Various video game stuff not deserving its own thread

[Rienen]

Finished RE9 now.

Performance was pretty poor tbh, really optimized game. Lots of aliasing issues too. Pretty bad considering how polished the remakes were which used the same engine. The devs made the camera sit higher so you could never see Leons legs because the character models have fake walking animations, you know where the feet just kind of slide around on the floor while the character moves. You can't even point the camera down to see but there is one part of the game where the camera weirdly zooms out for whatever reason.

Felt like the game was trying too much to be like The Last of Us or Uncharted or something at some points. Getting pretty ******* tired of the RPD map as well. How many times are they going to recycle that ****?

I did like that apocalyptic atmosphere they were going for with Racoon City but honestly it was just poorly executed. Looked amazing (when looking past the graphical issues) but did not feel immersive for some reason. In The Last of Us (the REAL last of us, not the cuckslop ****) I always felt super immersed, even when closing the game - the naughty dog did a really good job at making you feel like it was real or like you were there. In RE9 it's almost like that's what they were going for but they just couldn't quite get it.

ENDING SPOILERS:

► Show Spoiler

In the finale I got the bad ending first, couldn't help but laugh when Grace said "If only I could've saved Leon". I don't know why that was so funny.

After she walks off the game immediately gives you the option to go back and choose the alternative option, to release Elpis. This follows a boss fight which looked cool but was too easy honestly. This is the "canon" ending.

People who say the game has "multiple endings" are full of crap. Yeah you get like a 20 second cutscene by destroying elpis but that's not really sufficient enough to claim "multiple endings". That's the laziest development **** I've ever seen, only serve for the sake of marketing.

I also really hated the hit stops. Im tired of this stupid **** in games. None of the other RE games had it so why add it here? I can't think of a single zombie game that lets you use a chainsaw without ******** hit stops.

Only way I could mostly solve the aliasing issues was by setting FSR3 to Native AA instead of using TAA. Not sure why I need to do this when literally every other game that has existed since like forever has looked fine with TAA (except unreal 5 slop - same aliasing issues).

To fix performance issues I had to turn off "hair strands" (basically nvidia hairworks no?), and also set mesh quality to "low" in some parts which made things look like blurry polygons - sort of like how textures and lods never render in unreal slop 5.

One last thing (more to mention but I am lazy), there were a bit too many ******* in this game. Like an unrealistic amount. Pretty sure 70% of the characters are needlessly black. Hoping someone makes a mod to fix that. I'm not even racist to ******* but it is too unrealistic and immersion breaking.

Also some of the cutscenes looked like an adult film like overwatch porn or something. Idk it was the way the characters were moving or something, it looked kind of low budget.

overall it s good but has perfrmance issues , and other issues, and stil hasl no sex.

Also just to add a few extra things others have pointed out that i also agree with.. for one there are barely any enemy types, and as you progress through the game they get more and more boring. There is no storage box like there is in the remakes. The bosses were kind of underwhelming.

And also to add my own other things, I hated how the game shits up your screen with tutorial messages. Even ones you've already seen. "press q to heal" like holy **** I played the game for 10 hours at this point do I really need this flashing in the middle of my screen?? I'll heal when I want to. And the stupid "press left click to shoot" - yes like a million other video games. First time I've had to turn off tutorial messages in a game ever i was getting an anyurism. I feel like half the game also just plays itself, especially the scene with the dogs, you don't even need to touch your keyboard it just plays it for you.

Lacks a lot in polish. The game isn't "bad" but it is not "good" either. Nowhere near as polished as the remakes. I think RE3 remake is the best graphically, and the RE4 remake was pretty up there gameplay wise even if a bit watered down in terms of gameplay mechanics. Looks like RE5 and RE6 are still the top RE games overall. 7 and 8 were *** but after playing 9 I feel like I'd rather be playing those formsome reason

The more I think about the game the more bad I realise it actually is. They didn't even add a new game+ and Ur paying £70 it's a joke. I'm just thinking like how much money they cashed in with the brand deals with Porsche and that watch company. I seriously think they only made this to suck in a lot of cash. The game looks and feels as if it was made with a student budget.

