Octopus Overlords

Installed and played Wasteland 3 for enough time to realize that I really wanted to finish Wasteland 2 (and that I need to upgrade my video card), and I stayed up until 3:15a this morning playing - without wanting or meaning to.

Just love these games, and the style...everything. Writing is great. Voice acting is great, and there is a lot more humor than I would have guessed. I started it years ago when I backed it (even got the physical copy w/ deluxe map, etc), but never finished for some reason (apparently I'm not the only one here!).

Reviving the W2 thread in case someone wants to play along.

And finished and got the platinum for Persona 5 Royal. The final boss didn't seem that bad after I had just stumbled upon one of the hidden bosses who was a beast. There were a lot of support spells that I didn't end up using as efficiently as I could since all my builds focused on minimizing weaknesses and maximizing damage output. Of course, most of the bosses were immune to status effects so that was another part of the game that was underutilized. Really, some of the mid bosses were probably the most interesting in the game. They were tough, but you could use all the tools in the kit. The ending did a nice job summing up the positive effect you had on people as you went on your hero's journey.

Overall, the translation was good. The voice acting was very mixed. I really think we're past the days of the mute protagonist. There was so much to do that you could focus on the parts you enjoyed and minimize the rest. There were story teases that there might be more to come, but I don't know if they plan to do anything with them. So good story, fun characters, solid battling system and probably too much extra content. Strongly recommended for old school JRPG fans. If you play, at least check out a deadlines guide. There's too much good content you can miss if you don't. I felt bad when I checked the trophies for the people who got to the ending but didn't complete all the palaces. That meant they missed the whole last section of the game.

It's a Persona game so probably not for kids. There's rape, murder, extortion, bullying, suicide, inappropriate relationships, mental illness, and bloody imagery.

Finally got around to playing Devil May Cry 5. Its surprisingly fun, even if I’m absolutely terrible at it.

Absolutely addicted to a roguelite called Pirates Outlaws (sic). Pretty much a free version of Slay the Spire apparently, but with a pirate theme. TBS of course, and it's a LOT more strategic than I was expecting, plus it's extremely hard. I love that. Very grindy as a result, but very fun.

They have an "expedition" map (literally looks ripped from the StS map), but also an arena where you can win extra gold (which allow you to get permanent power-ups).

$20(!) on Steam, but please don't pay that. I got it for free on iOS and I am sure it's on the Google Play store as well for what should be less than $2. Definitely worth $5, but if you can get it for $1 or free...check it out for sure.

I do love the art style as well, and the music is stuck in my head.

I bought the Simulator Humble Bundle and have become oddly addicted to PC BUILDING SIMULATOR. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but I didn't expect you'd be running your own PC repair shop, having to manage parts ordering, getting everything in on time, etc. It really reminds me of my early IT days running virus scans and cleaning cases out with compressed air.

The game's best feature is the built-in internet radio, so that you can listen to stations while working on customer orders. I find the whole thing oddly relaxing.

My wife, meanwhile, thinks I'm crazy to be playing a game about working on computers after having gone to work all day....working on computers.

Yeah it's a lot more fun than I expected it to be.

Carpet_pissr wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:34 am Absolutely addicted to a roguelite called Pirates Outlaws (sic). Pretty much a free version of Slay the Spire apparently, but with a pirate theme. TBS of course, and it's a LOT more strategic than I was expecting, plus it's extremely hard. I love that. Very grindy as a result, but very fun.

They have an "expedition" map (literally looks ripped from the StS map), but also an arena where you can win extra gold (which allow you to get permanent power-ups).

$20(!) on Steam, but please don't pay that. I got it for free on iOS and I am sure it's on the Google Play store as well for what should be less than $2. Definitely worth $5, but if you can get it for $1 or free...check it out for sure.

I do love the art style as well, and the music is stuck in my head.

This was .99 on Google Play. Well worth the cost. I'll get plenty of wear out of this.Very much like Slay the Spire but different bells and whistles and theme. Thanks for the heads up!

I am trying to play Red Dead Redemption 2, but it is such a huge game that it feels like starting War & Peace. I sit down for gaming, but keep shying away from it just because it seems like such a huge thing to commit to.

Finished Devil May Cry 5 tonight. Fun game, but I don't really have any motivation to go back and chase scores or anything. I was plenty done with it by the time the credits rolled. While I've played bits and pieces of most of them, this is the first game in the DMC series that I've ever finished.

Will probably jump back to Control and try to wrap it up as well. I"m about 3/4 of the way through (according to a walkthrough I glanced at), but it's overstaying it's welcome a bit. The premise is still very cool and the combat is fun, but trying to navigate my way around the building is feeling more and more like a giant pain in the ass.

