*Ring ring*
Hello?
"This is @Zero Esc's boss. Are you coming in to work today?"
OH CRAP.
Don't let this happen to you
No worries, my wife and I work at the same place, so one of us will surely get the other going ... I'm sure of it. Very sure.*Ring ring*
Hello?
"This is @Zero Esc's boss. Are you coming in to work today?"
OH CRAP.
Don't let this happen to you
I'm playing Monster Hunter World now as well. It's super fun so far. I love my little cat friend, Cotton Candy. I spent far too much time designing him. I love that I can craft armor for him. He's so cute when you try new things on him at the smithy to see how they would look.
I'm not very far along, but so far the quests are pretty straightforward. Having my handler or field captain constantly yell at me is super obnoxious though. Especially in town. I have said unkind things to them. Very brutally unkind things to them.
My only complaint is that they are very clearly trying to sell me a PlayStation Plus membership. I'm a big girl and I understand that it's needed for online play, but it's not ok to block me from trying to load my brand new game for solo play until I either buy a membership or sign up for a trial. It took me a while to work around it.
I'm not very far along, but so far the quests are pretty straightforward. Having my handler or field captain constantly yell at me is super obnoxious though. Especially in town. I have said unkind things to them. Very brutally unkind things to them.
My only complaint is that they are very clearly trying to sell me a PlayStation Plus membership. I'm a big girl and I understand that it's needed for online play, but it's not ok to block me from trying to load my brand new game for solo play until I either buy a membership or sign up for a trial. It took me a while to work around it.
You just had to set it for private session, right? It's annoying.
I really think the game's default should be offline, but I see why they want things so integrated. I'm making a point to explore areas at my leisure first. Having someone else there just puts too much pressure on doing timeliness over experimenting/exploring.
BUUUT, something I love for multiplayer is responding to someone's SOS flares. I'm not the best Monster Hunter and certainly not as good as I was in the 450+ hours after MH4U came out, but Capcom knew this one would bring in a lot of new blood and many of them aren't ready to be ambushed by a giant dinosaur while trying to gather herbs and ore. Last night I responded to an SOS flare for an already complicated Pukei-Pukei and the poor hunter was being chased by Anjinath. I kept it distracted long enough for the other person to get away, and by the time the Anjinath lost interest in me, a couple more helpers had shown up to assist taking down the Pukei-Pukei.
I love this series so much. You never know what might happen each time you start a mission. Someone on Tumblr was hunting a monster when Anjinath showed up to bother them. And then a Rathalos swooped down from the sky, grabbed the Anjinath in his talons, and flew away. It's wild!
I love this series so much. You never know what might happen each time you start a mission. Someone on Tumblr was hunting a monster when Anjinath showed up to bother them. And then a Rathalos swooped down from the sky, grabbed the Anjinath in his talons, and flew away. It's wild!
GasBandit
Staff member
This was the game that actually spawned the "BETRAYAL!!!" Spoony meme/song, which later got repurposed for Ultima 9.[DOUBLEPOST=1517150479,1517150332][/DOUBLEPOST]
So I mentioned how much I fucking hated the UI and micromanaging on Civilization IV: Colonization.
And I do. Compared to Civ 5, it's really annoying.
Yet, here I am, 6 playthroughs later... I haven't managed to successfully declare independence yet but I know I'm on the right track. Last time I was at 40% revolutionary when I ran out of time, and part of that was also because I was at war with Spain for like 150 years.
One thing that stands out, though, is how sometimes it'll just randomly reassign your specialists and fuck the city. Like, "Okay, we need more liberty bells, I don't have any elder statesmen here, so I bought one from Europe and assign him." Two turns later, the city isn't producing shit and suddenly the food went from +12 to -5 per turn. So I look, and the 3 expert fisherman who were producing a fuckton of food per turn were reassigned to THE FUCKING CHURCH, one of the master carpenters is making cigars and was replaced by a petty criminal who was supposed to be at the schoolhouse, the blacksmiths are now at the ranch, and the elder statesman is farming. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, SID?
And I do. Compared to Civ 5, it's really annoying.
Yet, here I am, 6 playthroughs later... I haven't managed to successfully declare independence yet but I know I'm on the right track. Last time I was at 40% revolutionary when I ran out of time, and part of that was also because I was at war with Spain for like 150 years.
One thing that stands out, though, is how sometimes it'll just randomly reassign your specialists and fuck the city. Like, "Okay, we need more liberty bells, I don't have any elder statesmen here, so I bought one from Europe and assign him." Two turns later, the city isn't producing shit and suddenly the food went from +12 to -5 per turn. So I look, and the 3 expert fisherman who were producing a fuckton of food per turn were reassigned to THE FUCKING CHURCH, one of the master carpenters is making cigars and was replaced by a petty criminal who was supposed to be at the schoolhouse, the blacksmiths are now at the ranch, and the elder statesman is farming. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, SID?
