Various video game stuff not deserving its own thread

[Vergil]

Think you've put all the graphics design ****** on ignore there aweigh

[aweigh]

[aweigh]

[Kowe]

This game popped into my mind, anyone know of it? Brave Dwarves 2 . Was my introduction to this kind of fantasy style of art (the night forest background. Not cartooney, but not quite realistic, or at times just an obvious collage of things).

If you haven't played it but want to give it a try, it is available here: My Abandonware - Brave Dwarves 2. It has two English versions available for download.
Can't comment on its content or game-play as I haven't spent any time on this game.

I think I have the CD somewhere, but thank you for letting me know! My Ice Wind Dale II disk, for example, now gives me a dx something error when I try to install it (it has two disks, only one is faulty, but it is enough to stop the whole install process), so it will be nice to have a ready-to-go copy.

You're welcome! The website lists some titles which can only be purchased elsewhere. Be it GoG, Steam or in a few cases even other services. Icewind Dale II unfortunately falls under it, as it only links to GoG. So not everything on the site can be downloaded.
If you want to own another physical copy, I do recommend Dungeons & Dragons: Anthology instead.

[anonusername]

What gaming journo website is based enough to complain about a modder adding a lesbian sex scene or whatever it is the bisexual mod does?

[rusty_shackleford]

What gaming website is based enough to complain about a modder adding a lesbian sex scene or whatever it is the bisexual mod does?

[rusty_shackleford]

No Rest for the Wicked appears to be made by a chud studio(relatively speaking)

I already know I might get myself into trouble once again by posting this, but I just replied to
@MauriceWeber42
, a German journalist who is affiliated with the German outlet 'Gamestar'.

I do think it's especially important these days that we always remind ourselves to try to keep an open mind and try to understand even those who think differently than we do.

Here's my response to him complaining about people who are apparently fed up by 'Woke Culture':

"I think it all makes sense, Maurice.

This is basically a backlash against cancel culture and similar phenomena because everyone has had enough of that nonsense.

I’d suggest you take a more nuanced view, especially since you position yourself as a journalist. Yet, you often display a narrow-minded attitude and don’t seem to question what’s actually going on. And that is something we should expect from a journalist!

Just because you personally haven’t been affected by cancel culture doesn't mean there hasn’t been a lot of foolishness happening, and it's still ongoing. And it’s only a matter of time before it impacts you, too.

Consider this famous statement:

'First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the ****, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.'

Instead of allowing artists to just be artists, Hollywood and most of the game developers on the West Coast have decided that it's appropriate to use films and video games as platforms to push their own political agenda. If you argue otherwise, I would expect a journalist like you to back it up with thorough research.

Moreover, it's become the norm to point fingers at others, particularly at those who may think differently from us. Rather than allowing others to be different and listening to them regardless, we attack them outright. It’s frankly eerily reminiscent of old Nazi tactics.

Anyone who doesn’t conform is ridiculed, and it’s suggested they be shamed, fired, and have their careers destroyed.

This has been the approach over the past few years, and I know plenty of people whose careers have been devastated by trivialities and misinformation, and they continue to suffer today. You seem unaffected, and thus you refuse to consider a more open perspective.

Your apparent lack of empathy in this matter is not only unhelpful but also shows a considerable amount of ignorance.

Allow me to also play critic for a moment: At Gamestar, you do the same thing. Instead of cleaning your own house, you wield the ‘We report and earn from our articles, but beware, those guys are the real villains!’ narrative, just to ensure the spotlight never falls on you, aligning yourselves just so.

That’s precisely why we’ve cut you off; we find such morally dubious practices unacceptable and refuse to support them.

You lack the initiative to conduct your own journalistic investigations, as it seems too much work when the next clickbait article is due the next day. The sad thing is that young journalists like yourself never knew anything else.

The more outrage you generate, the more clicks you get, and that’s how you make your living—at the expense of others, which apparently doesn’t matter as long as you're seen as the good guys.

I hope in the future you will approach the world with more skepticism and openness, and truly consider both sides instead of aligning yourself with one to amplify their propaganda."

It is deeply, deeply important after everything that happened over the past couple of years that we always question hidden agendas, always try to be loving and show understanding even to those we vehemently disagree with. Proper discourse is more important than ever.

And journalists need to understand their responsibilities in all this and start acting like journalists again.

same guys made the Ori games
@aweigh might know more, saw him mention it iirc

[aweigh]

No Rest for the Wicked appears to be made by a chud studio(relatively speaking)

I already know I might get myself into trouble once again by posting this, but I just replied to
@MauriceWeber42
, a German journalist who is affiliated with the German outlet 'Gamestar'.

I do think it's especially important these days that we always remind ourselves to try to keep an open mind and try to understand even those who think differently than we do.

Here's my response to him complaining about people who are apparently fed up by 'Woke Culture':

"I think it all makes sense, Maurice.

This is basically a backlash against cancel culture and similar phenomena because everyone has had enough of that nonsense.

