) completely now, so running it is outright dangerous.

It's a problem with Explorer and there's a "fix" you can do in order to play AoE2 without weird coloring problems.

1. Open Notepad
2. Type:
taskkill /F /IM Explorer.exe
age2_x1.exe
Start explorer.exe
3. Save as a .bat file
4. Use it to start the game

You shouldn't have any coloring issues. Weird fix, i know, but i've used it and it works.

Strangely enough, i've installed Diablo 2 here, played with SorO briefly on Hamachi and also had zero problems. I think you just need to make sure you have the latest patch and you'll have no problems. Maybe latest driver for your card as well.

D2 works fine on my Win7 Laptop. Even did a LAN based play though using Hamachi last spring.

Are you sure your issue is the "upgraded" video card you're talking about even works properly?

I tried that .bat thing and it didn't help at all.  The coloring wasn't a big deal other than making the map nigh useless for seeing where units were.  The main issue was the squeezing of the picture down to a perfect square that turned 30% of my screen into a useless black border.  In any case, nerfing my graphics card down to the initial (2009) drivers/updates made the squeezing go away and left only slight coloring issues.  It is kind of annoying how my resolution options are limited and I literally can't edit a token in maptools and access the close button to save changes (the X at the top corner doesn't save changes, sadly) w/o first moving and shrinking the window, but...oh well.

As for Diablo...I tried every piece of advice I could find.  The thread below sums up my problem.  I simply cannot install the damn game anymore.  It always freezes on "d2video.mpq" and that happened right from the moment I switched to Win 7 and had to re-install, I never had a problem w/ the discs before.
http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/threads/issues-installing-on-windows-7.767930/

I forget why I didn't do the battle.net thing, but I set up my battle.net account like over a decade ago and I forgot the email it's linked to and I'm not even sure that it still exists (tried searching all my current email accounts for battle.net stuff) and just in general couldn't get that to work.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on November 28, 2014, 11:03:45 PM
I didn't have a say in the specs on this since my dad got it from my cousin who was no longer using it.  But yeah, I'll be looking around soonish unless my dad decides to get me a computer for Christmas.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on December 02, 2014, 02:27:33 PM
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on December 02, 2014, 06:16:50 PM
Dark Souls 2 new DLC: Scholar of the First Sin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0GxBZcVmHc)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on December 07, 2014, 06:09:59 PM
FUCK YOU, SCORE ATTACK CHIE! FUCK YOU IN THE ASS!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on December 09, 2014, 09:11:55 PM
More gaming news time!

Creating Chris Benoit in WWE 2K15 gets you banned (http://ca.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/12/creating-chris-benoit-in-wwe-2k15-gets-you-banned)
Banner Saga 2 announced (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vpvmiwIT58)
Street Fighter 5 announced (http://www.destructoid.com/street-fighter-v-confirmed-as-ps4-pc-exclusive-284676.phtml#ext)
Skytorn looks effing amazing! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvcwSOqyf5s)
High school notebook art becomes a deathmatch game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGEOSOn2oKM)
Orphan looks like Limbo but better ... and with guns (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K33l9Enr78)
Yakuza 5 is actually coming westward! (http://blogs.sega.com/2014/12/06/sega-sony-partner-to-launch-yakuza-5-in-the-west/)
Double Fine is remastering old LucasArts classics, including Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-12-06-day-of-the-tentacle-special-edition-announced-for-playstation-and-pc)
Killing Floor 2 announced (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6C2czPIV3A)
Kratos Knight! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll5grB6C9Bw)
Bastion is getting ported (http://www.supergiantgames.com/blog/bastion-coming-to-playstation-4-and-ps-vita-in-2015-the/)
Kill Strain announced, a 5v2v5 F2P shooter (http://www.destructoid.com/kill-strain-is-a-free-to-play-shooter-in-the-works-from-sony-284673.phtml)
Enter the Gungeon announced, featuring a gun ... THAT CAN KILL THE PAST! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMh0tw0bADs)
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow2cL-pp6p8)
New Legend of Zelda trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SECWlFInyFM)
No Man's Sky still looks amazing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXL5fJMpCus)
Cyberpunk bartending action VA-11 HALL-A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQwGb-d4cWA)
New Mario Maker trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3jn0Km6Qg)
New 3DS has secret browser minigame (http://www.destructoid.com/the-new-3ds-has-a-secret-browser-minigame-284566.phtml)
Saint's Row: Gat out of Hell has a musical number (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvAJIVSLqK4)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on December 10, 2014, 11:00:54 AM
Dominions 4 multiplayer is on a completely different level from other multiplayer computer strategy games. In one game I'm now I've done the following:
-My oni kings leading troops spend death gems in battle to cause an eclipse that leaves human forces almost blind, ready to be slaughtered by my oni hordes.
-Other oni kings fight solo, using boots of flying to swoop into weaker enemy provinces and butcher whatever little resistance is there before
-One of the other players tries to Mindhunt my Oni Kings, which is exactly what it sounds like: his mages go into the astral plane to reach across multiple provinces and then throw a save-or-die at a random enemy commander in the province. Particularly effective where there is exactly one enemy commander in the province, otherwise you risk just killing minor mage or expendable captain #12.
-Alas, onis have this special rule that they don't die when they're killed, instead coming back as ghosts, that regenerate into living onis again if they survive the game turn.  So basically my solo Oni Kings have their brains melted, then their spirit gets back up and procceeds to fly  to and murderize an enemy province anyway.
-I also sent spies with wearing cursed amulets that spread diseases wherever they go, killing swats of the local population and wasting away the enemy units as well. The spies themselves become diseased. Notice that in Dominion 4 a disease doesn't just kill you, oh no. It progressively lowers the unit's max HP by 10% per turn while causing other afflictions. Units get tired faster, limbs rot away and become useless, sanity is lost, and plenty of other fun things possible!
-Got suicide charged by an enemy headless werehyena. It had been infected by my spies earlier and somehow was still alive after its head melted, so the owning player just sent it back at me just to probe my defences. Also because its upkeep was still as high as if it was a completely healthy werehyena.
-Had a bunch of pegasus riders raiding my provinces, while being shot down by auto-lighting bolts from my pretender god's global enchantment.
-Unleashed magic zombie virus in multiple enemy provinces, turning civilians into hungry ghouls that devour a part of the local population before fighting an actual battle against the local enemy forces.

And that was in a single game turn!

In another game I've got LOBSTER KNIGHTS and atlantean warriors clad with poisonous coral armor and glaives fighting against Mind Flayers ithilids and their crab hybrid slaves. When the LOBSTER KNIGHTS die, their brave steeds go out of control and start trampling everything that's smaller than them. The trick is getting the LOBSTER KNIGHTS the middle of the enemy ranks, so that when the riders die, the giant lobster go wild in the enemy units.


New Legend of Zelda trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SECWlFInyFM)

Woot! I would've liked to see some stabbing though.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 11, 2014, 03:55:42 AM
SimCity 2000 is now free!  Well, on Origin anyway...  Which kinda means selling your soul to EA.  http://kotaku.com/the-best-simcity-is-now-free-1669019578
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on December 11, 2014, 11:22:10 AM
SimCity 2000 is now free!  Well, on Origin anyway...  Which kinda means selling your soul to EA.  http://kotaku.com/the-best-simcity-is-now-free-1669019578

It's run in a Dos box, which makes it sucky IMO
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on December 12, 2014, 07:39:42 PM
So previews for Legacy of the Void are finally showing up! (http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/16654945/legacy-of-the-void-multiplayer-preview-11-8-2014) It's finally time for Protoss time of glory after this many years! However other factions are getting new shinies for multiplayer as well. Well, I guess it's only fair everybody gets shinies, right?

-Terran gets two new units, including a zealot melee dude with a grappling hook and a mobile missile battery. Their battle cruisers will get to jump across the map just by spending energy, Bashees will both be faster and get increased range, and tanks in siege mode can be picked up by medivacs now. That also got a free speed buff in Legacy of the swarm. The starcraft master race isn't slowing down for anybody.

-Zerg get two new unsealed units as well, good old lurker and and a roach upgrade. Nydus worms are invincible while unburrowing now, swarm hosts get better locusts that can be spawned when unburrowed, and corruptors get an ability to actually damage buildings and ground unit! The swarm isn't gonna go down without a good fight either.

-Protoss get one new unit... ONE? The others get two, and the freaking faction of the expansion gets one? And it has just one ability and not even a basic attack? But wait, there's more! Warp-in nerfed! Immortals lose their hardened shield in return for temporary HP that must be activated! Tempest wasn't useless enough, so now it can't even attack air units anymore, in return for a DoT nobody cares because all the anti-air units in the game are cheap mass-produced stuff! Carrier gets the ability to blow up its own interceptors for the lulz! Warp prisms get the ability to load up units at a distance, which may actually be useful, and in return lose... Wait, they don't actually lose anything for that! Must be a slip up on the devs part. Is still a single proper buff in a sea of nerfs.

And then lots of talk on how they want to make micro more important and that's why there's activated abilities going everywhere. Including a new "archon" mode where two players control a single base.

F*** you Blizzard, f*** you with an HERC drill! :shakefist
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on December 12, 2014, 09:42:16 PM
That's sad. I really like SC2... I hope they find out how much they're disappointing the community and come up with a fix ASAP.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on December 13, 2014, 10:56:01 AM
I've been a little underwhelmed by SC2.  I finally had a little bit of a chance to get into it.  The single player campaigns became more annoying than fun, and while I recognize that's not the "point" of Starcraft, they traditionally were at least pretty decent and engaging. 

Part of it is that I won't have the time to put in to master the game, so there's that.  But, it's also kind of what Osc is talking about.  I find the balance, as of HOTS, to be a bit wonky.  And, I think they might have lost the plot with this emphasis on micro.  The unit size is essentially the same as the first game, so I'm not sure how you can manage both the vast numbers and really good  micro at the same time.  I mean, I'm sure there are people who can, but there's a tension there in the basic game design.

That, and just some odd changes and omissions.  The lack of Lurkers hurt me in my Zergy heart.  That we're now supposed to be getting them is nice and all, but it's at a very late stage.  The change in Hydralisks, that they are so glassy by comparison to their forebears, strikes me as a change for change's sake.  And, given that the game is 90% identical to SC1, seems like a strange design choice.  Stuff like that.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on December 13, 2014, 11:40:21 AM
Trivia, technically speaking, hydralisks have exactly the same durability in both SC I and II. However, in SC II hydralisks cost more, take double population cap, and for their troubles all they got was +20% damage.

Meanwhile marines also got +20% damage, plus +12,5% HP, and to balance that... Lol joke, the terran basic soldier got all of that 100% free! Marines were so imba in the beta that they had to nerf the reactor just because of them, otherwise marine rush was unbeatable. And even then 6 rax rush is still a perfectly viable strategy, just pump out all your income in marines and win.

So yeah, it's perfectly natural you feel like Hydralisks are more glassy than before despite having the same HP and armor.

The funny thing in the middle of all of this is that if Blizzard is desesperate to solve the dreaded death-ball effect, where you just pick up all your army and a+right click to have it steamroll the enemy (or retreat from storms like a boss). In HoTS they made stuff like the swarmhost and widow mine to try to counter that, and what happened was that players simply massed widow mines/swarmhosts and then marched then in the enemy direction, burrowing when needed to unleash their super-cost effective special attacks. What did protoss do? Mostly die try something completely unexpected to win mid-game, or horribly die late game because zerg and terran got all the force nullifiers.

But solving the death-ball effect is a lot more simple than that. Simply put back the unit selection limit. There, you can't death-ball anymore when you can just select 12 units at a time, instead of your 120 marines/zerglings!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on December 13, 2014, 02:13:51 PM
Yeah, exactly.  I seem to remember 'lisks being sufficiently better than Marines, which made sense given the cost differences.  And, now the Swarm looks enviously at those puny monkeys with their guns.

Regarding death balls, that's been exactly my experience.  I was actually trying to articulate something like that with my wife last night, though it mostly was embedded in a "why does Blizzard hate the Zerg when I <3 them so much!" whine.  All of this is based on my recollections from Brood War, since that was ... a long time ago.  But, things like Lurkers and Guardians, that did a lot of area damage, were really effective against at least some varieties of deathball.  Without something like that, march away!

And, their countering strategies to the deathball seem tepid.  There are a few great casting abilities out there -- the Raven's ubermissile forcefully springs to mind -- but a lot of them aren't worth the bother.  I'm thinking of what you could do in SC1 with Queens, sniping off siege tanks.  Sure, you can do similar things now with a swarm of Mutalisks, but then we're back to deathball v. slightly smaller deathball. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on December 13, 2014, 04:58:46 PM
Protoss used to be king against death ball, too. All you needed was a mothership, vortex the shit out of it, then mop it up with colossi & psistorm.

But it was deemed too op.

On the subject of Terran OPness... In the early days of SC2 terran had no real weakness to speak of. Not only Marines could be easily massed and carry you to an early victory, tanks did SO MUCH DAMAGE... And Thors were super OP too.

Didn't matter what you used, Bio or Mech, you could easily carry yourself to victory with Terran.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on December 13, 2014, 06:17:29 PM
Didn't matter what you used, Bio or Mech, you could easily carry yourself to victory with Terran.
Yeah, I think the game designers are dangerously pro-Terran.  They're probably in the pocket of the Big Human interest group :)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on December 15, 2014, 01:07:43 AM
Installed Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 for the first time in a year or so.  Ah, the memories...  Made me feel happy for the first time...  Perhaps this month.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on December 20, 2014, 11:55:04 AM
Dark Souls II HD to be released in about 4 months, as the ultimate "fuck you" to those who bought the game expecting to see the visuals that were promised on the early gameplay videos.

PC Gamers, ESPECIALLY, are being royally fucked over, because their systems could *easily* support the enhanced graphics that the new version is going to bring.

Thank the heavens i didn't buy DKS2 for PC.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on December 20, 2014, 12:15:11 PM
Dark Souls II HD to be released in about 4 months, as the ultimate "fuck you" to those who bought the game expecting to see the visuals that were promised on the early gameplay videos.

PC Gamers, ESPECIALLY, are being royally fucked over, because their systems could *easily* support the enhanced graphics that the new version is going to bring.

Thank the heavens i didn't buy DKS2 for PC.

I almost bought it yesterday.  Now I'm glad I didn't. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on December 20, 2014, 01:49:51 PM
I bought the special limited edition for its goodies, since I knew I was probably going to pirate it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on December 20, 2014, 05:40:45 PM
I bought the special limited edition for its goodies, since I knew I was probably going to pirate it.
Buy the official, use the pirate.

All functionality of a proper game without the disastrous game halting bugs and disconnects with the moral high ground of someone that supported the company. I approve.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on December 21, 2014, 06:45:54 AM
That's actually generally what I do.

I pirate a lot of games. If I spent more than 40 hours on them, I buy them.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on December 21, 2014, 07:47:02 AM
That's actually generally what I do.

I pirate a lot of games. If I spent more than 40 hours on them, I buy them.

I tend to only pirate games that either i enjoyed far too much to be able to continue playing the pirated version, or those that have some sort of online functionality that i want to be able to tap into.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on December 21, 2014, 12:05:46 PM
I honestly have never pirated a game....
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on December 21, 2014, 05:15:57 PM
All bow before the Glorious leader! (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/884592321/glorious-leader?ref=category)

Ok, still just a kickstarter for now, but it seems both hilarious and awesome.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on December 21, 2014, 07:53:36 PM
All bow before the Glorious leader! (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3679215&pagenumber=1)

Ok, still just a kickstarter for now, but it seems both hilarious and awesome.

The link you posted is for a Dominions let's play...

Is that what you were going for?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on December 21, 2014, 08:12:49 PM
And that's what I get for posting while drunk... Here's the kickstarter link I meant to post. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/884592321/glorious-leader?ref=category) Thanks for pointing it out!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on December 21, 2014, 08:20:23 PM
And that's what I get for posting while drunk... Here's the kickstarter link I meant to post. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/884592321/glorious-leader?ref=category) Thanks for pointing it out!

NP man...

I couldn't be bothered to read *all* of the LP, but i did read the drafts, and it was pretty interesting, so it wasn't totally wasted...

If it was a youtube series i'd probably watch the hell out of it, though. I love myself some Dominions, but it's been ages since i last played. Forgot a bunch...

Did i mention i had to pull out the old notebook (actual paper notebook), and read through the manual taking notes in order to plan wtf i was going to go for as far as strategy goes? It was a first for me. I never needed to take notes in order to play a game before... But with Dominions, i did. I needed to plan out exactly what kind of spells i was going to use and how to get there (including nifty little tech trees to get to the boosting equipment)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on December 24, 2014, 02:02:30 PM
Anyone tried out Lords of the Fallen?  According to the reviews, it's clearly Dark Souls-inspired, though with a different balance point and tone. 

Personally, I've never had a chance to try out the Souls series.  My free time is quite constrained, and that means that most of the gaming I do is of the coop variety.  I'm also a little preemptively over the series, to be honest due to the way the company is managing it, viz. the various "fuck yous" to PC gamers as noted in above posts.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on December 24, 2014, 02:52:22 PM
Anyone tried out Lords of the Fallen?  According to the reviews, it's clearly Dark Souls-inspired, though with a different balance point and tone. 

Personally, I've never had a chance to try out the Souls series.  My free time is quite constrained, and that means that most of the gaming I do is of the coop variety.  I'm also a little preemptively over the series, to be honest due to the way the company is managing it, viz. the various "fuck yous" to PC gamers as noted in above posts.

Dark Souls is one of the best games i've played in a long time. Dark Souls 2? Not so much. I played by myself for some hours, then i got a bit bored of it, to be honest. So i played the rest in coop with my father... Like we use to sometimes since i was a wee little kid. He plays through most of the boring bits, with me watching, then i take over during the boss fights or some of the hardest bits.

Funnn
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on December 24, 2014, 08:41:57 PM
Persona Q is pretty damned fun.

Naoto is OP for regular encounters though.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on December 25, 2014, 09:02:10 AM
I FOUND SOMETHING AMAZING

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaDd9276h4ZDo3RgOFGfcRbw7mUTScQ4S

Some one is making a Touhou game inspired by Super Smash Bros.!
 :love :love :love :love :love
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on December 30, 2014, 02:04:26 PM
I plan to finally get an Xbox one,along with the Master chief collection,and maybe pick up CoD advance warfare. On the look into 2015 Resident evil will be fun since i never played the first one along with the last Batman Arkham game. Also Battlefield Star Wars!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on December 31, 2014, 01:22:39 PM
3 games that could bomb in 2015 http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/12/31/3-video-games-that-could-bomb-in-2015.aspx

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on January 02, 2015, 01:39:25 PM
Could Zelda fail?☼ No one buys people anything with the word "Zelda" in it's title* plus Skyward Sword sucked and the Wii U sucked**, therefor the new Zelda sucks***.

*See huge climb in sales by releasing an old Zelda game people already own 2 copies of (original & wii software).
**49,000 Wii Us were sold in the first three days of Smash Bros being released, maybe people are waiting for a reason to buy it?
***Fallacy of association.
☼This article is designed to be wrong so you'll correct us on social media for infinite exposure, lolz trollololol.


Edit, wow talk about ☼ there.
Quote from: It's stupid citation of nested links
Since then, longtime Zelda series producer and director Eiji Aonuma has dropped plenty of hints. In a March 2013 interview in 4Gamer, Aonuma confirmed that the game will fully utilize tablet controls, and that it wouldn't be "traditional". In a recent interview with Official Nintendo Magazine, Aonuma stated that the next title might feature a classic top-down perspective, similar to the 8-bit, 16-bit, and handheld titles.
Doesn't that just make want to reach in, yank their head out of their ass, and show them the released game play videos from last years E3? No? Good.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on January 04, 2015, 03:05:01 AM
Man, I'd love a top-down perspective in the new Zelda.  Clearly not happening, though.

But yeah, not giving them a click.

Relatedly, I thought the main reason to get a Wii U, which I did last month, was for Bayonetta 2 (and later on Xenoblade Chronicles X).  And while Bayo is just as good as the first game...I've barely touched it, Hyrule Warriors has been so good and addicting.  Merger of two of my favorite series sucking in all my time, who'd have thought?  :)
But it's pretty funny, I have probably nearing 100 hours on it now.  Barely touched Bayonetta, and Smash is still sitting in the plastic wrap.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on January 04, 2015, 03:06:34 AM
Man, I'd love a top-down perspective in the new Zelda.  Clearly not happening, though.

But yeah, not giving them a click.

Relatedly, I thought the main reason to get a Wii U, which I did last month, was for Bayonetta 2 (and later on Xenoblade Chronicles X).  And while Bayo is just as good as the first game...I've barely touched it, Hyrule Warriors has been so good and addicting.  Merger of two of my favorite series sucking in all my time, who'd have thought?  :)
But it's pretty funny, I have probably nearing 100 hours on it now.  Barely touched Bayonetta, and Smash is still sitting in the plastic wrap.

We should share names so we can beat each other up in Smash!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on January 04, 2015, 08:10:40 PM
Man, I'd love a top-down perspective in the new Zelda.  Clearly not happening, though.
Have you played Link Between Worlds yet?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 04, 2015, 08:45:04 PM
Been having fun with my xbox one and the MC collection,haven't played CoD Advance warfare yet,
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on January 05, 2015, 12:06:53 AM
Man, I'd love a top-down perspective in the new Zelda.  Clearly not happening, though.
Have you played Link Between Worlds yet?

Yes!  I literally bought a 3DS one year after getting a DS just because of that game.  And it was worth it!
Still think ALttP is the best Zelda, but LBW is close.

We should share names so we can beat each other up in Smash!
Maybe once I start playing it, and set up a new router.  Why can't Wii U have an ethernet port? :(
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on January 05, 2015, 12:11:24 AM
Man, I'd love a top-down perspective in the new Zelda.  Clearly not happening, though.
Have you played Link Between Worlds yet?

Yes!  I literally bought a 3DS one year after getting a DS just because of that game.  And it was worth it!
Still think ALttP is the best Zelda, but LBW is close.

We should share names so we can beat each other up in Smash!
Maybe once I start playing it, and set up a new router.  Why can't Wii U have an ethernet port? :(

I love Nintendo but boy do they blow at internet.  I had to put my Wii U in my DMZ just to use it.  It works fine after that, but I shouldn't need to do that.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 05, 2015, 01:06:59 AM
Wait... You actually had to travel all the way to the border between North and South Korea just to play your Wii?!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on January 05, 2015, 01:11:06 AM
Wait... You actually had to travel all the way to the border between North and South Korea just to play your Wii?!

Farther actually!  Remember, Eiji lives on your moon silently judging you every day while he finishes construction on his Crust Destroyer 40,000.  :D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on January 05, 2015, 02:30:31 AM
Wait... You actually had to travel all the way to the border between North and South Korea just to play your Wii?!

Farther actually!  Remember, Eiji lives on your moon silently judging you every day while he finishes construction on his Crust Destroyer 40,000.  :D

I for one welcome our new moon overlord!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 05, 2015, 03:15:40 AM
Wait... You actually had to travel all the way to the border between North and South Korea just to play your Wii?!

Farther actually!  Remember, Eiji lives on your moon silently judging you every day while he finishes construction on his Crust Destroyer 40,000.  :D

I for one welcome our new moon overlord!

I don't
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on January 05, 2015, 03:18:04 AM
Wait... You actually had to travel all the way to the border between North and South Korea just to play your Wii?!

Farther actually!  Remember, Eiji lives on your moon silently judging you every day while he finishes construction on his Crust Destroyer 40,000.  :D

I for one welcome our new moon overlord!

I don't

You will.   :plotting  Oh, you will.....  :smirk
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 05, 2015, 03:19:32 AM
Wait... You actually had to travel all the way to the border between North and South Korea just to play your Wii?!

Farther actually!  Remember, Eiji lives on your moon silently judging you every day while he finishes construction on his Crust Destroyer 40,000.  :D

I for one welcome our new moon overlord!

I don't

You will.   :plotting  Oh, you will.....  :smirk

Only if you offer chocolate chip cookies made with love
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 05, 2015, 03:38:09 AM
in other news http://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/01/04/nintendo-executive-confirms-no-new-mario-game-for-2015/

No new Mario game for 2015
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on January 05, 2015, 03:39:31 AM
Wait... You actually had to travel all the way to the border between North and South Korea just to play your Wii?!

Farther actually!  Remember, Eiji lives on your moon silently judging you every day while he finishes construction on his Crust Destroyer 40,000.  :D

I for one welcome our new moon overlord!

I don't

You will.   :plotting  Oh, you will.....  :smirk

Only if you offer chocolate chip cookies made with love

Your order has been placed with Totally Baked Inc.  Your cookies will be delivered shortly.

Fortunately, Eiji has recently returned after convincing some sap to sign away his marriage for a useless benefit, so he has a fresh shipment of love.  They will be processed through the nightmare machines and developed into only the tastiest of cookie dough.  Just for you.

(On Mario: Probably for the best.  Gotta get me my Stairfax and Muhtroids.)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on January 05, 2015, 09:53:26 AM
Wait... You actually had to travel all the way to the border between North and South Korea just to play your Wii?!

Farther actually!  Remember, Eiji lives on your moon silently judging you every day while he finishes construction on his Crust Destroyer 40,000.  :D

I for one welcome our new moon overlord!

I don't

You will.   :plotting  Oh, you will.....  :smirk

Only if you offer chocolate chip cookies made with love

Your order has been placed with Totally Baked Inc.  Your cookies will be delivered shortly.

Fortunately, Eiji has recently returned after convincing some sap to sign away his marriage for a useless benefit, so he has a fresh shipment of love.  They will be processed through the nightmare machines and developed into only the tastiest of cookie dough.  Just for you.


I'm sorry, I raided Totally Baked Inc. last week! It sounded like a drug joint.

Man were those drugs delicious.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on January 05, 2015, 08:12:15 PM
Road Redemption looks like a spiritual successor to Road Rash, and now guest stars Shovel Knight! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OikEQxORLxo)
Bamco accidentally blocked Durante's DSFix for Dark Souls 1 (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-12-23-bandai-namco-blocks-access-to-durantes-dark-souls-pc-mod)
Resident Evil 0 HD Remake might be happening (http://www.destructoid.com/resident-evil-zero-hd-remaster-might-be-happening-285473.phtml)  I hope it does and leads to an RE2 HD remake!
Mojang announces Minecraft Story Mode by Telltale (https://mojang.com/2014/12/play-info-quest-ii-you-might-learn-something/)
The F-Zero game you never played is coming to Virtual Console (http://www.siliconera.com/2014/12/29/f-zero-gp-legend-and-fire-emblem-the-sacred-stones-race-to-wii-u-virtual-console-in-europe/)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on January 06, 2015, 07:11:09 PM
Yes!  I literally bought a 3DS one year after getting a DS just because of that game.  And it was worth it!
Agreed :D

I thought Soleiji was from the sun. Huh, well in other news the I'm temporarily out of cookies due to police raids and will be issuing IOUs for orphan sacrifices until production is up and running again.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 06, 2015, 07:18:41 PM
I want to play Skyrim again... Try out new builds... But i can't be assed to repeat the starting quests again. Neither from the MQ nor from the various Guilds...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 06, 2015, 07:30:31 PM
I want to play Skyrim again... Try out new builds... But i can't be assed to repeat the starting quests again. Neither from the MQ nor from the various Guilds...

You could just ignore the story and screw around....using alternate life alternate start that way you can bypass the normal start
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 07, 2015, 01:56:14 AM
I want to play Skyrim again... Try out new builds... But i can't be assed to repeat the starting quests again. Neither from the MQ nor from the various Guilds...

You could just ignore the story and screw around....using alternate life alternate start that way you can bypass the normal start

Here's the thing... I've already exhausted the pool of alternate starts for that mod. :(

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 07, 2015, 03:16:43 AM
I want to play Skyrim again... Try out new builds... But i can't be assed to repeat the starting quests again. Neither from the MQ nor from the various Guilds...