I had played that a couple times, because I was a huge fan of the original.
I ended up just reinstalling the original.
I ended up just reinstalling the original.
Can Anjinath eat a Great Jagras? I started the quest/event to kill two of them and I tracked the first and killed it pretty quickly and then wasted the rest of the time wandering the map unable to find the second one. There was a huge CF when I left camp the first time with all kinds of tracks and I had to run from Anjinath so I didn't get eaten myself...so I wonder if he ate my second Great Jagras?
The good news is that I got to keep all the stuff I collected while looking for him and I completed the quest really quickly on my second attempt.
I have no idea how much real damage our cats do, but I've given my little friend the best weapon possible. It does a big plume of fire damage
Anjinath can kill it, but can't swallow it whole the way Great Jagras does to its prey. Make sure you go into your map to adjust what your scoutflies are tracking or else they absolutely will lead you running circles around the map.Can Anjinath eat a Great Jagras? I started the quest/event to kill two of them and I tracked the first and killed it pretty quickly and then wasted the rest of the time wandering the map unable to find the second one. There was a huge CF when I left camp the first time with all kinds of tracks and I had to run from Anjinath so I didn't get eaten myself...so I wonder if he ate my second Great Jagras?
The good news is that I got to keep all the stuff I collected while looking for him and I completed the quest really quickly on my second attempt.
I have no idea how much real damage our cats do, but I've given my little friend the best weapon possible. It does a big plume of fire damage
I didn't know how out of practice I was until I kept dying to Anjinath. My brain kinda went "you know the game isn't going to tell you when you'll need a suit made entirely from the previous story monster." Also, the zoologist or whatever he's called can have all the information we used to have to look up online, like weak points, what you get from breaking parts, drop rates, depending on how much you've researched or encountered that monster. Extremely helpful.
I'm doing significantly better than previous games on the story hunts, capture on the first go, no faints, then I try the same monster on an optional or investigation hunt and get my ass handed to me. I've yet to fail any but came pretty damn close on two occasions while tackling part of the bounty to kill 4 anjanath over the course of the week. Just 3 more of the flying wyverns and I have all those done this week.
I've managed to get nearly a full set of the anjanath armor now for myself but did get the palico fully kitted out with it.
Using the gunlance this time but I should really at least try the other weapons. I picked it up from go and have never looked back yet. The wyrmstrike shot is super satisfying to land.
I've managed to get nearly a full set of the anjanath armor now for myself but did get the palico fully kitted out with it.
Using the gunlance this time but I should really at least try the other weapons. I picked it up from go and have never looked back yet. The wyrmstrike shot is super satisfying to land.
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figmentPez
Staff member
Finished The Bureau. The game kinda just kinda coasts after about halfway. Sliding along in mediocrity and lack of focus. The story can't decide what it wants to be, aside from retro sci-fi and even that is muddied by an inability to be self-aware. The writing neither fully embraces the retro, nor does it have enough modern sensibility to be an examination of the genre. The theme of the game might as well be vague choices. You decide between options, but it's not really clear what choices do, and that goes all the way down to weapons and equipment.
None of the weapons or backpacks have any sort of stats. I kinda assume the alien shotgun does more damage than the human shotgun, but I don't really know. How much more damage does the Laser Pulse Rifle do compared to the Laser SMG, is the only difference accuracy, or does one have more powerful shots? The game doesn't tell you. Even more confusing are the backpacks. They say things like "Increases ability range and weapon damage", but don't say by how much (according to the wiki, this was changed in a DLC campgain, so that it actually gives percentages).
Also, the main character goes through wild changes in personality that could be chalked up to being caused by <spoilers>, but really just end up feeling like he's not actually a character at all. Based on the quality of the writing as a whole, I'm pretty sure the real cause is not in-universe influences, but lazy writing just making him serve whatever purpose and tone they decided on for each scene. Sympathetic and understanding? Sure he can do that. Prickly and paranoid? Yeah, why not. Whatever makes the scene work, even if it disrupts the plot as a whole.
The combat mechanics, though, can actually be a lot of fun. Aside from having to guess at what is going to work best for equipment, once you're fighting, it works. I liked a lot of the abilities, tactics are required and it's rewarding to have a plan go well. It's not perfect, far too many abilities are focused on being deployed in relatively short range; too short for many of the later battlefields. (I get why laying a mine has to be close, but why is calling in an airstrike limited to about the same radius? And how do you call in an airstrike when you're inside an enemy space station anyway?) Overall, though, there's a lot to like.
If these combat mechanics had been in a game with better writing, better UI, and an IP that didn't have a pissed off fanbase, it would have been really good. Like, if this had been an MiB game, very little would have to change, and I think it could have been a lot more enjoyable.