I’d suggest you take a more nuanced view, especially since you position yourself as a journalist. Yet, you often display a narrow-minded attitude and don’t seem to question what’s actually going on. And that is something we should expect from a journalist!

Just because you personally haven’t been affected by cancel culture doesn't mean there hasn’t been a lot of foolishness happening, and it's still ongoing. And it’s only a matter of time before it impacts you, too.

Consider this famous statement:

'First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the ****, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.'

Instead of allowing artists to just be artists, Hollywood and most of the game developers on the West Coast have decided that it's appropriate to use films and video games as platforms to push their own political agenda. If you argue otherwise, I would expect a journalist like you to back it up with thorough research.

Moreover, it's become the norm to point fingers at others, particularly at those who may think differently from us. Rather than allowing others to be different and listening to them regardless, we attack them outright. It’s frankly eerily reminiscent of old Nazi tactics.

Anyone who doesn’t conform is ridiculed, and it’s suggested they be shamed, fired, and have their careers destroyed.

This has been the approach over the past few years, and I know plenty of people whose careers have been devastated by trivialities and misinformation, and they continue to suffer today. You seem unaffected, and thus you refuse to consider a more open perspective.

Your apparent lack of empathy in this matter is not only unhelpful but also shows a considerable amount of ignorance.

Allow me to also play critic for a moment: At Gamestar, you do the same thing. Instead of cleaning your own house, you wield the ‘We report and earn from our articles, but beware, those guys are the real villains!’ narrative, just to ensure the spotlight never falls on you, aligning yourselves just so.

That’s precisely why we’ve cut you off; we find such morally dubious practices unacceptable and refuse to support them.

You lack the initiative to conduct your own journalistic investigations, as it seems too much work when the next clickbait article is due the next day. The sad thing is that young journalists like yourself never knew anything else.

The more outrage you generate, the more clicks you get, and that’s how you make your living—at the expense of others, which apparently doesn’t matter as long as you're seen as the good guys.

I hope in the future you will approach the world with more skepticism and openness, and truly consider both sides instead of aligning yourself with one to amplify their propaganda."

It is deeply, deeply important after everything that happened over the past couple of years that we always question hidden agendas, always try to be loving and show understanding even to those we vehemently disagree with. Proper discourse is more important than ever.

And journalists need to understand their responsibilities in all this and start acting like journalists again.

same guys made the Ori games
@aweigh might know more, saw him mention it iirc

they also fired one of their lead designers who was talking up a storm on twitter about how good DEI practises are and insulting the chuds over it:


And now the Moon CEO got into a beef with one of the CDPR narrative designers, accusing them of releasing cyberpunk 2077 broken on purpose (or something to that effect, paraphrasing from memory). The CDPR **** got big mad about it.

[Acrux]

I am sorry to report that the dev for Realms of Antiquity is a libtard. What a shame.

[Rand]

What gaming journo website is based enough to complain about a modder adding a lesbian sex scene or whatever it is the bisexual mod does?

This character is default lesbo only.

[Vergil]

Made a little more progress on my Star Paladin Cross replacer. I got rid of the flat top (it looks more normal in the base game but I'm using Character Kit Remake which makes it a negro flattop) and the beard since this character is a pretty clean cut older good karma paladin archetype. I think I'm gonna keep the voice because it's free and easy since it really doesn't sound any more robotic and ****** than the hole in the vanilla game does anyway.

[wndrbr]

I am sorry to report that the dev for Realms of Antiquity is a libtard. What a shame.

what happened?

[Acrux]

I am sorry to report that the dev for Realms of Antiquity is a libtard. What a shame.

what happened?

[Vergil]

Dear reddit, how come my GFs black child doesn't like doctor who?

[Havitner]

I think I'm gonna keep the voice because it's free and easy since it really doesn't sound any more robotic and ****** than the hole in the vanilla game does anyway.

You could stick a power armor helmet on him and call it a feature instead of a flaw. Makes no sense to go into combat without a helmet anyway*.

*Yes, I know it's so you can tell characters apart without having to look at their names in the GUI.

[gerey]

I am sorry to report that the dev for Realms of Antiquity is a libtard. What a shame.

what happened?

He seems to be something even worse than a liberal... a centrist.

[Segata]

Dear reddit, how come my GFs black child doesn't like doctor who?

Well, he should

[Rand]

Not a surprise he's paying to raise some turd's kid.

[anonusername]

what happened?

He seems to be something even worse than a liberal... a centrist.

That isn't a centrist, it's a communist who is a couple years behind on his NPC software updates.

[gerey]

That isn't a centrist, it's a communist who is a couple years behind on his NPC software updates.

Yeah, a centrist.

[aweigh]

[aweigh]

Anyone who thinks modern Dr Who is "good" is 100% an SJW, without a shadow of a doubt.

