Video Games Randomness - Prioritize specific game threads!

[Anonymous Bosch]

I haven’t payed attention to the genre in ages, but find myself in the mood for a city builder, preferably a medieval one.

Any recommendations?

It's been a while since I played, but Anno 1404: Gold Edition or the more recently-released Anno 1404 History Edition are also worth considering:

[Skinypupy]

Maybe not exactly what you're looking for either, but I just remembered this:

This game is wonderful. Thanks for the recommendation. Picked up both it and Kingdoms & Castles. Will try that K&C later.

It's been a while since I played, but Anno 1404: Gold Edition or the more recently-released Anno 1404 History Edition are also worth considering:

I've tried a couple of the Anno games. While I'm always motivated by the incredible endgame states they show, I ended up completely lost in the complexity long before I could ever get anywhere near that point.

I also re-downloaded Dungeons 3, a game that I picked up on a Steam sale and never really gave a fair shake to.

[Skinypupy]

I finally caved this weekend and let Little B 11.6 download Fortnite so she can play with her friends. I've been generally against her playing shooters, but figured it was inevitable, so I gave in.

I never thought I'd say this, but that actually looks like a hell of a lot of fun. To the point where I may actually download it on PC and mess around with it myself.

[Anonymous Bosch]

It's been a while since I played, but Anno 1404: Gold Edition or the more recently-released Anno 1404 History Edition are also worth considering:

I've tried a couple of the Anno games. While I'm always motivated by the incredible endgame states they show, I ended up completely lost in the complexity long before I could ever get anywhere near that point.

YMMV, but I recall finding Alphatucana's series of beginner's guide video walkthroughs for Anno 1404 more helpful for learning how to play than the tutorials.

[hitbyambulance]

i'm convinced Noita is one of the better (best?) games of the past decade, but it does have the usual roguelike learning curve. thirty hours in and i still haven't gotten past the fourth level, though i feel i finally have a handle on the spell abilities. that level is still quite difficult, but equipped with heavy fire power, it becomes even more fun.

the thing is to not advance to the next level as quickly as possible, but to take your time exploring each one - they're very, very big and this is how you can find more health for later and better spells. only advance when low on health.

[Max Peck]

I did not see this coming...

Why Microsoft is the Perfect Fit

As the gaming industry transforms from a device-centric era to a player-centric era powered by new technology that provides the freedom to play with friends anywhere on any device, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) on Monday announced plans to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, one of the largest, privately held game developers and publishers in the world. Creators of critically acclaimed and best-selling gaming franchises including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout among many others, Bethesda brings an impressive portfolio of games, technology, talent, as well as a track record of blockbuster commercial success, to Xbox. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash.

I guess for $7.5 billion, anything will seem like a good fit if you're in line for a slice of the pie.

[Daehawk]

I dont like MS owning any games places. They ruin everything when it comes to gaming on PC.

[Daehawk]

Baldur's Gate II celebrates it's 20 year anniversary!

DAaaaamn thats a long time ago now.

[Blackhawk]

I dont like MS owning any games places. They ruin everything when it comes to gaming on PC.

They can't do much worse than Bethesda has lately.

[hitbyambulance]

so Microsoft also now owns id Software (Doom, Quake, Rage, Commander Keen, etc)

[Rumpy]

That came out of the left field flying way above my head. I suspect the next Elder Scrolls is going to be an XBox exclusive.

[Max Peck]

so Microsoft also now owns id Software (Doom, Quake, Rage, Commander Keen, etc)

You're not the only one to note that...

[disarm]

Baldur's Gate II celebrates it's 20 year anniversary!

DAaaaamn thats a long time ago now.

And it still stands as one of the best games I've ever played

[Carpet_pissr]

Word.

[Kasey Chang]

Can't keep any interest on a single game, trying out various games in inventory.

Jumping back into GRID 2019, reminded myself why I don't like circuit racing. Same courses, everybody in equivalent cars, except there was no place to pass in most places, and if you get aggressive the "nemesis mode" kicks in... And the AI drivers will RAM you of the road if they are angry enough. Yet in some courses, like the Zhejiang/China course, there is no avoiding some contact, esp. if the guy in front of you is a slow-poke. So he got poked.

