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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Thanks largely due to myself procrastinating on projects I need to finish before the end of the year, I found myself booting up 'ol reliable once more, Master of Orion II.
For poops and giggles, I decided to pull a homeworld-only Impossible game and built my custom race to accommodate: Low-G, Subterranean, Aquatic, Large HW, Rich HW, Artifact HW, -10 Ground Combat / Spy, +1 Research.
Two things of note have happened so far: Space Amoeba comes out of nowhere and starts in on my homeworld not too deeply into the game, still only had a starbase as a defender. I save as the ****er appears and see if I can fight it off... It ends poorly. It takes out my starbase in short order before a little movie starts going and I come back to find that my beautiful homeworld is now Toxic and my poor little subjects are starving to death -- well, those that survived the process, anyway.
This would have obviously spelled a game-over, so I revert back to my latest save and start experimenting on the best ship I can build in the allotted time, three turns. After failing miserably several times, I eventually tweak everything so I get Battle Pods researched just in the nick of time and am able to get out a Battleship laden down with 2x shot MIRV'd nukes and reinforced hull (To survive the first shot and be able to get off its entire payload - Doesn't survive the second) with just 3 BC to spare.
The second thing was just amusing to me due to a little internal dialogue I for whatever reason imagined for a diplomatic event. A kitties call me up and demand my entire stockpile of credits (A little over 1,000 in bank, each unit representing a billion credits).
Mrrshan: Yeah... We're going to need about a trillion credits from you guys.
Me: Ah, well I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement. The Mrrshan have been valued trading partners for some time now! Of course, those kinds of credits make up pretty much the entirety of our treasury but I'm sure we can work out a reasonable interest rate for such a loan and...
Mrrshan: I think you misunderstand. There will be no repayment nor will there be any interest. Why, that's an awfully nice homeworld you have there... and I can't help but notice you have NO standing military fleet and your home system is the ONLY one you control. Would be a SHAME if something happ-
Me: NO HANDOUTS FOR NON CUTE KITTIES!
*Cuts communication*
...
Military Advisor: Sir, I'm reading the Mrrshan fleet mobilizing and heading in our general direction...
Me: F***.
:smalltongue:
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mewtarthio
You know, I never really gave Saint's Row a second glance before now. Still, if you're that impressed, I'm intrigued. What is Saint's Row, and why should I be interested?
Saint's Row is... hard to describe.
In terms of basic gameplay mechanics they're nothing revolutionary, being fairly typical urban sandbox third person driving/shooting games. The gameplay however is generally quite insane without crossing the line into self-parody*. That is to say the characters take respond to their often ridiculous situations in believable (for sociopaths) ways, and although they might point out how completely whacked out some of them are, the fourth wall remains intact throughout. This means that you the player get to do fun stuff in a context that generally makes sense and takes itself seriously without being awkward about it. The game knows that skydiving through the windows of moving aircraft is ridiculous but fun, the characters do it because in the somewhat bizarre world in which they operate, it makes sense.
Basically it's an excuse to have a ripping good time in something that takes itself just the right amount of serious, and has the writing chops to pull it off.
*Although I suspect that the Professor Genki bits are in fact just that. It's oblique enough to feel smart, not lame however.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Finally got around to beating V:tm: Bloodlines a couple of days ago. I'd had it for a while just sitting on my shelf as I was working through my 'to-play' list. I'm now kicking myself I didn't start it earlier, as it's one of the few games that more than lives up to its own hype. In fact it's probably the best RPG-type game I've played in the last few years, certainly the most immersive. As far as actually making you feel like a vampire it's nearly perfect, while the atmosphere creates a real impression of the dark, seedy underbelly of a city that the creatures of the night haunt. It's a real shame Troika aren't around any more.
I also recently got hold of acclaimed point and click adventure game Syberia. It's usually held up with The Longest Journey (which I liked) as one of the 'last hurrahs' of the adventure genre so I felt it was worth checking out. It does not live up to its reputation. At all.
There's nothing inherently wrong with the actual mechanics (in as much as there are mechanics in Adventure games) although Kate's walking speed can get annoyingly slow. And there have been a couple of 'puzzles/obstacles' that shouldn't have been there at all if only the designers had bothered to look at the scenario in any detail. However, there haven't been any 'make fake moustache out of cat hair and syrup to impersonate a man who does not have a moustache' levels of moon logic either.
No, the bigger problem is that Syberia is pretty much the best example I've ever seen of how not to write a game's story. This ranges from failing to provide any in-story motivation to complete tasks (and it is impossible to maintain immersion when you're asking "Why am I doing this?"), a frankly pathetic protagonist - Kate refuses to carry a wet piece of wood because 'it's icky', refuses to try and cross a shallow, narrow stream and is unable to just ignore three not-particularly-large birds - and one of the most annoying supporting characters I've ever had the misfortune of encountering. This might be excusable if the main plot was interesting and did not rely on someone having hit their head as a child and becoming retarded (I wish I was making that up), but such is not the case. The setting itself could be interesting if the game seemed to care about exploring it, but this seems to have been a fairly low priority.