I'm kinda in the mood for a D&D(ish) RPG, but there's nothing I haven't already played multiple times. Thinking about maybe seeing if/how Dragon Age Origins holds up all these years later, since I thoroughly enjoyed my time with DA: Inquisition.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 1:35 am I'm kinda in the mood for a D&D(ish) RPG, but there's nothing I haven't already played multiple times. Thinking about maybe seeing if/how Dragon Age Origins holds up all these years later, since I thoroughly enjoyed my time with DA: Inquisition.

I decided to try Pathfinder Kingmaker instead of DA:O (after a detour through NWN 2, which inexplicably runs like absolute shit on my system). Pathfinder seems to be scratching the CRPG itch, although I expect I’ll get lost in its complexity before too long. And what I wouldn’t give for map markers in these games. Sigh...

I was also a little annoyed that after I created a melee Fighter, two of the first three characters to join my party were also...melee fighters. For most the first 3 hours, I had a party where three of the four members literally did the exact same thing (with the other being a Bard).

FWIW, Kingmaker is a game where the strategy really benefits from two tank-types, preferably one of whom is tank/support and the other is tank/damage. You'll be given the chance to pick up a good one really good one early on (Valerie.) Amiri, on the other hand, makes a good damage dealer, but not that great of a tank.

I also just restarted Kingmaker. I played a while back, but abandoned it due to conflicts with the tabletop Pathfinder game I was running. My own character is a mix between Aldori Defender (high dexterity fighter who tanks through avoidance and dodging) and an alchemist (I'm thinking grenadier, but we'll see.) I envision a sort of well-educated warrior, classically trained. I found this guide a fantastic resource for questions about mechanics. Just be aware that it's written for someone playing at the highest possible difficulty, so if you're not (I'm on normal), you can ignoring a lot of his character optimization advice.

I’m playing it on Story mode (as always), so most of the character building complexity will be lost on me. I just wanted to run around in a D&D(ish) world and smash stuff for a bit.

Ah, well then, smash away!

At least it explains why you ended up with the companions you did. On higher difficulties they serve completely different roles - tank (Valerie), second row damage (Amiri). I'm not sure who else you've found that's a fighter, so I won't spoil anything, but there is a mage/fighter hybrid, a front lines damage cleric, and a hybrid fighter. They front-loaded the companions with first row tough guys to make sure you had what you needed to survive if you played a squishy character.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:21 am Ah, well then, smash away!

At least it explains why you ended up with the companions you did. On higher difficulties they serve completely different roles - tank (Valerie), second row damage (Amiri). I'm not sure who else you've found that's a fighter, so I won't spoil anything, but there is a mage/fighter hybrid, a front lines damage cleric, and a hybrid fighter. They front-loaded the companions with first row tough guys to make sure you had what you needed to survive if you played a squishy character.

I chose the Hedwirg pre-made character (Fighter), and then got got Valerie and Amiri as two of my three companions. While I’m sure their skill sets diverge later on, those three are nearly identical at low levels.

It just felt like a really weird way to start a game, and I wonder if it’s even feasible at higher difficulty levels. It isn’t a big deal since I’m playing on Story mode. I did pick up a fifth character right before I quit last night (cleric), which means that I now have four melee and one ranged.

Got a couple other clarifying questions, but I’ll move those over to the Pathfinder game thread instead of clogging up this one.

Started up Death Stranding this weekend. Not very far into it yet, but it certainly is weird. It’s been a bit frustrating so far in that the game doesn’t explain very well (if it all) how things work. This has already caused me to replay a decently long section. The game is pretty, though, and I hear it picks up once you get the chapter (episode?) 3, so I’m going to stick with it for now.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 1:03 pm Started up Death Stranding this weekend. Not very far into it yet, but it certainly is weird. It’s been a bit frustrating so far in that the game doesn’t explain very well (if it all) how things work. This has already caused me to replay a decently long section. The game is pretty, though, and I hear it picks up once you get the chapter (episode?) 3, so I’m going to stick with it for now.

Yep, the best advice I can give early on is stick to the story quests and blaze through them at first, because fast travel opens up in Chapter 3 and you can go back and get everything you skipped. It is a big game with lots to do. It's also Kojima's best game since Metal Gear 4. I think he learned a lot about open world games from Metal Gear 5 and took what he learned and made a much better game with Death Stranding.

I played and finished Windbound over the weekend. I have restarted already, though will most likely dabble more this time.

