What game are you playing?

[The_Mask]

I'm * this * close to platinum on Dark Souls remastered. I usually find trophy hunting pretty boring, but I love this game so fucking much that even the most obtuse achievements (i.e. Knight's Honor) are manageable.

Good luck finding the Trident.

[agentorange]

Fell for the historical revisionism that Daikatana is "not that bad." Well, I played through it and it is shit. The best areas of the game rise to the level of being decent, and if the entire game were comprised of areas of that quality it would still be a 6/10 FPS that you play after you've exhausted all other options.

The game is filled with bad design decisions that make it feel like a mod. The worst and I think the most emblematic of all the problems with the game is how the titular Daikatana weapon is handled. You get the Daikatana early in the game, and there is a system where the sword can level up by killing enough enemies, which increases the speed and power of the weapon. The problem is that the weapon is terrible, awkward and unsatisfying to use no matter how much you level it up, easily the worst weapon in the game. On the other hand, the best part of the game is all the unique weapons that get introduced in every chapter (every chapter is a different time period and they all have their own period specific weapons), the Daikatana being the only weapon that is a constant throughout the whole game. So by encouraging the player to use the Daikatana through the level up system, not to mention it being the namesake of the game and the main plot point, they are sabotaging the best part of their own game (and probably one of the parts of the game that took the most time and effort to implement). It's two totally different ideas that could work well in their own separate games, but they decided to do both things at once because they lacked restraint and had no one to tell them no.

[Tweed]

Fell for the historical revisionism that Daikatana is "not that bad." Well, I played through it and it is shit. The best areas of the game rise to the level of being decent, and if the entire game were comprised of areas of that quality it would still be a 6/10 FPS that you play after you've exhausted all other options.

The game is filled with bad design decisions that make it feel like a mod. The worst and I think the most emblematic of all the problems with the game is how the titular Daikatana weapon is handled. You get the Daikatana early in the game, and there is a system where the sword can level up by killing enough enemies, which increases the speed and power of the weapon. The problem is that the weapon is terrible, awkward and unsatisfying to use no matter how much you level it up, easily the worst weapon in the game. On the other hand, the best part of the game is all the unique weapons that get introduced in every chapter (every chapter is a different time period and they all have their own period specific weapons), the Daikatana being the only weapon that is a constant throughout the whole game. So by encouraging the player to use the Daikatana through the level up system, not to mention it being the namesake of the game and the main plot point, they are sabotaging the best part of their own game (and probably one of the parts of the game that took the most time and effort to implement). It's two totally different ideas that could work well in their own separate games, but they decided to do both things at once because they lacked restraint and had no one to tell them no.

Single player is absolute shit, but DKMP is chef's kiss.

[Trithne]

Been playing Colony Ship, but going to put it down again now and wait for the true 1.0 release to give it a proper go.

I've been hosting an Avorion server for my mates, we've been using that as our group game for the last month or so, since everyone misses Freelancer.

Otherwise I'm waiting for that fucking System Shock remake I foolishly paid for however many fucking years ago that was.

[Nemesis]

going to put it down again now and wait for the true 1.0 release to give it a proper go.

The best move to play is none at all (until full release).

[Ranselknulf]

I gave Sons of the Forest a try the other day. Seems enjoyable so far.

It reminds me of Valheim, but if it wasn't gay.

[v2rus]

I know @v2rus set out on a similar path many years ago but got quickly filtered by M&M book one, the scrub.

One day, I'll demonstrate my full commitment to the incline. One day!

[NEG]

Been playing Ace Combat 7 since it was on sale on Steam.

It's actually really enjoyable so far. Story is a bit odd, but generally tolerable.

Combat mechanics are a little arcade at times, but that can be a good thing.

[Gregz]

I'm playing Burntime

[Suissant]

Starting Starflight because someone recommended as the next best thing after The Ur-quan masters ( Star Control II)

[rusty_shackleford]

Starting Starflight because someone recommended as the next best thing after The Ur-quan masters ( Star Control II)

The Amiga version is the superior one FYI.

[WhiteShark]

Blasted through Cruelty Squad today only to discover after finishing the final mission that not only had I missed every single secret mission but apparently also played most of the game on the easy-mode equivalent because it's automatically activated when dying too often and requires specific in-game actions to change back. Tomorrow I'll probably start with replaying on the hard-mode equivalent. It's also clear from the menu screens that I'm still missing about half the implants and weapons so I guess I have a ways to go yet.

