What are you playing?

GasBandit

Staff member
KOTH = King Of The Hill, a game model where the ultimate goal is to force the players to compete against each other until only one is left, a.k.a. "As much fun as a rousing game of Monopoly."

--Patrick
The term the industry has settled on for that genre seems to be "Battle Royale." It's only KOTH if a geographic objective/control point is involved.
 
So, I played all the way through South Park: The Fractured But Whole. I stand by a lot of my early assessments, it's not a bad game, it's just not as good as Stick of Truth. The writing is worse, the combat is less interesting EXCEPT for boss fights, which are great because they always have a gimmick to change things up. The boss fights were the best that combat system had to offer. The town is less interactive, and I reinstalled Stick of Truth to see if that was just memory or truth and yeah, Stick of Truth town has more things to do. Also, Stick of Truth is 4 gigs while Fractured But Whole is 20 for some reason.

FbW also doesn't have as many or as interesting set piece dungeons as SoT. There's nothing as mind blowingly insane as the abortion clinic sequence in SoT. That may be kind of a high bar. There's also a huge over-reliance on buddy abilities on the overworld. This was a thing in SoT too, but there's no real clever uses. It's just, do the button action, move on.

Fractured But Whole has giant obvious "THERE WILL BE DLC FOR THIS PLACE!" signs in a lot of the locations, like the way to Canada being blocked by an old man that says it currently too dangerous to go there. Oh, not to mention the bullshit like Ubisoft pushing it's dumb connectivity bonuses that still don't work.

I played it, I laughed quite a bit, I was bored STIFF by the combat and ended up avoiding as much as possible and I wish I'd waited for an edition that has the complete content. Lesson learned...maybe.
 
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Right, I knew that. How does it apply to Monster Hunter?
You posted while I was responding. At work, I get enough time to type a few words at a time between actually doing my job, so it can take me 15-30min to type a couple sentences unless I'm at lunch or something.

--Patrick
 
My day gator and I got a copy of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate each and the plan is to try and play it together as much as possible. 3 was on sale in the E Shop for about half the price of 4 and that did factor into our decision somewhat as well. I had a gift card I got as a gift that I hadn't used so I gave it to her and I had a huge balance on my system so I figured that it was a risk free way to try the games.

Stories looks pretty fun as well so I may ask Santa Hobo for that for Christmas.[DOUBLEPOST=1508559028,1508558996][/DOUBLEPOST]That auto correct cracks me up so I'm keeping it there :)
 
My day gator and I got a copy of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate each and the plan is to try and play it together as much as possible. 3 was on sale in the E Shop for about half the price of 4 and that did factor into our decision somewhat as well. I had a gift card I got as a gift that I hadn't used so I gave it to her and I had a huge balance on my system so I figured that it was a risk free way to try the games.

Stories looks pretty fun as well so I may ask Santa Hobo for that for Christmas.[DOUBLEPOST=1508559028,1508558996][/DOUBLEPOST]That auto correct cracks me up so I'm keeping it there :)
3 doesn't have some of 4's more complicated mechanics, and also takes its time with walking the player through how the game works in greater detail than 4, so it's probably the right choice in that way too. Good luck :).
 
The walk through part sounds great!

I love my Pokémon and all, but I've been working through the older games and I need to try something new. Something new that doesn't require the TV during hockey or wrestling.
 
Distant Worlds: Universe

Space 4x. Super deep, custom levels of micromanagement due to toggles for automation for your empire. Not as complex as Aurora 4x. Not as UI or user friendly as Stellaris. Needed some YouTube video time to figure out what to do; but loved following along learning the ropes.

You may enjoy if: You like Space 4x's that have Pirate Bands extorting you for protection. Massive Galaxies. Customization. Playing as a Pirate Faction is an option.
 