You could just ignore the story and screw around....using alternate life alternate start that way you can bypass the normal start

Here's the thing... I've already exhausted the pool of alternate starts for that mod. :(

Including just escaping from the place?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on January 08, 2015, 12:12:27 AM
I FOUND SOMETHING AMAZING

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaDd9276h4ZDo3RgOFGfcRbw7mUTScQ4S

Some one is making a Touhou game inspired by Super Smash Bros.!
 :love :love :love :love :love

I'm totally quoting myself for relevance~

This. So much this  :love
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/touhou-super-smash-battles
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on January 08, 2015, 12:13:57 AM
I FOUND SOMETHING AMAZING

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaDd9276h4ZDo3RgOFGfcRbw7mUTScQ4S

Some one is making a Touhou game inspired by Super Smash Bros.!
 :love :love :love :love :love

I'm totally quoting myself for relevance~

This. So much this  :love
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/touhou-super-smash-battles

I'm maining (9).  You cannot stop me, I will be the strongest!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on January 08, 2015, 12:18:10 AM
Like, I've never actually felt interested in funding an indie game, but I've been seriously giving thought to dropping enough money to be able to pick a character for them to make playable. I'm worried about my newfound, frivolous spending habits.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on January 08, 2015, 08:30:01 AM
I FOUND SOMETHING AMAZING

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaDd9276h4ZDo3RgOFGfcRbw7mUTScQ4S

Some one is making a Touhou game inspired by Super Smash Bros.!
 :love :love :love :love :love

I'm totally quoting myself for relevance~

This. So much this  :love
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/touhou-super-smash-battles

"P.S. We have emailed ZUN about this project."

But they don't confirm they got a reply of approval to sell a Touhou derivative work. I'm not amused in the slightest. Doubly so because of a lack of Marisa. If it gets made, I may pirate the shit out of it if I'm bored, but they won't ever get a single cent out of me. :eh
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 08, 2015, 09:07:47 AM
I want to play Skyrim again... Try out new builds... But i can't be assed to repeat the starting quests again. Neither from the MQ nor from the various Guilds...

You could just ignore the story and screw around....using alternate life alternate start that way you can bypass the normal start

Here's the thing... I've already exhausted the pool of alternate starts for that mod. :(

Including just escaping from the place?

What do you mean by just escaping from the place?

In other news: More information about DKS2:Remake - Electric Bogaloo.

Apparently, both console & PC will be getting the new NPC's, new creatures and other improvements on the core game. For free.

What we will NOT be getting are the improved visuals & enhanced multiplayer - they're upping the cap of players in a given world to 6.

Again, PC gets the short end of the deal here. Presumably because they want to be "honest" towards consoles, the PC gamers who bought DKS2 will not be getting the VU and enhanced multiplayer *despite* their gaming platform being completely capable of supporting the enhanced game, differently from their peasant console brethren.

FromSoft defends it's position by saying the new and improved DKS2 experience is going to be in DX11, while the "old" one was in DX9... I don't know much about game development in general, but i do know that i've played several, and i do mean several, games that let you choose between DX9 and DX11 so i don't know how good of an excuse that is...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 08, 2015, 09:47:06 AM
I want to play Skyrim again... Try out new builds... But i can't be assed to repeat the starting quests again. Neither from the MQ nor from the various Guilds...

You could just ignore the story and screw around....using alternate life alternate start that way you can bypass the normal start

Here's the thing... I've already exhausted the pool of alternate starts for that mod. :(

Including just escaping from the place?

What do you mean by just escaping from the place?


Via either noclip or picking the door's lock and walking out of the place instead of choosing anything
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 08, 2015, 10:25:56 AM
I didn't even know that was an option. What does that entail?

EDIT: So i got curious... I booted up a new game, went straight for the door. It's locked via key. I used the TCL command to clip through the door, but there's nothing there. It's literally a floating box in the middle of nowhere at all...

To be clear, we are talking about Alternate Start: Live Another Life mod, right? That's what i've been using...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 08, 2015, 01:15:57 PM
I didn't even know that was an option. What does that entail?

EDIT: So i got curious... I booted up a new game, went straight for the door. It's locked via key. I used the TCL command to clip through the door, but there's nothing there. It's literally a floating box in the middle of nowhere at all...

To be clear, we are talking about Alternate Start: Live Another Life mod, right? That's what i've been using...
I'll boot up and see what happens and then get back to you

EDIT: you should start in a prison cell and the quest title "Second chances" should appear, unlock the gate at the top of the stairs before enter acting with mara, however the place is guarded by ghost,so you'll need to do something about them. If you're still confused i'll take a screenshot of what i see and post it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 08, 2015, 03:00:29 PM
I must be using an old version of the mod, then, because what happens is exactly as i described to you.

I start in a room, there's a statue of Mara and a bed. There's a door, but it's locked with a key. When i start a new game, the character creation screen boots up and i make my character. Then a popup appears and asks me if i want to choose a class and birthsign for my character (i'm using a mod that applies oblivion carry weight & birthsigns for the characters...).

When i finish the process, i now have to interact with the statue of Mara and choose where my new life will begin. After i do so, the prompt asks me to sleep in the bed. And when i do so, i start wherever i chose to.

After i finished creating my character i immediately tried to open the door, and the following message appears "No one responds to your pounding on the door", or something to that effect. The door is locked via key.

I saved, then used TCL to noclip through the door. Only void beyond that. I loaded up my save, opened up the console, selected the door and used the "Unlock" command to force it open. I then opened the door (the message still appeared, btw), and there's still only void beyond the door.

What version of the mod are you using? Nexus Mod Manager reports that i'm using version 2.3.4 of the mod.

EDIT:

Eureka! I found the problem. Indeed, i'm using a very old version of the mod.

From the changelog:

Version 2.4.0

The starting prison cell location has been relocated to the Abandoned Prison in Eastmarch. Across the road/river from Fort Amol. This has been done to provide access to a new start option.

The current version is 2.5.5, so, yeah, the 2.3.4 version i'm using doesn't look too hot now... I probably should update ALL of my mods to be safe. And probably scrub all of my old saves.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 08, 2015, 03:07:08 PM
I must be using an old version of the mod, then, because what happens is exactly as i described to you.

I start in a room, there's a statue of Mara and a bed. There's a door, but it's locked with a key. When i start a new game, the character creation screen boots up and i make my character. Then a popup appears and asks me if i want to choose a class and birthsign for my character (i'm using a mod that applies oblivion carry weight & birthsigns for the characters...).

When i finish the process, i now have to interact with the statue of Mara and choose where my new life will begin. After i do so, the prompt asks me to sleep in the bed. And when i do so, i start wherever i chose to.

After i finished creating my character i immediately tried to open the door, and the following message appears "No one responds to your pounding on the door", or something to that effect. The door is locked via key.

I saved, then used TCL to noclip through the door. Only void beyond that. I loaded up my save, opened up the console, selected the door and used the "Unlock" command to force it open. I then opened the door (the message still appeared, btw), and there's still only void beyond the door.

What version of the mod are you using? Nexus Mod Manager reports that i'm using version 2.3.4 of the mod.

I don't have it via nexus,mine is from the workshop..let me go take a screen shot so you can see what i'm talking baout
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 08, 2015, 03:13:26 PM
See my edit above. I indeed have an old version of the mod and that's why i don't have the start you mentioned. There's also a couple of new starts that i've missed with my version of the mod.

Sadly, NMM doesn't seem to be updating the mods as it should've been. I'm still trying to see if i can make it update all of my 50+ mods automatically for me or if i'm going to be forced to update all of them manually.

If that's the case, then i'm probably going to format my computer while i'm at it, since Skyrim is basically the only thing in my computer that can be hurt by formatting, everything else is on Steam and cloud-saves...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 08, 2015, 03:21:22 PM
Apparently, it now brings you right back to the cell after you escape even via tcl form the abandoned prison :( glad you figured out what the issue is, hope you have fun with the new starts that you've missed out on.



Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on January 08, 2015, 04:11:46 PM
I must be using an old version of the mod, then, because what happens is exactly as i described to you.

I start in a room, there's a statue of Mara

You called?

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 08, 2015, 04:14:04 PM
Apparently, it now brings you right back to the cell after you escape even via tcl form the abandoned prison :( glad you figured out what the issue is, hope you have fun with the new starts that you've missed out on.

I'm highly interested on the Raven Rock start for the Dunmer, since i've not explored Dragonborn all that much.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on January 09, 2015, 11:44:12 AM
Little Mac has an AERIAL DEATH COMBO! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSea7nIOvIw)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 09, 2015, 12:30:08 PM
Finally, i'm getting my skill back in CS:GO!!!!!

Once upon a time... about 10 years ago, more or less, i was a semi-competitive 1.5/1.6 player. I actually had started playing way back when 1.3 was still fresh and new.

So now, after about 5 years without playing CS with any regularity, i'm getting back into it and i feel my old l33t sk1lLZ flowing back.

feels good man.

Feels just like it felt back when i was 12 years old and my father of all people introduced the game to me and i quickly overtake him in matters of skill...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on January 09, 2015, 01:53:35 PM
Seems like the Elders Scrolls MMO is getting ready to go free-to-play (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/video-games/).

Meanwhile Eternal Crusade, the 40K mmo in the works, is (slowly) moving forwards and already selling founder's packs, plus promises early acess "soon".

EC also sports a quite curious subscription system. You can pay money to play a speich meirine, a space elf, a Kaos Marine, or you can not pay anything and play WWAAAAGGGHHH!!! as a lowly ork boy with limited progression (or pay and get to level up to ork Nob that can go toe-to-toe with a speich meirine).

Their reasoning is the following:
-Orks are supposed to be an horde race.
-Speich meirines are a lot more popular than any other of the 40k factions, and since they want to put enphasis on faction vs faction PvP, they need a reason for people to play anything besides speich meirines, otherwise the servers would probably end like 60% speich meirines, 20% kaos, and the last 20% divided between eldar and orks.
-So, make only orks FtP, and surely there'll be plenty of players lining up to provide cannon fodder for the paying players! And yes, the paying players will explicitly get stronger stuff than the non-playing players, although it seems like 3 free orks may be able to take down a speich meirine assuming equal skill in both sides.

I'm not sure if that's a tactical genius move or insane. I guess only time will tell.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on January 09, 2015, 02:06:43 PM
The 40k MMO is still in the works?  I thought that got canned awhile ago.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on January 09, 2015, 02:42:15 PM
Indeed the previous 40K mmo (Dark Millennium) died before even being born, but roughly a year after another company picked up the idea and they've been releasing updates and even a few gameplay excerpts. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T07T0RP_F88)
...(http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-stare.gif)
Don't hold your breath for any super-uber graphics it seems (they first announced EC in 2010 if I remember correctly, would've expected something more advanced by now).

Here's their main site if you want to check out more. (https://www.eternalcrusade.com/) I would call it vaporware due to the slowness they release actual gameplay stuff, but I'm trying to be optimistic.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on January 09, 2015, 03:42:25 PM
Hmm, interesting.  Yeah, those graphics could use some work...

Keep me updated.   :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 09, 2015, 05:10:29 PM
Speaking of Elder Scrolls, i'm tempted to get the Elder scrolls anthology..but i'm not totally sold on it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 09, 2015, 05:24:13 PM
Seems like the Elders Scrolls MMO is getting ready to go free-to-play (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/video-games/).

Meanwhile Eternal Crusade, the 40K mmo in the works, is (slowly) moving forwards and already selling founder's packs, plus promises early acess "soon".

EC also sports a quite curious subscription system. You can pay money to play a speich meirine, a space elf, a Kaos Marine, or you can not pay anything and play WWAAAAGGGHHH!!! as a lowly ork boy with limited progression (or pay and get to level up to ork Nob that can go toe-to-toe with a speich meirine).

Their reasoning is the following:
-Orks are supposed to be an horde race.
-Speich meirines are a lot more popular than any other of the 40k factions, and since they want to put enphasis on faction vs faction PvP, they need a reason for people to play anything besides speich meirines, otherwise the servers would probably end like 60% speich meirines, 20% kaos, and the last 20% divided between eldar and orks.
-So, make only orks FtP, and surely there'll be plenty of players lining up to provide cannon fodder for the paying players! And yes, the paying players will explicitly get stronger stuff than the non-playing players, although it seems like 3 free orks may be able to take down a speich meirine assuming equal skill in both sides.

I'm not sure if that's a tactical genius move or insane. I guess only time will tell.

I'll probably play it just to see what it's all about, but i think it's more insane than genius. I don't think people will be too thrilled to be weaker just because they're not paying...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 09, 2015, 09:35:09 PM
about time http://www.technobuffalo.com/2015/01/09/over-100-digital-nintendo-games-now-purchasable-through-your-pc/
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on January 10, 2015, 12:14:38 AM
Meanwhile, Nintendo ceases distribution in Brazil.

Because taxes.  :banghead
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 10, 2015, 12:56:12 AM
Meanwhile, Nintendo ceases distribution in Brazil.

Because taxes.  :banghead

Not just taxes. Brazilian vendors are accustomed to batshit crazy profit margins. I remember reading recently about how even if you compare untaxed prices for cars, Brazilian cars are still the most expensive in all of latin america.

Cost of living here is a really big issue, especially in places like Rio, São Paulo & Brasília, where i live. The sq-ft prices here are insane. Friends my age (mid twenties) are either still living with their parents, even if they're working, or living in ridiculously tiny apartments or sharing an apartment with friends. Not only the prices are really high, you still have to deal with ridiculous interest on mortgages, so you either have to rent or save up enough for a big downpayment in order to get monthly payments to a sane level.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on January 10, 2015, 07:09:57 AM
Hey, they're citing taxes as their main complaint. I'm just sticking to their story.  :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Risada on January 10, 2015, 07:29:03 AM
Meanwhile, Nintendo ceases distribution in Brazil.

Because taxes.  :banghead

Not just taxes. Brazilian vendors are accustomed to batshit crazy profit margins. I remember reading recently about how even if you compare untaxed prices for cars, Brazilian cars are still the most expensive in all of latin america.

Cost of living here is a really big issue, especially in places like Rio, São Paulo & Brasília, where i live. The sq-ft prices here are insane. Friends my age (mid twenties) are either still living with their parents, even if they're working, or living in ridiculously tiny apartments or sharing an apartment with friends. Not only the prices are really high, you still have to deal with ridiculous interest on mortgages, so you either have to rent or save up enough for a big downpayment in order to get monthly payments to a sane level.

brujon, I feel you... Me and my pocket feel you  :banghead
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on January 15, 2015, 05:46:08 PM
New Fire Emblem for 3DS announced, same team and artist as Awakening, plus Shin Kibayashi, manga storywriter, novelist, and screenwriter, joins the team as writer! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LssVlxqg-f0)

YES! YES! YYYYEEEESSSSS!!!!!! Awakening was awesome, but if it had one weak point, it was the completely generic main storyline (bad guys are doing bad stuff because they're bad, go kill them). If they improve on that and don't screw up on the other fields, this promises to be an excellent game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 21, 2015, 03:36:00 PM
well ESO has gone free to play http://kotaku.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-is-ditching-subscriptions-1680869560 (http://kotaku.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-is-ditching-subscriptions-1680869560)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on January 21, 2015, 05:10:11 PM
well ESO has gone free to play http://kotaku.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-is-ditching-subscriptions-1680869560 (http://kotaku.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-is-ditching-subscriptions-1680869560)

I'm sure nobody saw this coming.   :rolleyes
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 21, 2015, 11:24:47 PM
Nintendo's Decision Making Process Too Slow, Too Safe, Ex-Exec Says https://games.yahoo.com/news/nintendos-decision-making-process-too-150300738.html
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on January 22, 2015, 08:37:34 AM
Wonder why that worked for Nintendo. I mean, they may not be "MWAHAHAHAHA WE'RE PRINTING MONEY" (not since the Wii anyway), but look at poor Sega. It simply didn't survive the PS2 era.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on January 22, 2015, 09:30:58 AM
After the relative flop that was the Wii U, i'm wondering if Nintendo will keep investing in the console department. Plus, with cellphones becoming more and more powerful, handheld gaming is shifting towards them and away from portable game devices. What will Nintendo come up with to reverse this trend? We've seen indications that they may invest in emulation of older games for smartphones, but that's one tip of the iceberg...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on January 22, 2015, 10:21:41 AM
Wonder why that worked for Nintendo. I mean, they may not be "MWAHAHAHAHA WE'RE PRINTING MONEY" (not since the Wii anyway), but look at poor Sega. It simply didn't survive the PS2 era.

Nintendo always was and still is king of hand helds. Even when their TV consoles don't sell like crazy, they have the latest gameboy to keep bringing money in. Sega had nowhere to fall back to after the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast failed in a row.

After the relative flop that was the Wii U, i'm wondering if Nintendo will keep investing in the console department. Plus, with cellphones becoming more and more powerful, handheld gaming is shifting towards them and away from portable game devices. What will Nintendo come up with to reverse this trend? We've seen indications that they may invest in emulation of older games for smartphones, but that's one tip of the iceberg...
Portable Pokemon, Zelda and Mario games still sell like hotcakes, plus plenty of other people developing for the 3DS (cough Bravely Default). Awakening was a smash hit as well. They have negative reasons to stop investing on their handfels. No matter how good cellphones get, they will always have the advantage of being specialized for gaming. They also happen to be drastically cheaper than your average smartphone from what I see in stores.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on January 22, 2015, 12:49:25 PM
Eh, the average top-of-the-line smartphone is almost half the price of a used popular car around here, so not sure I can counter that argument.

On the other hand, most games cost a lot around here too, so it kinda evens things out a bit. And there IS a lot of prejudice against mobile gaming. (I personally dislike it because fucking touchscreens will never be as good as the feel and response of actual buttons.)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on January 22, 2015, 01:04:37 PM
Speaking of touch screens, the first iphone came out in 2007. Nintendo DS meanwhile came out in 2004, way before the mobiles with touchscreen craze. Except Nintendo was smart enough to keep the buttons on their device around.

Most mobile games I see seem like either overpriced crap or propaganda machines. Emulators on the other hand...

Damnit Nintendo (and Sony and Sega too I guess), if ragtag groups of people can make available most of your old collection of  games through the net, why are you so behind them on that matter? It's not like you're selling cartridges/CDs of those games anymore! :shakefist

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on January 22, 2015, 01:30:14 PM
Speaking of touch screens, the first iphone came out in 2007. Nintendo DS meanwhile came out in 2004, way before the mobiles with touchscreen craze. Except Nintendo was smart enough to keep the buttons on their device around.

Most mobile games I see seem like either overpriced crap or propaganda machines. Emulators on the other hand...

Damnit Nintendo (and Sony and Sega too I guess) every game developer ever except for those that went bankrupt, if ragtag groups of people can make available most of your old collection of  games through the net, why are you so behind them on that matter? It's not like you're selling cartridges/CDs of those games anymore! :shakefist



Fixed that for you.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 22, 2015, 02:30:11 PM
I wonder if part of it is they feel like older titles might still compete with newer ones.  It's interesting to look at the business side of things when it comes to new versus old titles.  On one hand all it takes to squeeze more money out of the old stuff is to make it available more easily in more places and for a decent price.  On the other, there are newer titles that have likely had a lot of investment put into them so they want to make sure people buy those instead of older stuff so they can keep certain investors happy.

But of course, we're talking about Nintendo the king of franchise rehashes.  So I guess the thinking is "we need to add more stuff to the game before we 'reboot' it."  Which is okay for some since it means more people are working on it thus more jobs and all that, but at the same time it's the consumers who pay for that when they might not want to.

Great, now I'm thinking about economics as a whole and wondering about that job issue.  One example is the US supposedly uses grout instead of epoxy for roadwork because it fills more jobs even though millions could be saved and the quality of roads improved by using epoxy.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 22, 2015, 02:44:25 PM
After the relative flop that was the Wii U, i'm wondering if Nintendo will keep investing in the console department. Plus, with cellphones becoming more and more powerful, handheld gaming is shifting towards them and away from portable game devices. What will Nintendo come up with to reverse this trend? We've seen indications that they may invest in emulation of older games for smartphones, but that's one tip of the iceberg...

As others have mentioned they do an awesome job with handhelds...on the flip side they are also sitting some of the most popular IPs in the history of video games and that keeps their console selling...Nintendo also has a healthy sum of cash to fall back on before they do anything drastic.

It will be interesting to see what lessons they learned from this generation when it comes to the next.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on January 27, 2015, 11:12:48 PM
I just found a free game called Puzzle Forge 2...  I've lost so many hours playing this because I love the thinking and puzzle-solving that goes into the weapon crafting.  The mechanic is it's a Match 3 game.  You're a blacksmith and you put things together on your forge board to make various kinds of equipment that you then sell to various NPCs who show up.  Regular named ones have specific orders they want filled in a certain amount of turns, while guards can wait forever and don't care what you hand them as long as you hand them something "for the good of the kingdom."

Then there are the exceptional encounters which are basically boss fights.  The ones who want equipment include a tea-slurping dragon, a lizard guy, a crazy wizard, an adventurer, the original blacksmith who gave his shop to you so he could go on a quest for a mythical shovel, and finally a deity who has one of the materials named after him (and said material is a total bitch to make because of having to combine 243 of the base bronze ingots together to make it).  Then there's an encounter with some halflings who don't want any equipment and instead just want something hot to cook sausages on, which your forge can do but only after you've crafted something and moved whatever remains after the craft off the board.  Then you hope all the stuff you made can be sold.


And this all reminds me that I eventually want a full suit of plate armor made of Damascus steel for the interesting patterns and then temper-treated to be green.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on January 31, 2015, 07:02:22 AM
http://massively.joystiq.com/2015/01/30/massively-that-was/
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on January 31, 2015, 02:35:09 PM
I've been playing Assassin Creed unity since i got my xbox one..and omg..why didn't i start this series from the start? Outside of a few bugs,that haven't touched my enjoyment of the game, I am loving it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 03, 2015, 07:45:32 PM
Been playing Darkest Dungeon for the past few days.  This is one helluva good RPG!  There's permadeath, but your home barracks can hold 10+ characters, you can take 4 on a mission, you have to manage their stress levels in addition to health, the asylum is necessary to remove negative permanent effects (torn rotator cuff, wasting disease, hagiomania, etc), and so forth.  I'm around 10 weeks in on my current playthrough, and I've only had 2 deaths.  But, now that I've upgraded the blacksmith, I apparently spent too much money on upgrading everyone's gear, so I can't afford to properly provision a medium-length dungeon crawl.  I have to try and get a bit lucky with some shorter ones to build my coin back up.  And my crusader happens to be a klepto ...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 03, 2015, 10:40:04 PM
I kickstarted that game but didn't get early access, I'm looking forward to it being completed.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 03, 2015, 11:45:51 PM
It's pretty far along already, it appears.  The classes I've seen in the game so far are: Plague Doctor, Highwayman, Hellion, Leper, Bounty Hunter, Jester, Crusader, Vestal, Occultist, and Grave Robber.

(click to show/hide)

Each character gets 4 random combat skills from a list of 7 for their class, and 3 random camping skills, again from a class list of 7.  They may also have 1 or 2 beneficial and 1 or 2 hindering traits.

Combat skills can have very cool effects or synergies.  My first grave robber has Lunge, which only works in the back 2 ranks, but is a powerful melee attack that moves her forward 2 ranks in the party, and also has Shadow Fade, which only works in the front 2 ranks, moves her back 1, stuns an enemy and grants her +20 to dodge.  She also has 2 ranged attacks to round out her skills.  I then also have an occultist who can mark enemies with one of his attacks, and a bounty hunter whose melee attack deals double damage to marked enemies.  This makes for some very interesting planning for party compositions (if I include the grave robber, I need people who can be effective in at least 2 different positions: 1 & 2, 2 & 3, 3 & 4).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 05, 2015, 04:26:43 AM
I have discovered Besieged on Steam, an early access physics puzzle game.  And I have been reduced to weeping hilarity watching my little engine that could chew up a thousand soldiers with buzzsaw teeth before bursting into flames and taking out most of the countryside.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 05, 2015, 09:26:25 AM
Ew, people weren't kidding when they said the mouse controls for Dead Space are dogshit.  I basically stopped in the menu after fiddling for a bit and said "Fuck it, this is not worth it."

In better news, I played Dust: An Elysian Tail for a bit.  It's got a lot of charm, and I like it so far.  ^^

Played Quake 4 for a few hours.  I wasn't really able to play it on my laptop, but this new computer handles it at 1440x900 and medium settings pretty well.  It still looks ugly as hell in many cases, but I can tolerate that in a shooter sometimes.

Soon I'll see what other games I bought on Steam for cheap are actually like...

Oh!  The Witcher's combat system confuses the fuck out of me so far.  Could have used a bit of tutorial or something.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 05, 2015, 12:53:13 PM
I never had an issue with the mouse controls with Dead Space...

Which Witcher game?  The first one does have a tutorial about combat, the second one not so much.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 05, 2015, 05:12:35 PM
Rediscovering Civlization V again.

So I'm playing as the Askia. England decides to run for a Diplomacy Victory.

Within the space of 20 turns, I finish the Manhattan project, discover the internet and globalization thanks to faith stacking plus rationalism.

I rig the elections so that England loses them by a hair.

And then, just to show them I love them, I bomb London back to the Stone Age.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 05, 2015, 06:23:06 PM
I never had an issue with the mouse controls with Dead Space...

Which Witcher game?  The first one does have a tutorial about combat, the second one not so much.

The mouse is very, very laggy and there's pretty much nothing I could do about it.  On a shooter that I know is going to take precision it's just not something I'll be able to work with.  I ought to look around to see if there are fixes for it though.

It's The Witcher: Enhanced Edition.  I'll look at it again to see if I missed something.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 05, 2015, 06:26:55 PM
Dead Space is supposed to have a laggy mouse.  It's to help simulate that your guy isn't a soldier and can't get precision aim when snapping about to shoot at things.  But I do recommend for one particular part, where you basically shoot things with a turret, that you up your mouse's sensitivity like crazy for it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 05, 2015, 07:26:09 PM
The lag for Dead Space was never enough to cause me issues.  I think you're just spoiled.   :P 

It's more a game for going slowly and pretty much never strafing, not running around shooting everything in the face like I tend to do in other fps games.



The whole intro in the Witcher compound is a tutorial.  It tells you about how to choose the sword you want and then which button to press to get into which stance (and what enemies each stance is good against).

This  (http://steamcommunity.com//app/20900/discussions/0/846938350960095404/)covers the basics.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on February 05, 2015, 11:49:50 PM
In the first Witcher game, don't you just click when the sword icon gets flames around it?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Shadowhunter on February 06, 2015, 02:01:46 AM
I never had an issue with the mouse controls with Dead Space...

Which Witcher game?  The first one does have a tutorial about combat, the second one not so much.

The mouse is very, very laggy and there's pretty much nothing I could do about it.  On a shooter that I know is going to take precision it's just not something I'll be able to work with.  I ought to look around to see if there are fixes for it though.

It's The Witcher: Enhanced Edition.  I'll look at it again to see if I missed something.

Good luck with it, honestly. I think I spent 5+ hours googling and fiddling with stuff for my Witcher III: Assassin of Kings* so that there was no mouse-lag. If you asked me what I did, I can't even remember. I think there were some files opening up in notepad and re-writing, some settings to tweak and maybe a patch of some sort...maybe. The whole period is a black hole in my memory. At least now I can play it, thankfully.

*Not saying it's the same game, just sharing my experiences with the franchise.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 06, 2015, 03:12:31 AM
Witcher 3 isn't out yet, it is Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.   :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on February 07, 2015, 11:17:26 PM
I just beat FTL with the worst setup I have ever seen this late in the game.  Charge Laser, Hull Laser II, Firebomb, shield/defense I/repair drones (didn't use shield at all because it's not that great in the boss), teleport, mind control, cloning bay as my healer.

That's a total of 5 laser shots, and a fire bomb for offense.  In other words, in order to damage, I needed to hit every single shot on an evasion 30% (40?) enemy.