I got RE4 remake for a tenner and it has way more content then this garbage

I've not played a single game in the series, but I work next to a friend who took Friday off to play RE9 over the weekend. It's rare that either of us gets hyped up enough to take a day to play a game, so I was looking forward to hearing his thoughts. He came in on Monday and proceeded to bring up a lot of what you did in your comments. Ultimately, his response lines up with your comment of "The game isn't "bad" but it is not "good" either. Nowhere near as polished as the remakes.". He especially had issues with pacing.

From what he's said, though, these games (remakes and main) tend to be released at a decent pace. So, even if one is "meh", you're not waiting too long for a new one. Unlike the time between releases for, say, any Bethesda series game.

Still, I wish it had been better for ya'll. Sorry, man.

[yangg]

The game is real and has everything that was showcased + bugs and jank. Stoked !

[DecadeRiptide]

Resident evil reqiuembezzlement

[yangg]

What a bad showcase. Allegedly the traffic has been diminished for the purpose of having a smooth boring driving for 8 minutes.

[Finarfin]

******* Kromlech is 105/150gb big.

[mattig]

[rusty_shackleford]

Been meaning to play Freelancer for a while, I should find the time. Never played most of the spacesim games.

[mattig]

Its hard to find nowadays. I have my physical copy still, thankfully.

Man, if you can, its amazing for its time. But it does show its age in places.

[Rand]

******* Kromlech is 105/150gb big.

So was Helldivers 2 until they got competent developers to optimise it, and they managed to get the install size down to 20% of the original.

[Rand]

I didn't like a a game's mod's choices so I learned how to mod Unreal Engine games. In this case UE4.X (it actually matters because UE 5.X is even worse to mod).
And holy ****, is it far more difficult than it needs to be, even for simple data edits.

Now developers can set up their development in order to support modding, but there are basically no default tools to do it and no standard way so most don't bother.

In UE every file is "cooked" which essentially means rendering it down into a binary data file, which makes reversing it and extracting the files in a human-readable format complicated.
Allegedly there is a way to use the bloated and complicated UE development environment tool to mod, but few to nobody does for the reasons mentioned.
This means that you need a minimum of three tools to do mods.
• One tool to examine and extract files (Fmodel) but only as .uasset/.uexp files because it doesn't extract them correctly as the most human readable .json files.
• Then another tool (UAssetGUI) to work with the .uasset files (either directly or as exported then re-imported .json files).
• Then a third tool (UnrealPak) to package the modified files back into a cooked .pak file, and it's a command-line tool.
• And if it's UE 5.X, as I learned today, you need a 4th tool (UE4SS) to run while booting the game in order to extract something called a "mapping file", which doesn't exist in any way in the files and is only created when UE 5.X software runs, but it is needed to even read the files using Fmodel or any other tool.
Four ******* 3rd party tools. And if any of them have a bug (UE4SS does with UE 5.6) modding is dead in its tracks. I spent all day working to get this bug solved so I can do my mod.

Oh, and the games are usually encrypted using an AES cryptographic key, which has to be extracted by one of various methods depending on whether the developer used the default or tried to hide it.

This ******* ****** Tim Sweeney says he's pro-modding, but his engine is practically hostile to it, unlike Unity or Godot.
There's no reason why Unreal Engine couldn't be designed in such a way that it makes modding a standardized feature of the system, but it's the exact opposite.

[rusty_shackleford]

I didn't like a a game's mod's choices so I learned how to mod Unreal Engine games. In this case UE4.X (it actually matters because UE 5.X is even worse to mod).
And holy **** is it far more difficult than it needs to be, even for simple data edits.

Now developers can set up their development in order to support modding, but there are basically no default tools to do it and no standard way so most don't.