Cities: Skylines

With the release of the Green Cities expansion, I thought "Man, as a big advocate for the environment, I'd love to make a green city." But I hadn't played C:S in at least a year. Always wanted to get back into it, but it just didn't grab me to play it obsessively. And the DLC is on sale, too, which tempted me. So I figured, well okay, let's play a bit of it and see...WHAT THE HELL, HOW DID I JUST SPEND THE WHOLE DAY BUILDING MY CITY?

Yep, the game finally snagged its hooks into me. I'm still fiddling around with it and figuring out how things work. Like late last night, I finally learned how to build ramps (it's easier than I thought). Also got the DLC for After Dark (for the bike stuff, naturally) and the radio stations. This might sound weird, I actually recommend the radio stations. They make playing consideration less boring. Plus, they have funny Grand Theft Autoesque commercials.

Behold! Arrowhead City! (renamed when I realized it's curently kind of shaped like an arrowhead)
Arrowhead City.jpg

I know the industrial stuff is mixed with the other stuff too closely. But the farming at least doesn't create any pollution aside from noise pollution. You'l see at the roundabout that I started fiddling with creating bike lane ramps. If I'd known how to do ramps sooner, they would've been implemented better. And I have a GREAT bus system going that many folk are using. It's still not profitable, but it's servicable. Still, it's working pretty well so far.
 
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GasBandit

Staff member
Cities: Skylines

With the release of the Green Cities expansion, I thought "Man, as a big advocate for the environment, I'd love to make a green city." But I hadn't played C:S in at least a year. Always wanted to get back into it, but it just didn't grab me to play it obsessively. And the DLC is on sale, too, which tempted me. So I figured, well okay, let's play a bit of it and see...WHAT THE HELL, HOW DID I JUST SPEND THE WHOLE DAY BUILDING MY CITY?

Yep, the game finally snagged its hooks into me. I'm still fiddling around with it and figuring out how things work. Like late last night, I finally learned how to build ramps (it's easier than I thought). Also got the DLC for After Dark (for the bike stuff, naturally) and the radio stations. This might sound weird, I actually recommend the radio stations. They make playing consideration less boring. Plus, they have funny Grand Theft Autoesque commercials.

Behold! Arrowhead City! (renamed when I realized it's curently kind of shaped like an arrowhead)

I know the industrial stuff is mixed with the other stuff too closely. But the farming at least doesn't create any pollution aside from noise pollution. You'l see at the roundabout that I started fiddling with creating bike lane ramps. If I'd known how to do ramps sooner, they would've been implemented better. And I have a GREAT bus system going that many folk are using. It's still not profitable, but it's servicable. Still, it's working pretty well so far.
You'll be building underground freeways and poop dams in no time!
 
I'm never sure whether to break in, especially since my conversational attitude can hardly be called "therapy."

--Patrick
For me, it works best to talk to me about anything BUT what's bothering me. Getting me out of my shell by getting me talking about, say, nerdy stuff. I chatted with a friend last night on Discord about my city. He watched me live stream it via Steam and gave me some city building tips. He actually admired some of the ways I'd set things up.
 
For me, it works best to talk to me about anything BUT what's bothering me. Getting me out of my shell by getting me talking about, say, nerdy stuff. I chatted with a friend last night on Discord about my city. He watched me live stream it via Steam and gave me some city building tips. He actually admired some of the ways I'd set things up.
Is it possible to make a good Superman game? Discuss.
 
Why would that matter? You can have conversations with depressed people without offering therapy.
Easier for some than others. Personally, I find it very difficult NOT to try and offer helpful advice unless I'm constantly reminding myself not to.

--Patrick
 
I was gonna get c:S while it was on sale last week but with a new puppy and everything else I'm playing already I decided I didn't need another time vortex in my life.
 
Is it possible to make a good Superman game? Discuss.
You could use the Saint's Row system for a lot of it, honestly. At least, in terms of the Super Powers.