After that, I'm not sure. I've been really enjoying this first-person tear but I think it's time I moved back towards RPG territory. Seems a good opportunity to restart New Vegas which I still have yet to finish.

[wndrbr]

Started playing Deep Fear, Sega Saturn-exclusive horror game.



An old spacecraft lands in the Pacific ocean somewhere near an underwater research facility. Upon investigation it was revealed that the spacecraft contained a monkey, and was sent by humanity decades ago as a part of an experiment about the effects of space radiation on living beings. Naturally people start to mutate into grotesque monsters after getting in contact with the craft due to a common bacteria which was affected by space radiation. Main character is some military guy who just happens to be immune to the virus because he has a common cold or something like this.

Fixed camera angles, pre-rendered backgrounds, tank controls - this is basically a RE clone, except a very streamlined one. You have a large inventory (12 slots for supplies which can stack, weapons are kept in dedicated weapon slots), and you can always get back to a nearest ammo locker/medkit for resupply. The level design is largely linear, at least in the beginning - you just go from one area to another without much backtracking. The combat works similarly to RE, except that you can actually shoot while moving, and you also have a quick item function (you can bind grenades/healing sprays to a hotkey).

First impressions are mixed. It looks like the game leans heavily into storyfag side - there's a ton of cutscenes, both in-engine and prerendered (and they look way more dated than the ones in RE2 or SH1). I hope it chills after a while, cuz the constant chatter got old pretty fast.

[rusty_shackleford]

I'm curious, can you crank up the internal resolution to make it less pixel-puke or is it some type of non-polygonal 3D rendering?

[wndrbr]

@rusty_shackleford only the characters are in 3D. The background is basically a static pre-rendered picture, sometimes with layers that simulate characters walking behind props.

[Fedora Master]

Vampire Surviors starts off kind eh but I realized it has much more nuance to it than I first expected.

[Tweed]

Still throwing myself at Rain World, trying to do a Hunter run, it's the kind of game I get pissed off at enough to toss the controller aside, but good enough that I pick it up again a few hours later.

Also playing Super Metroid Subversion, a hack for SM that so far has been excellent in quality, a lot better than your average SM hack.

Kind of thinking about trying to play Age of Wonders which I've started multiple times and never made it very far for some reason or another. Either that or a round of OpenXcom with the Xcom Files mod.

[MadPreacher]

I'm currently doing a 769-1453 CK2 shattered world run. I'm up to 863 AD.

[BlueMemphis]

I got the true ending without metagaming. Either I got lucky, or the trust system has a lot of leeway.

Finished it so can now assert the answer is: both.

There is a misconception when you look up guides for the best ending that you need to have max loyalty with the main crew but turns out that is bs, just need to have their loyalty in the very high range.

So there is some leeway but at the same time you still likely need to follow the following guide lines to reach the best ending without too much stress or grinding:

-choose the british squaddies early in at least most early levels on as you get separated from them on chap 3 and only meet them again towards the end of the game so if you havent already gotten them near the required threshold them its unlikely you will have enough time to fix it
-dont miss the nanomachines that boost loyalty gain sold by a missable npc
-faye is a trap pick in most cases early game as you are auto stuck with her midgame for a decent enough portion it will likely be enough to get her into very high loyalty
-pick cain as much as you can as soon as he becomes available
-you can mostly ignore Bo as long as you gave him the answers he liked at start of the game and save him from cerberus in chap 5

[NotAI]

Nothing at the moment. Waiting for better games to come out.

^ Rain World is a very impressive game, no idea why the developer didn't release a sequel.

[Nemesis]

I'm currently doing a 769-1453 CK2 shattered world run. I'm up to 863 AD.

Shattered World is such a fun mode.

[MadPreacher]

I'm currently doing a 769-1453 CK2 shattered world run. I'm up to 863 AD.

Shattered World is such a fun mode.

Especially if you have 2.4k hours in the game. Playing vanilla is boring at that point.

[Roguey]

Been playing Wrath of the Righteous for over a month. It will probably take another month or more to finish. So difficult now to recall a time when I wasn't playing it.

One month later and I'm in act 4. So far I'm liking the pace of this city adventure better than the 30+ encounter combat slog that finished act 3.