I've uploaded various Dakar race recordings to Youtube. I only made like 8, and they are each taking like a whole day to upload (my upload bandwidth sucks).

EDIT: Went back to Void Bastard. I was playing on easy-peasy, but I still got killed once, too many enemies near me and too many environmental hazards. For the next try, I built the heart-stopper, which zaps me back to life (basically a second chance) and used that to survive a ship that has fire everywhere and I don't have an asbestos jacket. Made that the priority part search, but that ship is still several warps away, and I keep losing "sticky fingers" (autoloot loose items) as those "random mutations" keep hitting me, argh! I've developed tactics against each type of enemy, so I'm okay there. The problem was always the environment. So far radiation is not a major problem, so it's mainly going to be fire. And I will avoid fire environments unless I get my asbestos jacket, and maybe not even then.

Apparently, let the ship go vacuum THEN board it and restore power is not an option, even though you have O2 source onboard.

[$iljanus]

I'm really happy that a new generation is playing Tony Hawk 1&2. The remastered version looks great on the PS4 and my daughter is really good at it. I'm having her unlock things for me!

[Max Peck]

[jztemple2]

I'll once again drop a little plug for what I think is looking to be a pretty fun little game, Not For Broadcast (Steam page). I played the first "chapter" back when it was free online for awhile and now I'm just waiting for full release. The reason I'm posting something about it now is that the devs have posted a new update to the game that really tickled me. Here's the video:

[Skinypupy]

Will check out Northgard and Banished. Hearing good things about Foundations as well, but it’s still in EA, so that’s probably a no-go.

I played a Northgard free-weekend demo as it was on my list, and I didn't enjoy it. It felt more like an AoE style game and not really a city builder. I didn't get very far, though.

This is on my list as well, but I haven't tried it.

So, Kingdoms & Castles and I got off to a bit of a rocky start, no pun intended.

In the early game, you need to gather stone to build pretty much anything. There were a number of stone deposits on my map, but they were all surrounded by darker "unusable stone", which made them impossible to access. I clicked on every option, re-read every tutorial, looked up forum and FAQ threads, all trying to figure out why the hell I couldn't access the most basic resource needed to build anything in my city. I finally just gave up in frustration after around 30 minutes.

Turns out, it was just an unlucky random environment spawn. See, each area is randomly generated when you start a game, and mine just happened to spawn with completely inaccessible stone deposits, making the game literally impossible to play. I restarted a new game, and it populated with multiple stone resources that I could access. Things went much more smoothly after that.

I know it was just an unlucky random thing, but man, that game could not have made a worse first impression if it tried.

[Kasey Chang]

"Finished" Void Bastard on Easy-Peasy. It was an expected ending.

Spoiler:

You got dried out and dumped into orbit upon arrival anyway, because you got no pardon for the "crimes" you did even while ordered by the computer.

I may try it on a SLIGHTLY harder level now that I know what to look for. But I doubt I'll ever try the "challenges" levels. Those seems to be for real masochists.


Went back to GRID, but I'm not sure I can stand the driving model as I am used to a fair bit of traction, not total rear-end breaking looseness. I can handle SOME loose rear, but the Aussie supercars seriously are impossible for me. But then, NASCAR level power, RWD, on road tracks? Yeah, it'd be hard alright.

I've found that all of the GRID series have SERIOUS rear-end looseness issues. Even a "sporty" car like the Subaru BRZ feels as if its rear tires are coated with Crisco. But it could also be I'm still used to the gamepad way of driving. I found GRID Autosport and regular GRID to be about the same, and since you can't adjust suspension independently like you can in their rally games, that makes the vehicles nearly impossible to handle in traffic. Alone on the track, you have a little bit of room. But not when everybody else is bumping you.