An open-world sandbox game with:

1) "Scoop!" events you do as reporter Clark Kent, covering a breaking story that you have to survive without using your powers, earning points for taking quality pictures (a la Dead Rising), asking questions (dialogue prompts), etc.
2) "Help, Superman!" timed events where civilians are in danger from things like runaway trains, raging fires, crashing airplanes, etc - you have to try and stop the danger and/or save as many people as possible within the time limit.
3) Plot-based missions where you have to foil the villainous plots of The Legion of Doom, LexCorp, Brainiac, etc.
4) A destructible environment like Hulk, Ultimate Destruction, except that the wreckage works against your "Superhero/Supervillain" gauge.
5) Recreate classic Superman stories like "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and The American Way"

Like, the more destruction you do, the more you slide towards being a villain.

So yeah, I think it's possible.
 
I feel the same way...but I bought Borderlands anyway. It's actually kinda fun. @GasBandit called it "Diablo with guns," but I feel more like it's Turok but with Diablo rules.

--Patrick
Oh man, I got tempted to play Borderlands again last week. I went through a whole playthrough as Mordecai, during which I saw two launchers that regenerated rockets. That led me to think "That would be awesome if I was playing Brick.

So now I'm playing through as Brick - but I haven't any rocket regenerating launchers, and I hate scavenging for ammo, so I've been using nothing but shotguns, and I've developed a playstyle I hadn't used before - charging in to shoot the enemy point blank in the face. So I'm one shotting nearly everything, and if I get dropped before getting off that shot, the second wind is easy to get.

And now I'm tempted to try out the strategy on a new playthrough of Borderlands 2.

Time Vortex indeed.
 
You could use the Saint's Row system for a lot of it, honestly. At least, in terms of the Super Powers.

An open-world sandbox game with:

1) "Scoop!" events you do as reporter Clark Kent, covering a breaking story that you have to survive without using your powers, earning points for taking quality pictures (a la Dead Rising), asking questions (dialogue prompts), etc.
2) "Help, Superman!" timed events where civilians are in danger from things like runaway trains, raging fires, crashing airplanes, etc - you have to try and stop the danger and/or save as many people as possible within the time limit.
3) Plot-based missions where you have to foil the villainous plots of The Legion of Doom, LexCorp, Brainiac, etc.
4) A destructible environment like Hulk, Ultimate Destruction, except that the wreckage works against your "Superhero/Supervillain" gauge.
5) Recreate classic Superman stories like "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and The American Way"

Like, the more destruction you do, the more you slide towards being a villain.

So yeah, I think it's possible.
I wouldn't like the good/evil system. I think it'd work better if you were rewarded and get bonuses for preventing or even fixing damage in battles. Or rescuing people during a big fight. One of the best things about Superman is saving people using extraordinary feats. I'd love to see that implemented in a game.
 
I've developed a playstyle I hadn't used before - charging in to shoot the enemy point blank in the face. So I'm one shotting nearly everything, and if I get dropped before getting off that shot, the second wind is easy to get.
I've found the shotgun-type revolvers make boss fights much easier, too.

For my first time I'm working the characters up to lvl20 to get a feel for them (which seems to happen just after beating Sledge) , so far I have Hunter and Siren up to 20 and Soldier up to 16, I've been saving Brick for last.

--Patrick
 
"All right then, I'm getting the hang of this new version of Dwarf Fortress, I've got food and booze production running, my industries are set up, my dorfs aren't too unhappy, and while my military is still currently small and undertrained and underequipped, I'm mining ore and smelting metals and forging weapons and armor as fast as I can, I'm sure they'll be fine soon enough. In the meantime, I've built a wall and a drawbridge around the entrance to my fort, so if I get attacked I'll just seal myself in and wait it out."

(GOBLIN SIEGE HAPPENS)

"Raise the drawbridge! Let's see you get in now, goblins!"

(Goblins somehow make it over my wall)

"... the goblins are getting in. Why are the goblins getting in? How are they doing this?"

(Pause game, fire up wiki)

"Oh... enemies can scale walls now."

As can be imagined, my undertrained and underequipped military got slaughtered, despite putting up some brave resistance. And then everyone else died too.

Onwards to the next fortress!
 