In UE every file is "cooked" which essentially means rendering it down into a binary data file, which makes reversing it and extracting the files in a human-readable format complicated.
Allegedly there is a way to use the bloated and complicated UE development environment tool to mod, but few to nobody does for the reasons mentioned.
This means that you need a minimum of three tools to do mods.
One tool to examine and extract files (Fmodel) but only as .uasset/.uexp files because it doesn't extract them correctly as most human readable .json files.
Then another tool (UAssetGUI) to work with the .uasset files (either directly ot as exported then re-imported .json files).
Then a third tool (UnrealPak) to package the modified files back into a cooked .pak file, and it's a command-line tool.
And if it's UE 5.X, as I learned today, you need a 4th tool (UE4SS) to run while booting the game in order to extract something called a "mapping file", which doesn't exist in any way in the files and is only created when UE 5.X software runs, but it is needed to even read the files using Fmodel or any other tool.
Four ******* 3rd party tools. And if any of them have a bug (UE4SS does with UE 5.6) modding is dead in its tracks. I spend all day working to get this bug solved so I can do my mod.

Oh, and the games are usually encrypted using an AES cryptographic key, which has to be extracted by one of various methods depending on whether the developer used the default or tried to hide it.

This ******* ****** Tim Sweeney says he's pro-modding, but his engine is practically hostile to it, unlike Unity or Godot.
There's no reason why Unreal Engine couldn't be designed in such a way that it makes modding a standardized feature of the system, but it's the exact opposite.

If I didn't have extensive reverse engineering skills with ghidra I'd have been unable to find this:

UE4SS signature needed for hooking:

Code: Select all

-- UE4SS_Signatures/StaticConstructObject.lua
function Register()
    return "4C 8B DC 55 53 41 56 49 8D AB ?? ?? ?? ?? 48 81 EC ?? ?? ?? ??"
end

function OnMatchFound(MatchAddress)
    return MatchAddress
end

StaticConstructObject_Internal is located at 0x14160a4d0

which was required for UE4SS to work at all

[Rand]

I didn't like a a game's mod's choices so I learned how to mod Unreal Engine games. In this case UE4.X (it actually matters because UE 5.X is even worse to mod).
And holy **** is it far more difficult than it needs to be, even for simple data edits.

Now developers can set up their development in order to support modding, but there are basically no default tools to do it and no standard way so most don't.

In UE every file is "cooked" which essentially means rendering it down into a binary data file, which makes reversing it and extracting the files in a human-readable format complicated.
Allegedly there is a way to use the bloated and complicated UE development environment tool to mod, but few to nobody does for the reasons mentioned.
This means that you need a minimum of three tools to do mods.
One tool to examine and extract files (Fmodel) but only as .uasset/.uexp files because it doesn't extract them correctly as most human readable .json files.
Then another tool (UAssetGUI) to work with the .uasset files (either directly ot as exported then re-imported .json files).
Then a third tool (UnrealPak) to package the modified files back into a cooked .pak file, and it's a command-line tool.
And if it's UE 5.X, as I learned today, you need a 4th tool (UE4SS) to run while booting the game in order to extract something called a "mapping file", which doesn't exist in any way in the files and is only created when UE 5.X software runs, but it is needed to even read the files using Fmodel or any other tool.
Four ******* 3rd party tools. And if any of them have a bug (UE4SS does with UE 5.6) modding is dead in its tracks. I spend all day working to get this bug solved so I can do my mod.

Oh, and the games are usually encrypted using an AES cryptographic key, which has to be extracted by one of various methods depending on whether the developer used the default or tried to hide it.

This ******* ****** Tim Sweeney says he's pro-modding, but his engine is practically hostile to it, unlike Unity or Godot.
There's no reason why Unreal Engine couldn't be designed in such a way that it makes modding a standardized feature of the system, but it's the exact opposite.

If I didn't have extensive reverse engineering skills with ghidra I'd have been unable to find this:

UE4SS signature needed for hooking:

Code: Select all

-- UE4SS_Signatures/StaticConstructObject.lua
function Register()
    return "4C 8B DC 55 53 41 56 49 8D AB ?? ?? ?? ?? 48 81 EC ?? ?? ?? ??"
end

function OnMatchFound(MatchAddress)
    return MatchAddress
end

StaticConstructObject_Internal is located at 0x14160a4d0

which was required for UE4SS to work at all

Yep, looks like you hit one of the 5.X bugs in UE4SS. That Lua script is a workaround, but sometimes the game crashes on boot as a result. UE 5.6 is particularly problematic with it.
I needed to use this:

Code: Select all

function Register()
    return "48 89 5C 24 10 48 89 74 24 18 48 89 7C 24 20 55 41 54 41 55 41 56 41 57 48 8D AC 24 60 FE FF FF 48 81 EC A0 02 00 00 48 8B ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? 48 33 C4 48 89 85 90 01 00 00"
end

function OnMatchFound(MatchAddress)
    return MatchAddress
end

[asf]

sorcery

[Rand]

Follow-up to viewtopic.php?p=352477-various-video-ga ... ad#p352477

My SurrounDead basic mod is successful.
I have unrandomized selected weapon stats generation as a test.

