Octopus Overlords

Took a goat to the knee.

Those headbutts can hurt. I bet that kid was crying after that last one.

Yes, they can.

I also managed to get headbutted in the hip once by a California bighorn. It was enough to get me airborne, although I did mange to land on my feet. Those bastards have some oomph!

That reminds me. A few years ago on our Eclipse trip, we had gone to Oregon to see it and on our way back passed through Montana and the Going to the Sun Road. At the top, we parked and got out. I remember thinking there was a pretty cool statue of a Ram, and that it was pretty lifelike. Grabbed my camera and was nearing to take a picture, and as I got closer, I realized it wasn't a statue at all and slowly backed away when it started moving towards me. I had a laugh because it had been so still and majestic and didn't stop to think it was a real one. That's my close call

Fardaza wrote: ↑Wed Mar 10, 2021 4:36 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:54 pm When Skyrim first came out I was always taking quests to visit the Greybeards. Now I am one the Greybeards.

One of the funniest things I've read in a long time.

Fuh So R... AH... My back! My back! Ooohh...

Paingod wrote: ↑Thu Mar 11, 2021 7:41 am

Fardaza wrote: ↑Wed Mar 10, 2021 4:36 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 09, 2021 11:54 pm When Skyrim first came out I was always taking quests to visit the Greybeards. Now I am one the Greybeards.

One of the funniest things I've read in a long time.

Fuh So R... AH... My back! My back! Ooohh...

"I got an arrow in the knee but it hit my titanium insert and bounced right back out".

Fuh - Keeng - GOTE!

Gah. Cant even make Mass Effect play right. Its been fine for my 5 or so play throughs. My last was 2016 and NOTHING has changed in my setup yet it is just unplayable. In my native res the right half and bottom half are cut off. So get that down to a lower res and then I have ghosting. Fix that and my assault rifle shots go all over and dont even show up then the sound is missing sometimes sometimes not. The sniper rifle has NO crosshair so it hits all over. And finally the view just looks off somehow. Deleted it. Dont feel like fooling with it when all times before it was fine.

The issues with Mass Effect are described [/URL=https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Mass_Effect]here[/URL]. Assuming you're still using that ultra-wide monitor, I'm not surprised you're having problems. The game was designed long before people started using those.

I've been wanting to replay it, but I'm not going to hassle getting old software to cooperate when there's a new version right around the corner.

Ive finished it at least 2 and maybe 3 times on this monitor.

Are you sure you didn't have any problems?

This is my list...so far.....of games Im considering installing, playing a few minutes, then deleting.

fallout 4
remnant
vampyr
stalker cop
metro exodus
rebel galaxy
mass effect
tyranny
black flag
kotor 1 & 2
swtor
sto
neverwinter

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:48 am This is my list...so far.....of games Im considering installing, playing a few minutes, then deleting.

fallout 4
remnant
vampyr
stalker cop
metro exodus
rebel galaxy
mass effect
tyranny
black flag
kotor 1 & 2
swtor
sto
neverwinter

you just might need a new hobby

There are none. They're all taken.

Making artisan gravy is a solid hobby.

People stick everything in the Randomness threads these days to avoid making threads for smaller topics.

While looking for a Gothic 1 thread to post an update in, I did a search. I noticed something and did a quick count. We had 47 threads for Gothic 3, released in 2006. 47.

If you're talking about some minor observation about gaming, use the randomness thread by all means. But if you're talking about a specific title, find a thread or make one! It'll help keep this place hopping. It's not like the old days when a less-popular thread would fall off of page 1 in a few hours.

Not only that, but putting posts about a specific game into its own thread means that people later on can find that info when they're playing the game. I don't know how much Borderlands, Fallout, and Skyrim advice is locked in Randomness threads that people reading the game-specific threads will never be able to see. Some games have impressions spread out over ten pages in the randomness or 'What are you playing' threads, which means that after a few days, that info is buried.

We're over-consolidating. Make more threads!

Its been so many years there are only about 3 of us left. We just post using alt names to make it look like theres still people alive. Maybe thats just me.

EDIT: Crap! I meant to post that as dbt.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Mar 16, 2021 8:28 pm Its been so many years there are only about 3 of us left. We just post using alt names to make it look like theres still people alive. Maybe thats just me.

EDIT: Crap! I meant to post that as dbt.

Just remember, if you make your own thread, you're going to have to lay, err, post in it.

Besides, there's a hidden benefit to making separate posts. When someone comes and pokes around and sees two week old threads on the first page, the site looks even slower than it really is and they don't stick around. If the first page has plenty of recent posts they're more likely to sign up.

I endorse Blackhawk's request. This thread and the quarantine thread confuse me since I go back and don't remember what game is being discussed. It's not like this forum is clogged with active threads. We should stick to per game/series threads.

JCC wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 10:12 am This thread and the quarantine thread confuse me since I go back and don't remember what game is being discussed.

"I made it to level 6 today, and I'm about to give up. I don't recommend this game to anyone. Avoid it."

(The actual game is only named three pages back with other games discussed in between.)