Just picked up Bomber Crew, on the strength of seeing a couple of Let's Plays on it.

It's pretty nifty so far, especially considering that it's coming from such a small company. Looking forward to it's success - Jingles, DevilDogGamer and EnterElysium have all pimped it out, so I'm expecting sales to do very well.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
So what do I start playing after finishing Divinity: Original Sin 2 with Terrik, Dei, and Snuffles?

Divinity: Original Sin 2 again, of course.

Because I always overindulge in whatever I'm doing at the moment until I'm sick of it and can't ever look at it again, apparently.

Anyway, this time I'm doing a tactician mode playthrough, and so far @Dei's gripes ring pretty true. The opponents are not particularly smarter, it's just that they seem to have more grenades and more often a fight will have a "gimmick" like having a fire immunity aura or something, when fire is CLEARLY supposed to be their weakness in vanilla mode.

Also, now that I am not rushed, I'm noticing bugs much more acutely. I swear to god my number of memory slots sometimes changes at random, and furthermore crafting recipes that I know I've learned (specifically, combining potions to make better potions) occasionally disappear from my list. Also, I've noticed things like quest updates may stop showing up for a couple minutes then suddenly they'll all spam the screen at once.

All that aside, I'm doing a lone wolf dual-wield warfare necro with a touch of polymorph, based on what I learned on my previous playthrough. Since Necromancy does physical damage, it benefits from the Warfare "5% damage boost to all physical damage" schtick (as do the polymorph attacks, naturally). I have to split my stat points between STR and INT, but the lone wolf bonus makes that less of an issue.

For my one NPC companion (Lone wolf only lets you have 1 other person in the group, instead of a full group of 4), I spoke to all 5 of the possible candidates in Fort Joy, and even did the first couple steps of some of their quests before dismissing them, and ended up going with Lohse (because of reasons you will never fucking guess that might rhyme with Dead Bear), but the further I get the more I start to kind of wish I'd gone with Sebille because her quest arc - and her personality - seem a lot more interesting. But, what's done is done, I made my choice.

I let Lohse stay with her initial default "Enchantress" build (Hydromancy/Aerothurgy), with Lone Wolf thrown in for the bonus (because might as well), but as the game progressed I found myself having her put almost everything into hydromancy and intelligence... and now she's a fucking scary cannon. On my first playthrough with the others, I was warfare/necro/hydromancy but mostly for the heals... the damage was an afterthought and it kinda showed because of my split build without being a lone wolf. With Lohse putting almost all her points into Hydro and Int, a single medium-radius AE spell is usually enough to completely strip the magic armor off of anyone it hits, which means the followup usually freezes two to three enemies solid. Also, something I didn't realize... points in hydromancy boosts ALL water damage, not just for spells. Gave Lohse a couple water wands to dual wield and she can easily pump out jawdropping damage with those alone. I'm kinda worried about what's gonna happen when I have to face her in the arena, TBH.

Anyway, in the meantime, I'm finding and completing a LOT more quests than we did as a group, and leveling up a LOT earlier, and because there's only 2 people in my party to buy equipment and spells for, I'm rolling in dough. Kind of trivializes a lot of the encounters, TBH. I mean, yeah, the first few battles in the game were really hairy, but by the time I hit level 4 it started to even out... and by the time I was 6 shit was effortless. The big battle against the Chapter 1 boss, Bishop Alexander, was hilariously cake. Now I'm 11 and in chapter 2 and nothing (within level appropriate range, of course) has really stood a chance against me.

It's slightly irritating how often I have to go back to the ship to re-spec out of persuasion into thievery and back, because so much relies on picking locks in this game... but so much ALSO relies on persuasion checks.
 
It's slightly irritating how often I have to go back to the ship to re-spec out of persuasion into thievery and back, because so much relies on picking locks in this game... but so much ALSO relies on persuasion checks.

I mean, does it though? I thought Persuasion generally did jack all. It seemed the outcomes remained more or less the same, regardless.
 
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