The awesome, awesome thing that happened that let me do this: hacking.  Specifically, they hacked my teleport.  Which brings my guys back to my ship when hacked.  Which means that by mindcontrolling them, I could, one by one, kill EVERYONE ON THE SHIP (except the laser guy because of course I don't want the autorepair ship).  So I killed them all off in the first stage, and then sent my two (rookie) boarders on to the bridge, take out piloting, I can actually hit the darn thing!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 08, 2015, 09:05:19 PM
I'm diving into Path of Exile and it's definitely been interesting.  Just a few days after starting the game and I'm already fixing stuff on a wiki.

And now that I've cleaned up one of the notable passives as best I can, I'm going to work on D&D stuff.  PBMC is kinda waiting on the base class skill chart...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 08, 2015, 10:58:49 PM
I'm diving into Path of Exile and it's definitely been interesting.  Just a few days after starting the game and I'm already fixing stuff on a wiki.

And now that I've cleaned up one of the notable passives as best I can, I'm going to work on D&D stuff.  PBMC is kinda waiting on the base class skill chart...

I do quite enjoy that game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 09, 2015, 12:53:31 AM
I'm diving into Path of Exile and it's definitely been interesting.  Just a few days after starting the game and I'm already fixing stuff on a wiki.

And now that I've cleaned up one of the notable passives as best I can, I'm going to work on D&D stuff.  PBMC is kinda waiting on the base class skill chart...

I do quite enjoy that game.

So far I've liked it, other than some framerate issues and graphics hiccups.  I'm looking forward to see how my first build will turn out.  Decided to go marauder at first and am really contemplating a build involving Resolute Technique, Unwavering Stance, and Iron Reflexes.  I figure I might as well go into maces for the stunning and all that fun stuff as far as offense goes.  After those three keystones I'm not sure where I'd go.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 09, 2015, 02:11:18 AM
I'm diving into Path of Exile and it's definitely been interesting.  Just a few days after starting the game and I'm already fixing stuff on a wiki.

And now that I've cleaned up one of the notable passives as best I can, I'm going to work on D&D stuff.  PBMC is kinda waiting on the base class skill chart...

I do quite enjoy that game.

So far I've liked it, other than some framerate issues and graphics hiccups.  I'm looking forward to see how my first build will turn out.  Decided to go marauder at first and am really contemplating a build involving Resolute Technique, Unwavering Stance, and Iron Reflexes.  I figure I might as well go into maces for the stunning and all that fun stuff as far as offense goes.  After those three keystones I'm not sure where I'd go.

That's exactly what I do with my marauder (though my only high level one is from awhile back and currently doesn't have any spent skill points).  Want me to post a rough skill tree/gem setup for my preferred 2-H mace stun marauder?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 09, 2015, 09:43:37 AM
I tried to get into it, but to me the difficulty curve for learning the game is too damn high... It just seems to me that in order to play the game properly, one has to spend at least 3 hours reading up on skill trees for every hour one plays the game. That really put me off of the game.

The fact that skill stones only drop from mobs/quest rewards makes it so that the only way to properly plan your build is getting info from wikis first, then actually going on to play the game. The crafting of weapons is also WAY too involved... It's a game you really need to pour countless hours into just to be "decent" at it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Shadowhunter on February 09, 2015, 10:18:46 AM
Witcher 3 isn't out yet, it is Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings.   :P

See, exactly my point. It's such a black hole I've forgotten what number it is  :P

Also, Path of Exile kind of stole some days from me since I started playing it again a few months back. As in 275 hours so far. It's a neat game and the character plotting scratches the same itch that CharOp D&D does.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 09, 2015, 11:25:50 AM
I tried to get into it, but to me the difficulty curve for learning the game is too damn high... It just seems to me that in order to play the game properly, one has to spend at least 3 hours reading up on skill trees for every hour one plays the game. That really put me off of the game.

The fact that skill stones only drop from mobs/quest rewards makes it so that the only way to properly plan your build is getting info from wikis first, then actually going on to play the game. The crafting of weapons is also WAY too involved... It's a game you really need to pour countless hours into just to be "decent" at it.

I didn't do that, I just decided that the first character of each class would be a practice character until I figured out how to play the game properly. 

Also weapon crafting is very much a late game thing.  By late game I mean level 70s minimum, it's more to make sure that your end game gear is up to spec.

It does have a steeper learning curve than other games of its genre, but not as steep as you are making it out to be.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 09, 2015, 11:49:50 AM
It's probably the minmaxer in me screaming at me for not having any sort of pre-planned build, not knowing the optimal path to take on the passive skill tree, not knowing the best farming spots, etc...

Any time i play any kind of game, i always find myself drawn to figuring out what the optimal strategy is. With PoE, it's too much to figure out on your own. The passive skill tree is too huge, there are too many skill stones with varying degrees of effectiveness, plus the modifiers, plus where everything drops, plus all the different kind of weapons... It's just too much.

When i was 14 and was burning myself out of Diablo 2, maybe i would have had the patience and perseverance needed to really dive in deeply into this game. But as of right now, i just don't have the kind of dedication this game deserves, and i can't do what i used to do - do a blind playthrough and figure stuff out on my own...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 09, 2015, 01:57:27 PM
It's probably the minmaxer in me screaming at me for not having any sort of pre-planned build, not knowing the optimal path to take on the passive skill tree, not knowing the best farming spots, etc...

Any time i play any kind of game, i always find myself drawn to figuring out what the optimal strategy is. With PoE, it's too much to figure out on your own. The passive skill tree is too huge, there are too many skill stones with varying degrees of effectiveness, plus the modifiers, plus where everything drops, plus all the different kind of weapons... It's just too much.

When i was 14 and was burning myself out of Diablo 2, maybe i would have had the patience and perseverance needed to really dive in deeply into this game. But as of right now, i just don't have the kind of dedication this game deserves, and i can't do what i used to do - do a blind playthrough and figure stuff out on my own...

Ahh, okay.  That makes sense.  There is no single best build, and most of the builds on the forums require specific rares which requires finding or trading for them and so I just use those as guidelines.  If it helps everything drops everywhere and gear isn't too bad, but it can be pretty easy to fuck up.  I've had to delete a couple of characters because full rebuilds aren't really possible in that game...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 09, 2015, 06:04:34 PM
Yeah, basically the only way to get full passive rebuilds is to wait for a patch where they say "We've changed stuff and probably fucked up your entire build, so here's a full respec!"

Unless you really want to go through the process of getting leveling gear and skills that will support your character through whatever build you're doing.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 09, 2015, 10:14:57 PM
Pretty much.  Basic build ideas are always viable but Act 4 is being worked on and they'll probably mess around with the passives again whenever that is released.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Shadowhunter on February 10, 2015, 07:45:22 AM
I'd ask if you were up for some PoE sometime Nanshork, but I figure with me being 7 hours ahead on the clock it would make it difficult to find a time we're both online.  :rolleyes
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 10, 2015, 01:29:01 PM
I'd ask if you were up for some PoE sometime Nanshork, but I figure with me being 7 hours ahead on the clock it would make it difficult to find a time we're both online.  :rolleyes

Well, what's your account name?  I'll add you as a friend and we can see if we're ever online.  I'm Nanshork on PoE too.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Shadowhunter on February 10, 2015, 03:10:31 PM
Sent you a friend invite from KhargazTheBrutal, my facebreaker lvl 71 marauder. Not sure if it'll work out since I assume you're on gateway America and I'm on gateway Europe, but we'll see I guess  :)

My guess it's just that I would get more desync if I load into a new area you activated.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 10, 2015, 03:31:50 PM
Sent you a friend invite from KhargazTheBrutal, my facebreaker lvl 71 marauder. Not sure if it'll work out since I assume you're on gateway America and I'm on gateway Europe, but we'll see I guess  :)

My guess it's just that I would get more desync if I load into a new area you activated.

I'm going to go eat a late lunch and go grocery shopping, then I'll log on. I've got a level 76 summoner/aura witch, we could run maps together.  I can't find a 5 link so I'm running maps around your level.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Shadowhunter on February 10, 2015, 05:33:39 PM
Playing some DotA 2 with some friends, will log in after that, hopefully you'll still be around by then :)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 10, 2015, 05:52:23 PM
Playing some DotA 2 with some friends, will log in after that, hopefully you'll still be around by then :)

I just finished doing my master dailies.  I'll get back on, run some maps.  Not like I have anything better to do...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Shadowhunter on February 14, 2015, 04:24:33 PM
Welcome to Nanshork and Shadowhunters Path of Exile Lessons, inspired by yours truly. Trust us, we know what we're doing. /teleprompter-commercial-voice.

Lesson 1:
When doing maps, do not open a lockbox marked "Revives all nearby corpses with Onslaught" when said box is just beside the unique boss that almost killed everyone the first time around. It does not go well.

Stay tuned for more informational tidbits as our intrepid adventurers quest ever onward, For Science!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on February 14, 2015, 07:24:45 PM
Welcome to Nanshork and Shadowhunters Path of Exile Lessons, inspired by yours truly. Trust us, we know what we're doing. /teleprompter-commercial-voice.

Lesson 1:
When doing maps, do not open a lockbox marked "Revives all nearby corpses with Onslaught" when said box is just beside the unique boss that almost killed everyone the first time around. It does not go well.

Stay tuned for more informational tidbits as our intrepid adventurers quest ever onward, For Science!


 :lmao  Yeah, that was a really bad plan. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 15, 2015, 11:00:59 PM
Jumped in on Besiege, got about 70 minutes of gameplay into it. I kind of liked the game, it's deceptively complicated. I was having a lot of problems with the steering and the controlling until i came upon some videos on youtube that kindly explained that you can keymap individual components to different sets of keys, which of course means that you can control individual sets of wheels and steering to basically freely rotate your design around a central axis, giving optimal mobility. Very nice, if a little difficult to get accustomed to.

I'm still at the stage where the most complicated thing i can build is a sturdy rammer and a fairly basic catapult, haven't gotten around to playing with fliers yet, but the game promises to be a lot of fun. With every new component that they add in eventually, the possibilities will increase exponentially, and the several new worlds planned also seem like they might provide interesting challenges and gameplay experiene.

For about 6 dollars, i'd say that it's very much worth it to get early access to. Can't say i regret buying it, although i'm certain that it's not going to be the kind of game that i will play with for several hours at a time. More like the kind of game that i play around with for a good hour or so every time i have nothing better to do.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 15, 2015, 11:26:57 PM
I keep getting a map and runtime error in PoE.  Looked online and found there's no fix for it and the only recommendation is to add -gc 2 to the target line in properties.  Considering I just got the error and crash at the first town portal trip I made...  Well, my enjoyment of the game is going to take a hit for sure.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 16, 2015, 01:36:40 AM
Jumped in on Besiege....

Welcome fellow builder.  I look forward to the glorious future where you build Metal Gear.  Have you dabbled in chaos engines yet?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 16, 2015, 02:23:40 AM
Jumped in on Besiege....

Welcome fellow builder.  I look forward to the glorious future where you build Metal Gear.  Have you dabbled in chaos engines yet?

Having a hard time understanding how to build anything more complicated than a simple rudimentary catapult and a rammer.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 16, 2015, 03:17:54 AM
Jumped in on Besiege....

Welcome fellow builder.  I look forward to the glorious future where you build Metal Gear.  Have you dabbled in chaos engines yet?

Having a hard time understanding how to build anything more complicated than a simple rudimentary catapult and a rammer.

I am the master of flight myself, but since it looks like you're mastering the ground....

Turn yourself into a lawnmower.  Take a spinning block, slam blades on the end.  No, pistons, then blades, for extend-death! 

Flamethrowers are a lot better than cannons 9/10 times, but careful not to set yourself on fire!

I love hexawheels, they're so stable.

Plows have no friction it seems.  You can make them your legs and make a hovercraft.  Push yourself around with fans linked to the arrow keys, and/or with wings for control.

Wings do react with the air, though it takes some speed to do so.

Grabbers can be scary sometimes.  They're also involved in pretty much all glitch shenanigans, like chaos engines, law engines, neutral engines, saw engines, or whatever new power source these lunatics have been breaking with.

Cogs actually spin faster than wheels.  This may be useful.  Wheels (and thus cogs) may also be better than a spinning block.

Wheels are 1/2 block wide.  This can be used to break things.

You can replace a lot of wood with braces, even having two blocks of wood with a brace connecting over empty air.  Use this to reduce weight.

Springs are pretty strong.  I've broken more than one catapult adding too many.

Suspensions are silly useful, and good for making things move organically.  Try using them in place of wood blocks.

Stick a spinning block on a spinning block.  The top spins doublefast.  This can go up and up and up, and is a good way to get things moving fast enough for propellers to work.

I'll give two final things before I end this post:  The first is showing you a primitive walker, the lizard walker.  Take a wheel, a powered hinge, and then two more wheels on the outside of your craft.  x4, cause it's a car.  You can drive like normal, but then you activate your POWERED HINGES.  Now you're doing a silly lizard walk!  Good for getting over obstructions!

The second thing is explaining chaos engines and all it's variants.  Technically this is a hilarious but useful glitch that I hope is never patched, because holy crap has it been amazing.  So, wheels and cogs are good power sources, but there are stronger.  The trick involves placing (X) amount of wheels, then a wood block, then something heavy.  Classically it's been a fireball, but with the update the new heavyweight is the boulder.  Then, delete the wood block and replace with a grabber so the heavy thing doesn't fly away.  Now, in order from top to bottom, start replacing wheels with sawblades.  Normally you can't stack sawblades, but with the wheels you totally can.  Do them one at a time.

The chaos engine is powerful.  Too powerful really, it's very unstable.  In fact anything above about 3 saws will usually break on startup (you can invincible, start, then uninvincible and be fine).  Still, if you want MAXIMUM POWER, chaos engines can help.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 16, 2015, 10:39:49 AM
Wow... what is a Hexawheel? I saw some videos on the chaos engine, seems fun.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 16, 2015, 11:24:34 AM
Wow... what is a Hexawheel? I saw some videos on the chaos engine, seems fun.

Just a six wheeled vehicle.  I have many variations.

Also a fun technically glitch but good to stabilizing your more unstable aircraft.  (Living) NPCs refuse to tip over.  If you grab one, then take off, you won't tip over yourself.  NPC Autopilot hooooo!

Have a video!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJxx1GRpk1s  It's my Simple Drone.  It's mobile enough to do a flip without crashing!  Easy to expand too.

Another Fun Fact: Cannons can shoot bombs without exploding, but only point blank.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 16, 2015, 11:29:24 AM
Wow, that's fucking impressive.

One thing i lost a lot of time experimenting with were the suspensions. It's just me, or are they really completely useless?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 16, 2015, 11:51:45 AM
Wow, that's fucking impressive.

One thing i lost a lot of time experimenting with were the suspensions. It's just me, or are they really completely useless?

Suspensions are useful to me, they seem like they have a stronger connection than wood.

Namely though I found three uses out of suspensions so far.  First is the obvious, as suspension, and with that they serve their purpose well.  The second is for building things with an organic gait.  I used a lizard-walker with a suspension tail which swung nicely.  The third is that using suspensions on my chaos engines and other high speed engines seem to work well.  Put the suspension to minimum (tighter, I think) and even if it stretches out to look like it should break, it won't.  Plus it's a cool effect.

I haven't done it yet but I wanted to experiment making a vehicle completely out of suspensions (or as much as possible).  The theory is such a device, besides being fireproof, should be unbreakable.  Every kinetic shock will be absorbed!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 20, 2015, 06:09:46 PM
Trying to create a repeating catapult in Besiege. It is deceptively hard. Bombs sometimes explode for no reason at all, and it seems that they explode much more readily if they're moving, so a "reloading tube" system using Pistons and the low-friction half pipes is kind of hard.

Saw a neat design using grabbers in a rotating "barrel" + steering hinges, so you can rotate the barrel, move the steering hinges, and then drop the bomb that's in the grabber inside of a bomb holder. Five shots, flawless design, repeats without failure every single time.

I'm also experimenting with range on catapults, using several springs of different tensions to achieve a wide array of ranges by combining the different springs, so i don't need to reposition so often.

SolEiji, have you attempted a catapult on a rotating platform? After seeing the rotating barrel design for the catapult, i was wondering, wouldn't it be possible to apply the same concept to achieve 360º of motion with the catapult? This would minimize the need to move, which tends to break things.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on February 20, 2015, 08:24:26 PM
Are you guys talking about this game? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW7JIRF18eE)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 20, 2015, 10:20:18 PM
Are you guys talking about this game? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW7JIRF18eE)

Yes!

This. Is. Amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zejqkmHNtNY

How did i not think of this? So simple! So effective! So repeatable! And you can even have different ammunition types if you really wanted to!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 21, 2015, 07:55:13 AM
That's perfect Bruj!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L6jcJjsw64

We Space X now.  This thing is as effective as my drone, and so fast the framerate takes a shit.  I have near perfect horizontal flight.  Oh for what I would kill for an infinite plane area in the future.  No walls, just repeating ground.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 21, 2015, 08:47:37 AM
This game sounds a lot like Legos of Mass Destruction, and now you're all making me curious.

...how expensive is it?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on February 21, 2015, 11:25:05 AM
7 bucks, so less than the price of eating at McDonalds.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 21, 2015, 12:10:24 PM
This game sounds a lot like Legos of Mass Destruction, and now you're all making me curious.

...how expensive is it?

I paid R$ 16 for it.

The game itself is kind of simple, but that doesn't mean it's not fun. It's in very early stages of development, there's only one world, and they're still going to add a lot of new parts and stuff. But even though it's in the very early stages of development, there is so much cool stuff you can build.

I've seen several attempts at a two-legged walker, with varying degrees of success. I've seen people do "caterpillar" like engines, quad-rotor drones that have perfect flight, ballista's, springless trebuchet's, etc... And all this for a game that has just come out of an very early alpha stage.

There are several planned new features. The new worlds are going to bring exciting new challenges, and i don't even know what new parts they're going to add. So far we have land and air parts, maybe they're going to add water-based parts? For sailing and diving?

For sure, there are some concerns. Optimization of the engine is one i, and everyone who has tried to build a more complex machine can attest should be a priority. Framerate drops like flies if you have more than three or four moving parts. BUT that's to be expected of a game in such an early stage of development. You're supporting the Dev's early to fund them, and hopefully help them make a better finished product down the line.

The fact that's extremely easy to save & share your machines with others(they're all saved as .bsg files) means that a community for this game is growing, and growing fast, as people all around the world share their designs for increasingly complex and fascinating machinery.

Just think about what is possible in Minecraft with Redstone. Besiege will have more parts, and it will have a fully-fledged physics engine. You'll be able to build super complex and interesting stuff.

EDIT:

Finally, a build that actually harnesses cogs to transfer power!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXRiLuVxaBY

A completely new kind of engine, harnessing the power of springs. How can we use this effectively?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 21, 2015, 05:02:20 PM
Huh. Weird. I expected it to be much more expensive (right now it's R$ 14 on Steam, that's a little under 5 dollars).

How come we don't get that kind of treatment with PSN?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on February 21, 2015, 05:50:21 PM
How come we don't get that kind of treatment with PSN?
Sony hates it's customers (http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=sony_bullshit).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 21, 2015, 06:41:04 PM
Also, can somebody teach me to make a SIMPLE flying machine in Besiege?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 21, 2015, 07:24:23 PM
Also, can somebody teach me to make a SIMPLE flying machine in Besiege?

This is a nice one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNtl3jiXUmk

Flying in Besiege is... weird. It's hard to achieve perfect control. Too much lift, and your machine goes out of control. Too little, and it doesn't fly. But the hardest part is steering. Steering is hard, even on ground.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 21, 2015, 09:00:56 PM
I can achieve lift pretty easily. It's getting the damn thing to stop spinning that's hard!!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 21, 2015, 10:27:52 PM
I can achieve lift pretty easily. It's getting the damn thing to stop spinning that's hard!!

Do you have a .bsg file of your machine? Maybe we, the Hivemind, can come up with a good flying machine and/or help you with your build.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 22, 2015, 01:29:27 AM
I'll get you one later.  :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on February 22, 2015, 01:11:52 PM
I hate the controls to Besieged :(
The need to remove, or at least give the option to remove, the camera controls on wasd. Tinkering your driving controls to a familiar format is worthless if at the same time you're zooming in to check for termites.

Anyway Kuri, it is a physics-based game. You probably have too much torque in one direction, I'm betting you just used the spinning propellers. Those are ok but you need to add a boom and side-ways blade to offset your forces and it really helps to use the DaVinci-things to ad-hoc rotation & lift control.

And speaking of sharing bsgs, is there a site people are posting their creations on? Steam's community seems to only post pictures :(

Edit
http://www.besiegedownloads.com/
http://www.besiegefiles.com/
http://besiege.freeforums.net/board/9/war-machines
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on February 22, 2015, 01:46:20 PM
That is what I figured, yes. I tried to change that by adding torque in the opposite direction to compensate, and reinforcing the structure itself so it wouldn't snap in half (after all, two forces of equal strength in opposite directions cancel each other out). I used the stacked spinning pieces for power. No matter what I do, they still go up, up and spinning like a dervish. I even tried to add independent propellers on the stack turning in the opposite direction, no such luck.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on February 22, 2015, 08:05:50 PM
BESIEGE ME!

Quote
Change log - V0.04

ADDITIONAL CONTENT

Added Wooden Pole Block
Added Slider Block
Added Small Balloon Block (Controllable Buoyancy)

IMPROVEMENTS

Added new tool which allows you to see key mapping overlaid on your machine
Propeller can now be flipped
Changed propeller model & texture
Decoupler is now asymmetrical
Added toggle mode to flamethrower
Added toggle mode to contractible spring
Cogs now have less friction
Boulder block gets blood on it when it collides with a man or animal.
Plow block gets blood on it when it collides with a man or animal.
Key Mapper/Parameter tuner :
Added ‘Copy Settings’ button + “CTRL C” shortcut
Added ‘Paste Settings’ button + “CTRL V” shortcut
Can now be closed by pressing ‘Escape’

FIXES

Clicking “OVERWRITE” text will now overwrite save file
Fixed save files not working in some system languages
Fixed piston not showing up in saved thumbnail
Fixed half-pipe not showing up in saved thumbnail
The objective text “1” now disappears on level 12 when you press play
Key Mapper/Parameter tuner now closes when pressing Play

Balloons are a game changer!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on February 22, 2015, 08:24:11 PM
Oooh yeah, Steam is wanting to update it. Sweet. :D

Apparently chains are still "locked" through, requiring a save file editor to use.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on February 23, 2015, 01:58:15 AM
I can play TF2 without issues now!  My laptop can't handle it.

Sweet, sweet rocket murder.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on February 26, 2015, 02:46:02 AM
http://i.imgur.com/FGbFjL5.gifv

Simple, yet, impressive.

Using screwrotors to add downwards force to make the craft stick to whatever surface the wheels are on.

Found on http://www.reddit.com/r/Besiege/comments/2x65me/up_and_over/

gotta give credit to the author, this is really, really awesome.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on February 27, 2015, 11:49:54 PM
http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/27/deconstructing-nintendo/ (http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/27/deconstructing-nintendo/) nice in depth look at Nintendo's plans for hte future
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on March 02, 2015, 08:42:19 PM
So remember Twitch Plays Pokemon?  Yeah, here's Twitch Plays Halo (http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayshalos).  I....it's a first person shooter.  you....what....how is that going to be....but.....okay, a better name is "Twitch Plays here's a corridor."
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 05, 2015, 02:14:23 PM
Going to try out LoL...  Wish me luck.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on March 05, 2015, 08:29:30 PM
So PlaybyPost if fine and all.....but you know what's better?  Being able to actually handle pieces. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/)  And have actual discussions.  And do it in real time, so a single battle doesn't take a month.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on March 05, 2015, 09:41:54 PM
So PlaybyPost if fine and all.....but you know what's better?  Being able to actually handle pieces. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/)  And have actual discussions.  And do it in real time, so a single battle doesn't take a month.

Oh lord, as if I didn't have enough trouble with my players drawing dongs on our roll20 map
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on March 05, 2015, 10:15:15 PM
You can lock the drawing tool!  And reverse time!  And spawn in bottles of ranch dressing because someone made a download for it!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on March 05, 2015, 11:20:21 PM
Okay, that's getting cooler and cooler.  I'm officially going to start paying attention to it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on March 06, 2015, 12:53:03 AM
i'm impressed
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on March 22, 2015, 03:02:06 AM
So PlaybyPost if fine and all.....but you know what's better?  Being able to actually handle pieces. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/)  And have actual discussions.  And do it in real time, so a single battle doesn't take a month.

Or do Roll20 for free :3


In related news, I started playing Final Fantasy IV about 2 weeks ago.

Holy shit, this game's story is beautiful.  I think that the main character's transition from Dark Knight to Paladin is probably one of the best examples in fantasy RPGs on the holy knight archetype.

Bad news is, I worry I might be overleveled, which might be making the current portion of the game too easy.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 22, 2015, 04:04:13 AM
I wouldn't worry too much about being over-levelled, unless you are higher than 70 for the final boss.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 22, 2015, 04:40:44 AM
I just learned about hoiking in Terraria.  So gonna use it once I've gotten further along in the game again and hopefully am able to use it well before 1.3 comes out.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 22, 2015, 11:04:38 AM
So, I'm almost done with Resident Evil Revelations 2... it's too bad they didn't exactly consider the endgame content for Raid mode. It's easy enough you can unlock everything and beat all missions without hoping for HARD AS BALLS drops.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 22, 2015, 12:08:17 PM
Also, WTF is the deal with gaming companies having spats with their devs? Seriously, Konami?! (http://www.pcgamer.com/kojima-and-konami-release-joint-statement-on-the-future-of-metal-gear/)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on March 23, 2015, 05:21:08 PM
So PlaybyPost if fine and all.....but you know what's better?  Being able to actually handle pieces. (http://store.steampowered.com/app/286160/)  And have actual discussions.  And do it in real time, so a single battle doesn't take a month.

Or do Roll20 for free :3


In related news, I started playing Final Fantasy IV about 2 weeks ago.

Holy shit, this game's story is beautiful.  I think that the main character's transition from Dark Knight to Paladin is probably one of the best examples in fantasy RPGs on the holy knight archetype.

Bad news is, I worry I might be overleveled, which might be making the current portion of the game too easy.

Probably the one I've replayed the most, though not necessarily spent the most hours playing. The original jp version was harder, and had some extra character action options. I'm not sure what they did regarding the actual difficulty in the re-releases that do contain the extra actions. There are only a couple of bosses I ever recall losing to, as a kid.

Shouldn't really need to grind levels, only just enough to buy the latest shop equipment. The pacing is otherwise pretty good. Though, at some point there are some bonus dungeons you can access early to where they might be to hard. Note: you can use some weapons as items from your inventory, such as staves, to produce free minor effects.

The After Years, etc. stuff is still pretty fun, even though some have been critical of it. Problem being, the story and characters in FF IV are now very typical. At the time, good storytelling through video games was at its infancy. So, it at least feels a bit disjointed and flat in comparison with overall aging.

If you like job systems, and/or have played Tactics, play FF V.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on March 23, 2015, 05:25:11 PM
Also, WTF is the deal with gaming companies having spats with their devs? Seriously, Konami?! (http://www.pcgamer.com/kojima-and-konami-release-joint-statement-on-the-future-of-metal-gear/)


Eh, at this point where he's long been saying he wants to work on something else, and they've already thrown tons of money at him to continue with the series, and he's now at a point where he can give no fucks about money, he's going to damn well go do what he wants... and so here we are.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 23, 2015, 11:49:03 PM
Hm, I need to get a hold of FF Tactics and FFV.  I've got 1, 2, played and finished 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on March 24, 2015, 09:26:55 PM
Hm, I need to get a hold of FF Tactics and FFV.  I've got 1, 2, played and finished 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8.