I've put about 8 hours into Pathfinder now. It's kinda fun, but it has a couple of my least favorite CRPG mechanics:

1. Overly vague quest descriptions that give you absolutely no hint where to go or what to do to advance the story
2. Timed quests. It feels like I should have plenty of time to finish the initial main quest, but I get a little worried watching that clock tick down.

Also, moving my party token sloooooooowly around the world map while having to stop and camp every couple minutes is annoying as hell.

Your first big objective - the Stag Lord. Have you done that yet?

The timer stops when you do. The rest of the game opens up then, including the rest of the main quest. And while I do believe a few of the companion quests are timed, the main quest is not after that first big objective.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Wed Sep 09, 2020 12:24 am Your first big objective - the Stag Lord. Have you done that yet?

That's the one I'm working on now. I'm at Old Sycamore, running around what feels like endless caves looking for some sort of relic (?) to open a door and progress the quest. I'm getting super annoyed because whatever it is I'm supposed to find (again...vague quest descriptions) is eluding me, even though I have cleared out every last nook and cranny of both levels of this dungeon.

Vague, badly remembered spoilers. I dunno. I could be misremembering. I do recall that I was confused in that same spot. Something about needing two items to finish the quest, but only one to advance it.

Finished Control tonight. Very cool story dragged down a bit by some seriously confusing travel routes and lots of backtracking. By the end, I was pretty much ignoring all the sidequests because I kept getting lost in the building, but definitely wanted to play it through to see the whole story. I dialed combat back to dummy mode as well, just so I could see what happened at the end. Not sure if I'm interested enough to keep playing through the expansions (reviews for both are mostly 'meh'), but we'll see.

Probably an 6/8 tentacle game for me.

Yeah...Pathfinder isn’t nearly fun or interesting enough to overcome its rather significant flaws. Got about 10 hours in, and I have no desire to continue.

Now I find myself gameless with nothing in particular jumping out at me...which is always a dangerous spot to be.

We need to do something, people. What's the difference between this thread and Video Game Randomness? I take it this thread was also used for organizing some multiplayer initially, but now?

I think we need to decide which is the "Watcha Playin?" thread, and which is the "News/Memes/Sh!t About Video Games Not Deserving Its Own Thread" thread.

Sudy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:32 am We need to do something, people. What's the difference between this thread and Video Game Randomness? I take it this thread was also used for organizing some multiplayer initially, but now?

I think we need to decide which is the "Watcha Playin?" thread, and which is the "News/Memes/Sh!t About Video Games Not Deserving Its Own Thread" thread.

I originally posted that in the Randomness thread, then remembered that BH and I had been discussing it here and moved it.

The general gist is that Video Game Randomness is for any small topic that doesn't really warrant it's own thread. Running discussions of a specific game, for instance, are probably better suited for that game's thread (and really help people find discussions of that game years later), while some off-the-wall observation probably goes in Randomness.

This thread is the latest in a series of 'What are you playing' threads. Usually they just cover a long weekend, and are intended to foster discussion of current gaming in peoples' lives.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:21 am Now I find myself gameless with nothing in particular jumping out at me...which is always a dangerous spot to be.

Persona 5 Royal is on sale at Best Buy, Target and PS Store. Just saying.

Hrothgar wrote: ↑Sat Sep 12, 2020 3:05 pm

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Sep 12, 2020 10:21 am Now I find myself gameless with nothing in particular jumping out at me...which is always a dangerous spot to be.

Persona 5 Royal is on sale at Best Buy, Target and PS Store. Just saying.

Already bounced off that twice. I thought the RPG part was kinda neat...managing the daily life of a surly Japanese high schooler, not so much.

Probably gonna give that Kingdoms of Amalur remaster a look. I know it doesn’t really add anything to the original, but an MMO’ish fantasy grind actually sounds like it might actually hit the spot at the moment.

I stared THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE TACTICS since it became available on Xbox Game Pass.

It's surprisingly fun, especially if you like the theme and have watched the Netflix series. The game adheres very closely to the series, so it's neat to see how they turned instances in the show into games scenarios.

As a tactical game I'd say it's probably a bit on the light/easy side (at least so far), but that's not a bad thing for me. They still give you plenty of choices in how you want to build your party, who to bring with you, etc. However, it doesn't feel overwhelming. The game does a great job of highlighting when and how your characters have been improved, so you usually have a good idea on how to focus your customizations between battles.

Big thumbs up for me.

No Man’s Sky came out with another big update today.

Guess it’s time to fire it back up for another 8 hours of shooting rocks until I get bored again.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 12:43 am No Man’s Sky came out with another big update today.