I had to make two GitHub bug reports for two of the four 3rd party tools needed.
Both were fixed within the day. One with an unlisted experimental build they had me test, and the other with a patch script they asked me to test. The second actually was still buggy, but it let me do what I needed.
(There was a second tool incompatibility issue with UAssetGUI (after UE4SS) working with versions higher than UE 5.5, but there was an experimental build they directed me to that could do what I needed.)

The first full mod will make it so that all weapons are rebalanced and generate with fixed stats.
(Because the dev is dragging his feet implementing a game feature where you can improve your weapons at a weapon workbench.)

Next is a QOL mod to let the things that won't go in the relevant containers be allowed in them.
There are a few items which do not have the proper references to go where they should.

[Rand]

sorcery

Fuckery and jiggery-pokery.

[Rand]

The more I see of the design choices of Crimson Desert, the less I like it. I now actually dislike it despite it being a competent game.
This was exactly my arc with the Dark Souls games and Elden Ring. They're too full of ******* weird nonsense.

I like the methods and intent of these games, but the orientals make weird and offputting choices that I dislike, often intensely.

[Breathe]

The more I see of the design choices of Crimson Desert, the less I like it. I now actually dislike it despite it being a competent game.
This was exactly my arc with the Dark Souls games and Elden Ring. They're too full of ******* weird nonsense.

I like the methods and intent of these games, but the orientals make weird and offputting choices that I dislike, often intensely.

► Show Spoiler

The sky world looks very bland and is a zelda copy. They need to do something unique with it otherwise that part of the game will be a slog.

Also, I don't really like the graphical style, or rather lack of one.

It does look mechanically competent though. What design choices are you not liking?

[DecadeRiptide]

What a bad showcase. Allegedly the traffic has been diminished for the purpose of having a smooth boring driving for 8 minutes.

The map looks too pristine. Isn't it unrealistic?

[rusty_shackleford]

Need to make a thread for ***** game tells. Big one is mechanics that are just exploits from popular games, typically speedrunner movement things, except promoted to standard mechanic.

[Rand]

What design choices are you not liking?

Robots and pilotable mech-bots.
Zelda Breath of the Wild sky temple ********, even including a glider.
Normalized weird looking nonhumans common in civilization.
Literal sparkly combat jizz everywhere.
Oriental samurai/ninja ****, and wuxia (wire-fu superhuman jumping around).

[Rand]

typically speedrunner movement things, except promoted to standard mechanic.

Something specific caught your attention?

[yangg]

What in tarnation ??

[roldet]

Sometimes my backlog feels so overwhelming that I’m tempted to commit to just five games for the next decade. What would be your 'end-of-the-world' gaming library if you were forced to limit your selection for a lifetime underground? Strategy games with skirmish mods are a no-brainer for longevity. Procedural roguelikes are a strong contender, and Souls-likes would definitely work too. Throw in some modded Bethesda titles and a few fighting games, and you've got a solid foundation. As for crpgs, you would need a 'build-heavy' title like Underrail—the kind of game where theory-crafting is half the fun...

[Val the Moofia Boss]

What would be your 'end-of-the-world' gaming library if you were forced to limit your selection for a lifetime underground?

The only singleplayer sandbox RPG I have played and especially enjoyed that can go on for hundreds of hours is Mount & Blade Warband, but I eventually had my fill of that game and I would not add that to my bucket list of my top 5 games. They would all either be online MMOs, or be story based games with a set duration and ultimate end to the experience. It is generally good for games to end and to move on with your life to find new experiences. I would also not be able to just narrow it down to only 5.