There is a hardtype/bug fix/re-balance community patch for Tactics. Changes looked interesting.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on March 28, 2015, 04:56:08 AM
well so much for Zelda this year https://games.yahoo.com/news/zelda-wii-u-no-longer-220848848.html (https://games.yahoo.com/news/zelda-wii-u-no-longer-220848848.html)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 29, 2015, 04:56:22 PM
To all those who remember playing FFIX ...
(click to show/hide)
(click to show/hide)
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on March 29, 2015, 07:38:46 PM
 :lmao :lmao
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on March 29, 2015, 07:41:36 PM
To all those who remember playing FFVIII ...

FTFY

Also  :lol
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 29, 2015, 07:56:58 PM
To all those who remember playing FFVIII ...

FTFY

Also  :lol

Dammit, yes, wrong roman numeral ...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on March 29, 2015, 08:17:04 PM
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayum.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on March 30, 2015, 01:11:36 AM
I thought that looked like Squall.  lol

Hm, I need to finish 7.  And try out 8.  Got them on computer CDs.  ^^
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 30, 2015, 03:11:09 AM
New one!
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on March 30, 2015, 04:00:02 AM
 :lmao Who makes these

Oh Devour, it's so messed up.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on March 30, 2015, 02:20:45 PM
 :lmao :clap

Okay, I want that artist to just keep churning these out.  They're awesome!  It helps that that's my favorite FF.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 30, 2015, 04:34:11 PM
They are made by the very talented and very busy artist Stjepan Sejic.  His DA account names are Nebezial (http://nebezial.deviantart.com/) (where he posted these) and Shiniez (http://shiniez.deviantart.com/) (where he does much more kinky, adult artwork).  He is a professional comic artist, who has 2 series that he created and does all the work on currently, Death Vigil and Sunstone, though he also works on Ravine, Aphrodite 9, Witchblade, and occasionally other DC/Marvel comics as well.

And Sunstone is especially amazing, as it is a good BDSM-relationship story that 50 Shades look like manure.  Seriously, the best line I read someone write after reading Sunstone is "Doms don't do what Mr. Grey does. He crosses SO many lines and acts like a rookie and a sociopath. He's an ass, not a Dom."
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on March 30, 2015, 05:22:13 PM
i am tempted to play Civ V some more...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on March 30, 2015, 06:22:25 PM
And Sunstone is especially amazing, as it is a good BDSM-relationship story that 50 Shades look like manure.  Seriously, the best line I read someone write after reading Sunstone is "Doms don't do what Mr. Grey does. He crosses SO many lines and acts like a rookie and a sociopath. He's an ass, not a Dom."

As someone who's been involved with BDSM I told that basic thing to lots of people.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 30, 2015, 06:29:43 PM
I've always heard that you need to follow 3 rules: Safe, Sane, Consensual.  And while I haven't read 50 Shades, I've heard enough about it to guess that Mr. Grey doesn't follow any of the 3.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on March 31, 2015, 04:38:01 PM
Might take you a bit to get this pun, it's a little subtle ...
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on April 01, 2015, 02:57:17 AM
Might take you a bit to get this pun, it's a little subtle ...
(click to show/hide)

Genderbent gordon freeman?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 01, 2015, 07:34:42 AM
Bhu, I think you'll get a kick out of this.  April 1 Path of Exile catastrophe (http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1233642).

And also:

(http://img.ffffound.com/static-data/assets/6/07bb2d1ac8037b5e511cc28e3e923946f908f1d2_m.jpg)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 01, 2015, 07:43:56 AM
Might take you a bit to get this pun, it's a little subtle ...
(click to show/hide)

Genderbent gordon freeman?
No, Selphie taking a selfie.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on April 01, 2015, 04:39:23 PM
Oh! I didn't know that character  :lmao

Saw the orange suit and what i thought to be a crowbar and... Well...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on April 01, 2015, 05:01:36 PM
Oh! I didn't know that character  :lmao

Saw the orange suit and what i thought to be a crowbar and... Well...

It's a pair of nun-chucks.  :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on April 01, 2015, 05:36:34 PM
Oh! I didn't know that character  :lmao

Saw the orange suit and what i thought to be a crowbar and... Well...

Yep, another FF8 character!   :lol
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on April 04, 2015, 01:24:34 PM
So, the last Nintendo Direct had a bunch of interesting news about the next game:
-You'll not only be able to make your own personalized avatar, said personalized avatar will be the main lord character now.
-Also seems like you'll have truly diverging paths, being able to select which of the two main kingdoms you'll support instead of being railroaded.
-Nohr,  the "evil" kingdom, makes a very persuassive argument to join them:
(http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/941/433/acb.gif)

Also in the same Nintendo Direct we got the first actual trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fS24IxelBA) at the Fire Emblem vs Shin Megami Tensei crossover announced over 2 years ago.

Not very sure what genre it even is, but
(http://share.gifyoutube.com/KekJA2.gif)
Dat Pegasus Knight! :love
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 05, 2015, 11:29:56 AM
That looks like several kinds of awesome.

Which system will it be for?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on April 06, 2015, 12:11:31 PM
The 2 path thing reeks of cash grab.
But, I don't have any recent systems (or time) to play the FE series, even if I'd like to.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on April 25, 2015, 07:59:09 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/steams-paid-skyrim-mods-provoke-mixed-reaction-162649810.html not sure how i honestly feel about this
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on April 25, 2015, 08:36:23 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/steams-paid-skyrim-mods-provoke-mixed-reaction-162649810.html not sure how i honestly feel about this

The idea is sound but the execution is terrible.  However I have faith that, especially after the recent reddit AMA by Gabe, this will either be reversed or fixed.

The idea of giving modders money is a fine idea, but not all mods need payments behind them.  And the current setup is simply absurd.  30/45/25?  With the smallest being for the modder?

Steam taking a cut, I get.  It's on their servers, they are the highway.  Why are we paying Bethesda a dime of this though, I haven't a goddamn clue.

Then there's the community breaking issue, piracy, lack of support, mod interdependency, etc etc.  In short, it could have been done but this was clearly not thought out.  Best for Valve to cancel it and, if they want, to come back to it later after they've fixed all the holes in this.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on April 25, 2015, 11:39:40 PM
I'm willing to bet Steam/Bethesda doesn't actually care about Skyrim anymore.  This is to lay the groundwork for selling mods in whatever game they're going to announce at E3. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 26, 2015, 12:17:49 AM
Damn I wish a lot of things about Steam would get fixed, but Valve is sitting so comfortably on their near monopoly that they almost don't seem to give a damn.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 26, 2015, 05:20:27 PM
Well, if you were looking forward to Silent Hills, I have bad news for you... (http://www.gamnesia.com/news/report-guillermo-del-toro-says-silent-hills-is-cancelled#.VT1WciFViko)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on April 26, 2015, 05:36:00 PM
Well, if you were looking forward to Silent Hills, I have bad news for you... (http://www.gamnesia.com/news/report-guillermo-del-toro-says-silent-hills-is-cancelled#.VT1WciFViko)

Konami continues to circle the drain...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on April 26, 2015, 06:41:37 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/steams-paid-skyrim-mods-provoke-mixed-reaction-162649810.html not sure how i honestly feel about this
Meh.

Back in the day 'mods' were already free or paid for (but called patches & updates by the devas). The line was drawn at charging for your edits to someone else's work. Mod communities were actually pretty good at policing them selves.

Then came the self-entitled generation. Modders begun to indirectly charge for services, advertisement after advertisement after advertisement for a download link combined with closed-source and 3rd party PAY-ME mergers made Minecraft a glowing beacon of frustration on the map of exactly what happens when people don't give a shit beyond money.

Naturally, along comes the original company wanting to sell out. You can officially charge for your mod if you give us a cut, it's totally fine by us smileyface. If you had moral problems before, well if you think of them as miniature private hires for optional game patches, you won't now. Now there is a market in developing mods for certain games, a novice's trade to inflate the resume and make some cash before landing the big ones. Good? Maybe. Bad? Maybe.

But good buy free stuff?
Now that'll piss some people off amiright?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on April 27, 2015, 02:13:51 AM
I don't mind modders getting paid for their hard work.  The modders only getting 25% though?  Fuck that.  At least give them 50%.  Even webcam porn sites usually have the decency to give their models at least a 50% cut.

They definitely need a better system for it.  Mods have already been taken down for containing stuff from other mods where permission was not granted.  Then there's the copyright stuff.

If a mod is going to be pay-only then it needs to go through a proper review process.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: bhu on April 27, 2015, 02:29:43 AM
Bhu, I think you'll get a kick out of this.  April 1 Path of Exile catastrophe (http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/1233642).

And also:

(http://img.ffffound.com/static-data/assets/6/07bb2d1ac8037b5e511cc28e3e923946f908f1d2_m.jpg)

Someone told me this thread had kitties?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on April 27, 2015, 05:49:47 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/steams-paid-skyrim-mods-provoke-mixed-reaction-162649810.html not sure how i honestly feel about this
Meh.

Back in the day 'mods' were already free or paid for (but called patches & updates by the devas). The line was drawn at charging for your edits to someone else's work. Mod communities were actually pretty good at policing them selves.

Then came the self-entitled generation. Modders begun to indirectly charge for services, advertisement after advertisement after advertisement for a download link combined with closed-source and 3rd party PAY-ME mergers made Minecraft a glowing beacon of frustration on the map of exactly what happens when people don't give a shit beyond money.

Naturally, along comes the original company wanting to sell out. You can officially charge for your mod if you give us a cut, it's totally fine by us smileyface. If you had moral problems before, well if you think of them as miniature private hires for optional game patches, you won't now. Now there is a market in developing mods for certain games, a novice's trade to inflate the resume and make some cash before landing the big ones. Good? Maybe. Bad? Maybe.

But good buy free stuff?
Now that'll piss some people off amiright?

And so we shall enter the age of mod piracy.

After which the paid mods will start including DRM.

After which the paid mods will start including subscriptions and demand you to be online to play.

After which the mods will start including freemium options (pay 5$ for more special ammo!).

After which people will start offering free mods of paid mods (I already paid for your mod, so I'm now free to do whatever I want with it like you did with the original game nyah nyah).

Another cycle will be completed.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on April 27, 2015, 10:53:07 AM
inb4 torrent trackers specifically for paid mod content

Another shitstorm that's going to happen is commercial mod creators including copyright content: unlicensed textures, sounds, etc. that are commercially owned by others. Assuming Valve has a DMCA report mechanism for that, just start spamming it  :fu

Mod hosting sites have to pay the storage/bandwidth bills somehow, with ads or w/e. That's a given. Maybe they make some profit. As the content creator you can decide whether you're ok with that or not.

The fallout of all this is going to be poisoning the well of community, in that collaboration is going to fall apart once people are eying money. A lot of mod projects pass hands, or get picked up by new modders for improvement or derivative work. That's going to fall apart to the detriment of everyone else.

Leave it to the fuckers who came up with paid horse armor...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on April 27, 2015, 01:23:48 PM
Seems like Touhou 15 has been announced, "Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom".

Reisen is a playable character.

Reisen. Is. A. Playable. Character. In. Main. Game. With an actual gun this time and everything. Putting the bullets in "bullet hell".

My head may've just exploded.

Also between that and the title, sounds like the lunarians will be the main theme.

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on April 28, 2015, 12:47:29 AM
I don't mind modders getting paid for their hard work.  The modders only getting 25% though?  Fuck that.  At least give them 50%.  Even webcam porn sites usually have the decency to give their models at least a 50% cut.
Other way I think, modders get 75% but Skyrim gets a 25% take.

Also saw this and had to share.
http://imgur.com/gallery/fHuJkHH
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on April 28, 2015, 12:49:39 AM
Seems like Touhou 15 has been announced, "Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom".

Reisen is a playable character.

Reisen. Is. A. Playable. Character. In. Main. Game. With an actual gun this time and everything. Putting the bullets in "bullet hell".

My head may've just exploded.

Also between that and the title, sounds like the lunarians will be the main theme.



ALL MY LOVE
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on April 28, 2015, 01:30:30 AM
I don't mind modders getting paid for their hard work.  The modders only getting 25% though?  Fuck that.  At least give them 50%.  Even webcam porn sites usually have the decency to give their models at least a 50% cut.
Other way I think, modders get 75% but Skyrim gets a 25% take.

Also saw this and had to share.
http://imgur.com/gallery/fHuJkHH


Nope. 30% to Valve, 45% to Bethesda, and the mod author gets the rest. And the author doesn't get a check from Valve until they earn at least $100, which means the mod has to sell $400 worth. If it only sells $399, the mod author doesn't see a dime.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on April 28, 2015, 03:44:45 AM
I don't mind modders getting paid for their hard work.  The modders only getting 25% though?  Fuck that.  At least give them 50%.  Even webcam porn sites usually have the decency to give their models at least a 50% cut.
Other way I think, modders get 75% but Skyrim gets a 25% take.

Also saw this and had to share.
http://imgur.com/gallery/fHuJkHH


Nope. 30% to Valve, 45% to Bethesda, and the mod author gets the rest. And the author doesn't get a check from Valve until they earn at least $100, which means the mod has to sell $400 worth. If it only sells $399, the mod author doesn't see a dime.

Well it's a moot point for now https://games.yahoo.com/news/bethesda-responds-blowback-over-skyrim-220944400.html (https://games.yahoo.com/news/bethesda-responds-blowback-over-skyrim-220944400.html)

Valve removed the payment option from the game's Steam Workshop, saying "Skyrim was probably not the right place to start iterating."
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on April 28, 2015, 06:08:52 AM
I don't mind modders getting paid for their hard work.  The modders only getting 25% though?  Fuck that.  At least give them 50%.  Even webcam porn sites usually have the decency to give their models at least a 50% cut.
Other way I think, modders get 75% but Skyrim gets a 25% take.

Also saw this and had to share.
http://imgur.com/gallery/fHuJkHH


Nope. 30% to Valve, 45% to Bethesda, and the mod author gets the rest. And the author doesn't get a check from Valve until they earn at least $100, which means the mod has to sell $400 worth. If it only sells $399, the mod author doesn't see a dime.

Well it's a moot point for now https://games.yahoo.com/news/bethesda-responds-blowback-over-skyrim-220944400.html (https://games.yahoo.com/news/bethesda-responds-blowback-over-skyrim-220944400.html)

Valve removed the payment option from the game's Steam Workshop, saying "Skyrim was probably not the right place to start iterating."

Just saw their official statement over at /r/pcmasterrace. Glad to see that the community still has a voice, but as others have pointed out over there, their statement doesn't mean that paid mods are going away for good, it just means that they're going away for now, until they figure out a way to bring it back without pissing off the entire gaming community.

Of course, the only way to do it without pissing off the entire community would be to do two things:

A) All mods will continue to be available for free, if you don't choose to pay for them.
B) The mods creator's will get a bigger share of the revenue - at least the same as what Valve & the game developer gets, possibly quite a bit more - and i think the community will STILL get pissed if the developer & steam gets anything at all, but at least the backlash will be much smaller if the mod creator gets a bigger share.

One of the biggest reasons why i think Valve's model of mod-sharing was going to fail REGARDLESS of the community response is because of Consumer Law. At least here in Brazil, if you paid for a product, you have the RIGHT to demand that this product works as intended/advertised, and if it doesn't, you have the right to demand that it be fixed or you have your money back/receive compensation.

What would happen when a certain mod got released with a gamebreaking bug that deleted all of a player's saves, making all their years of progress null and void? What would happen when people started litigating against mod developer's because, guess what, they paid for their mods and now they want to go to the judicial system to get their money's worth?

And then there's collaborative mods and the problem of revenue distribution. If a paid mod depends on SKSE or pulls assets from other mods, how much of that mod's revenue goes to the mod's creator, and how much to the creator's of the other mods upon which that modder built his work? I absolutely can see a scenario where a modder creates a vastly more popular mod than those upon which he built his creation, and the smaller mod's creators going to the Judiciary to demand that they, too, get a share of his profits.

A big company like Bethesda and Valve can most certainly defend themselves against litigation, but most modders can't. And what's most important, here, is that both Valve and Bethesda have easy ways to insulate themselves against litigation for mods that don't work as intended, introduce gamebreaking bugs, or otherwise are a disappointment for the player that paid for them. After all, Valve is just acting as a platform for distribution and has no influence on how the mod is developed, and Bethesda doesn't as well and is just capitalising on it's IP.

Because of all that, i can see in the future modders getting massively discouraged from continuing working on mods because of the possible litigation issues, with all the headache from dissatisfied consumers to other modders trying to get a share of the revenue.

The previous system of free distribution coupled with optional donations directly to the developers worked and was tried and true. This new proposed system is not, and will introduce several challenges.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on April 28, 2015, 06:25:09 AM
Paid steam mods are dead! Dead! DEAD! And in less than a week, not too shabby.

It was not only community backlash however, seems like a lot of modders themselves were threatening to remove their stuff from steam and go host in other sites.

Also seems like Gabe wouldn't even pay you with real money, just add to your steam wallet, meaning they were actually getting 55% of the share and Bethesda 45%.

This abomination may be reanimated in some grimdark future, but probably not any time soon. I predict years before they try to pull this move again. Again, valve gave up in less than a week, the only explanation is Gabe himself got quite scared of how things were turning out.


(http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/954/615/9f8.png)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on April 28, 2015, 10:22:08 AM
In a few years, perhaps. Probably in which the published/dev/valve would have a proper roadmap and vetting process.

In any case, I don't think it's good. Good will donation based things like patreon seem like a better engine for rewarding amateur work.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on April 28, 2015, 10:57:49 AM
It's funny, because I have to write a paper on crowdfunding/crowdlending for delivery in a little under a month, so that kind of process has been catching my interest of late...

I am, again, reminded of Project Phoenix. They put together a team of people that have been involved in AAA game development over the last decade or more, opened a Kickstarter, and made a cool million for startup (their original goal was 500.000). So even the pros are seeing potential in not relying on the bigger industry for anything.

Didn't Steam face a similar debacle over Greenlight a while ago? They had to raise the bar for popularity on Greenlight because indie devs were promising free copies of the games for "likes".
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on April 28, 2015, 03:36:50 PM
Any system is going to have people that optimize/abuse it...  :P

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 01, 2015, 04:05:41 AM
Taking a nostalgia trip on Descent and Descent 2...  Love those games.  Need to get Descent 3 one of these days.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on May 04, 2015, 11:55:32 PM
Dunno what this is about other than some people here might get excited ... (http://playism-games.com/article/touhou-14-hits-playism-on-5-7-2015)
Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playtonic/yooka-laylee-a-3d-platformer-rare-vival)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on May 04, 2015, 11:58:17 PM
Dunno what this is about other than some people here might get excited ... (http://playism-games.com/article/touhou-14-hits-playism-on-5-7-2015)
Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/playtonic/yooka-laylee-a-3d-platformer-rare-vival)

It's worth getting hype.  While the bat's nose is still a bit weird for me, everything about it seems golden.  Will probably donate soon.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on May 08, 2015, 02:49:36 PM
Witcher 1 and 2 are currently at 85% discount in Steam for the weekend. I heard a lot of people talk about that series but never tried it because I didn't have time back when they came out. Have those games aged well in your opinion and are worth buying with this discount?

(not like I have that much free time nowadays, but would be something for my backlog)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on May 08, 2015, 05:27:59 PM
Did no one click the first link in my previous post?  It has something to do with a thing called Touhou ...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on May 08, 2015, 11:18:02 PM
Witcher 1 and 2 are currently at 85% discount in Steam for the weekend. I heard a lot of people talk about that series but never tried it because I didn't have time back when they came out. Have those games aged well in your opinion and are worth buying with this discount?

(not like I have that much free time nowadays, but would be something for my backlog)

Witcher2 aged well.
Witcher1, not so much.

Witcher1 is also iso-3d, as opposed to over the shoulder/first person.

The games are self-contained in that not playing them prior to W3 shouldn't matter.
If you do really get deep into the detailed bits of the story and characters though, you would appreciate playing them in order, I'd say.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on May 08, 2015, 11:19:55 PM
Did no one click the first link in my previous post?  It has something to do with a thing called Touhou ...

I see the name mentioned often enough, but I still have no idea what it is.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on May 08, 2015, 11:23:33 PM
Did no one click the first link in my previous post?  It has something to do with a thing called Touhou ...

I see the name mentioned often enough, but I still have no idea what it is.

Touhou is fun.  It's a series of "bullet hell" shumups.  Think of things like R-Type, Gradius, Einhander, or Ikaruga (though the last one is the only real bullet hell one).  They star cute witches and spirits doing stuff, and the lore behind it is pretty interesting too.  The short of it: most of it takes place in another plane where all the monsters and spirits have gone from the real world, and they are kept in a peaceful Cold War state thanks to the various rules which make up the lots of the various games.

There's also a few spin offs.  A fighting game, a soccer game, etc.

Popular and adorable, with a side of spooky Fridge Logic.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on May 08, 2015, 11:29:21 PM
Witcher 1 and 2 are currently at 85% discount in Steam for the weekend. I heard a lot of people talk about that series but never tried it because I didn't have time back when they came out. Have those games aged well in your opinion and are worth buying with this discount?

(not like I have that much free time nowadays, but would be something for my backlog)

I think they're both worth playing.  Especially at those prices.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on May 09, 2015, 11:27:12 PM
Ah, Einhander is the last of that genre I've played. Reflexes aren't what they once were.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on May 09, 2015, 11:39:35 PM
Ah, Einhander is the last of that genre I've played. Reflexes aren't what they once were.

Should have leveled up in Rogue...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on May 10, 2015, 04:30:52 PM
Ah, Einhander is the last of that genre I've played. Reflexes aren't what they once were.

Should have leveled up in Rogue...

More like researched immortality before the decline
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on May 12, 2015, 03:55:30 PM
http://www.ign.com/videos/2015/05/12/assassins-creed-syndicate-gameplay-trailer (http://www.ign.com/videos/2015/05/12/assassins-creed-syndicate-gameplay-trailer)

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on May 13, 2015, 02:27:23 AM
Kinda getting back into DDO.  I asked around and got recommended a few builds to start off with again.  Paladin was highest rated because it's so simple and powerful in DDO (thanks to an update where they greatly buffed it), but then there was swashbuckler bard, spellsinger bard, and pale master wizard.  I went with the pale master that takes a couple levels of rogue for traps and stuff.  My best tactics so far at level 3 (rogue 1/wizard 2)?  Buff myself with shield, mage armor, and master's touch to get proficiency with a two-handed weapon and then smash stuff because the offensive spells just aren't doing much.  Maybe toss a Burning Hands out.

I've learned I so don't like the way DDO handles the Grease spell.  It drops it right underneath the caster.  Can't target it, so you're just left standing there hoping you make your Reflex save and then the Balance check.  I'll have to poke around on the forums to see if it gets any better.  Shame the character can't just levitate in, drop it and avoid the ref/bal, and then once stuff falls over set it all on fire (since Grease allows for being set on fire to do more damage to enemies).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on May 13, 2015, 03:56:19 AM
DDO is pretty dang fun for the first few levels. Once you hit 6 though, about 70% of the dungeons become paid-for content :/
And that's with having gotten back into it myself less than half a year ago. That's also where I stopped playing again haha.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on May 13, 2015, 08:27:30 AM
Some very interesting Fire Emblem 14 news:

Weapons have infinite uses. (http://www.siliconera.com/2015/05/12/fire-emblem-if-adds-easier-modes-and-no-longer-has-limited-weapon-usage/?onswipe_redirect=no&oswrr=1) That's one of the main original FE mechanics removed. Wonder how they'll balance it out. Probably shops will be a lot more expensive. The text also seems to imply you won't be able to acess a convoy during battle, so the limited items your units bring at start of battle is what they'll have to win with.

Also option for Super-Easy-Casual Phoenix mode where dead characters just come back to life in the next turn. Mind you, the Nhor campaign will often include extra objectives like turn limits and/or needing to hold an area besides just being the last dude standing.

I guess IntSys really wants to go for a broader audience. Now any complete newb will be able to pick up the game and beat it. Well, as long as it's an option and I still get my hardcore masochist mode I'm fine with it.


Fire Emblem If will also get 9 save slots. (http://serenesforest.net/2015/05/12/fire-emblem-famitsu-leak-phoenix-mode/#more-26411)

The Dual Strike and Pair Up System are replaced by the Attack/Guard stances. Being on attack stance allows you to an adjacent ally to attack for free after you, Guard Stance allows two units to combine their stats like Pair Up. Basically like before, but they're now mutually exclusive. Either you get the extra attacks or extra stats.

Members of the royal family will be able to use CO Powers Dragon's Vein, which allows for stuff like  "create bridges, flatten mountains, cause earthquakes and other effects."

Also seems like you can go Phoenix Mode+Lunatic mode for extra lulz.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on May 13, 2015, 12:28:24 PM
Kinda getting back into DDO.
Awesome, join Cannith and I'll make a new character to help you through it.

I asked around and got recommended a few builds to start off with again.
PM Wizard to me is pretty overrated and it's kind of the same with Paladin. I think it treks back to their archtypes: free-to-play defensive classes with self healing. Very little damage, but when the only values you know are samebuild@lv2 vs samebuild@28 it seems impressive.

Bard12/Fighter6/Rogue2 (inexact order) is actually pretty good from what I've seen, I considered making one of my own. Same defensive play, but ice-stunned opponents take +50% more damage while they simply can't hit you. What's not to love?

I've learned I so don't like the way DDO handles the Grease spell.  It drops it right underneath the caster.  Can't target it, so you're just left standing there hoping you make your Reflex save and then the Balance check.
You can target it. Un-highlight your self and target something that isn't standing next to you.

It also sucks, great to troll people with. But common mobs types like archers and anything that uses stealth have ridiculous Dexterity scores. Sonic Blast is more effective, it can be cast without screwing allies and hits the same sized area. Technically better than Burning Hands if you have the Save DCs for it, 1/2 the damage but Dazed mobs don't attack again until you hit them allowing you to turn a horde of enemies into one guy and pick them off. It also destroys breakables too which is pretty nice :)

DDO is pretty dang fun for the first few levels. Once you hit 6 though, about 70% of the dungeons become paid-for content :/
And that's with having gotten back into it myself less than half a year ago. That's also where I stopped playing again haha.
If you didn't spend TP, you'd have at least 500 points by the time you finished the free content on a single server. It means if you build two characters on two different serves you'd already have free access to Gianthold. GH has 12 quests and can easily help you progress to lv16 as you beat on giants and dragons, heck some people don't even run it until lv14 so they don't struggle so much.

Or you could just go VIP for a year. It's like 8 bucks a month and gives you access to (nearly) everything. Added bonus: it gives you a total of +6,000tp to permanently buy content so you can then just cancel your VIP status after a year and continue playing the game for the rest of it's lifespan for free. As far as MMOs go, that's a heck of a deal.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on May 14, 2015, 12:30:35 AM
At that point I'd prefer to just go back to FF14 :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on May 14, 2015, 04:06:23 PM
Eh. If you want back to that you'd have to start paying money again.

Every time I get bored and return to DDO, I do it for free. And sometimes I land the awesome button of recently released content being free or an epic update to a pack I already have (like necro4) giving me more stuff to play with without charging me another cent.

Of course, they do their best to bribe me. But that's part of their design model, instead of padding for time with bullshit like most MMOs Turbine has to continually release new content that receives favorable ratings by it's community in order to continue making money. In a sense you're not paying them to play, you're paying them to continue making more content you like.

If only they would stop with the crafting systems through. ;_;
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on May 31, 2015, 02:32:10 AM
Who here has Tabletop Simulator?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on May 31, 2015, 03:29:40 AM
Who here has Tabletop Simulator?

I'm considering getting it.  Between that and Fantasy Grounds.  Fantasy Grounds is (considerably) more expensive, but I don't buy Early Access games on principal. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on May 31, 2015, 02:19:57 PM
I've got Tabletop Simulator.  Don't use it for D&D, but that's probably mostly due to our group using MapTool.  We've got custom tokens and tons of macros and stuff to make our gaming life so much easier.  We had been considering using it for classic Deadlands, but the program-savvy one in our group figured out how to make decks and get them to work properly in MapTool, specifically for our needs.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 11, 2015, 06:44:36 PM
Steam sales are evil, evil little things.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on June 11, 2015, 08:55:09 PM
Yes, but they let me get Homeworld for only 14 dollars!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 11, 2015, 11:59:26 PM
Steam sales are evil, evil little things.