None of the weapons or backpacks have any sort of stats. I kinda assume the alien shotgun does more damage than the human shotgun, but I don't really know. How much more damage does the Laser Pulse Rifle do compared to the Laser SMG, is the only difference accuracy, or does one have more powerful shots? The game doesn't tell you. Even more confusing are the backpacks. They say things like "Increases ability range and weapon damage", but don't say by how much (according to the wiki, this was changed in a DLC campgain, so that it actually gives percentages).
Also, the main character goes through wild changes in personality that could be chalked up to being caused by <spoilers>, but really just end up feeling like he's not actually a character at all. Based on the quality of the writing as a whole, I'm pretty sure the real cause is not in-universe influences, but lazy writing just making him serve whatever purpose and tone they decided on for each scene. Sympathetic and understanding? Sure he can do that. Prickly and paranoid? Yeah, why not. Whatever makes the scene work, even if it disrupts the plot as a whole.
The combat mechanics, though, can actually be a lot of fun. Aside from having to guess at what is going to work best for equipment, once you're fighting, it works. I liked a lot of the abilities, tactics are required and it's rewarding to have a plan go well. It's not perfect, far too many abilities are focused on being deployed in relatively short range; too short for many of the later battlefields. (I get why laying a mine has to be close, but why is calling in an airstrike limited to about the same radius? And how do you call in an airstrike when you're inside an enemy space station anyway?) Overall, though, there's a lot to like.
If these combat mechanics had been in a game with better writing, better UI, and an IP that didn't have a pissed off fanbase, it would have been really good. Like, if this had been an MiB game, very little would have to change, and I think it could have been a lot more enjoyable.
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I keep running from the Anjinath because it's huge and scary looking. I'm in upgraded Bone and Jagras armour. There don't seem to be bonuses for a full set anymore, so I took the skill that looks best for each piece and used my armour spheres on them. I don't plan to take him on until I get a quest for him.
I am probably playing the game slower than anyone out there
I think there is bonuses from wearing multiple pieces from the same set. At work at the moment but I'll check later and let you know.I keep running from the Anjinath because it's huge and scary looking. I'm in upgraded Bone and Jagras armour. There don't seem to be bonuses for a full set anymore, so I took the skill that looks best for each piece and used my armour spheres on them. I don't plan to take him on until I get a quest for him.
I am probably playing the game slower than anyone out there
What parts are bullshit? Asking to see whether they're things that were fixed in XCOM 2 or deeper issues.
Please let me know. I know that there were in 3U for sure, but I didn't think that there were in this game. That could be the cold meds reading for me though. Im kind of hoping not, because the first few pieces of the bone armour had awesome skills and then the last two pieces were silly.
GasBandit
Staff member
This time, it was mostly a combination of RNG fudging (you had a 70% chance to hit, but you missed twice in a row! Ha ha, loser!) and level design. As in, the straw that broke the camel's back was there was a door in an alien base that literally had 3 8-health chryssalids right around the corner. No matter how I set up my team members (two heavies, a sniper, a support and an assault), triggering them always meant guaranteed death for at least 2 of my team, because they get to both move as far as a dash AND do a 9 damage melee attack on the same turn, and then the dead turn into zombies that have 12 hp and do a 9 damage melee attack.
I reloaded that part of the mission 5 times (and the first three were complete wipes) before deciding I'd eaten enough shit for one day. It was complete and utter bullshit, and I say that as someone who plays Darkest Dungeon and enjoys it.
I don't think it's ever been directly commented on by the devs, but there are definitely times when it feels like whether your shot hits or lands was decided long before you decided to shoot and that the odds given to you are not the actual odds. Worse, the AI always seems to know where you are so it's not very common to get reflex shots from Overwatch (because the AI usually won't run into your line of fire) or for those shots to hit (because of the aforementioned odds issue) past the mid-point of the game. You basically have to flush the enemies out of cover for it to ever happen.
These issues don't affect the AI. In fact, they seem to get a bonus to hit.[DOUBLEPOST=1517249741,1517249592][/DOUBLEPOST]
I think I've encountered this too. My response was to reload then nuke the door with a rocket after setting up Overwatch. It still wasn't the best game plan.
GasBandit
Staff member
It also pisses me off that "discovering" aliens on a map gives them a free move to get into cover, and often that free move puts them somewhere I would have seen earlier if they'd already started there, and now it puts me in a disadvantage because I thought that particular spot was clear.
So... basically, you have to hope that the seed generated isn't utterly stacked against you (it usually is) because your odds aren't what you've been told.
To clearify, I think there are different bonuses depending on how much of a set you are wearing not solely for just wearing the entire set. So three pieces would still give you some sort of bonus. Again, not sure thats just what I quickly gathered while equiping my third Anjanath armor piece.