[rusty_shackleford]

Sometimes my backlog feels so overwhelming that I’m tempted to commit to just five games for the next decade. What would be your 'end-of-the-world' gaming library if you were forced to limit your selection for a lifetime underground? Strategy games with skirmish mods are a no-brainer for longevity. Procedural roguelikes are a strong contender, and Souls-likes would definitely work too. Throw in some modded Bethesda titles and a few fighting games, and you've got a solid foundation. As for crpgs, you would need a 'build-heavy' title like Underrail—the kind of game where theory-crafting is half the fun...

I'd suggest a big coop library and some friends

[Acrux]

Sometimes my backlog feels so overwhelming that I’m tempted to commit to just five games for the next decade. What would be your 'end-of-the-world' gaming library if you were forced to limit your selection for a lifetime underground? Strategy games with skirmish mods are a no-brainer for longevity. Procedural roguelikes are a strong contender, and Souls-likes would definitely work too. Throw in some modded Bethesda titles and a few fighting games, and you've got a solid foundation. As for crpgs, you would need a 'build-heavy' title like Underrail—the kind of game where theory-crafting is half the fun...

I think this is a topic deserving its own thread.

I need to narrow it down, but I think those 5 would come from this list of the games I've played pretty continuously for the past 20 years.

► Show Spoiler

Arcanum
Baldur's Gate 2 (heavily modded)
Civilization 2: Test of Time
Civilization 4 (mostly Fall Further mods, specifically Ashes of Erebus)
Deus Ex
Fallout Tactics
Icewind Dale 2 (now EE mod)
Kohan: Immortal Soverigns/Ahriman's Gift
Majesty
MissionForce: Cyberstorm
Red Alert 2
Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood
Roller Coaster Tycoon (now OpenRCT2)
Siege of Avalon
Stronghold/Stronghold Crusader
Temple of Elemental Evil

[Breathe]

Sometimes my backlog feels so overwhelming that I’m tempted to commit to just five games for the next decade. What would be your 'end-of-the-world' gaming library if you were forced to limit your selection for a lifetime underground? Strategy games with skirmish mods are a no-brainer for longevity. Procedural roguelikes are a strong contender, and Souls-likes would definitely work too. Throw in some modded Bethesda titles and a few fighting games, and you've got a solid foundation. As for crpgs, you would need a 'build-heavy' title like Underrail—the kind of game where theory-crafting is half the fun...

I'd suggest a big coop library and some friends

I always used to go through periods of single player games mixed with long periods of one single multiplayer game. If I only had a few to pick for the foreseeable future I would have to pick multiplayer games. The reason being the social interactions that keep things interesting; both predictable and unpredictable interactions. With single player games you’ll always get to the point where you know what is going to happen always.

[rusty_shackleford]

If you're just limited by storage space, you can store near every game made before 2001 in probably less than a gigabyte. Probably have to exclude some of the CD games I guess!

[roldet]

What would be your 'end-of-the-world' gaming library if you were forced to limit your selection for a lifetime underground?

The only singleplayer sandbox RPG I have played and especially enjoyed that can go on for hundreds of hours is Mount & Blade Warband, but I eventually had my fill of that game and I would not add that to my bucket list of my top 5 games. They would all either be online MMOs, or be story based games with a set duration and ultimate end to the experience. It is generally good for games to end and to move on with your life to find new experiences. I would also not be able to just narrow it down to only 5.

There was a unique benefit to having limited choices as a kid. Playing the same game repeatedly allowed for a level of mastery. Becoming a true expert—whether that involves writing definitive guides, publishing reviews, or developing mods—is a rewarding way to engage with a hobby. It transforms a passive pastime into a creative pursuit.

I also ruminate about sustainability and longevity of games sometimes.

Take Chess, for example. It is a centuries-old game that can be replicated anywhere in the world using simple physical objects and a grid. It is essentially "future-proof." In contrast, computer games are a modern luxury; they are tethered to electricity, specific hardware, and evolving software environments. Their survival depends on a technological infrastructure that is far more fragile than a wooden board and carved pieces.

[rusty_shackleford]

There was a unique benefit to having limited choices

Couldn't be me, pirate 4 lyfe