We need to make sure everyone understands that Necromancy is totally acceptable in this forum. We should all be practicing it.

I put on my robe and wizard hat...

For once, it's not my fault.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 11:17 am For once, it's not my fault.

coopasonic wrote: ↑Wed Apr 24, 2013 11:26 am Yeah, we needed one of these threads here too, dammit.

I just discovered the coolest new game. My 6 year old heard about it from his friends and begged me to get it. It's pretty amazing, you can build pretty much anything you can imagine in this humongous sandbox. The graphics aren't great but they are very stylized and functional.

Yeah, it's 2013 and I just looked at Minecraft for the first time.

Uhhh... sorry.

Randomness threads are great. They give you a place to make minor observations, talk about gaming as a hobby, mention minor industry news, etc.

I'm probably at fault for some of it. I know I've posted about titles in here that I felt didn't really deserve their own threads or if I felt discussion had already peaked some time ago.

I think old scars run deep. There was a time when we (collectively) were discouraged from starting new topics ( for games in particular) when they were cross platform titles. Not like a formal policy, but one that just kinda emerged. No one wanted to talk about [Game X] in the PC gaming forum because [Game X] had already been discussed to death in the Console forum 2 years prior. Now that gaming is a whole different animal, I think our old patterns/habits still have us engaging in the same way.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Mar 17, 2021 1:06 pm I think old scars run deep. There was a time when we (collectively) were discouraged from starting new topics ( for games in particular) when they were cross platform titles. Not like a formal policy, but one that just kinda emerged. No one wanted to talk about [Game X] in the PC gaming forum because [Game X] had already been discussed to death in the Console forum 2 years prior. Now that gaming is a whole different animal, I think our old patterns/habits still have us engaging in the same way.

"Do we really need another thread on this?"

It was Oblivion that caused a lot of the bellyaching and started the trend. Mostly because the page became flooded with Oblivion threads (one for character discussion, one for mods, one about a tech issue, one for screenshots, etc.) People were enthusiastic about the game, and people not interested in the game got annoyed that there were so many posts about it they had to scroll past.

And you're right. Old scars run deep. There's a corner of my mind that makes me keep expecting someone to complain about al the [VR] threads I've been making thanks to those days. But ya know what? It isn't 2004. We haven't had forum drama in a long, long time. People around here grew up, or they left. There's no reason to dampen our own enthusiasm and joy because we're afraid it will bother someone. So if you want to make a thread for an upcoming game, and then another thread just to talk about character builds, make 'em! Share what makes you happy, and if it isn't something that makes me happy, I can just ignore it and make my own threads.

This is the thread I come to, to get confused.

I’ve been trying to go back and retry games that I bounced off of the first time (or two...or three).

First up, Doom Eternal. Got about halfway through before coming to grips with the fact that while it’s fun, I simply do not have the reflexes needed to play this anymore. It’s also a game that I feel very little satisfaction from playing. Tough to describe, but instead of feeling like I accomplished something cool when I finish a level, I just feel...exhausted. Still, I got twice as far as I did in my first try so SUCCESS!

Second up, Zelda BotW. This is actually my third try on this one. I decided to stick a little closer to the story rather than immediately jumping off into exploration land. That did seem to help, and I got significantly further than I did either of my other attempts. However, the more the game opens up into “do literally anything you want in this massive world” the less interested I become. Plus, I’m absolutely terrible at figuring out the puzzles and even worse at any that requires the quick use of multiple skills. Oddly, I also just don’t find Hyrule interesting at all. Yes, it’s a huge world to run around in, but it just all feels so...boring. Still, a quite a few hours more than previous attempts so, SUCCESS!

Third, Civ 6. This was cheap on PS, so I grabbed it. I’ve probably spent close to a dozen hours with this, and have yet to actually finish a single game. I really enjoy l the early game, but once the map starts getting crowded and I start losing battles, I end up bailing out of frustration. I don’t have a particularly strategic mind to begin with and it all just gets...overwhelming. Seems this is headed down the same path, as I’ve started two more games and don’t really have any interest in finishing either. So...about the same.

Next up, Borderlands 3. Downloading this now, we’ll see if my sheer awfulness at FPS becomes the insurmountable wall it was last time. I got a point 6-7 hours in that I simply couldn’t get past, no matter what.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:11 pm Third, Civ 6. This was cheap on PS, so I grabbed it. I’ve probably spent close to a dozen hours with this, and have yet to actually finish a single game. I really enjoy l the early game, but once the map starts getting crowded and I start losing battles, I end up bailing out of frustration. I don’t have a particularly strategic mind to begin with and it all just gets...overwhelming. Seems this is headed down the same path, as I’ve started two more games and don’t really have any interest in finishing either. So...about the same.

Given your fondness for tabletop gaming, have you tried playing the digital version of Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization? I suspect you may find it to be a more suitable and enjoyable experience:



Suffice to say, you can play a full game of Through the Ages in less than an hour, yet it does a superb job of replicating the story of creating a civilization and capturing the scope of seeing it grow from the age of antiquity all the way up through to the present day. The physical version of the game still ranks on BGG among the top ten best overall games for its top-notch gameplay and mechanics (and if anything, the digital version only improves and streamlines much of the fiddly set-up and necessary upkeep of the analogue game).