[Shillitron]

I'm * this * close to platinum on Dark Souls remastered. I usually find trophy hunting pretty boring, but I love this game so fucking much that even the most obtuse achievements (i.e. Knight's Honor) are manageable. Probably most of you hate trophies and dork souls and especially playing on consoles.

So the question is, what shall I play next (with keyboard and mouse) to redeem myself? From my backlog:

1) Tyranny
2) Torment: Tides Of Numenera
3) Wastland 3

Achievement hunting can be fun when you really love a game and want to push yourself to "make your own fun", I really like super hard achievements that require complete mastery of a game.

BUT when achievement completion requires you to beat the game 6 or 7 games just to make some obtuse decision at the end.. I find that just obnoxious.

Elden Ring specifically with it's different endings.. many of them achievable in a single run but forcing you to speed run the game 3 or 4 more times to get them all. (or juggle save files)

[cpmartins]

Been playing Wrath of the Righteous for over a month. It will probably take another month or more to finish. So difficult now to recall a time when I wasn't playing it.

One month later and I'm in act 4. So far I'm liking the pace of this city adventure better than the 30+ encounter combat slog that finished act 3.

I'm also in that city and I fucking HATE the moving shit. It'd be good if you could interact with the moving parts i.e. climb them so you could move with it, but it's mostly fluff. And I do agree, it's much better than Ch3. Feels like a PS:T knockoff, and not in a bad way.

[agentorange]

Finished a replay of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. A very straight to the point first person shooter that nail the fundamental shooter gameplay. Visually it manages to have its own style, in the vein of India Jones and other pulp WW2 adventure stories, while staying grounded enough that it doesn't feel like a cartoon.

All the guns feel deadly, and the guns you get early in the game stay relevant even after getting the experimental endgame weaponry, which is something I always like to see in an FPS. One of my favorite weapons in the game was a silenced sten gun that you are given as an aid for an early stealth mission. The gun overheats very quickly because it is intended mostly for stealth killing scenarios, but if you can effectively manage the overheating it ends up being extremely powerful and accurate, one of the guns I relied on the most for interior firefights.

The enemy AI is decent enough that they know when to stay in cover and not run in a straight line towards you all the time, and soldiers can take just enough hits to where you can have some tense back and forth firefights. Like the developer's previous game Kingpin the enemies can also climb ladders and jump, which can take you by surprise if you let your guard down. Good amount of enemy variety too, with numerous variations on the normal Nazi soldiers like paratroopers and flamethrower troopers, then the experimental super soldiers, and the supernatural foes. The game does a good job of going back and forth between the different types of enemies, as well, which always keeps the pacing fresh; you first encounter supernatural ghouls pretty early in the game, then go back to fighting nazi soldiers, then encounter the super soldiers, then back to normal soldiers, then occult, etc., rather than something like where once you encounter the supernatural enemies then it is only supernatural enemies from there on out (another game I recently played, Rune, was very bad about this, where once you encountered a new type of enemy you would only fight that one type of enemy for the next 2 hours).

It was amusing to play this game then immediately afterwards watch someone play Wolfenstein The New Order. Return to Castle Wolfenstein has very little of that "let's kill those fucking nazi fascists!" attitude to it, but you feel far more like a cool dude killing bad guys in RTCW than New Order, which is filled with said bash-the-fash attitude but Blazkowitz himself is a mopey downer. In RTCW all the story is played out through pre-mission cutscenes, skippable, which have an X-Files like atmosphere to them, with guys in suits calmly discussing demonic technology while sitting in cushy chairs, whereas New Order throws out one insipid cutscene after another, interrupting the gameplay every 15 minutes, and has numerous unskippable "interactive" story sequences.

[wndrbr]

All the guns feel deadly, and the guns you get early in the game stay relevant even after getting the experimental endgame weaponry, which is something I always like to see in an FPS.

agreed with your post, except for this part. Imo, RTCW has quite a few redundant weapons.

Luger is absolutely useless - it has shit damage, it uses the same type of ammo as MP40, and its silencer is only useful for like one mission - after that you get your hands on a suppressed Sten. Colt 1911 and Tommygun are cool, but you get diddly-squat of 45cal ammo - seems like the devs only put those guns into campaign because they've already made them for multiplayer, so why let something go to waste. Mauser rifle gets outclassed by FG42 halfway through the game - they both use the same 7.92mm ammo, but FG42 shoots in full-auto and has a bigger mag capacity. Tesla and Flamethrower occupy the same niche of close-quarters AOE gun, and on higher difficulties both of them aren't very useful against paratroopers and other endgame enemies that keep shooting at you while you try to zap them or set them on fire.