Decided to play Cold Waters. I am more used to the Sonalyst games and was looking for the sonar controls and signature matching and speed counts, but seems this game simulated all that, basically putting it on the level of Jane's 688(i) H/K game with all automation officers added. I just went through 5 of 7 training missions, and all the tactics are coming back. I'm still trying to find the darn keyboard shortcuts though.

[Daehawk]

Well Fallout 4 mods just aren't the same as Skyrim. I simply want to install a mod so I can pick it as my character. I want to install a clothing mod that I find in a store or a store of them. If I want to make Piper better looking I want to install a mod and when I find her she looks like that.

But noooo. Gotta fool with a bodyslide mod and this mod and that mod and run this and that and those. I installed about 30 mods and went to make/choose my character and I see no changes other than eyes to choose from.

Its overly complicated and Im so VERY impatient these days. I just want it to work easy peezy. Guess Ill stop bothering.

[Kasey Chang]

Finished my first mission in Cold Waters... a duel between a Narwhal class SSN and a Soviet SSN (unknown class), circa 1984.

The Narwhal-class sub was indeed an odd creature, with a totally experimental reactor that's totally different from the Sturgeon class before it or LA class after it. It requires no coolant pumps when running the reactor in low setting. The result is the quietest US Navy SSN ever until the Ohio-class SSBN and later, the modern Seawolf-class SSN which came decades later. In the game, it has some peculiar additions to the hull, such as some sort of a tube that runs from the sail back past the right rear dive plane. It's REALLY weird looking. But it is quiet.

The duel had me immediately identifying my opponent as a Soviet Sierra-class sub, a worthy opponent. Unfortunately, I may have launched too early, as my torpedoes were early Mk 48's, with a range of about 32K yards, and the range of the Sierra is about 20K yards. When she detected a torpedo, she turned and ran full speed, and ran out the range of the torpedoes I sent, and she was so unnerved at not finding me she went active sonar all the way, as well as shot a torpedo back down the reciprocal heading. However, I'd already cleared datum.

We reengaged, but again, I was too early, and spooked him again. Wasted another two torpedoes. He did not get a shot off this time.

Third time, reacquired, and this time, I closed to 10K yards coming into his baffles heading northwest. I was about to feed him a full spread of four torpedoes, but my own torpedoes had other ideas. One immediately lost the wire, and started circling?! The other two continued ahead. I fired a MOSS decoy to the north, and went down to 800 ft, and popped acoustic decoy, went all ahead flank, an started maneuvering. And fortunately, my own torpedo didn't hit me and went off to parts unknown. The other two torpedoes lost their wires, but they had enough, as I did set my activation points properly. It also helped that Sierra did fire torpedoes and followed it in, hoping to catch me in a pincer, but he ate my torpedo first. Unfortunately, his torpedo is now coming toward me really fast, and I started going up and down, 400ft, 800 ft (floor is 890 ft!) while making sharp turns and popping decoys. My torpedo 2 then hit the Sierra, destroying it utterly. But that torpedo is not really falling for the decoys. I dodged it once, then again. But it was getting closer. I hit my third decoy, thinking that if it turned with me, I'm done for, then it did turn toward me... Then made a left... Toward Sierra's wreckage. Yep, the torpedo went back to overkill its launcher

Phew. The freighter had left the scene long time ago, so I quit the mission, and chalked up my survival more to luck than skill.

But this game really is far more like the old Red Storm Rising than any of the Sonalyst games.

[Kasey Chang]

Still playing Cold Waters. It's really dicey, esp. when playing one of the super-early subs, where half the torpedoes you loaded aren't even wire-guided. The other half are VERY prone to decoys and aren't really fast enough to chase down an enemy ship. You practically have to fire at it coming head-on at close-range to prevent them from veering away and hit a decoy. Yikes. Trying to hit an Oscar protected by an Alfa in a Narwhal... Sank the Alfa, damaged the Oscar, but their torpedoes got me. Argh. It's fun, I can say that much.

[Paradroid]

I enjoyed reading that Cold Waters AAR Kasey. I might even fire it up myself later.