[Vergil]

[aweigh]

got a perma-ban from the Realms of Antiquity steam forum for posting the screenshots from the dev's discord.

ban reason was "slander and personal attacks" but the post i made only contained links to the discord screenshots, lol.

[Vergil]

Does Castlevania Symphony of the Night count as an RPG?

[WhiteShark]

Does Castlevania Symphony of the Night count as an RPG?

That depends on whether you consider action RPGs to be a subset of RPGs or an adjacent genre.

[Rand]

got a perma-ban from the Realms of Antiquity steam forum for posting the screenshots from the dev's discord.

ban reason was "slander and personal attacks" but the post i made only contained links to the discord screenshots, lol.

Uncommented?
That's a self-own.
My kind of trolling.

[Loveless]

It seems western games have a design philosophy that's roughly analogous to car design. Western games don't have genres, new mechanics or genre trappings are "discovered" and then have to latched onto every new game in the industry, like features on a car

At some point skill trees, open worlds and RPG mechanics were discovered and are now shoehorned into every new western game, even when it doesn't make sense. They're trying to optimize their way into a perfect supergame, which is why all western series seem to converge into the same generic mess

God of War abandoned its spectacle fighter trappings and latched on unnecessary skill trees, a hub world and alot of other deadweight mechanics because they were determined to be necessary in making the optimized perfect western game. Contrast that with DMC5 which is still within the same genre trappings of its predecessors. DMC 5 has no dead weight(I hope at least one DMC fan gets the joke)

It ties back to games being made by artists vs games by STEM guys. When Japanese games like yakuza 7 break form with turn based combat, the devs are crafting a unique yakuza game. When western devs break form they're trying to engineer their way into the perfect Far Assassins Cry-charted of us super-game

[Kowe]

Finished Hi-Fi Rush on normal and man, I have fingers crossed that it comes to GoG at some point. What a fresh and fun experience in a long time. Kind of a surprise like BG3 was. Even better if it can be modded then, given that it at least isn't made with Unity.
And despite having a little Western slop like diversity, it isn't so offensive. Feels more like the old mangas/animes and cartoons. Macaron is even less offensive than Barret. And Barret is also inoffensive unlike many shoe-horned black characters, e.g. Forsaken protagonist.
Timing does seem kind of tricky though, so mostly got post-fight As and Bs from it.

It seems western games have a design philosophy that's roughly analogous to car design. Western games don't have genres, new mechanics or genre trappings are "discovered" and then have to latched onto every new game in the industry, like features on a car

At some point skill trees, open worlds and RPG mechanics were discovered and are now shoehorned into every new western game, even when it doesn't make sense. They're trying to optimize their way into a perfect supergame, which is why all western series seem to converge into the same generic mess

God of War abandoned its spectacle fighter trappings and latched on unnecessary skill trees, a hub world and alot of other deadweight mechanics because they were determined to be necessary in making the optimized perfect western game. Contrast that with DMC5 which is still within the same genre trappings of its predecessors. DMC 5 has no dead weight(I hope at least one DMC fan gets the joke)

It ties back to games being made by artists vs games by STEM guys. When Japanese games like yakuza 7 break form with turn based combat, the devs are crafting a unique yakuza game. When western devs break form they're trying to engineer their way into the perfect Far Assassins Cry-charted of us super-game

It's pretty dumb that Western devs do it since it is unnecessary complexity, but it is more so found in AAA titles. Racing, SHMUPs, Platformers, Fighters, Horror and many other genres can shine brightly without any RPG mechanics. So it is increased development cost when it is better spent elsewhere.
Consumers are also to blame, but with how popular some games are, they do know quality at least somewhat. Some genres are fated to be niche.
The biggest blame still lies on the suits anyway, be it executives, managers, marketing and sales guys, and so on. They force this philosophy on some devs.

[Yankee Zulu]

It seems western games have a design philosophy that's roughly analogous to car design. Western games don't have genres, new mechanics or genre trappings are "discovered" and then have to latched onto every new game in the industry, like features on a car

At some point skill trees, open worlds and RPG mechanics were discovered and are now shoehorned into every new western game, even when it doesn't make sense. They're trying to optimize their way into a perfect supergame, which is why all western series seem to converge into the same generic mess

God of War abandoned its spectacle fighter trappings and latched on unnecessary skill trees, a hub world and alot of other deadweight mechanics because they were determined to be necessary in making the optimized perfect western game. Contrast that with DMC5 which is still within the same genre trappings of its predecessors. DMC 5 has no dead weight(I hope at least one DMC fan gets the joke)

It ties back to games being made by artists vs games by STEM guys. When Japanese games like yakuza 7 break form with turn based combat, the devs are crafting a unique yakuza game. When western devs break form they're trying to engineer their way into the perfect Far Assassins Cry-charted of us super-game

You are beating the dead horse. Its been discussed a million times. Video gaming is big business now. You all saw the statistics. 160 mln gamers in the US alone. Its HOLLYWOOD now. The success of the game is measured by its sales numbers.