Speaking of game's grounded tone. Apparently, one of the early builds of the game had you fight against ninjas from Imperial Japanese army. They were supposed to fight like female assassins from Half-Life.



You can also see some cybernetically-enhanced zombies in the background.

[Roguey]

The hitscanners in RTCW made me seethe. The snipers and those jumpy booba ladies. Strongest thing I can recall is my distaste when a level had either.

I'm also in that city and I fucking HATE the moving shit. It'd be good if you could interact with the moving parts i.e. climb them so you could move with it, but it's mostly fluff. And I do agree, it's much better than Ch3. Feels like a PS:T knockoff, and not in a bad way.

Yeah I hated moving the camera before and I definitely hate it now. Makes navigating the city all the more annoying and they knew people would hate it, hence why you have those fast travel teleporters all over the place you need to unlock coins for.

[agentorange]

All the guns feel deadly, and the guns you get early in the game stay relevant even after getting the experimental endgame weaponry, which is something I always like to see in an FPS.

agreed with your post, except for this part. Imo, RTCW has quite a few redundant weapons.

Luger is absolutely useless - it has shit damage, it uses the same type of ammo as MP40, and its silencer is only useful for like one mission - after that you get your hands on a suppressed Sten. Colt 1911 and Tommygun are cool, but you get diddly-squat of 45cal ammo - seems like the devs only put those guns into campaign because they've already made them for multiplayer, so why let something go to waste. Mauser rifle gets outclassed by FG42 halfway through the game - they both use the same 7.92mm ammo, but FG42 shoots in full-auto and has a bigger mag capacity. Tesla and Flamethrower occupy the same niche of close-quarters AOE gun, and on higher difficulties both of them aren't very useful against paratroopers and other endgame enemies that keep shooting at you while you try to zap them or set them on fire.

Speaking of game's grounded tone. Apparently, one of the early builds of the game had you fight against ninjas from Imperial Japanese army. They were supposed to fight like female assassins from Half-Life.



You can also see some cybernetically-enhanced zombies in the background.

I thought about the Luger while typing that post, because yeah it is the one weapon that became useless almost immediately. It's a rare game where the starting pistol remains somehow relevant throughout the game (Kingpin does it by allowing it to be improved through that game's limited weapon mod system). Otherwise though, ammo for the Tommygun was rare, naturally considering the setting, but it could turn the tables in a fight when I decided to use it, and I found myself still using the scoped Mauser often enough, even after getting the FG42, because of its pinpoint accuracy from a long range and because ammo for the Snooper is highly limited. Flamethrower was effective at room clearing since it can sort of be aimed around corners, surprisingly effective even against the uber soldats--I finished off all three boss encounters against them with it. Tesla gun I didn't end up getting too much use out of because of how late in the game you get it and because as you say enemies can still shoot you while you are zapping them.

I'd like to try playing the xbox version one day because you get a shotgun in that version and I found myself missing one during the game.

[Incognito]

I'm * this * close to platinum on Dark Souls remastered. I usually find trophy hunting pretty boring, but I love this game so fucking much that even the most obtuse achievements (i.e. Knight's Honor) are manageable. Probably most of you hate trophies and dork souls and especially playing on consoles.

Achievement hunting can be fun when you really love a game and want to push yourself to "make your own fun", I really like super hard achievements that require complete mastery of a game.

BUT when achievement completion requires you to beat the game 6 or 7 games just to make some obtuse decision at the end.. I find that just obnoxious.

Elden Ring specifically with it's different endings.. many of them achievable in a single run but forcing you to speed run the game 3 or 4 more times to get them all. (or juggle save files)

It wasn't so bad after all. You have to finish NG+ and then do at least Sif on NG++, so 2.5 playthroughs. But the ramp in difficulty doesn't keep you from a much faster run the second time around. Planning is essential tho, because of all the spells and miracles to collect. I downloaded an excel file to keep track of everything. Even if that sounds retarded, in the end I had a lot of fun and that's what matters. Would never force myself to platinum if it felt like a chore.