[Jaddison]

When you say early torpedoes are they MK-37s? Mk-14s? MK 48s have always had ACR so they should not circle to kill you unless you tunr ACR off which I don't think is possible.

Does the game explain the MK-48 employment scheme for the two 48s?

[Blackhawk]

This is related to a discussion in another thread, but I thought I'd rant here. I think my biggest annoyance in games is when developers and publishers assume that you are able to dedicate your entire lifestyle only to their game. This takes the form of:

1. Assuming that you are able to dedicate every moment to their game without interruption. Not being able to save is one element that we've had to get used to, but at least we can pause and come back later, at least most of the time. I've encountered a game recently that gives timed missions, no ability to save, and no ability to pause. If you sit down to play, you'd better be ready and able to dedicate the next hour (or whatever) to just playing that game. God forbid the phone rings, you have to go to the bathroom, and elderly relative needs something, or you have kids. Guess what? Real life comes around and you lose. And this isn't an MMO. But you're able to put the real world on hold for our game, right?

2. Assuming that you live in an ideal environment for their game, where you can ensure that their game is the only thing competing for your ears, for example. If you have people talking or watching TV in the room, don't expect to hear their subtle audio cues unless you're willing to blow your ears out by cranking up your headphones. Or more commonly, where you can make the entire room pitch black in order to be able to see in their 'atmospheric' game. If you have windows or lights on in the room, you won't be able to see a thing. But you are able to restructure your living room and family just to play the game, right?

3. Assuming that your computer exists only for their game. I think the most blatant example here is when there is some issue and their 'solution' is to install older drivers, or uninstall conflicting drivers/software in order to solve their bug. No, you don't need those drivers updated to run other games, as you're just running our game. No, you don't need that antivirus installed on your Our Game Computer. Another example is when games hard-code or prevent the use of certain keys when rebinding, completely ignoring that this might cause issues where peripherals aren't able to be used with their game without setting them to their default settings, and thus breaking other games. But you aren't running any other games, right?

These people need to step outside and look at the real world from time to time. They forget that people live in noisy, bright, inconvenient homes where one device might server multiple purposes or multiple people. These issues have cause me to be unable to play a lot of games that I'd otherwise really have liked.

[Isgrimnur]

Ah, the good old days of trying to figure our driver roulette between the four available for my V330 and the three available for my 3D Monster IIs.

[Kasey Chang]

Still playing Cold Waters. I can't do the 1968 scenario, when half of your torpedos are not even guided, but old-fashioned dumb torps a la WW2. The guided ones are much smaller and thus slower. You have to sneak in so close they have no chance to run, but that also means you're in range of the SUBROCs and more. Nope, can't do it. Esp. when you can only guide ONE torpedo at a time.

Decided to play two more single missions: played the "Against the Wolves" again where you, alone in SSN, is up against 2-3 diesel subs. This one actually went pretty well. I was in a Permit class, no towed away, but didn't need it, and quickly identified a Kilo, Romeo, and Tango. As I only have two wire control slots, I decided to just engage the two closest, while sending an unguided torpedo at the third to "keep him honest". This time, remembered my RSR lessons, and started both vertical and and horizontal evasion, keeping at flank speed, weaving this and that. Even fired a MOSS decoy but I don't think that did any good. One decoy above, dive, turn 90. One decoy below, turn 90, go shallow (fluctuating between 500 and 900). Killed all three, no damage to self.

Then decided to do the Oscar Hunt (kill Oscar which may be accompanied by SSN). Got the Narwhal. Found myself BETWEEN the Oscar and the escort, which turned out to be a Victor III. When distance was below 10K yards for both, fired one torpedo at each, then went to 900 feet and waited for the counter-torpedo, which came quickly, but one had the reciprocal heading off slightly. Dodged that... Until it kept coming, as it was obviously guided. Keep dodging, up, decoy, turn, down, decoy, turn... Victor ate the torpedo, but the torp from Oscar kept coming, until it went off, homing in on Victor's wreckage, which is when I found that the other torpedo managed to hit the Oscar after two near misses. The decoy and the extra torpedo I sent that way was wasted, but a good result nonetheless.