Indeed..my choices are have money to go see movies or buy games... :shakefist
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on June 12, 2015, 10:42:40 AM
Steam sales are evil, evil little things.

Indeed..my choices are have money to go see movies or buy games... :shakefist

At least you have money.  This is the first year I've been unemployed during the sale, I've been trying to avoid the website.   >:(
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 17, 2015, 11:05:00 PM
https://games.yahoo.com/news/nintendo-ceo-apologizes-lackluster-e3-showcase-leads-collective-185853222.html (https://games.yahoo.com/news/nintendo-ceo-apologizes-lackluster-e3-showcase-leads-collective-185853222.html) Nintendo CEO Apologizes After Lackluster E3 Showcase Leads to a Collective Fanboy Meltdown
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on June 18, 2015, 01:45:38 AM
Nobody gunna mention the real FF7 remake that's finally happening? :o
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 18, 2015, 01:48:02 AM
Nobody gunna mention the real FF7 remake that's finally happening? :o

We did in the Awesome thread:

I've got such an erection right now. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kznek1uNVsg)

My pants burst. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLyLJ9AAeRA)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on June 18, 2015, 02:51:37 AM
Ugh it's cheaper for me to buy Skyrim Legendary Edition than it is to buy just the DLC.  But if I did that, then I'd have to re-mod it again.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 18, 2015, 02:56:35 AM
Then do it.  You've got a mod manager, right?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 20, 2015, 05:33:12 AM
So seems like Dota 2 is now allowing custom maps to be made and played online based on the Resource 2 engine, much like the WC3 custom maps.

Now all that we need is for Steam to release a full RTS based on the Dota 2 code and the cycle will be complete.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 22, 2015, 06:25:27 PM
https://games.yahoo.com/news/starting-today-gamestop-selling-retro-205500470.html  :D :D Time for some classic Goldeneye marathons
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 22, 2015, 08:08:11 PM
The next Fire Emblem will have a S-rank=>child system again, but without any extra chapters needed to "recruit" them it seems.

People wondering if there'll be time travel shenigans again.

Also rumors that you'll be able to S-rank same gender characters.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on June 22, 2015, 08:30:53 PM
So did anyone here take advantage of the Steam Summer Sale?

I snagged a few games myself.  I'm particularly enjoying Freedom Planet, (http://store.steampowered.com/app/248310/) which is like a love letter to 90s Sega games.  It originated as a Sonic the Hedgehog fangame but eventually turned into its own thing.  One can see the influences quite easily, but that doesn't detract from it in any way IMO.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 22, 2015, 08:34:31 PM
The next Fire Emblem will have a S-rank=>child system again, but without any extra chapters needed to "recruit" them it seems.

People wondering if there'll be time travel shenigans again.

Also rumors that you'll be able to S-rank same gender characters.

All those futanari, man.  :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on June 23, 2015, 02:11:20 AM
So did anyone here take advantage of the Steam Summer Sale?

I snagged a few games myself.  I'm particularly enjoying Freedom Planet, (http://store.steampowered.com/app/248310/) which is like a love letter to 90s Sega games.  It originated as a Sonic the Hedgehog fangame but eventually turned into its own thing.  One can see the influences quite easily, but that doesn't detract from it in any way IMO.

I picked up Oblivion and Mass Effect 1 & 2.
Everything else either wasn't cheap enough or jut not interesting. Slim pickins this year  :tongue
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on June 23, 2015, 03:46:59 AM
I thought reeeeeeaaaaal hard about Elite: Dangerous, but decided against it.  I did end up caving and buying Skyrim Legendary Edition though.

I also bought Sunless Sea, but refunded it today because I found out that GoG has it even cheaper than Steam's sale price. 

Also, fuck publishers who artificially inflate prices by bundling the game with some crappy DLC like bonus in-game currency, and then claiming it's 10% off.  Yes, I'm looking at you Rockstar. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 23, 2015, 01:18:24 PM
Speaking of crappy, anyone hear about the fiasco that is the Arkham Knight PC port at this point?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on June 23, 2015, 03:01:22 PM
Speaking of crappy, anyone hear about the fiasco that is the Arkham Knight PC port at this point?
Just read about it on Kotaku.  Makes me happy I'm sufficiently far behind that they (or somebody) will have hopefully fixed it by the time I get around to it.

It is a little silly/stupid how often these ports get fucked up.  You'd think the designers would love to show off the fancy specs of their games on high powered PCs.  I'm sure Nvidia, et al. are pissed, too, given that they just rolled out an update to support this damn game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 23, 2015, 04:15:51 PM
I got portal 2 and episodes 1 and 2 for Half life this sell, as for news out of E3, I'm going to perorder both Assassin Creed Syndicate and Halo 5. I'm iffy on rock band 4. I'm super happy however that Xbox one now has BC and hope that more than just Perfect Dark will be playable. Mainly hoping for my CoD collection lol
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 23, 2015, 05:54:44 PM
Looks like Shigeru Miyamoto is blaming Tablets for the lackluster Wii U http://fortune.com/2015/06/23/shigeru-miyamoto-wii-u/?xid=yahoo_fortune
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on June 23, 2015, 06:03:49 PM
The Wii U didn't work, because it was too lackluster in every respect. It's hardware wasn't impressive, it's price wasn't really competitive, the kinds of games it wanted to sell too similar to what its predecessor offered, the graphics not enough of an improvement over the 360 & PS3.

Everything was kind of half-assed with the Wii U. That's why it didn't work. Everything else they say, is them trying to justify their own incompetence, thinking the market would embrace a half-assed novelty console.

As it stands, only diehard Nintendo fans or diehard exclusive fans will buy the Wii U. Everyone else will be either gunning for X-Box One or PS4, or upgrading their PC's.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on June 24, 2015, 12:31:15 AM
Speaking of crappy, anyone hear about the fiasco that is the Arkham Knight PC port at this point?
Just read about it on Kotaku.  Makes me happy I'm sufficiently far behind that they (or somebody) will have hopefully fixed it by the time I get around to it.

It is a little silly/stupid how often these ports get fucked up.  You'd think the designers would love to show off the fancy specs of their games on high powered PCs.  I'm sure Nvidia, et al. are pissed, too, given that they just rolled out an update to support this damn game.

That very Nvidia update totally broke my driver. Had to roll my PC back D:
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on June 24, 2015, 02:10:18 AM
Things that hurt the Wii U:
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 24, 2015, 05:34:29 AM
Gay marriages for the next Fire Emblem confirmed! (http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/23/8836513/fire-emblem-fates-same-sex-relationships-nintendo)

Plus incest marriages, although those were already kinda around in FE 4 and 8.

(click to show/hide)

And you can customize your own castle! Including a swimming pool where you get to have your party members hang out in swimming suits.  :plotting

And a "skinship" minigame where you get to rub/pet other party members with the stylus ... :psyduck

(click to show/hide)

Oh, there's still tactical combat and conquering with overwhelming violence saving the world I guess.

The next Fire Emblem will have a S-rank=>child system again, but without any extra chapters needed to "recruit" them it seems.

People wondering if there'll be time travel shenigans again.

Also rumors that you'll be able to S-rank same gender characters.

All those futanari, man.  :p

Alas, gay couples will use adoption for their children, so futas aren't confirmed. :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on June 24, 2015, 07:00:17 AM
Gay marriages for the next Fire Emblem confirmed! (http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/23/8836513/fire-emblem-fates-same-sex-relationships-nintendo)

Plus incest marriages, although those were already kinda around in FE 4 and 8.

(click to show/hide)

And you can customize your own castle! Including a swimming pool where you get to have your party members hang out in swimming suits.  :plotting

And a "skinship" minigame where you get to rub/pet other party members with the stylus ... :psyduck

(click to show/hide)

Oh, there's still tactical combat and conquering with overwhelming violence saving the world I guess.

The next Fire Emblem will have a S-rank=>child system again, but without any extra chapters needed to "recruit" them it seems.

People wondering if there'll be time travel shenigans again.

Also rumors that you'll be able to S-rank same gender characters.

All those futanari, man.  :p

Alas, gay couples will use adoption for their children, so futas aren't confirmed. :P

Cept for lack of futas, this is everything I'd ever need from an eroge  :evillaugh
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 24, 2015, 09:52:29 AM
Gay marriages for the next Fire Emblem confirmed! (http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/23/8836513/fire-emblem-fates-same-sex-relationships-nintendo)

Plus incest marriages, although those were already kinda around in FE 4 and 8.

(click to show/hide)

And you can customize your own castle! Including a swimming pool where you get to have your party members hang out in swimming suits.  :plotting

And a "skinship" minigame where you get to rub/pet other party members with the stylus ... :psyduck

(click to show/hide)

Oh, there's still tactical combat and conquering with overwhelming violence saving the world I guess.

The next Fire Emblem will have a S-rank=>child system again, but without any extra chapters needed to "recruit" them it seems.

People wondering if there'll be time travel shenigans again.

Also rumors that you'll be able to S-rank same gender characters.

All those futanari, man.  :p

Alas, gay couples will use adoption for their children, so futas aren't confirmed. :P

I have to say, when NINTENDO starts going for these kinds of moves, I kinda have to hand it to people who say ecchi is ruining Japanese media...  :flirt :flutter
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 24, 2015, 01:30:00 PM
https://games.yahoo.com/news/nintendo-responds-metroid-prime-federation-085000887.html We know what the fans want but we don't care....smh
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 27, 2015, 08:43:43 PM
Apple and Google removes games with the  confederate flag from their stores. (http://mashable.com/2015/06/24/apple-google-confederate-flag-apps/) Apple is also currently in negotiations with the devs to put said games back in if the slavery flag appears less prominently.

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: dman11235 on June 27, 2015, 09:08:14 PM
Yeah, i saw that.  Going somewhat political for a moment, I really don't like that.  It's essentially censorship, and I mean, they have no problem with games that feature the nazi flag, so, no confederate?  I'm surprised Google is doing it, but not surprised Apple is, they've always been pro-censorship with their app store, be it censoring competition or political views they don't support or other free speech stuff. like this.  I don't really buy the "things that violate our guidelines" thing, because Apple is so quick to pull things that don't meet their terms (see above: competition, political views, etc.), effectively meaning those things wouldn't have been on there from the beginning unless they just now realized they were 'mean spirited'.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on June 28, 2015, 11:28:24 PM
So I've been playing the shit out of Valkyria Chronicles (Steam version).  I already clocked in about 12 hours.  I am definitely having fun, but I have a few pet peeves:

I was pissed when I found out that the post-battle rank is determined solely by speed, and not damage taken, enemies killed and bases secured, etc.  I've been getting D Ranks on virtually all of the story missions up to that point along with the low experience and money that pays out.  Sure I can do skirmishes for grinding, but it seems counter-intuitive for a pseudo-turn-based strategy action RPG to be like this.

Why do Lancers keep missing friggin' tanks at close range?!  I understand that rifles are the super-accurate weapons, and submachine guns pay for the inaccuracy by the burst fire methods, but lancers are supposed to be anti-tank specialists!

And non-complaints:

I think it's funny how Welks outranks Alicia despite being a fresh recruit.  At least Alicia was part of a local militia before the war broke out.

It's strange to be playing an anime RPG which doesn't have a magic or psychic system as a gameplay element.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on June 29, 2015, 07:06:47 AM
I've gotten back into Anarchy Online.  Bit of a pity the original Newb Island isn't used anymore for starting characters, but the new newb area is pretty nice I'll admit.  And there's a promotion or something where a jet pack is being offered for free from the in game cash shop, so yay on not having to spend hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of credits on a flying vehicle!  At least until I get to a high enough level to really care about the speed because time is money and all that.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Risada on June 29, 2015, 07:46:05 AM
I was pissed when I found out that the post-battle rank is determined solely by speed, and not damage taken, enemies killed and bases secured, etc.  I've been getting D Ranks on virtually all of the story missions up to that point along with the low experience and money that pays out.  Sure I can do skirmishes for grinding, but it seems counter-intuitive for a pseudo-turn-based strategy action RPG to be like this.

I know, right? Pitiful time is the only factor...

Why do Lancers keep missing friggin' tanks at close range?!  I understand that rifles are the super-accurate weapons, and submachine guns pay for the inaccuracy by the burst fire methods, but lancers are supposed to be anti-tank specialists!

You need to check out your Lancer's traits... I know there are quite a few that lowers accuracy, like Man Hater.


Libertad, how far are you? Did you already play through Episode 7?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 29, 2015, 09:52:10 AM
It could be argued that Ragnite is pretty magical, I mean, it can do anything from powering tanks to insta-healing wounds...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on June 29, 2015, 04:04:39 PM
You need to check out your Lancer's traits... I know there are quite a few that lowers accuracy, like Man Hater.

This happens even when they're not debuffed by negative stuff.  I'm considering using Welkin's accuracy Orders and saving before each shot.


Quote
Libertad, how far are you? Did you already play through Episode 7?

I don't know if people care about spoilers for a 2008 game, but since it got on Steam this year, here goes:

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 29, 2015, 07:31:26 PM
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on June 29, 2015, 07:54:00 PM
On a related question, is there a way to get new, better weapons aside from R&D upgrades and dropping named enemy soldiers in story battles?  There's no shop apparently for better weapons.

Edit: I found a YouTube video guide (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9qqHAcL54g) to the battle which is giving me trouble.  Looks legit and should help save me a lot of trouble.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 29, 2015, 08:36:36 PM
Sadly, the answer is no.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on June 29, 2015, 08:43:23 PM
It's strange to be playing an anime RPG which doesn't have a magic or psychic system as a gameplay element.

The entire Super Robot Wars series, plus several other anime sci-fi RPGs?

Ok, SRW technically has psychic/magic characters but not an actual psychic/magic system, with those being streamlined permanent numeric bonuses ou can't customize or simply needed to activate some fancier weapons that still work the same as "mundane" giant robot weapons.

Advance Wars DS should count as well since you can level up and customize your commanders while the whole plot is anime as hell.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on June 30, 2015, 09:06:16 AM
Got some potentially interesting gaming news to share:

Nintendo asked Burnout dev Criterion to make Wii-U F-Zero (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-23-nintendo-asked-burnout-dev-to-make-wii-u-f-zero)

Beyond Good & Evil 2 may finally be on its way (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/26/beyond-good-and-evil-sequel-may-finally-be-on-the-way)

Nomura didn't know he was directing FF VII Remake (http://www.destructoid.com/surprise-nomura-didn-t-know-he-was-directing-final-fantasy-vii-remake-294825.phtml)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on June 30, 2015, 11:31:33 AM
Nomura not knowing shit about his own job is hardly news.  :P

Seriously, that guy needs to see a therapist about his zippers and belts fetish. He must be a big Bucciarati fan.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on June 30, 2015, 07:20:08 PM
Five Non-Existent Wii U Games That Should Have Been No-Brainers http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/06/30/five-non-existent-wii-u-games-that-should-have-been-no-brainers/?utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix

I totally agree about WatchDogs, i would have bought a Wii U to play it if they had gone all in with the game pad.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on July 01, 2015, 05:33:12 PM
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on July 02, 2015, 12:52:06 PM
More Nintendo fallout from E3 https://games.yahoo.com/news/nintendo-responds-e3-criticisms-140100160.html (https://games.yahoo.com/news/nintendo-responds-e3-criticisms-140100160.html) It looks more like he's making excuses and going "well at least compared to our competitors we had more for this year."
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on July 10, 2015, 01:07:18 AM
 Treyarch should just make a freaking Zombie game instead of packing it on to Call Of Duty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdLqsWDl16c
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on July 10, 2015, 01:23:49 AM
Well it's literally the only variety CoD has had in, what, a decade? Of course they needed to roll it in there! :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on July 14, 2015, 03:54:02 PM
Playing Path of Exile...  *headwall*   :banghead

Normally the game runs between 20 and 30 FPS for me.  Every few minutes, however, it decides it'll turn into a slideshow of 1 FPS and then my latency will skyrocket to 500ms or more.  This can and does happen in town in addition to out in the monster areas.  It's manageable when fighting against normal to rare mobs, and even a few uniques, but against the big uniques that are mechanics fights instead of tank n spanks it's basically impossible if I get the lag spike/FPS tank while fighting them.  The final boss of Act 4 is very heavy on mechanics and movement and I could manage it at even 5 FPS if it stayed there, but it does tank to less than 1 FPS.  I tried compensating by putting up a town portal beforehand and then getting into a rhythm of clicking on it when I get a feeling like the connection/computer are going to lag, but there's a problem with that:  The game can crash when loading a zone due to memory issues associated with 32 bit operating systems.

And I'm not the only one experiencing framerate issues.  People with Nvidia 970's and Intel i7's are reporting such problems, though not as severely as me.  WTF GGG?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on July 14, 2015, 04:13:17 PM
I got sucked back into it too.  I'm not having those issues though.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on July 15, 2015, 10:05:20 AM
Wouldn't it be awesome to have a Kill la Kill game made by people who know what they're doing? (http://www.vg247.com/2015/07/14/metal-gear-rising-director-wants-to-make-a-kill-la-kill-or-berserk-game/)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on July 16, 2015, 12:48:08 AM
All the times I've already seen this article go around and people keep talking about the Kill la Kill side.

An awesome Berserk game seems way way way more awesome by those people :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on July 16, 2015, 12:06:25 PM
All the times I've already seen this article go around and people keep talking about the Kill la Kill side.

An awesome Berserk game seems way way way more awesome by those people :p

From Soft has a stranglehold right to make a Berserk game.

I mean, LOOK AT DARK SOULS.

LOOK AT EEEEEEEEEEET
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on July 16, 2015, 12:42:45 PM
All the times I've already seen this article go around and people keep talking about the Kill la Kill side.

An awesome Berserk game seems way way way more awesome by those people :p

From Soft has a stranglehold right to make a Berserk game.

I mean, LOOK AT DARK SOULS.

LOOK AT EEEEEEEEEEET

You mean the game where you can only win by dodging and hiding behind a shield or using magic like a little girl?

Because last time I checked Guts wins his fights by tanking his opponent's blows like a boss. :p

Also cleaving his way through hordes of enemies, where in Dark Souls getting surrounded by even two enemies usually means a painful death unless you're way overleveled :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Risada on July 16, 2015, 01:30:02 PM
You mean the game where you can only win by dodging and hiding behind a shield or using magic like a little girl?

Because last time I checked Guts wins his fights by tanking his opponent's blows like a boss. :p

Also cleaving his way through hordes of enemies, where in Dark Souls getting surrounded by even two enemies usually means a painful death unless you're way overleveled :P

Unless you are sporting dat Havel Armor. Ugly as fuck though...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on July 16, 2015, 02:24:43 PM
Even with Havel's, there are some enemies that can still straight up murder your ass, even with 50 Vitality. Sentinels come to mind. If two Sentinels corner you, they can break your poise even with Havel's, and then stunlock you to death in a couple of blows. Especially if you're in like, NG+3 or above, and if they're the red gravelorded variant then... Well friend, you're in for a bit of pain. Other enemies that can give you trouble even when overleveled are the skeleton packs in the catacombs, which can surround you and quickly apply stacks of Bleed to you, which does % based damage, so high vitality can't help you much there.

Part of why the game is still fun to play even after NG+, you'll still find a bit of challenge in it, even though you're nearly maxed out. Most bosses DO become cakewalks, though, moreso if you use magic to nearly instakill them.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on July 16, 2015, 02:43:34 PM
All the times I've already seen this article go around and people keep talking about the Kill la Kill side.

An awesome Berserk game seems way way way more awesome by those people :p

From Soft has a stranglehold right to make a Berserk game.

I mean, LOOK AT DARK SOULS.

LOOK AT EEEEEEEEEEET

You mean the game where you can only win by dodging and hiding behind a shield or using magic like a little girl?

Because last time I checked Guts wins his fights by tanking his opponent's blows like a boss. :p

Also cleaving his way through hordes of enemies, where in Dark Souls getting surrounded by even two enemies usually means a painful death unless you're way overleveled :P

Oh, you mean like he's using Iron Flesh but not losing out on mobility?  :p

Also, atmosphere-wise, Platinum is a bit too... colorful for Berserk.

Also also, you're thinking of Bloodborne. Where you either dodge or die. Or you parry your opponents by shooting at them like a boss.  :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on July 16, 2015, 03:00:16 PM
I agree they should hire the artists of Dark Souls for a Bersek game.

But Platinium should still handle the gameplay, Guts has to be capable of cleaving right through ranks of mook enemies.

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on July 16, 2015, 03:09:03 PM
Not really.  From Soft just has to scale down enemy damage to roughly 10-25% of Dark Souls' values.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on July 16, 2015, 03:09:50 PM
I agree they should hire the artists of Dark Souls for a Bersek game.

But Platinium should still handle the gameplay, Guts has to be capable of cleaving right through ranks of mook enemies.
Nononono, you want cleaving through ranks of mook enemies, that's what Tecmo-Koei is for.

Or Capcom, if Sengoku Basara is anything to go by.

But if it's blood and guts you want...

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on July 16, 2015, 03:57:26 PM
That's cute.

But you know, Guts isn't so delicate with his enemies.

(http://i.imgur.com/JIWLdF0.gif)
He needs to be able to cleave them in half.
(http://i.imgur.com/Dnvb8lb.gif)
And then pull out their spinal cords and crush them to finish them off.
(http://i.imgur.com/6ADKtsm.gif)
Like, that bloodbourne dude wasn't even dirty with blood. That's way too clean and child-friendly for a Bersek game. :p

Not really.  From Soft just has to scale down enemy damage to roughly 10-25% of Dark Souls' values.

Which would still mean you're fighting 3-4 enemies at a time if you use Dark Souls mechanics.

When Guts was winning 1x100 battles in his backstory.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on July 16, 2015, 04:02:27 PM
So you're saying the existing Berserk game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESqA05RNVdA&list=PL57hJfweW_2sbG64D_qqBhirmiPbGqIGV) is wrong?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on July 16, 2015, 04:27:56 PM
Osle, that gif doesn't begin to consider the multiple times you'll be spurting blood everywhere from EVERY. SINGLE. SWING of your weapon. Or how your Hunter looks after a mere ten minutes of it.  :p

Kethrian brings up a good point as well.

Personally, I like the Sammy Studios PS2 game better. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZO89Zo0DW4)

EDIT: All they really have to do is dismiss the ragdoll corpse mechanics and you're golden.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on July 16, 2015, 04:32:13 PM
Wouldn't it be helpful for them to like actually make some headway in the Berserk manga/storyline before they got around to making a modern game?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on July 16, 2015, 04:36:21 PM
There's another point. KlK is already wrapped up and it lends itself well to parallel universes/alternate timelines.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on July 16, 2015, 05:56:59 PM
Berserk, i think, is a game that lends itself well to a game that is lighter on gameplay, and focused more on the storyline and visuals. Kind of like Asura's Wrath. The scope of the battles Guts gets involved in is so big, so huge, and so full of awesome imagery, that i think it would be nice for them to go the QTE route, so that they can properly convey the awesomeness that are those battles.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on July 19, 2015, 05:13:29 PM
Wizards of the Coast is releasing a Hearthstone competitor. (http://company.wizards.com/content/magic-duels-available-now-iphone)

I'm never going to have to spend money to actually get into it like Magic 20## so I'm going to check it out whenever it comes out for PC (I'm an Android guy and they've made it clear that isn't in the pipeline right now). 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on July 19, 2015, 05:43:05 PM
All the times I've already seen this article go around and people keep talking about the Kill la Kill side.

An awesome Berserk game seems way way way more awesome by those people :p

From Soft has a stranglehold right to make a Berserk game.

I mean, LOOK AT DARK SOULS.

LOOK AT EEEEEEEEEEET

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD3PZEKg4tU
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on July 23, 2015, 06:05:07 AM
New kickstarter for a game by Keiji Inafune! (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightyno9/red-ash-the-indelible-legend)  It's called RED ASH - The Indelible Legend.

In other gaming news: Did Kojima predict his falling out with Konami a year and a half ago? (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-20-mgs5-ground-zeroes-easter-egg-suggests-kojima-predicted-his-fallout-with-konami)

Street Fighter V launch and post-launch details (http://www.eventhubs.com/news/2015/jul/18/street-fighter-5-will-have-16-fighters-launch-four-them-brand-new-capcom-will-continually-add-characters-post-launch/)

Odin Sphere is getting remastered (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-20-odin-sphere-is-getting-remastered-on-ps4-ps3-and-vita)

Atlus and Vanillaware are working on some other secret project, too (http://www.destructoid.com/oh-atlus-and-vanillaware-have-another-secret-project-in-the-works-296330.phtml)

Fans launch Zelda Animated Series kickstarter – wait, no they didn’t (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-14-fans-launch-kickstarter-for-unlicensed-zelda-animated-series)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on July 24, 2015, 11:12:39 AM
In other gaming news: Did Kojima predict his falling out with Konami a year and a half ago? (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-07-20-mgs5-ground-zeroes-easter-egg-suggests-kojima-predicted-his-fallout-with-konami)

I suppose if the author of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure predicted 9/11 (http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/625041-jojos-bizarre-adventure) it's certainly possible Kojima predicted his falling out.

Besides, Kojima has been locking horns with Konami for a while now. Including back when he decided to restrict MGS4 to the PS3.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on July 30, 2015, 11:37:05 AM
First demo battle of Total War: Warhammer! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKPw86ivR7A)

Flying units! Giant monsters! Typical total war infantry AI where they just stand there looking at the enemy instead of attacking!

Spellcasters seem to basically be super nukes that you can only use a few times per battle.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on July 30, 2015, 05:32:50 PM
Been playing a bit of Freedom Planet.  One particular character I liked enough to change my avi to him (Mayor Zao).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on July 30, 2015, 07:25:01 PM
I'm thinking of doing naother skyrim play,but this time wiping out the dark brotherhood and becoming a vampire
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on July 31, 2015, 06:40:31 AM
http://gematsu.com/2015/07/final-fantasy-vii-remake-bringing-dramatic-changes-combat

Worry: Growing.

There's plenty of chances to fail and plenty of people with various opinions of where it could go.  I would consider myself willing to accept a lot of changes, but "the combat" is a bit of a sacred cow to me.  "Dramatic changes" sounds like code for "rip of FF15's system".

I like FF15. 

I won't like it if it pops up in FF7.  I'm thirsty for turn based anything, and they've so many good turn based things to go from.  7.  10.  12.  Mix and match anything from there, keep materia (because materia is the bomb)....

Yeah, consider me worried.  I already didn't have faith.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on July 31, 2015, 10:25:35 AM
I'm thinking of doing naother skyrim play,but this time wiping out the dark brotherhood and becoming a vampire

Becoming a vampire: worth it if you have Dawnguard installed, since then you can become a Vampire Lord, which is infinitely better than becoming a regular Vampire. Skill Trees for Vamp Skills, just like Werewolf ones!

Being a vanilla V. is more trouble than it's worth. Fairly minor boosts for fairly big penalties - socially, especially. Considering how important cities & NPC's in general are in Skyrim, being attacked on sight after a couple days without feeding is a major put off. Would be pretty different if there was an Illusion spell that you could use to conceal the fact that you're a Vampire and still get the buffs from advanced stages of Vampirism, but as is, meh.

Which is why Vampire Lord is so much better. Also, the quests for the Vampires in DG are pretty fun as well. Team Harkon! No upgraded crossbows for you, though. Also no armored trolls.

(click to show/hide)

Hope all this aids you in your vampire questing.

Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 01, 2015, 09:43:44 AM
http://gematsu.com/2015/07/final-fantasy-vii-remake-bringing-dramatic-changes-combat

Worry: Growing.

There's plenty of chances to fail and plenty of people with various opinions of where it could go.  I would consider myself willing to accept a lot of changes, but "the combat" is a bit of a sacred cow to me.  "Dramatic changes" sounds like code for "rip of FF15's system".