Guess it’s time to fire it back up for another 8 hours of shooting rocks until I get bored again.

I gave consideration to re-installing to see the new stuff... same as I did the last major update... one of these days. I tried playing it in VR a while back, but learning the VR controls was daunting for some reason. I kind of understand why teleport movement is the standard for VR and I lived with it in Half-Life:Alyx, but it's still just uncomfortable to me.

It's funny, between all my attempts on both PC and PS4, I've played the game for around 50 hours total. However, I've never gotten more than 9 hours in on any single run.

As with most survival(ish) games, I thoroughly enjoy the exploration of the early game, but lose interest pretty quickly when it gets bogged down in overly complex upgrade and development trees. I really want to actually finish it one of these times though...maybe this is the run.

I recently finished the Resident Evil 3 remake. It was good but super short. My first playthrough took a little over 5 hours. So I'm glad I didn't pay full price.

I also finished up Ghosts of Tsushima with the Platinum trophy.

Now I'm about 25 hours into Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steal 3. (Which by the way the entire Cold Steal series is on sale on the PSN right now, so If you were thinking about starting up this JRPG masterpiece now is the time)

Re-downloaded NO MAN'S SKY. Like the rest of you I seem to get a few hours in and then lose interest, but definitely want to give the new update a chance.

The surprise hit for me has been COMPANY OF HEROES 2: COMPLETE COLLECTION which just released on Game Pass. I loved the CoH series and remember finishing the first one completely, but don't think I ever finished the sequel and certainly not its expansion. Having a great time with it this go-round, and it still looks damn good for a 2013 game. Between this and the upcoming AGE OF EMPIRES 3 remaster coming to Game Pass, I'm a happy RTS camper.

YellowKing wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 10:08 am Re-downloaded NO MAN'S SKY. Like the rest of you I seem to get a few hours in and then lose interest, but definitely want to give the new update a chance.

I've played over 200 hours and completed the "story" from the start twice. My second character has maxed out basically everything so there is little motivation. That is why I have a harder time getting into it now, not because it never clicked.

I started and failed to get into it three times, but put a lot of hours into attempt #4. I only quit about six weeks ago due to burnout, so I may warm it back up while I still remember what everything does and put some more time into it. I will probably wait for a day or two to let the quality-of-life mods I use get updated.

YellowKing wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 10:08 am Re-downloaded NO MAN'S SKY. Like the rest of you I seem to get a few hours in and then lose interest, but definitely want to give the new update a chance.

Just FYI, whatever changes they made, they don't affect the early game at all. I played a few hours last night, and it felt exactly the same as all my other runs.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 11:27 am

YellowKing wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 10:08 am Re-downloaded NO MAN'S SKY. Like the rest of you I seem to get a few hours in and then lose interest, but definitely want to give the new update a chance.

Just FYI, whatever changes they made, they don't affect the early game at all. I played a few hours last night, and it felt exactly the same as all my other runs.

Yeah from the short article I read it's supposed to be more about the variety of planets, flora and fauna, better representation of storms, like clouds gathering, etc. That was the main stuff I remember, apparently the patch notes were massive.

https://www.nomanssky.com/origins-update

deeper planetary diversity, dramatic new terrain, a host of new creatures, new weather conditions, colossal buildings, and much more.

I also gave Bard's Tale IV a shot, since it was only $10. I had tried the original version ages ago and thought it was terrible, but had heard the Director's Cut version was significantly improved.

I still found it to be a clunky, boring, disappointing mess. Everything about the design - from the levels, to the UI, to the quest structure - simply feels like it's in the wrong place or far more difficult than it should be. Things that should take one click take three. Info that should be easy to find require you to dig into menus. Quests that should be straightforward require multiple unnecessary steps. It's just all so...awkward.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 24, 2020 11:45 am I also gave Bard's Tale IV a shot, since it was only $10. I had tried the original version ages ago and thought it was terrible, but had heard the Director's Cut version was significantly improved.

I still found it to be a clunky, boring, disappointing mess. Everything about the design - from the levels, to the UI, to the quest structure - simply feels like it's in the wrong place or far more difficult than it should be. Things that should take one click take three. Info that should be easy to find require you to dig into menus. Quests that should be straightforward require multiple unnecessary steps. It's just all so...awkward.

I played through it earlier this year and while I too found it to be a bit clunky I still enjoyed it and beat the game. I chalk most of the clunkiness up to the fact that it comes from a smaller Dev. As for the quests, some were obtuse and some where much more straight forward. I did use a walkthrough for several of them just to keep the game moving.