At this rate I can only do two missions per patrol, at the rate I use up those decoys.

[Kasey Chang]

Still in Cold Waters. Tried "Sink the Kirov" about 6 times, best I can do is get a torpedo into him, then I get sandwiched by the May (Soviet anti-sub patrol plane, basically their version of P-3 Orion), the Sierra SSN, and the two escorts. Just too many torpedoes in the water to dodge.

Decided to try something a little modern... It's year 2000... Stop the Chinese amphib group in the super shallow Formosa straits... 212 ft of water. And there's like multiple merchants, a couple home built Jihu frigates, 3 landing crafts (with anti-missile defenses), some "merchants", and some ex-Soviet cruisers (Kalin? Kanin? and a Sovrmen... something) not to mention a Chinese May joining the fun... And the Sov... something has the Chinese ASW (copy of the Dolphine?) After dodging torpedoes left and right in shallow water, got hit by multiple small torps, managed to got the ship back to 10 knots flank with some good damcon. Sank both frigates, a cruiser, all landing crafts. One "merchant" escaped damage, one unscathed, and one cruiser remained. I could have taken it down, but I figured my job is already done and left them alone. If I go after them there's a good chance the May will get me as there were sonobuoys all over the place, and one was dropped practically on top of me and I had to creep away ultra-quiet.

I think that's enough fun for one day.

[Daehawk]

I think that's enough fun for one day.

Sounds more like torture.

[Kasey Chang]

Still Cold Waters. Bastion Gambit. I REALLY really hate those airborne ASW threats. I think most of my damage came from them, not from the escorts.

The Bastion Gambit, is to take out the Delta IV SSBN being escorted by a whole passel of units. I was firing torpedoes down EVERY bearing I saw an enemy. In the end, I sank the SSBN, PLUS 2 Udaloy DDs PLUS a Tango sub. Didn't see the Kilo in the confusion. But sinking 4 out of 5 plus the primary target, in exchange for some heavy damage ain't too bad. (I had barely controlled flooding and was resting on sea floor, not far from the Delta IV I sunk.

[Baroquen]

Torchlight III launches October 13. That's what...about 2 weeks away?

I seem to remember the first two games being relative hits among the OO crowd, though I wasn't super impressed. I finished the first one though, which is rare. And it seems we don't even have a thread for this one? Has the hivemind turned away on this one?

[Paingod]

I wasn't super impressed.

I bought Torchlight and enjoyed it well enough, then got the second and just never got into it. I don't see myself bothering with the third installment.

[coopasonic]

It was supposed to be an MMO (Torchlight Frontiers) then it released as a more traditional game in early access. There has been discussion but I am not sure where.

[LordMortis]

I loved Torchlight II. It scratched the Diablo II itch like no other game. In many ways it was much better. I'm not sure what would drag me back as I don't get that itch anymore but if I did, I'd have faith in the game.

[Paradroid]

I don't get that itch anymore but if I did, I'd have faith in the game.

Isn't it being developed by a different studio though?

[LordMortis]

I don't get that itch anymore but if I did, I'd have faith in the game.

Isn't it being developed by a different studio though?

Are they? I have no idea.

[Max Peck]

Torchlight III is being developed by Echtra Games.

Echtra Games is a game studio based in San Francisco that is developing Torchlight Frontiers III. It was founded in 2016 by Max Schaefer, who was also one of the founders of Runic Games, the studio behind previous games of the Torchlight series. The team is primarily composed of individuals that worked on Diablo I, Diablo II, and the original Torchlight (mostly from the former).

[Daehawk]

It was supposed to be an MMO (Torchlight Frontiers) then it released as a more traditional game in early access. There has been discussion but I am not sure where.

My friend says they handled it all like crap and its bad. He did the early access stuff.

[Daehawk]

I cant recall what thread had the RTS talk in it but Ill place this here. I found it just now. Its a Medieval RTS. Bannermen.

https://www.indiegala.com/store/game/ba ... dium=email