I like FF15. 

I won't like it if it pops up in FF7.  I'm thirsty for turn based anything, and they've so many good turn based things to go from.  7.  10.  12.  Mix and match anything from there, keep materia (because materia is the bomb)....

Yeah, consider me worried.  I already didn't have faith.

Tetsuya Nomura is many things. The father of Kingdom Hearts (which needs LESS DISNEY AND MORE FINAL FANTASY). A passable character designer. A complete and utter zipper fetishist.

But a competent gameplay designer he is not.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on August 01, 2015, 04:21:20 PM
http://gematsu.com/2015/07/final-fantasy-vii-remake-bringing-dramatic-changes-combat

Worry: Growing.

There's plenty of chances to fail and plenty of people with various opinions of where it could go.  I would consider myself willing to accept a lot of changes, but "the combat" is a bit of a sacred cow to me.  "Dramatic changes" sounds like code for "rip of FF15's system".

I like FF15. 

I won't like it if it pops up in FF7.  I'm thirsty for turn based anything, and they've so many good turn based things to go from.  7.  10.  12.  Mix and match anything from there, keep materia (because materia is the bomb)....

Yeah, consider me worried.  I already didn't have faith.

Personally, I would be bored to play something that played exactly the same, even if it were otherwise entirely rehauled. That said, I also don't want it to be copy/paste from any other FF's.

I'd really enjoy if the remake reached all the way back into Crisis Core, and forward into Advent Children. In that, we could really see the complete evolution of many of the primary characters, and even the turnaround of others, like the Turks in AC.

As a personal preference, I'd really like to see things being very dark and gritty, given the truly awful atrocities that the worst of antagonists commit. However, I don't think any director at squenix could or would pull that off, and do it well, unfortunately. They tend to throw in the campyness.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 01, 2015, 08:18:58 PM
pre-ordered both AC: Syndicate gold edition and Halo 5 Guardians limited edition
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on August 03, 2015, 11:56:35 PM
Capcom asks fans how they feel about an RE2 remake. (http://www.siliconera.com/2015/07/29/capcom-asks-fans-how-they-feel-about-a-resident-evil-2-remake/)  My answer is fuck yes, do it, and do it right!

Konami appears to be plunging downhill (http://gematsu.com/2015/08/nikkei-report-bad-things-happening-konami)

Xbox looks to be trying to take a page from Nintendo about releasing games on their console. (http://www.vg247.com/2015/08/03/less-third-party-deals-and-more-first-party-exclusives-in-the-future-for-xbox-says-spencer/)

Grandia II HD remaster is coming to GOG.com (http://www.destructoid.com/here-s-what-the-grandia-ii-hd-remaster-looks-like-297018.phtml)

Vega SFV trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRcsp0h-sB0&app=desktop)

The NVidia Shield is being recalled for being a potential fire hazard (http://www.destructoid.com/nvidia-shield-recalled-over-fire-hazard-296973.phtml)

Team 17 (of Worms fame) is publishing Yooka-Laylee (http://www.destructoid.com/team17-is-publishing-yooka-laylee-296902.phtml)

New Castlevania game is a pachinko game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uk83ceNRo8)  Erotic Violence!

Superhot beta gameplay trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Gz2FIlPXk)  It's an FPS where time only moves when you move.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 04, 2015, 09:25:00 AM
*reads the news about Konami*

I think I'm gonna cry. Somebody find me a quadruple amputee so he/she can have his/her arms and legs back.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 04, 2015, 11:09:09 AM
Capcom asks fans how they feel about an RE2 remake. (http://www.siliconera.com/2015/07/29/capcom-asks-fans-how-they-feel-about-a-resident-evil-2-remake/)  My answer is fuck yes, do it, and do it right!

Konami appears to be plunging downhill (http://gematsu.com/2015/08/nikkei-report-bad-things-happening-konami)

Xbox looks to be trying to take a page from Nintendo about releasing games on their console. (http://www.vg247.com/2015/08/03/less-third-party-deals-and-more-first-party-exclusives-in-the-future-for-xbox-says-spencer/)

Grandia II HD remaster is coming to GOG.com (http://www.destructoid.com/here-s-what-the-grandia-ii-hd-remaster-looks-like-297018.phtml)

Vega SFV trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRcsp0h-sB0&app=desktop)

The NVidia Shield is being recalled for being a potential fire hazard (http://www.destructoid.com/nvidia-shield-recalled-over-fire-hazard-296973.phtml)

Team 17 (of Worms fame) is publishing Yooka-Laylee (http://www.destructoid.com/team17-is-publishing-yooka-laylee-296902.phtml)

New Castlevania game is a pachinko game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uk83ceNRo8)  Erotic Violence!

Superhot beta gameplay trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Gz2FIlPXk)  It's an FPS where time only moves when you move.

The best RE2 remake attempt i've ever seen was by a Brazilian, by the name of Rod Lima. Link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flBvR9zl1Zg).

Sadly, he WON'T be releasing it for the public because of his concerns about legality. The project is extremely well made. He extracted the hi-res textures from modern Resident Evil games such as the Darkside Chronicles & other games, and then remade the game from scratch using the Unreal Engine.

I don't believe he has finished everything about the game, but he's working on it, and it's very far in development already. Literally every video is FULL of people begging him to release the game because it's so well made and so much better than every attempt in remaking RE2 so far.

Capcom should hire this guy, he's doing alone what i believe Konami won't even deliver in a RE2 remake - a game that's just like the original, but with better graphics.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on August 04, 2015, 03:48:37 PM
The best thing your friend could have done is not announce that he's working on it at all.  After he finishes it, release it and start telling others, because by then it'll be too late for a cease & desist to stop the game's circulation.  Right now, the game is very vulnerable to such a response from Capcom, whether it's been made public or not.  And yes, other peoples' RE2 remake projects (or other game remakes) have been C&D'd before they were finished and released because the creators talked about them publicly.  I really hope it doesn't happen to your friend, but ...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 04, 2015, 06:38:04 PM
Xbox looks to be trying to take a page from Nintendo about releasing games on their console. (http://www.vg247.com/2015/08/03/less-third-party-deals-and-more-first-party-exclusives-in-the-future-for-xbox-says-spencer/)



At least unlike Nintendo,most 3rd party publishers will still be making games for Xbox
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 04, 2015, 11:40:18 PM
The best thing your friend could have done is not announce that he's working on it at all.  After he finishes it, release it and start telling others, because by then it'll be too late for a cease & desist to stop the game's circulation.  Right now, the game is very vulnerable to such a response from Capcom, whether it's been made public or not.  And yes, other peoples' RE2 remake projects (or other game remakes) have been C&D'd before they were finished and released because the creators talked about them publicly.  I really hope it doesn't happen to your friend, but ...

I actually don't know him at all, lol.

But, really, Capcom can't do much about what he's doing right now since he did not release it to the public, doesn't mean to, and also has said multiple times in public that he wouldn't be releasing it ever.

All he's doing is remaking RE2 using UDK as a way to teach himself how to make a game. To remake RE2, he needs to properly handle scripts, hit detection, learn how to position the camera (since he's going for the authentic fixed camera of the early RE games), work on flags, AI, as well as how to incorporate assets, make the movements seem genuine, etc.

He's doing a very good job, helping himself learn, and also, promoting himself. It's all under fair use, as long as he doesn't sell or otherwise distribute the product. I know a little bit about software law here in Brazil because of my end-of-course thesis on Law, and, under Brazilian law, at least, he's in no actual danger of anything. A company can't take action here unless they can prove that they were harmed. If they weren't harmed, they have no interest, and the lawsuit is preliminarly rejected. It'd be trivial to defend him, really.

I can see Capcom sending him a threatening letter full of legalese, and i can see him getting scared and pulling all videos and stopping the project because of it, but i don't believe, as a lawyer, that he's in actual danger of anything here in Brazil. YouTube would pull his videos if Capcom did a DMCA Request on using their IP, but, that'd be the end of it, mostly. YouTube probably wouldn't even terminate his account, assuming he didn't have any prior copyright violation strikes. Let's Players do full playthroughs all the time and don't get their videos taken down, and the game is pretty old.

My take on it is, he's actually doing a VERY good thing for himself, putting the videos out there. He's doing one thing that MOST young programmers don't normally do, or can't do, which is putting his name out there. His Resident Evil videos have all over 100,000 views, which is pretty huge for a channel that small. It's pretty genius if you think about it. It'd be way harder to make a new game from scratch and use that to promote himself, but by remaking RE2 and doing it right, he proves he's not only a really good programmer/game maker, but also that he's a gamer at heart, and is able to work with the desires of the community.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 05, 2015, 01:14:50 PM
Regarding Path of Exile stuff:

I installed a GPU temperature tracking program.  Apparently the idle temp for my Nvidia Quadro 3450/4000 is 80 degrees.  Celsius.  The temp when running Path of Exile?  115ish degrees Celsius.

Yeah, I'm going to get a new video card.  I'm thinking this one:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121800&cm_re=radeon_r7_250-_-14-121-800-_-Product

Edit:  And it's been ordered.  Its previous price was between $100 and $115, so it going down to $90 is just fine by me.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 06, 2015, 10:06:11 PM
World of Warcraft: Legion has been announced.

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/blog/19841681/new-world-of-warcraft-expansion-unveiling-at-gamescom-2015-live-stream-august-6-7-29-2015
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on August 11, 2015, 10:33:23 AM
Scalebound (http://ca.ign.com/videos/2015/08/06/scalebound-gameplay-demo-ign-live-gamescom-2015)  It's a new game by Hideki Kamiya of Platinum Games.  Looks really impressive so far.

Quantum Break (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw9-isLlRQk)  An XBone exclusive, but looks pretty good for a third-person shooter with time manipulation elements.  Oh, and a 'broken time' based plot.

Hellblade (http://www.destructoid.com/watch-raw-hellblade-gameplay-while-it-lasts-300603.phtml?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook)  A new game by Ninja Theory (the ones who made DmC).  The video shows some plot elements and a look at the current combat development stage.  Not sure what to think of it yet.

Crackdown 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9-uFu-FTjM)  Another XBone exclusive, but some of you may be interested.

Dark Souls 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cGCQ5YT_6k)  Seeing it open with an image of the darksign from the DS1 opening trailer gave me a bit of a shiver.  Seeing the gameplay footage and the boss fight glimpses made me drool.  Those new enemies look really unique!  Also, it appears that DS3 is not the end of the series, but instead a 'turning point'. (http://www.destructoid.com/dark-souls-iii-turning-point-for-the-franchise-new-projects-planned-300601.phtml)

Mad Max (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-08-07-watch-20-minutes-of-mad-max-gameplay)  20 minutes of gameplay that starts about halfway in.  Car customization, open world gameplay.  Reminds me of the last couple of Far Cry games, but in a good way.

Dreadnought (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2BWfI5hzPY)  You are the commander of a military-style spaceship, and do battle with others.  Looks like it's a 4v4 multiplayer game.  The 5 ship types are distinct and each has its role to play, strong against certain types but vulnerable to others.

Final Fantasy XV may not have airships at launch (http://www.destructoid.com/final-fantasy-xv-airships-might-not-make-launch-just-cause-3-dev-helping-300690.phtml)  But they are getting the Just Cause 3 devs to help.

Konami working conditions part 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uphcEJW-MDA)  Just because you haven't seen enough of their seeming hatred of game dev staff that they can't just fire outright.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 11, 2015, 12:30:36 PM
*watching more news about Konami*

How the fuck did they get anything done, much less build a successful company?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on August 11, 2015, 02:08:31 PM
*watching more news about Konami*

How the fuck did they get anything done, much less build a successful company?

They're probably surviving due to the respect fans have for their legacy titles such as Metal Gear Solid.  It's likely that The Phantom Pain will be a successful and beloved game, but this will be due to the work of Kojima and others in spite of Konami.  Afterwards I wouldn't be surprised if they end up akin to Sega, an AAA publisher which is still kicking, but can't be said to be thriving.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on August 11, 2015, 08:28:57 PM
Actually, Konami has always gotten more income from its pachinko gambling stuff compared to its actual videogame sales.  So, they had decided to drop their videogame development in favour of focusing on their other divisions.  And since Japanese business law won't let them just fire all those programmers, they're instead trying to make working conditions so bad that the people will quit instead.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 12, 2015, 12:53:21 AM
The new video card...  Is making me giddy.  It's so nice not to have the GPU temperature around 110 degrees C!  Now it just hovers around 40 C and my games run perfectly, other than random hiccups in Path of Exile due to hard drive loading issues.

The only issue I have with it is if I have two monitors on it, it defaults to 1280x800 res on my main instead of its native 1440x900.  Gonna fiddle some more to fix it I hope.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on August 12, 2015, 01:51:01 AM
Have you guys looked in to Sword Coast Legends (https://swordcoast.com) at all?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 12, 2015, 02:19:34 AM
Hummm.......but all I really want is the statue.

I need bigger boss pieces for tabletops  :bigeyes
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 12, 2015, 02:38:51 AM
Have you guys looked in to Sword Coast Legends (https://swordcoast.com[/url) at all?

It sounds and looks an awful lot like Neverwinter Nights, but seems to have very poor graphics for 2015. I didn't see any mention of what ruleset they'll apply, no mention of 5th edition at all, so i imagine that they're going for a custom ruleset that'll be D&D-like, but not really full on D&D.

I wanted a game like the first Neverwinter Nights for a long time now. The second one was pretty good, but in some ways it wasn't as skillfully done as its predecessor.

MAYBE, this game will deliver. Maybe it won't. There wasn't any mention of modding support, so that's a downside.

What WoTC should do, is make a game that's like the first Neverwinter Nights, but set on Eberron instead of Forgotten Realms.

I'm kind of sick and tired of FR. We had Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate, Pool of Radiance, Neverwinter Nights, and probably a buttload of others i can't remember right now. We even have DDO and Neverwinter, two MMO's set in Forgotten Realms.

Why doesn't WoTC give some more exposition to their other campaign settings?

We had Planescape: Torment. The kickstarter for the "sequel" was succesful - showing that there's a very good interest in the campaign setting. But the "sequel" won't really be a Planescape game, but a similar campaign setting and a similar genre. More a spiritual successor than a sequel.

But where's Dragonlance? Where's Dark Sun? Where's Eberron? Where's Ravenloft?

So much wasted potential.

Forgotten realms is neat and all, but man, aren't they milking that cow until its dry. It's like there are no other interesting campaign settings AT ALL.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on August 12, 2015, 02:45:02 AM

But where's Dragonlance? Where's Dark Sun? Where's Eberron? Where's Ravenloft?

So much wasted potential.

Forgotten realms is neat and all, but man, aren't they milking that cow until its dry. It's like there are no other interesting campaign settings AT ALL.

I noted on my blog that the Dragonlance Chronicles would make a great wargame. (http://quasarknight.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-dragonlance-chronicles-would-make.html)

As a video game, it would be interesting as a turn-based skirmish in the vein of Fire Emblem or Valkyria Chronicles.  Combat and tactics on the one hand, relationship building on the other!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on August 12, 2015, 03:12:30 AM
I'm cautiously optimistic.  It's supposed to be based mostly on 5e, adapted to a videogame environment.  But, from the little information we have (and there truly is very little information considering the game is supposed to come out in a month), it seems like they're veering rather a lot from the source material as far as actual gameplay mechanics go.  I can understand why they'd want to give, for example, a Champion Fighter some more "active" abilities than the PnP version has, since that would be really boring to play.  Similarly, replacing the Vancian style Slots per Day mechanic with a different system would help keep the pacing.  But if they cut or change too much, then we'll end up with something that wears the trappings of D&D in a grotesque Buffalo Bill-style mockery of the game.  It's the 4E Paradox all over again. 

But man, the developers are being deliberately tight lipped with a lot of important details.  It's making me nervous. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 12, 2015, 04:57:24 AM
The fact that i didn't hear about this game despite my pretty heavy internet activity speaks volumes to me.

Graphically, the game doesn't look very appealing. In fact, it's quite BAD. I get the feeling that Neverwinter Nights 2, graphically, is similar in quality to this game, and it's quite a bit older. It's a game slated for release in the fourth quarter of 2015, and it has graphics that can be compared to games that have been released almost a decade ago.

That's really, really bad. Seriously, it's bad. The fact that minimum specs can be fulfilled by an Intel HD Graphics card doesn't surprise me, and neither does the 3GB minimum RAM requirement.

I tried to look around a bit to see if there was going to be mod support, but it appears that it won't.

The gameplay, i looked at it, seemed pretty "meh" to me. The pre-order price also doesn't seem to suggest a fully featured game. They're asking for a low-price, and i bet this is a very low-budget game.

There's little to no innovation here. The "dungeon master" mode here is nothing too special, as far as i could see. Perhaps something interesting to pass up time with a couple of friends when you're sick and tired of actual good games and just want to have some harmless fun. I don't see this being a popular game in the future.

All in all, i'm not very optimistic at all. In fact, i think i'm quite pessimistic about this game. I think it'll be bad, and that next summer steam sale, it's going to be sold for pennies at a very high discount to try and make up for losses.

Seriously, there is no indication that this game will be anything but yet another bad cRPG game that fails to live up to the expectations put forth by the awesome Neverwinter Nights and its almost-as-good sequel Neverwinter Nights 2 - which could've been even more amazing than its predecessor, but released a lackluster expansion (SoZ), instead of building up on the momentum of the incredible Mask of the Betrayer expansion, which redeemed the initial kind-of-meh campaign & gameplay of the original NWN2.

I'm feeling that we might never get another NWN. The traditional cRPG's aren't really the kind of game that draws in big crowds, which are what game studios are now focused on. Unless a successful kickstarter like the one for Tides of Numenera happens.

We did get Neverwinter Online, though it's far, far less moddable. Interesting dungeons can be created, and interesting stories crafted, but you can't really get the awesomeness we got with NWN/NWN2 mods.

What could be interesting, though, is seeing WoTC's campaign settings through a gameplay mechanic similar to Oblivion/Skyrim, which i think is much more likely to happen.

EDIT:

Nostalgia hit me, and i tried to browse the old neverwinter vault to see whether any new mods might've popped up, and whether i could still download my favorite old ones - plus the ones i hadn't gotten around to playing yet, and i found out...

It's gone. It's all fucking gone.

A new site has gone up, but lacks much of the functionality and support the old one had. Some stuff was ported over, mainly from the Hall of Fame.

I'm reading stuff on Reddit to find out what happened. Seems like IGN is trying to restore it, but that has been ongoing for 10 months as of now. The sub is pretty small, though.

It's a shame, the archive there was priceless. The first NWN is what really got me into PnP. I had played before, but never too much. I sinked countless hours into both incarnations.

Seems as though the game might die for good.

Damn, sometimes it sucks getting older. Time passes. And it's ruthless. Absolutely ruthless.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 12, 2015, 02:45:55 PM
Minor nitpick: last I played it, DDO WAS set on Eberron.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 12, 2015, 02:47:41 PM
skyrim has sucked me back in.... :shakefist
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 12, 2015, 03:43:03 PM
Minor nitpick: last I played it, DDO WAS set on Eberron.

Yeah, i fucked that one up, years since i played it.  Oops :lmao
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 13, 2015, 03:38:39 AM
DDO also has Faerun stuff now if I remember correctly.  Lolth linked things together with that.


Since I have a computer able to run it now, I installed Dragon Age: Origins.  Once I did the intro talking stuff, it went straight to the tactics pause screen...  And I immediately got a headache looking at it it's so unfamiliar to me.  I'll try at it again once it's not the middle of the night and I have more of my wits.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on August 13, 2015, 03:00:18 PM
Apparently Nintendo fired an employee for innocuous comments on a podcast. (http://kotaku.com/nintendo-fires-employee-for-speaking-on-podcast-1723906717)

That does make them look like a draconian shadowy cabal.  And, it makes me kinda happy I'm not really a fan of their products.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on August 13, 2015, 03:37:31 PM
Please, that guy got off easy. Basically every company nowadays has some kind of "you don't talk to the public about your work with no permission" rule.

Of course, haters gonna hate. Nintendo could tommorrow announce that they've found a cure for all kinds of cancer and they'll be distributing it out of their own pocket world-wide, and there would still be people calling them the devil incarnate.

Meanwhile Sony mass-fires people for the evulz while handing out your credit card information to hackers in a silver platter.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Unbeliever on August 14, 2015, 08:59:50 AM
I don't know what nerve I touched there, but it's pretty insane to say he got off "easy."  They fired him, which is the maximal punishment they can inflict without showing, in a court of law (and therefore a matter of public record), tangible, calculable damages.

I also don't know why Sony and Nintendo can't both be assholes.  I guess I have to pick one?  Is that the rule?  I'm gathering that there's some sort of shadow war between multinational but Japanese-based video game firms that I'm only now becoming aware of.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Stratovarius on August 14, 2015, 11:06:15 AM
Nostalgia hit me, and i tried to browse the old neverwinter vault to see whether any new mods might've popped up, and whether i could still download my favorite old ones - plus the ones i hadn't gotten around to playing yet, and i found out...

It's gone. It's all fucking gone.

A new site has gone up, but lacks much of the functionality and support the old one had. Some stuff was ported over, mainly from the Hall of Fame.

I see my stuff (http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/hakpak/original-hakpak/player-resource-consortiums-prc-pack-v35) is still around. Which is nice, given I stopped working on it years ago and wandered over this way instead (and created homebrew). NWN (specifically, the shittiness of the Pale Master PrC) was what got me into Custom Content/D&D Homebrew.

But damn that sucks that the original NWVault went down. The vault was the entire reason for playing NWN, and had so many good modules and add-ons to the game. Just went and looked, and at some point I must have cleared out all the mods I had downloaded. So, can't do anything to help, either.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 14, 2015, 11:55:11 AM
WOW

That was YOU?

I fucking loved that mod.

You said it, the vault was the sole reason NWN became as big of a thing as it did, not only for me and you, but for a lot of people. I played on a lot of servers, DM'd a few games, played a few games with friends, and sunk in countless and countless hours in both the first and the second game...

I just hope IGN will at some point get its shit together and restore the original vault, but after 10 months, i don't know if i should get my hopes up...

But, a personal thank you for making something as awesome as this! It really breathes in new life to the game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Stratovarius on August 14, 2015, 12:29:40 PM
I had a lot of help, but yeah, that was me. Founder and lead developer of the PRC. Personal contributions were too many base/prestige classes to name, Psionics, Tome of Battle, and Truenaming, primarily. Wrote the latter two solo, based off the work Ornedan and I did to create Psionics. Nowadays all that energy goes to Arhosa or writing novels.

Got me multiple all-expenses paid trips to BioWare, too. Along with a couple team members. Damn that was fun. Spent 7 years working on it.

By the end, I actually barely played the game - I was doing the development work because it was fun, and because I enjoyed the people that I worked with. I certainly spent far more time developing and testing the game than I did actually playing it.

And if the original vault doesn't come back up, that's going to kill the rest of the NWN community, or at least put a severe stranglehold on it. I wish there was a modern game like NWN, but there's never been one that seemed to catch the mod community attention quite like that did (Skyrim doesn't count, imo, because of the different nature of the mods).
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 14, 2015, 01:26:34 PM
NWN mods did things i didn't even think were possible. Sometimes, changing the fundamental nature of the game, adding new features, like your own PRC, but also a lot of other mods i seem to remember, like CEP.

I recall one campaign i played which was insanely huge, 100+ hours, and it had so much text... That's bigger than the first game and the two expansions COMBINED in number of hours.

But, i sincerely doubt another game like NWN will ever come out.

cRPG's just aren't as popular as they once were. They don't port as well to consoles - you need a lot of buttons, the game is slower paced, and in order to control a full party of characters you're constantly pausing and unpausing, queuing up keypresses. All that is in high contrast to aRPG's like Skyrim and Oblivion, where you do all your actions in real time, there is no tactical element, no need to pause and unpause, no need to really have multiple hotkeys...

Plus, consoles, for now, just aren't able to experience mods in the same way as PC. In some instances, not at all. I have read somewhere that the XBone will be providing mod support for games, but i don't know how well that will work out.

Because the focus is on multi-platform release, as consoles are just too profitable, a game like NWN won't really make a lot of money, and thus, it's unlikely to be made. They'd have to change it around a LOT to make it work in a console. Like, HUGE changes.

But i don't know, MAYBE, since 5E came out recently, WoTC will be interested in making a new cRPG based off of the new system. What are your thoughts about that? I'd be interested in hearing from someone that actually has a shitton of experience working in a cRPG, even if an unofficial capacity.

It's amazing that Bioware did what it did for modders. Have you received offerrs of employment because of your work in NWN? I know some of the more prominent mod developers have been hired.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Stratovarius on August 14, 2015, 01:57:32 PM
It's amazing that Bioware did what it did for modders. Have you received offerrs of employment because of your work in NWN? I know some of the more prominent mod developers have been hired.

I did, sort of. BioWare hired me to do work on NWN (there's a reason the Purple Dragon Knight in the 3rd XP is identical to the one in the PRC), but I wasn't ever interested in being a full up game programmer. A lot of people I know (mostly from the DLA team, but also others like AlexanderFrost) got jobs at BioWare that way. BioWare also tried to hire the PRC to have Day 1 release content for DA:Origins, but damn was that a modding unfriendly game. Too many GUI elements hardcoded in Flash, etc. So we never did.

And I think you're right about the multiplatform release - a lot of the cRPGs that are coming out these days are going back to the 2.5D elements, and are often Kickstartered based on nostalgia for the old greats. And are often made by some of the same teams. They aren't the kind of game that's going to get an AAA budget, or even be feasible on a console. Which is a pity, because they were some of the best games.

On a side note, the CEP was in some ways the worst thing that happened to modding in NWN - among other behind the scenes things they did, they deliberately blocked (by using the same data addresses) PRC (and others) content, and would try to ensure that you couldn't use other mods with the CEP, so they would stand alone. None of the big teams in NWN CC (CODI, DLA, PRC, etc.) liked the CEP. Nor did they ever make content, they just took others and bundled it, usually without the creator's permission. But the community never saw that, so they got away with it. There's a reason DLA, CODI, PRC, and the top mod creators all got hired by BioWare to work on the DLC XPs and CEP was never even asked to show up.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 14, 2015, 02:15:59 PM
Wow, i never got wind of all that bad blood between the modders... It's awesome that you got to know their HQ, even got some work out of it. I think that's the best part about mod-friendly games. They inspire the community to think of the game as more than that, more than just a game. The game becomes a platform for creativity, the game becomes bigger, better, grander in scope. It creates legacies, forms bonds between people. That's what make me the saddest when i think about all that going kaput with NWVault... And what makes me sad when i think that another NWN probably won't come, at least for a good while.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Stratovarius on August 14, 2015, 03:05:30 PM
Oh, I'm still friends with some of the people from back then, including multiple PRC people. Lost contact with a lot of the team, though.

One of the guys who DMed a lot for me, AlexanderFrost, is one of the team members working on Mooncrest (http://www.mooncrestrpg.com/news/). I *think* I know Rick (on the dev team) as well, but under his modder name, not his real one.

There was such a legacy with NWN. I've honestly never seen another game that captured the community and the MP community quite like that. It was a vibrant active game for 9+ years, something almost nothing else can lay claim to. Such a pity to see it all go into a dumpster... :shakefist
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on August 15, 2015, 12:21:46 PM
I don't know what nerve I touched there, but it's pretty insane to say he got off "easy."  They fired him, which is the maximal punishment they can inflict without showing, in a court of law (and therefore a matter of public record), tangible, calculable damages.

I also don't know why Sony and Nintendo can't both be assholes.  I guess I have to pick one?  Is that the rule?  I'm gathering that there's some sort of shadow war between multinational but Japanese-based video game firms that I'm only now becoming aware of.

Didn't you get the memo that Nintendo can do no wrong?  :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on August 17, 2015, 10:18:49 AM
I refuse to get involved with social media / real identity / overshare shit anywhere, even as my employer is now asking us to. I knew better as a preteen when I was first getting started out on the net. 20 years does not make a difference.