EDIT: So apparently the Anjanath set is the first you would have access to that does have a set bonus but I still can't figure out if its only from having the full set or if partial sets also give you a slight bonus. @Squidleybits
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Your odds (in the scenario) are those on the screen, it's just that the dice have already been cast. Pseudorandomness really isn't that unfair, it's just predictable (given the ability to rewind time).
If this bothers you, maybe enable the Save Scum option when making a campaign--it should gen a new seed on each game load.[DOUBLEPOST=1517251141,1517251034][/DOUBLEPOST]
Yep, that can be annoying. If the map isn't turn-timed, try advancing slower (like lives are at risk), you can often spot enemies in the fog of war before the game activates them. This gives you a good chance to set up overwatch shots (and you can "discover" them by flinging a 'nade into their faces).
GasBandit
Staff member
Well, my patience is already exhausted, but I'll try to remember this advice if I swing back around to the game in the future.
But also my damn science lady starts whining like someone kicked her in the guts every time I throw a grenade/fire a rocket.
I hate chryssalids (I think the ship was the mission I had to repeatedly rage-reload for in my first playthrough). Fire, explosives, and distance are your best bets. You can fail a mission or retreat with your troops, it's not the end of the campaign (but will take a shit on your panic meters).
GasBandit
Staff member
This was an alien base. No retreat allowed.
In the name of survival, ignore the science lady, unless the things you need are mission critical. That said, there's a reason XCOM 2 starts with the aliens having won in the first game.
GasBandit
Staff member
On a brighter note, I also spent some of this weekend re-playing:
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Even after all these years, this is still, hands down, the best RTS game ever released. While the pace is much slower than most RTSes out there (one level can easily take 4 hours or more), it's refreshing for strategy to actually be more important than clicks-per-second. A huge variety of units with clearly defined roles that operate seamlessly in a combined arms force with absolutely zero micromanagement already pushes SC:FA near the top of the list, but the synergy of the base building and the importance of intelligent structure placement push it to #1. Everything about it is just... buttah. The ability for units to assist each other intelligently, the ease of organizing simultaneous attacks between hundreds of units separated into multiple groups, the importance of formation combined with the ease of putting units into said formations, and did I mention no fucking micromanagement?
I only have a few niggling little gripes - some of the experimental units take too long to build, air units set to patrol don't bother to check if they need to RTB for repairs or fuel until after their current target is destroyed, early game build-order efficiency is critical and unforgiving (especially in multiplayer), and finally, nobody but me plays it any more
I can't believe they messed up Supreme Commander 2 so badly. So amazingly, astonishlingly, jaw-droppingly badly. Fuck that game. SC:FA is god-king of everything forever.
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Even after all these years, this is still, hands down, the best RTS game ever released. While the pace is much slower than most RTSes out there (one level can easily take 4 hours or more), it's refreshing for strategy to actually be more important than clicks-per-second. A huge variety of units with clearly defined roles that operate seamlessly in a combined arms force with absolutely zero micromanagement already pushes SC:FA near the top of the list, but the synergy of the base building and the importance of intelligent structure placement push it to #1. Everything about it is just... buttah. The ability for units to assist each other intelligently, the ease of organizing simultaneous attacks between hundreds of units separated into multiple groups, the importance of formation combined with the ease of putting units into said formations, and did I mention no fucking micromanagement?
I only have a few niggling little gripes - some of the experimental units take too long to build, air units set to patrol don't bother to check if they need to RTB for repairs or fuel until after their current target is destroyed, early game build-order efficiency is critical and unforgiving (especially in multiplayer), and finally, nobody but me plays it any more
I can't believe they messed up Supreme Commander 2 so badly. So amazingly, astonishlingly, jaw-droppingly badly. Fuck that game. SC:FA is god-king of everything forever.
I don't recommend tangling with Anjinath until you have better armor and a water weapon. Fortunately it usually loses interest in what's happening unless there's a Great Jagras around.I keep running from the Anjinath because it's huge and scary looking. I'm in upgraded Bone and Jagras armour. There don't seem to be bonuses for a full set anymore, so I took the skill that looks best for each piece and used my armour spheres on them. I don't plan to take him on until I get a quest for him.
I am probably playing the game slower than anyone out there
As for armor skills, you get same set elemental bonuses, but for the good stuff it seems they want us to mix and match more in this game. And I'm positive the gem slots will come up later too.
The Barroth kicked my butt badly. I'm not sure if it was a matter of me not being well enough prepared, having bad armour (which I can't imagine) or letting him headbutt me too many times because I was distracted. I had about 1,000 questions/second from the peanut gallery.
One thing that helped me with the Barroth was using watermoss in the slinger to knock his mud off. It limits it's armor and stops it from being able to fling it at you.
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