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 5:32 pm

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:11 pm Third, Civ 6. This was cheap on PS, so I grabbed it. I’ve probably spent close to a dozen hours with this, and have yet to actually finish a single game. I really enjoy l the early game, but once the map starts getting crowded and I start losing battles, I end up bailing out of frustration. I don’t have a particularly strategic mind to begin with and it all just gets...overwhelming. Seems this is headed down the same path, as I’ve started two more games and don’t really have any interest in finishing either. So...about the same.

Given your fondness for tabletop gaming, have you tried playing the digital version of Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization? I suspect you may find it to be a more suitable and enjoyable experience:



Suffice to say, you can play a full game of Through the Ages in less than an hour, yet it does a superb job of replicating the story of creating a civilization and capturing the scope of seeing it grow from the age of antiquity all the way up through to the present day. The physical version of the game still ranks on BGG among the top ten best overall games for its top-notch gameplay and mechanics (and if anything, the digital version only improves and streamlines much of the fiddly set-up and necessary upkeep of the analogue game).

I tried this on iPad, and got entirely lost just trying to get through the tutorial. It seemed incredibly complex.

I should probably add it to the revisit list though.

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 6:38 pm

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 5:32 pm

Skinypupy wrote: ↑Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:11 pm Third, Civ 6. This was cheap on PS, so I grabbed it. I’ve probably spent close to a dozen hours with this, and have yet to actually finish a single game. I really enjoy l the early game, but once the map starts getting crowded and I start losing battles, I end up bailing out of frustration. I don’t have a particularly strategic mind to begin with and it all just gets...overwhelming. Seems this is headed down the same path, as I’ve started two more games and don’t really have any interest in finishing either. So...about the same.

Given your fondness for tabletop gaming, have you tried playing the digital version of Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization? I suspect you may find it to be a more suitable and enjoyable experience:



Suffice to say, you can play a full game of Through the Ages in less than an hour, yet it does a superb job of replicating the story of creating a civilization and capturing the scope of seeing it grow from the age of antiquity all the way up through to the present day. The physical version of the game still ranks on BGG among the top ten best overall games for its top-notch gameplay and mechanics (and if anything, the digital version only improves and streamlines much of the fiddly set-up and necessary upkeep of the analogue game).

I tried this on iPad, and got entirely lost just trying to get through the tutorial. It seemed incredibly complex.

I should probably add it to the revisit list though.

The tutorial provides an enjoyable way of walking you through most of the fundamental gameplay mechanics. But it doesn't really delve into how to play the game well, so your first few games can initially seem a little overwhelming before you develop some familiarity with the cards. Paul Grogan of 'Gaming Rules!' provides a deeper, more comprehensive beginner's guide for the game in the video below. It is on the lengthy side, but that's because he specifically takes the time to thoroughly explain everything going on, along with the strategic decisions he makes while playing a full 3-player game against the AI:

Thanks AB, I’ll definitely give that a look.

What you described was exactly my problem. I understood the individual pieces during the (very amusing) tutorial, but trying to figure out how those all fit together in an actual game lost me.

So many of my games have been rendered almost impossible to play because the graphics are so small on my laptop. Too many game designers are in a hurry to see how detail they can get in a game that they make their games unplayable to us using only laptops.
Of course I can always buy a regular sized computer and a large monitor but even then it just means you can see more area and the units are still really small.
<sigh> hell to get olde.

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 27, 2020 2:10 pm Just downloaded and played Mr. Prepper Prologue for a while. This is essentially the demo for the full up Mr Prepper game which hasn't been released yet. Kind of a fun and diverting and a good time killer.

The full game was released last Thursday, and I spent all day yesterday playing it. It's definitely very addictive! I'm about half-way into the second "month" of in-game time, and things are finally starting to come together where I think I'll be able to start moving the story along faster, as opposed to just gathering mats, keeping my plants from dying (again...), and building up trade partners.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:43 pm So many of my games have been rendered almost impossible to play because the graphics are so small on my laptop. Too many game designers are in a hurry to see how detail they can get in a game that they make their games unplayable to us using only laptops.
Of course I can always buy a regular sized computer and a large monitor but even then it just means you can see more area and the units are still really small.
<sigh> hell to get olde.

I've completely given up trying to play games undocked on my Switch for this exact reason. I constantly have to squint at the screen to see most of the text.

My daughter, however, will ONLY play undocked. Even when the 55" TV is available, she'll prop up the Switch on the board game table and play on the tiny screen there. She even plays with the controller, rather than actually holding the Switch. I have no idea why.

admittedly i have to get with the times, but i'm running into games that have truncated sides of the display on my 4:3 monitor, even when correct resolution is set. and when i'm playing games in their true aspect ratio (letterboxed), i get the small, teeny-tiny text on the 1280x1024 display..

I wish game companies would stop making mandatory downloads of DLCs to their games. If I want their DLC I'll be perfectly happy to buy it and then download it. 3G+ "update" downloading now.
And I don't have cable.