---

It is notable when a community around a game lasts longer than the 4 year generation cycle. Though I suppose there has not been a worthy mod capable successor for D&D following NWN/NWN2. Quake and Elder Scrolls being other notables. I think Skyrim will continue on for quite some time since Bethesda is continuing down the MMO path for TES for a while (booo, hisssss...)

Also,
fucking clouds, sometimes they evaporate.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 17, 2015, 11:46:50 AM
Skyrim has some pretty big projects, like remaking Morrowind and Oblivion on Skyrim. Those projects won't be ready for several years, at best. It's going to be a while before the modding community gives up on Skyrim.

Also the engine has some amazing value: the graphics are shiny enough that, with hi-res textures, animation overhauls & ENB's, plus other graphical enhancement mods(W.A.T.E.R comes to mind), you can get close to current-gen quality on a game that's from 2011. Whenever i boot up my heavily modded Skyrim, i'm in awe of just how fresh the game looks. Most games i see that are released NOW can't come close to the graphical fidelity not even of Vanilla Skyrim, and very, very few can approach the kind of polish you can get with heavily modded Skyrim.

That being said, i'm eagerly waiting just how Bethesda will top Skyrim. Fallout 4 seems amazing, but i really haven't seen much graphical improvement. I'm hoping they won't rush TES 6 with the same engine as Fallout 4, and instead will take their time in polishing it up even more.

Not that im not hyped as hell for Fallout 4. Game seems amazing from a gameplay & story standpoint, even though the graphic isn't as shiny as it could be. I expected that, since current-gen consoles aren't as powerful as the PS3/Xbox360 were on their launch. Can't really pump up the graphics as much, even at 900p30fps.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on August 18, 2015, 03:25:35 PM
WE DO IT! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcW6W-xVl-8)  Seriously, it's coming!

Damn it, del Toro, 2 points of data is a coincidence, not a pattern! (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-08-14-guillermo-del-toro-doesnt-want-to-make-another-game)

Phantasy Star Online 2 is coming!  But only for Asia ... (http://www.destructoid.com/sega-announces-phantasy-star-online-2-for-ps4-306083.phtml)

Iron Maiden's Speed of Light video is a videogame tribute (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F7A24f6gNc)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 18, 2015, 11:53:18 PM
That one about PSO2 is ooooooooooooold news.

Welcome news. But old news.  :P
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 19, 2015, 12:50:01 AM
PSO2 is already in NA, even.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on August 19, 2015, 06:56:21 AM
PSO2 is already in NA, even.

Is it really?  Because this bit from the article says otherwise:

Quote
Asiasoft has implemented an IP block to prevent prospective players living outside the region from accessing the game's servers. These restrictions were briefly lifted recently over connectivity issues, but were put back in place after the matter was resolved.

According to that, NA had a brief moment where they could play, but are once again blocked.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 19, 2015, 07:08:14 AM
I totally meant to say english not NA. Habit.

Edit: Hmm.....Altho I never played the english version now that I think of it. I played the japanese version. Not being able to read stuff didn't stop or hinder me at all after I figured my way around.....Bah, whatever.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on August 19, 2015, 07:10:20 AM
Oh, yes.  And that just makes the block even more baffling.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 19, 2015, 11:08:12 AM
According to my sources, it is still perfectly possible to play the Japanese version from the US thanks to CyberKitsune's proxy. For the Asia version, there's always VPN, but why would you want to play the inferior version anyway?

Also, I've played the English translation for the Japanese servers. It's quite good, really. I'm not sure if they've gotten around to all the item descriptions yet, but all of the menus, most of the item names, and much of the story has been translated. It's supposedly a ban risk, but we've heard of no one being banned for using the translation.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: phaedrusxy on August 19, 2015, 11:57:53 AM
Nostalgia hit me, and i tried to browse the old neverwinter vault to see whether any new mods might've popped up, and whether i could still download my favorite old ones - plus the ones i hadn't gotten around to playing yet, and i found out...

It's gone. It's all fucking gone.

A new site has gone up, but lacks much of the functionality and support the old one had. Some stuff was ported over, mainly from the Hall of Fame.

I see my stuff (http://neverwintervault.org/project/nwn1/hakpak/original-hakpak/player-resource-consortiums-prc-pack-v35) is still around. Which is nice, given I stopped working on it years ago and wandered over this way instead (and created homebrew). NWN (specifically, the shittiness of the Pale Master PrC) was what got me into Custom Content/D&D Homebrew.

But damn that sucks that the original NWVault went down. The vault was the entire reason for playing NWN, and had so many good modules and add-ons to the game. Just went and looked, and at some point I must have cleared out all the mods I had downloaded. So, can't do anything to help, either.
Wow... that really is sad. What an amazing resource (and game) that was...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 20, 2015, 11:04:54 PM
Now that I can play it smoothly, I managed to figure out The Witcher's fighting system.  I suppose my issue is it didn't say right off the bat to wait for the icon to flash to get another attack in so at first I felt like a headless chicken.  Then the game said "Here's how to do multiple hits effectively" and everything fell into place.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 21, 2015, 02:05:51 AM
The first Witcher's combat system is like a rhythm game.

Nobody wants to play a rhythm game for 20-30 hours when it only has the one song.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 21, 2015, 09:14:26 AM
Actually, I don't think I'd mind that.  I've played Tetris for thousands of hours after all.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on August 21, 2015, 02:22:05 PM
I never had any issues with it, it was easier to get a hang of than the second's.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on August 22, 2015, 03:12:03 AM
GOG sale on D&D computer games: http://www.gog.com/promo/weekend_promo_hasbro_dd_classics_bundle_200815

$2 each, no need to buy every title.  But, should I?  I've only ever played Icewind Dale 1 and Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 (but no expansion pack) out of that list.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 22, 2015, 03:49:20 AM
Damn.  GoG is based outside the US so my prepaid gift card won't work.  NWN is so tempting...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 22, 2015, 11:02:36 AM
Damn.  GoG is based outside the US so my prepaid gift card won't work.  NWN is so tempting...

I played almost every game on that list, and the ones i played are all worth much more than $2, i say, take the plunge. Countless hours of entertainment await.


@StreamOfTheSky Get at least Planescape: Torment. It's an AMAAAAAAAZING game, excellent voice acting, narrative-driven, incredible ambientation, a true masterpiece of the genre. Everything else is also amazing.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on August 22, 2015, 11:22:00 AM
I liked what I played of BG and IWD to definitely get those and I've heard enough rave reviews of Planescape and NWN to pick those up, too.  I was more looking for:

1) Are any of the games subpar and not necessarily worth playing?  The price is negligible, but I don't have as much free time as I did when in school full time.  But if I'm never going to bother playing it, it's pointless to buy.  Are there any on the list you'd NOT recommend?  From the short descriptions, all but one sound like BG-style RPGs, and the other one is called a "hack and slash," which I also like.

2) Is multiplayer required for any of them, or a major component of any?  I though NWN had significant multiplayer aspects, and that'd definitely be a turn-off for me.

EDIT: Not sure why, but specifically BG 2 and ToEE don't list Windows 10 compatibility, the rest all do.  Not sure if they really don't work or they just forgot to update those pages when it came out.  But it's something to consider.  I still have Win7, but my computer is over 6 years old and I was planning to get a Win10 computer later this year.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on August 22, 2015, 11:46:45 AM
1) I don't like The Temple of Elemental Evil.  It's very buggy and just plain bleh IMO.  I never played Dragonshard or Demon Stone.  The rest are good games.

2) Multiplayer isn't a big part of any of them (that I've played) so you're good there.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 22, 2015, 02:50:00 PM
I liked what I played of BG and IWD to definitely get those and I've heard enough rave reviews of Planescape and NWN to pick those up, too.  I was more looking for:

1) Are any of the games subpar and not necessarily worth playing?  The price is negligible, but I don't have as much free time as I did when in school full time.  But if I'm never going to bother playing it, it's pointless to buy.  Are there any on the list you'd NOT recommend?  From the short descriptions, all but one sound like BG-style RPGs, and the other one is called a "hack and slash," which I also like.

2) Is multiplayer required for any of them, or a major component of any?  I though NWN had significant multiplayer aspects, and that'd definitely be a turn-off for me.

EDIT: Not sure why, but specifically BG 2 and ToEE don't list Windows 10 compatibility, the rest all do.  Not sure if they really don't work or they just forgot to update those pages when it came out.  But it's something to consider.  I still have Win7, but my computer is over 6 years old and I was planning to get a Win10 computer later this year.

ToEE, Dragonshard and Demon Stone i also never played.

NWN 1&2 has a pretty good multiplayer, but it's REALLY optional. There are(were?) amazing roleplaying servers where you could really get some real character development going, explore the campaign setting, get into parties... There were also modules designed for multiplayer, so you could play with friends, both mods that needed a dedicated DM and those that did all the work for you.

But the single player campaigns & modules are pretty good. NWN 1, i think, had the better original campaigns, as both the original and the two expansions are pretty amazing, especially HoTU - i literally cried at the end of the expansion, and it's rare that a game gets me so engaged that i can literally cry. But, the second one is also pretty good - esp. Mask of the Betrayer, despite the annoying mechanic surrounding souls and whatnot, it has an amazing story. There also were no shortage of single player player-made campaigns for you to get through, as well as mods for graphic enhancement, new PrC's, items, options, spells, you name it...

Now that NWVault has gone kaput, though, you might find it harder to get some of the most incredible mods that have come up. I don't know how many/which ones have survived the IGN Apocalypse, but i wager the most popular ones have.

Two dollars? Definitely worth it. BG 1&2, NWN 1&2, Planescape & Icewind Dale are definitely worth it as a bundle for 12$. The other ones, i don't know if i'd get them or not.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: StreamOfTheSky on August 22, 2015, 04:16:46 PM
Ok, I hadn't bothered to uncheck games before, but it seems you only get the bundle prices if you buy all 10.  Since I want most of them anyway, may as well get them all.   They're not all $2, either.  NWN is $4 and some are less than $2, so in total it's $21.10.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 22, 2015, 05:45:03 PM
You won't regret it. There's thousands of hours in entertainment value over all these games right there. One of the cheapest ways to have fun!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on August 23, 2015, 01:00:01 AM
I present:  The Cat Machine! (http://store.steampowered.com/app/386900/)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 28, 2015, 05:05:32 PM
ARK IS GOING FREE TO PLAY FOR THE WEEKEND!

If you haven't seen it already, Ark: Survival Evolved is an amazing game that's on early access on Steam, and unlike most other games that are on early access, this one has ALL the indications that it will REALLY be all that it's hyped to be.

I played it for 25 hours already, and it's so far amazing. I have been away from the game for a while, since i don't know anyone else to play the game with, so i believe this to be an excellent opportunity to get some of the minmax community on board!


My PC isn't stellar(i5-2500k, 16gb DD3 1333mhz, GTX 460), but i'm still able to run the game at a very playable fps with everything on medium(which already looks gorgeous), and they're working tirelessly to optimize the engine, so things will only get better.

There are multiple patches a week, new content is being added on a very consistent and reliable way, and the game just keeps getting better and better and better.

This is THE opportunity to see all the hype for yourself. If anyone's interested, shoot me a PM, and if there's enough interest we can create our own thread.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on August 28, 2015, 05:14:47 PM
That game looks amazing!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 28, 2015, 06:27:37 PM
That game looks amazing!

It is. Graphics are really gorgeous - sadly few character customization options at the moment, but the game itself is surprisingly beautiful. The forests are really lush and vibrant and full of life, the caves really feel and look like caves, the water is beautiful, the dinos are amazingly well done. Really, you feel like you're in Jurassic World when you're playing the game.

Gameplay is very good, not yet amazing. There's a few things that could be improved, like sometimes you fire at a dino and there are problems with hit-detection and your shot that appears to have hit isn't registered. The UI is not stellar, either. In fact, the Engram UI is pretty bad, as well as the crafting interface.

It's all a work in progress, though, they've already said that they're going to work on the UI later on. So far, it's serviceable, but not really too intuitive or enjoyable to use.

The game is a bit grindy for materials, so if you dream of a big castle base, you're going to either be playing multiple hours a day, or you're going to have to have a big tribe to back you up and help you collect materials. Especially for the higher tier stuff. Dinos help a LOT with collection, but you need to be higher level in order to tame the dinos. Because of this, if you're not playing with friends, the early levels are spent constantly respawning, gathering materials to make basic gear and weaponry, hunting, surviving another night, and then repeating the same cycle.

All in all, these are all things that are constantly being rebalanced and tweaked at with patches, and the game keeps on consistently getting better.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Gazzien on August 29, 2015, 05:29:11 PM
Heard from streamers / you tubers that it also takes hours of constant attention to tame dinos. That true? I can't usually play for long blocks of time, so that would... Severely dampen the game for me.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 29, 2015, 05:48:23 PM
Heard from streamers / you tubers that it also takes hours of constant attention to tame dinos. That true? I can't usually play for long blocks of time, so that would... Severely dampen the game for me.

It's true. Bigger dinos take a lot of time to be tamed, especially if they're of a higher level. Brontos and Rexes take the longest, followed by Plesios & Spino's, with everything else following that. There are taming calculators online to help you figure it out, how many berries/meat/kibble/narcotics you need and how long you can expect it to take. You can stuff the dino's inventory full of all the crap it needs to get tamed and only occasionally check its torpor to make sure it stays unconscious while you're taming it.

There are private servers that severely expedite this process, though. I've seen servers with 8x taming speed, meaning you could tame a level 100+ Bronto in a matter of 30 minutes, and basically insta tame everything else if you have the right stuff. There are other problems with taming as well. You need a LOT of resources to knock out a big, high level dino. Something like 80+ arrows to knock out a big Bronto or Rex, and each of those arrows take 4 narcoberries and a spoiled meat, all of which takes a lot of time and effort to acquire and craft. Like i said before, the game really is a bit grindy ATM.

Taming is definitely one of the weakest points of gameplay at the time, but they're working on the nonviolent taming mechanic, which is faster and will work with non agressive dinos, but as of right now it only works with two dinos: Ichtyosaurus and Gigantopithecus.

It's another one of those things that make it so that the game is hard to play by yourself. If you have a tribe, you can have your other tribe members continue a particularly long tame for you, or have it so that the more active members are the ones responsible for taming dinos.

It's definitely something that can put someone off big time. You spend literally hours taming a dino only to have a griefer come by and murder the goddamn thing while you're offline. It's a very harsh pvp game. There are, of course, servers that frown upon offline pvp/griefing, and servers that are straight pve-only, and there's always the possibility of just playing on a server with friends, like many do.

EDIT: I should make a note, though, that dinos make collection of resources a LOT faster than if you're doing it by hand, which is one of the reasons why taming is so hard. For example, whacking at a tree with a normal axe, you can expect to gather about 19 wood per tree, but with a mammoth, you can get up to 100 wood per tree, and it does it in a AOE kind of pattern, so if you have a bunch of trees packed together, you're harvesting all of them at the same time, meaning you gather resources at a FRACTION of the time. Things get really ridiculous with a Bronto, too. The AOE is so insane, one tail swipe can get you more than 1K berries, depending on how tightly clustered the berries are. A Rex can get 10x the amount of Prime Meat off of a big herbivore than you could by whacking at its corpse with your pickaxe, and it will kill it in a fraction of the time you'd take poking it with your spear. They're also good for base raiding and carrying capacity. All of the other dinos that help with resource collecting, as well, have a similar impact, for hide/stone/flint etc... So that's a reason why the taming is so difficult. The lower level dinos, like Raptors, Dilos, Philomia, Dodos, etc, they all take much, much less time to tame, but they're also far less useful. I hope the devs will add some more low-level dinos to even things out, or maybe give us alternative effective resource gathering abilities, so that taming isn't as necessary as it is right now to get to the end-game.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on August 30, 2015, 12:14:29 AM
I can't get used to the random pooping.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SolEiji on August 30, 2015, 12:32:56 AM
I can't get used to the random pooping.

Aaaaand quoted.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on August 30, 2015, 12:46:21 AM
I can't get used to the random pooping.

Aaaaand quoted.

You can also press Z to poop, but you can't do it too often, just like real life.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on August 30, 2015, 12:50:50 AM
Why on earth is there a pooping mechanic?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on August 30, 2015, 01:36:56 AM
Why on earth is there a pooping mechanic?

One part of how the game advertises itself on Steam is that you can capture other real players, lock them up, and harvest their feces to grow your crops.

This was likely a player review. I can't recall.
It got me excited about the game, yes. But everything else about the game just looks like such a massive time sink. Like, I wouldn't play it unless I had a group of friends I could regularly play with from the get go.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on August 30, 2015, 12:22:44 PM
I can't get used to the random pooping.

Aaaaand quoted.

At least I'm famous for something.   :lmao


Why on earth is there a pooping mechanic?
So you can make fertilizer for your crops of course!  Also yes, there's the stuff ketaro mentioned.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 01, 2015, 11:33:12 PM
First look at Michael Fassbender in Assassin's Creed movie (http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/get-your-first-look-at-michael-fassbender-in-assassins-creed-231)

Also, Lionsgate is going to develop a Borderlands movie (http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/lionsgate-to-develop-a-film-based-on-the-borderlands-videogame-271)

Shovel Knight amiibo (http://yachtclubgames.com/2015/08/shovel-knight-amiibo/)

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs videogame kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/saberridergame/saber-rider-and-the-star-sheriffs-the-video-game)

Resident Evil Origins collection (http://gematsu.com/2015/09/resident-evil-origins-collection-announced-resident-evil-0-wesker-mode-unveiled)  With RE0 'Wesker Mode' unveiled

In celebration of the new Mad Max game, Steam has all FOUR movies (http://www.destructoid.com/all-four-mad-max-films-are-on-steam-to-celebrate-the-game-s-release-308715.phtml)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 11, 2015, 10:02:07 PM
A fun little adventuring web browser game you may want to check out: http://minmaxia.com/c2/ (http://minmaxia.com/c2/)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 15, 2015, 01:59:08 AM
so this happened for the xbox one http://www.idigitaltimes.com/two-xbox-exclusive-j-rpgs-announced-when-does-even-happen-474960 (http://www.idigitaltimes.com/two-xbox-exclusive-j-rpgs-announced-when-does-even-happen-474960)

so, can someone give me a basic run down in the difference between a J-RPG and a non-JRPG without using Final fantasy as a reference?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 15, 2015, 02:19:20 AM
I know how to spot the difference, but i have absolutely no idea how to explain it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on September 15, 2015, 02:31:02 AM
JRPGs are generally famous for being unavoidable grindfests in all of grinding for experience, grinding for crafting materials, grinding for rare drops, grinding for grinding.

But thats a personal opinion. JRPGs are classically such because of their turn-based nature with menu selections for attacks/spells/abilities ect in battle.

Western RPGs generally, rarely, are real time with out the turn-based menu userface.

Like Fire Emblem vs. Borderlands.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on September 15, 2015, 02:41:40 AM
so this happened for the xbox one http://www.idigitaltimes.com/two-xbox-exclusive-j-rpgs-announced-when-does-even-happen-474960 (http://www.idigitaltimes.com/two-xbox-exclusive-j-rpgs-announced-when-does-even-happen-474960)

so, can someone give me a basic run down in the difference between a J-RPG and a non-JRPG without using Final fantasy as a reference?

JRPGs draw inspiration primarily from Japanese media.  They have a distinctly Japanese artstyle, and the stories tend to be more predetermined.  The main characters are generally more fleshed out, and the player doesn't have much say over their personality or how they respond to a given situation. 

Contrast this with Western RPGs, which generally have a more realistic artstyle and emphasize player choice.  The main character in a WRPG tends to be kind of a blank slate, allowing the player to project him/herself into the game and make choices that impact the story in a meaningful way. 

Edit:  Or, put a different way - In WRPGs you make a character, in JRPGs you play a character who already exists.  Also JRPGs look like anime. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on September 15, 2015, 02:45:26 AM
so this happened for the xbox one http://www.idigitaltimes.com/two-xbox-exclusive-j-rpgs-announced-when-does-even-happen-474960 (http://www.idigitaltimes.com/two-xbox-exclusive-j-rpgs-announced-when-does-even-happen-474960)

so, can someone give me a basic run down in the difference between a J-RPG and a non-JRPG without using Final fantasy as a reference?
It's mostly a matter of how the story is told.

In a J-RPG, the main characters personalities and most of the storyline are set in stone and you get to choose your character's name.

In a non-JRPG, you get to build your character's personality and also get to make certain important choices like if you want to save that town or burn it to the ground, or "join the dark side" ending options.

So for example in Chrono Trigger, Chrono the main character is always an hotblooded save-the-world-at-any-cost character and go out to beat Lavo's ass with lots of violence, while in Fallout you get to choose whetever you play a barely sentient muscle dude or a gunslinging seductress or a ground marine and there's so many sidequests you may forget what you were supposed to be doing, and then you talk the final boss into killing themselves, then shoot the overseer in the face for all the trouble he put you through.
 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 15, 2015, 03:17:05 AM
Yep, just as has been said before, JRPGs are nearly always linear and heavily story-driven, WRPGs are quite often sandbox-y, and let you build your character(s). 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 15, 2015, 09:43:49 AM
Yep, just as has been said before, JRPGs are nearly always linear and heavily story-driven, WRPGs are quite often sandbox-y, and let you build your character(s).

The Romancing Saga series is very much non-linear, and it's as much a JRPG as they come. You can actually advance the story a touch too far if you grind too much without doing any actual quests - the games have a system that basically forces you to take on a number of sidequests at the peak of their difficulty curve if you want to be in top shape for the endgame.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 15, 2015, 10:59:29 PM
so the appeal is mainly the story then?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 16, 2015, 12:28:43 AM
Typically yes.

Then you have stuff like Thousand Arms or Ar Tonelico. Which are also good fun story-wise, but ALSO have interesting tweaks of gameplay. Or cute girls in visual novel-style sidequests where you play psychiatrist for them to gain new powers.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on September 16, 2015, 01:16:42 AM
Pfftt, Fire Emblem was having gameplay tweaks and developing intimancy between couples before it was cool.

In particular because your named characters could permanently die. Depending on how much people you sacrificed, the ending could be anything between "Everybody lived happy ever after and had cute children to carry on their legacy" or "You now rule alone over a burned wasteland of ruins filled with corpses".

Extra continuity lulz since in the 3rd Fire Emblem it's assumed that Marth managed to win without sacrifcing anybody, but then in Awakening, Lucina is all "Marth got 90% of his companions killed to defeat the final boss and had zero fucks to give about that".

Phantasy Star 3 is kinda considered the dark sheep of the series, but it had a quite interesting branching path systems that would result in different plots depending on certain key choices and multiple endings including "You arrive in this mysterious planet called Earth" and "your planet is swallowed by a black hole".
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 16, 2015, 02:45:37 PM
Well,it doesn't sound like JRPGs will be a thing for me then..
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 16, 2015, 05:13:20 PM
I say give it a try before our gross attempts at deconstructing the genre into a palatable concept scare you off.  :p
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nanshork on September 16, 2015, 08:29:40 PM
I say give it a try before our gross attempts at deconstructing the genre into a palatable concept scare you off.  :p

This.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Nunkuruji on September 18, 2015, 11:17:13 AM
This survey is interesting in that it illustrates the different tastes between RPG audiences

http://gematsu.com/2015/04/final-fantasy-xv-feedback-live-stream-full-report-episode-duscae-2-0-coming-mid-may
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Jackinthegreen on September 22, 2015, 08:00:15 AM
I've been playing a game called Factorio.  It appeals to my mass-scale want of crafting stuff quite well, moreso than what I've experienced in Minecraft or Terraria.  Then again, it is based on building your own factory (and more) to survive on an alien world, so it's expected that it does the mass crafting much better.

And now I want to go back to Anarchy Online and do crafting/tradeskilling there too.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 22, 2015, 08:33:55 AM
Konami is ceasing nearly all AAA game production (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-09-18-konami-ceases-triple-a-console-production-on-all-but-pes-report)

TGS roundup (http://n4g.com/news/1791040/tokyo-game-show-2015-title-and-date-round-up)  For a look at upcoming Japanese big games.

Star Fox Zero has been delayed (http://www.destructoid.com/star-fox-zero-has-been-delayed-until-2016-311336.phtml)

New Xbone controller coming out (http://www.destructoid.com/xbox-one-elite-controller-coming-october-27-311721.phtml)  And it costs $150!  For a single bloody controller!

Fire Emblem Awakening and Xenoblade Chronicles join Project X Zone 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2&v=VyE6JXDBY48)

Allison Road kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/allisonroad/allison-road-first-person-next-gen-survival-horror)  A new first person narrative-driven survival horror game.

Them's Fightin' Herds Indiegogo (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/them-s-fightin-herds#/story)  A fighting game for all you MLP fans out there.

Retro VGS Indiegogo (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/retro-vgs#/story)  A new cartridge based console.

Ghost in the Shell VR (http://operationrainfall.com/2015/09/16/ghost-shell-vr-content-incoming/)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 22, 2015, 08:35:40 AM
I've been playing a game called Factorio.  It appeals to my mass-scale want of crafting stuff quite well, moreso than what I've experienced in Minecraft or Terraria.  Then again, it is based on building your own factory (and more) to survive on an alien world, so it's expected that it does the mass crafting much better.

And now I want to go back to Anarchy Online and do crafting/tradeskilling there too.

Here's a Let's Look At for Factorio (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6UopB5RFX4) in case anyone else is interested in it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on September 22, 2015, 02:26:57 PM
Well,it doesn't sound like JRPGs will be a thing for me then..
Neither are books, films, or choose-or-own adventures, or platforms like Mario or dungeon games like Legend of Zelda.

Basically, what's being described is create-a-character vs play as a character. And if the latter of those are not your thing, 99.999999% of games are not a thing for you. You should stick to tabletop play, and never run a PC based on a sheet someone else made.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 22, 2015, 03:20:59 PM
Konami is ceasing nearly all AAA game production (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-09-18-konami-ceases-triple-a-console-production-on-all-but-pes-report)


New Xbone controller coming out (http://www.destructoid.com/xbox-one-elite-controller-coming-october-27-311721.phtml)  And it costs $150!  For a single bloody controller!
I'm guessing you didn't read why it cost much..it's completely customizable and aimed at pro players
[/quote]
Well,it doesn't sound like JRPGs will be a thing for me then..
Neither are books, films, or choose-or-own adventures, or platforms like Mario or dungeon games like Legend of Zelda.

Basically, what's being described is create-a-character vs play as a character. And if the latter of those are not your thing, 99.999999% of games are not a thing for you. You should stick to tabletop play, and never run a PC based on a sheet someone else made.

Don't take it like a personal insult geesh....If the story is good to me,then I won't mind not be able to make a PC from the get go,but if it isn't something I'm getting into then I won't be playing it for very long. Besides, I am looking at what info I can find on Stranger of Sword City to make a determination into if i wish to play it or not when it hits the Xbox One.  And based on what I'm reading from http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=828454 (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=828454) It doesn't seem like something I'd like to play.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 22, 2015, 04:04:34 PM
I'm guessing you didn't read why it cost much..it's completely customizable and aimed at pro players

For that price, I'd expect the d-pad and thumbsticks to be completely interchangeable, for the ideal layout.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 22, 2015, 05:53:00 PM
I'm guessing you didn't read why it cost much..it's completely customizable and aimed at pro players

For that price, I'd expect the d-pad and thumbsticks to be completely interchangeable, for the ideal layout.

Here's what it comes with :

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller
Carrying case
Set of 4 paddles
Set of 6 thumbsticks: standard (2), tall (2), and domed (2)
Set of 2 D-pads: faceted and standard
USB cable
AA batteries
Quick Setup Guide and Product Manual

http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-one/accessories/xbox-one-elite-wireless-controller/122872 (http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-one/accessories/xbox-one-elite-wireless-controller/122872)
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 22, 2015, 10:08:13 PM
I'm guessing you didn't read why it cost much..it's completely customizable and aimed at pro players

For that price, I'd expect the d-pad and thumbsticks to be completely interchangeable, for the ideal layout.

Here's what it comes with :

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller
Carrying case
Set of 4 paddles
Set of 6 thumbsticks: standard (2), tall (2), and domed (2)
Set of 2 D-pads: faceted and standard
USB cable
AA batteries
Quick Setup Guide and Product Manual

http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-one/accessories/xbox-one-elite-wireless-controller/122872 (http://www.gamestop.com/xbox-one/accessories/xbox-one-elite-wireless-controller/122872)

The fact they actually still rely on AA batteries makes me glad I picked the PS4 over it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 22, 2015, 11:25:08 PM
I'm actually expecting that PC will make a comeback this generation, the specs for both the XBone and the PS4 are really, really not that much of an improvement over the past generation. To me, both are pretty lackluster compared to how much of a bang-for-your-buck the PS3 and 360 were back when they were first released.

You literally couldn't build a PC that could compare with neither for the price-tag and the fact that both their architectures were significantly different from PC meant that games weren't easy to port over to PC, meaning you needed an even better PC to play the 360 & PS3 games that did get ported over.

Now, everything is x86, meaning porting games over should be much easier. That, coupled with the fact that they're not really that powerful for their price-tag(you can easily build a PC with comparable, if not better performance for the same $), means that, quite possibly, PC gaming might be making a comeback. Especially with how fast new hardware is coming out.

Then, there's the fact that eSports are putting PC back into the spotlight. DOTA2, LoL and CS:GO are getting pretty huge and they're all PC games.

When you factor all of these things, it's not really far-fetched at all that we might see most AAA games ported over to PC much quicker than they used to be, with much better performance & compatibility, making owning a console much less appealing if you already have a gaming rig.

Consoles won't be going away, but they won't be as prevalent as they were for the past generation. GO GO PCMASTERRACE!
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 22, 2015, 11:52:59 PM
The fact they actually still rely on AA batteries makes me glad I picked the PS4 over it.

I have to wholeheartedly agree.  Even if I don't own a PS4, just a PS4 controller for my PC.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 23, 2015, 12:31:31 AM
I'm actually expecting that PC will make a comeback this generation, the specs for both the XBone and the PS4 are really, really not that much of an improvement over the past generation. To me, both are pretty lackluster compared to how much of a bang-for-your-buck the PS3 and 360 were back when they were first released.

You literally couldn't build a PC that could compare with neither for the price-tag and the fact that both their architectures were significantly different from PC meant that games weren't easy to port over to PC, meaning you needed an even better PC to play the 360 & PS3 games that did get ported over.

Now, everything is x86, meaning porting games over should be much easier. That, coupled with the fact that they're not really that powerful for their price-tag(you can easily build a PC with comparable, if not better performance for the same $), means that, quite possibly, PC gaming might be making a comeback. Especially with how fast new hardware is coming out.

Then, there's the fact that eSports are putting PC back into the spotlight. DOTA2, LoL and CS:GO are getting pretty huge and they're all PC games.

When you factor all of these things, it's not really far-fetched at all that we might see most AAA games ported over to PC much quicker than they used to be, with much better performance & compatibility, making owning a console much less appealing if you already have a gaming rig.

Consoles won't be going away, but they won't be as prevalent as they were for the past generation. GO GO PCMASTERRACE!

Ugh, the whole "PC Master Race" spiel makes me roll my eyes pretty hard. Things that you're gleefully forgetting here...

1) Assembling a good gaming PC requires you to be familiar with hardware, and even so certain parts don't work well together. Not everybody has the time to learn their gaming rig inside and out;
2) PC games have to be optimized to run in a large variety of rigs - which has a downward impact on their performance overall;
3) PC games are SIGNIFICANTLY easier to hack, which as far as the industry is concerned, is a really huge cut in their profits (how big it really is is up for debate, but generally any cut into their profits is bad);
4) Console owners typically play different games than PC gamers do. There's something to be said for a demographic here;
5) All that "Master Race" crap only makes people sound really, really annoying.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: oslecamo on September 23, 2015, 01:10:39 AM
1) Assembling a good gaming PC requires you to be familiar with hardware, and even so certain parts don't work well together. Not everybody has the time to learn their gaming rig inside and out;
Maybe in the past, but nowadays you can go in a store and find several prebuilt good options at nice prices that'll work pretty well for anything below ultraubergraphics. Also the internet has plenty of guides to help you know what you're doing.

2) PC games have to be optimized to run in a large variety of rigs - which has a downward impact on their performance overall;
If your rig is good enough, you can just brute force performance.

3) PC games are SIGNIFICANTLY easier to hack, which as far as the industry is concerned, is a really huge cut in their profits (how big it really is is up for debate, but generally any cut into their profits is bad);
Yet pretty much all big games of the PS and Xbox end up released for PC sooner or later. :smirk

4) Console owners typically play different games than PC gamers do. There's something to be said for a demographic here;
False and disproved by one word: Emulators. So many PC gamers like console games that they'll go out of their way to code programs just to play console games on their PCs. And make huge rom databases and stuff.


5) All that "Master Race" crap only makes people sound really, really annoying.

I can play both console games and PC games in my laptop. And my laptop does not even needs a TV to work. Meaning it goes anywhere and can be set up in a few minutes.

Also mods and no online subscriptions and several other perks.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 23, 2015, 01:32:55 AM
I'm actually expecting that PC will make a comeback this generation, the specs for both the XBone and the PS4 are really, really not that much of an improvement over the past generation. To me, both are pretty lackluster compared to how much of a bang-for-your-buck the PS3 and 360 were back when they were first released.

You literally couldn't build a PC that could compare with neither for the price-tag and the fact that both their architectures were significantly different from PC meant that games weren't easy to port over to PC, meaning you needed an even better PC to play the 360 & PS3 games that did get ported over.

Now, everything is x86, meaning porting games over should be much easier. That, coupled with the fact that they're not really that powerful for their price-tag(you can easily build a PC with comparable, if not better performance for the same $), means that, quite possibly, PC gaming might be making a comeback. Especially with how fast new hardware is coming out.

Then, there's the fact that eSports are putting PC back into the spotlight. DOTA2, LoL and CS:GO are getting pretty huge and they're all PC games.

When you factor all of these things, it's not really far-fetched at all that we might see most AAA games ported over to PC much quicker than they used to be, with much better performance & compatibility, making owning a console much less appealing if you already have a gaming rig.

Consoles won't be going away, but they won't be as prevalent as they were for the past generation. GO GO PCMASTERRACE!

Ugh, the whole "PC Master Race" spiel makes me roll my eyes pretty hard. Things that you're gleefully forgetting here...

1) Assembling a good gaming PC requires you to be familiar with hardware, and even so certain parts don't work well together. Not everybody has the time to learn their gaming rig inside and out;
2) PC games have to be optimized to run in a large variety of rigs - which has a downward impact on their performance overall;
3) PC games are SIGNIFICANTLY easier to hack, which as far as the industry is concerned, is a really huge cut in their profits (how big it really is is up for debate, but generally any cut into their profits is bad);
4) Console owners typically play different games than PC gamers do. There's something to be said for a demographic here;
5) All that "Master Race" crap only makes people sound really, really annoying.

1) Online resources to help you pick the best parts based on your budget are really accessible and almost dumb-proof by now. Plus "certain parts not working well together" is almost a non-concern right now. There are standards for EVERYTHING. Basically, the only concern you have is if the motherboard you chose to buy supports the chipset of the processor you want to buy, everything else is so standard that at this point it nearly doesn't even matter anymore. Literally the first result on google when searching "best pc for budget" (http://lifehacker.com/5840963/the-best-pcs-you-can-build-for-600-and-1200). Not a very good link, but close enough. Anyone with two functioning brain cells can use those search terms or something similar and get a comprehensive in-depth guide at how to build a PC. Plus, specialized shops will have people on-hand to help you build your PC.

2) DirectX, OpenGL and other API's make it much easier to make a game work with almost any hardware you throw at it, as long as it's got the power to run the game. Don't believe me? Look at some benchmarks of AMD vs nVidia video cards, or Intel vs AMD processors. Most of the time, they're pretty equivalent to eachother in regards to their pricing, processors a bit less than video cards. It's rare that a game has really much better support for one or the other, most of the time, it's pretty equivalent.

3) Consoles can be chipped and otherwise subjected to piracy, and they often are, because prices are often much higher for console games than they are on PC - especially in Brazil and other developing nations. Things like steam sales, GOG & other online shops where you can get a game at up to 90% discount have helped tone down piracy. I know very few people that have an unmodded XBox 360, and even the PS3 with it's more robust anti-piracy was able to be modded to accept pirated games.

4) There are, indeed, many genres that work much better on the PC as a platform as opposed to consoles - like RTS & MOBA's. However, the overlap has been significant, and ever-increasing, as PC is a platform able to accept anything from the old kb+mouse to arcade controllers, to steering wheels, any controller you want, really. Even the Kinect & Wii motion sensor. Plus, you can hook your PC up to your TV and play from the couch, so there's no need to make the argument that a console offers a different gaming experience than the PC, because the PC can offer the same experience as the console, at a much higher fidelity, and with a plethora of different options.

5) It's meant to be tongue-in-cheek and tick people off, but it's true nonetheless. The PC is a superior gaming platform. It offers infinite possibilities, while consoles restrict you to only a few. It doesn't constrain you to a single online shop, like the PS3/4 does with PSN, or 360/XBone with the Marketplace, but rather enables you to go wherever you'll get the better bang for your buck.

The only thing consoles have going for them is convenience - no setup necessary, plug-and-play, every update is automatic, very little need for any user input other than just play the games.

That's about the only advantage they have over the PC, because everything else, the PC does better. You can use your PC for everything, including work & art, while consoles will forever be gaming machines first and poor media centers second.

There's very few things my PC can't do for me, and most of those things, it can actually probably do, i just don't have the right accessories for it.

Once the public realizes just how superior PC's are in general, consoles will start fading out. In fact, current-gen consoles are basically just PC's with a custom OS.

In fact, the /r/pcmasterrace wiki explains it better than i ever will. (https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/wiki/guide#wiki_why_pc.3F) Complete with links corroborating anything and everything. Especially relevant is this link (https://software.intel.com/en-us/blogs/2012/09/22/gaming-piracy-separating-fact-from-fiction), which details how most piracy actually takes place on consoles, and not on PC's.

Furthermore, consoles actually hurt gamers. Want to play Bayonetta 2? Well, sucks to be U, because it's only available on the Wii U. Bloodborne? Gotta get a PS4. Many, MANY games are exclusives to the consoles, whereas if they were released on PC, guess what? You can play them on whatever hardware you choose.

Not only that, because they are being released on a platform that will remain unchanged for up to 7 years, it's actually setting gaming back for AT LEAST THAT TIME, because development is constrained to unchanging specifications & available raw power, meaning that for the lifespan of the consoles, it's basically frozen in time - even though you have newer and better video cards & processors being released every 6 months or so. Optimization can only take you so far before you plateau on what you can deliver visually & content-wise, while on PC, you don't have that problem, because you are always evolving and changing the upper-end on what you can shoot for.

Consoles are undefendable from a gaming viewpoint, anything and everything about them is bad for games long-term, and they offer no advantage to the gamer other than the games they offer - which, is in itself, just the companies holding your games hostage to their platform so you'd be forced to buy their product.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on September 23, 2015, 02:08:08 AM
I didn't read anything, but it feels easy to believe piracy on a console to be easier in that all you need to do is hack the specific online store for that console and download the everythings. Allegedly. I'm just assuming, ya know; and it sounds like a pretty believable assumption to myself :tongue
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: linklord231 on September 23, 2015, 03:37:18 AM
A lot of the advantages of consoles have worn away over the last few generations. 

I had a bunch of stuff that I was going to say about it, but Jim Sterling (https://youtu.be/Z2f-kTZrrsg?list=PLZDikC_5pVFOZi1Nbz0498hS4tJFleW6i) already said it all.  And keep in mind, he was talking about the 360/PS3.  The latest console generation has only made things worse in many regards. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 23, 2015, 05:55:09 PM
So the achievement list for AC:Syndicate is out and one of them is called "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" it requires you to flip five vehicles by shooting their horses
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 23, 2015, 06:39:01 PM
1) Assembling a good gaming PC requires you to be familiar with hardware, and even so certain parts don't work well together. Not everybody has the time to learn their gaming rig inside and out;
Maybe in the past, but nowadays you can go in a store and find several prebuilt good options at nice prices that'll work pretty well for anything below ultraubergraphics. Also the internet has plenty of guides to help you know what you're doing.

2) PC games have to be optimized to run in a large variety of rigs - which has a downward impact on their performance overall;
If your rig is good enough, you can just brute force performance.

3) PC games are SIGNIFICANTLY easier to hack, which as far as the industry is concerned, is a really huge cut in their profits (how big it really is is up for debate, but generally any cut into their profits is bad);
Yet pretty much all big games of the PS and Xbox end up released for PC sooner or later. :smirk

4) Console owners typically play different games than PC gamers do. There's something to be said for a demographic here;
False and disproved by one word: Emulators. So many PC gamers like console games that they'll go out of their way to code programs just to play console games on their PCs. And make huge rom databases and stuff.


5) All that "Master Race" crap only makes people sound really, really annoying.

I can play both console games and PC games in my laptop. And my laptop does not even needs a TV to work. Meaning it goes anywhere and can be set up in a few minutes.

Also mods and no online subscriptions and several other perks.

1) Maybe in Portugal, but around here that's pretty much equivalent to asking to have your pockets gouged. I consider myself a fairly smart person and Google has proven absolutely worthless for me in that regard. But I'll bite. Educate me. Show me how to make my PC NOT SUCK.

2) But that's not the rig the program is optimized for. And it still requires you to set things up properly.

3) Still waiting for a single Disgaea game to be released for the PC, barring emulators. Or most of the Metal Gear Series. Or Shin Megami Tensei. Or anything by Platinum...

4) The PS3 architecture and firmware have been pretty much thoroughly scrutinized by several people who know what they're doing, to the point that they can hack it like a five dollar whore, and still no emulators for it. Also, not every emulator proves reliable at playing every game for that given platform. (Case in point: if you want to play a decent Sega Saturn library you need at least half a dozen different emulators and settings. And that's a console from three gens ago.)

5) Can't argue with the perks, but that doesn't make anyone who claims to be superior for picking X over Y any less annoying.  :p

Mind, I'm not advocating the superiority of consoles. But there's something to be said for ease of use against PCs, which often get underwhelmingly crappy ports, and which the industry DOES treat as a third wheel at best half the time, with few notable exceptions.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on September 23, 2015, 07:47:20 PM
The fact they actually still rely on AA batteries makes me glad I picked the PS4 over it.
MS probably has a tone of shares in Energizer or something.

Also, the PC is the master race. And you can just buy an assembled one on Amazon that works pretty damn well. Building your own is just an elitest thing. To add to Ols's comment, get Steam. Once you actually get into it, and by it I just mean it's just a store "app" for your computer that offers games for a fraction of their console cost, you'll never look at console gaming the same way again.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 23, 2015, 08:19:44 PM
Actually, for most AAA titles, the cost of a Steam game and a PS4 game level to about the same around here. Difference being that Steam throws occasional sales - oh wait, PSN + does that too. Like every week.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: trappedslider on September 23, 2015, 08:34:23 PM
Honestly for me it depends on the game,my PC required me to upgrade it to play Skyrim when they put out the legendary edition of it,but I wanted to taste the mods,so i paid the 150$ to upgrade what it needed. My Xbox one OTOH, get's it's next update in a couple of months and will be able to have the games I want to play on it like Halo 5,and AC: Syndicate.. I like using a controller for some games,like Skyrim and some FPS series, but I can't do that on my PC without first buying another program or doing runarounds as I found out with CoD: Modern Warfare.

I can also use my xbox as a blu-ray player without having to buy a blu-ray drive. 
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 23, 2015, 08:55:32 PM
Well, my PC is over 8 years old and is finally in need of an upgrade.  It can still play all the new games, at decent to good settings, but components are starting to fail, such as the hard drive.  It's done me very well, and was well worth the purchase.  And since Steam's cloud holds a copy of all my steam games' save files, all I'll have to do is install Steam on the new PC whenever I get it (can't afford it right now, so this one will have to hold on a while longer), and install the games on the new one, and the save files will be copied onto it automatically.  That's currently better than what most consoles offer.

I also find that PC tends to be more open to a wider variety of games.  There are a ton of games that are best played with a keyboard and mouse instead of a controller (look at the Paradox grand strategy series, or most RTS games, for example), which just aren't available on consoles because those are not standard input devices.  Yet PCs can easily do controller support, so consoles don't have a comparable advantage.  I've got a PS4 controller hooked up to my PC, and it works great.

As for blu-ray, I've still got a PS3 for watching movies.  While I could hook my PC up to my TV, I don't really need to.  The PS3 also has Netflix, so it's now my show/movie system, while my PC is for internet browsing and gaming.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 23, 2015, 10:22:49 PM
Actually, for most AAA titles, the cost of a Steam game and a PS4 game level to about the same around here. Difference being that Steam throws occasional sales - oh wait, PSN + does that too. Like every week.

On launch, perhaps, the cost is about the same, but it drops sharply after that. Don't get me wrong, PSN has some good deals, and PSPlus gives you free games for a comparatively low subscription costs, plus some Plus only discounts. It's a good online marketplace. But GoG and Steam still have the best prices, especially if you're patient enough to wait for a few months before getting a game. On average, games for consoles cost more than they do on PC.

If you think a game is too costly on Steam, try and check out GoG. Many times, there's some good deals there. Steam Wishlist is a godsend here, too. You mark a game on your wishlist, automatically receive an e-mail whenever the game enters a sale.

Everything consoles have, PC's do it better, there's no two ways about it. It's just a better platform that is currently underrepresented, but will get more and more market share as time passes, simply because it's superior. Especially when "steamboxes" and the like become more popular and more available, and even the no-setup-no-user-input-required advantage of the consoles vanishes.

@Kethrian actually, PS3 and 360 both had cloud-saving available and bound-to-account, although it sometimes doesn't work well and you're better off without it. Games can also be bound to account and available as digital downloads in the event of an HD wipe/stolen console.

And you can actually use kb+mouse on ps3/360... But it's convoluted and not easy at all. Either requires specialty hardware or following tutorials on "tricking" the consoles into thinking you're using a controller when you're actually using KB+Mouse...

The reason why consoles don't want you using KB+Mouse? They know that a KB+Mouse FPS veteran will absolutely murder anyone using a controller on the console. It's just a much, much better fit. Also, they want you buying all their hardware. Just another example of companies wanting to make you hostage to their hardware in every way possible.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on September 23, 2015, 10:55:21 PM
Everything consoles have, PC's do it better, there's no two ways about it.
It helps that PCs run console games too :)

As for blu-ray, I've still got a PS3 for watching movies.  While I could hook my PC up to my TV, I don't really need to.  The PS3 also has Netflix, so it's now my show/movie system, while my PC is for internet browsing and gaming.
I know how that is. It's easier to click the PS3 on for Netflix and such, but plugging the laptop in lets me watch anything. Extremely useful when you want to watch something that's not on subscription TV if you know what I mean.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 23, 2015, 11:02:20 PM
@Kethrian actually, PS3 and 360 both had cloud-saving available and bound-to-account, although it sometimes doesn't work well and you're better off without it. Games can also be bound to account and available as digital downloads in the event of an HD wipe/stolen console.

And you can actually use kb+mouse on ps3/360... But it's convoluted and not easy at all. Either requires specialty hardware or following tutorials on "tricking" the consoles into thinking you're using a controller when you're actually using KB+Mouse...

The reason why consoles don't want you using KB+Mouse? They know that a KB+Mouse FPS veteran will absolutely murder anyone using a controller on the console. It's just a much, much better fit. Also, they want you buying all their hardware. Just another example of companies wanting to make you hostage to their hardware in every way possible.

Oh, I know you can hook up keyboard and mouse to consoles.  I tried it out on my PS3 and it worked fine using the USB ports, at least for using its internet browser.  The problem is that games on the consoles are not designed to utilize them, so getting them to work for the games is a pain.

As for blu-ray, I've still got a PS3 for watching movies.  While I could hook my PC up to my TV, I don't really need to.  The PS3 also has Netflix, so it's now my show/movie system, while my PC is for internet browsing and gaming.
I know how that is. It's easier to click the PS3 on for Netflix and such, but plugging the laptop in lets me watch anything. Extremely useful when you want to watch something that's not on subscription TV if you know what I mean.

I do watch youtube and other stuff on my PC, especially since I have headphones hooked up to it, so I don't have to worry about bothering my roommate or neighbours with noise.  Best of both worlds, basically.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on September 23, 2015, 11:25:25 PM
Oh, I know you can hook up keyboard and mouse to consoles.  I tried it out on my PS3 and it worked fine using the USB ports, at least for using its internet browser.  The problem is that games on the consoles are not designed to utilize them, so getting them to work for the games is a pain.
Yeah, as Brujon said it's to keep you buying those gamepads :p

You know what I miss? The original Gameshark days. Man if only all of you were alive back then...
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: brujon on September 23, 2015, 11:29:18 PM
Everything consoles have, PC's do it better, there's no two ways about it.
It helps that PCs run console games too :)

As for blu-ray, I've still got a PS3 for watching movies.  While I could hook my PC up to my TV, I don't really need to.  The PS3 also has Netflix, so it's now my show/movie system, while my PC is for internet browsing and gaming.
I know how that is. It's easier to click the PS3 on for Netflix and such, but plugging the laptop in lets me watch anything. Extremely useful when you want to watch something that's not on subscription TV if you know what I mean.

We all know it's only a matter of time before Netflix releases it's own app-like interface for at least Mac & PC.

I use my PC hooked up to my TV with an HDMI-cable, this gives me audio & video from my TV. I then hooked up a wireless mouse & keyboard, increased the DPI on Windows so that i can actually read from my bed, and i can actually do almost everything from my bed facing my TV directly.

It's a godsend. Every single girl i have ever brought home for some netflix & chill absolutely loves my setup. Many friends have asked me to help them get the same configuration set up on their homes as well.

Netflix doesn't have a movie? It's ok, i got Popcorn Time. Oh, Popcorn Time also doesn't have the movie? It's ok, i can torrent it. I can also read books while laying on my bad, casually scrolling with the mouse. My motherboard has a bluetooth adaptor, so if i really wanted to, i could probably even control some things using my cellphone if i wanted to, or i could get a bluetooth remote and control my movies that way as well.

I also have an extension cord & 360 controller that reaches all the way from my PC to my bed, so i can play any games i so wish using my controller. I also got a N64 controller adapter so that i could play N64 games on my PC as well. Trivially easy to acquire one for my PS2/3/GameCube controllers and use those as well. There's also an adapter for the Wii Motion Sensor, and several tutorials on the net on how to set up the Wiimote to be used as a mouse.

How fucking awesome is it that i can even play Wii Games on my PC? Even Kinect games are possible, if i really wanted too, too bad that 360 emulators are still shitty as fuck, but there are some interesting things you can use the Kinect for on your computer.

Once i come into some more money, i'll DEFINITELY be investing on a wireless 5.1 home theater, so everything can be even more awesome in crystal clear crisp and bassy 5.1 surround.

PC gives you infinite possibilities, like i said.

In fact, want a cheap-as-fuck media center? A Raspberry PI is more than capable of 1080p high-quality playback. Can't go TOO crazy with it, but it's more than capable of handling Netflix & YIFY releases. If you splurge just a little bit more, you can get a cute micro ATX/ITX case and make a cheap build with a cheap AMD APU, cheap MOBO, 8gb memory, 1Tb HDD, cheapo PSU, you can build it for under 300 bucks, and it'll be much, much more than a console will ever be. It'll also be almost as tiny as one, and with the right peripherals, a mighty powerful tool in your arsenal.

In fact, such a PC would be more than fine for everything BUT gaming, and even then, it can probably run older games just fine, and possibly emulate everything up to the PS1 with no problems whatsoever. You want to go even tinier? Mini ITX. There are some beautiful cases out there as well. If the dollar wasn't so goddamn expensive and i wasn't so goddamned broke, i'd DEFINITELY build such a home-media machine (HTPC) and make it the centerpiece of the living room.

Pc is the masterrace.

EDIT: Also, if you don't want the hassle of building a nice HTPC in a slick and clean mini-itx case that is sure to impress anyone, you can always just buy a cheap laptop that has an HDMI port and just use that as your media center. Bam. Done deal.

EDIT2: There are pre-built HTPC's (http://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC5CPYH-Graphics-2-5-Inch-BOXNUC5CPYH/dp/B00XPVRR5M/). $137 dollars, man. All you need to buy after that is the HDD of your choice and a stick of RAM and you're done.

There are also several amazing media streaming softwares available for best experience and eyegasm. I personally liked the look of Kodi (http://www.kodi.tv). Thinking i might try it out on my laptop to see how it feels & works.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 23, 2015, 11:30:32 PM
Pfff,  Gameshark?  I borrowed a Game Genie for my NES from my neighbour when I was a kid.  Tried inputting random codes for a few games.  For Super Mario Bros, I turned Mario green and he couldn't jump.  Made Link invincible in Zelda 2.  Nothing memorable in any of the other games, though.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: ketaro on September 24, 2015, 12:55:16 AM
Truly the only real perk of PCs over every console ever if an infinite amount of free to play online games of every and any genre.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: SorO_Lost on September 24, 2015, 02:01:00 AM
Pfff,  Gameshark?  I borrowed a Game Genie for my NES from my neighbour when I was a kid.  Tried inputting random codes for a few games.  For Super Mario Bros, I turned Mario green and he couldn't jump.  Made Link invincible in Zelda 2.  Nothing memorable in any of the other games, though.
Game Genie unfortunately encoded it's set up in order to sell you new code books.

The first releases of Game Shark, before they were bought out, didn't encrypt their values. Like with the GB everyone who played Pokemon learned the last four digits was the memory address and the 3rd & 4th numbers was what data you were forcing to be read. Want a Mew? Figure out what 151 was in hexadecimal and boom you were set. None of that battle a dozen Abras hoping to catch a lv100 Mew crap.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on September 28, 2015, 02:58:22 AM
So owners of the PC version of MGSV are capable of transferring MP3 files to a "Custom Soundtrack" folder in the game's source file. These tracks can be accessed in-game to play when the helicopter comes in, or as a casette tape on your iDroid.

So I've been accumulating a series of music choices, some serious, others not so much.  I felt that Dethklok's Hatredcopter was highly appropriate, for example. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9LOAdP9iIQ)

So, what music choices do you find particularly appropriate for the game, whether to play during missions or when the helicopter's summoned?
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kethrian on September 28, 2015, 03:29:31 AM
Going by what I've heard in a Let's Play, I'm going to assume you are talking about MGS5.  I don't own the game, so I can't say what I do use, but I do like the idea of using the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance soundtrack for some of it.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 28, 2015, 08:52:34 AM
So owners of the PC version of the game are capable of transferring MP3 files to a "Custom Soundtrack" folder in the game's source file. These tracks can be accessed in-game to play when the helicopter comes in, or as a casette tape on your iDroid.

So I've been accumulating a series of music choices, some serious, others not so much.  I felt that Dethklok's Hatredcopter was highly appropriate, for example. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9LOAdP9iIQ)

So, what music choices do you find particularly appropriate for the game, whether to play during missions or when the helicopter's summoned?

Clearly, it must be an 80's inspired soundtrack. Things like Highway to the Danger Zone, or the He-Man  theme.  :D
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Libertad on September 28, 2015, 01:43:37 PM
Going by what I've heard in a Let's Play, I'm going to assume you are talking about MGS5.  I don't own the game, so I can't say what I do use, but I do like the idea of using the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance soundtrack for some of it.

Apologies.  I copy-pasted this when it was its own thread on another forum without thinking.
Title: Re: Videogame Discussion II: Snake's Revenge
Post by: Kuroimaken on September 28, 2015, 08:11:21 PM
A new challenger thread has appeared! (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=16461.new#new)