I'm not seeing why this game gets anything like the praise it gets.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
OH MY GOD, THIS WEEK IS UNBELIEVABLE. Chrono Trigger just hit the App Store, so there goes my weekend, along with Bastion, and Borderlands DLC, and dear god, I leave for Belize next MONDAY, and I'm going to get like four hours of sleep that night, and...
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
What's making this an awesome week for me is the imminent release of X3: Albion Prelude on December 15th...but I'm not likely to have any time to actually play it, firstly because I'm still playing Skyrim (and likely to be for a good while yet) and secondly because I always spend Christmas at my mother's, and my laptop is nowhere near good enough to run the game! :smallfrown:
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Mr.Silver
I also recently got hold of acclaimed point and click adventure game Syberia. It's usually held up with The Longest Journey (which I liked) as one of the 'last hurrahs' of the adventure genre so I felt it was worth checking out. It does not live up to its reputation. At all.
IMHO it's nowhere near The Longest Journey, but a passing adventure title nonetheless. I don't remember disliking it for the reasons you gave, but thinking that it was merely "meh", or bland, in real words.
Speaking of adventure games, has anyone tried The Next Big Thing? It's new, but relatively obscure.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
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Originally Posted by
Cespenar
Speaking of adventure games, has anyone tried The Next Big Thing? It's new, but relatively obscure.
Eh, it's good for a bunch of laughs. You're not likely to get stuck for terribly long, but you can easily finish it in a day.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
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Originally Posted by
TaRix
Eh, it's good for a bunch of laughs. You're not likely to get stuck for terribly long, but you can easily finish it in a day.
It's a bit short, yes, but I cannot possibly say that I finished it in a day. If you mean "24 hours nonstop" by saying "day", however, I might understand. :smalltongue:
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
After installing Age of Empires II: Age of Kings and the Conquerors expansion, I want to know how many people still play that game.
My favorite faction is the Byzantine Empire.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Looking for my discs now...
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cespenar
It's a bit short, yes, but I cannot possibly say that I finished it in a day. If you mean "24 hours nonstop" by saying "day", however, I might understand. :smalltongue:
Though I didn't time myself, I think I did it in under seven hours. This was all during Black Friday while other brothers were playing Skyward Sword and such. I DID use the 'hotspot locator' option, which was helpful in finding some awkwardly placed "to such-and-such room" spots.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
So what's this "Jamestown" game I've been hearing so much about?
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Triscuitable
So what's this "Jamestown" game I've been hearing so much about?
It's a vertical shoot'em'up with a steampunk aesthetic. Very well designed, and a great game overall.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Triscuitable
So what's this "Jamestown" game I've been hearing so much about?
Well...
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Jamestown: Legend Of The Lost Colony is a neo-classical top-down shooter for up to 4 players, set on 17th-century British Colonial Mars. It features all the intensity, depth, and lovingly handcrafted pixels of a classic arcade shooter, with a modern twist: deeply-integrated cooperative gameplay.
Does that help?
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Geno9999
After installing Age of Empires II: Age of Kings and the Conquerors expansion, I want to know how many people still play that game.
My favorite faction is the Byzantine Empire.
Turks. For the Jannisaries.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
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Originally Posted by
Volatar
Does that help?
Yeah, it does.
Thanks Drascin, thanks Volatar.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
So after a three plus week hiatus, I fired up Skyrim again this evening. For some reason the game just isn't clicking for me. Maybe it's because I'm coming off of a Saint's Row III flavored open world high, but it just feels so plodding - walk, kill wolf, walk, kill wolf, walk, get ambushed by nearly unkillable troll, walk, kill some bandits and get some boring loot, keep bloody walking, realize I'm going the wrong direction because the map blows chunks, kill another wolf, get killed by a troll.
I have to say at this point I think I prefer Oblivion.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
warty goblin
So after a three plus week hiatus, I fired up Skyrim again this evening. For some reason the game just isn't clicking for me. Maybe it's because I'm coming off of a Saint's Row III flavored open world high, but it just feels so plodding - walk, kill wolf, walk, kill wolf, walk, get ambushed by nearly unkillable troll, walk, kill some bandits and get some boring loot, keep bloody walking, realize I'm going the wrong direction because the map blows chunks, kill another wolf, get killed by a troll.
I have to say at this point I think I prefer Oblivion.
To me, Morrowind is still the best of them, but for some reason, people try to lynch me when I say that aloud. The other two's losing point (IMHO) is the surroundings and the resulting atmosphere. They are, unlike Morrowind, not alien enough.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Triscuitable
Yeah, it does.
Thanks Drascin, thanks Volatar.
You play up to four fugitives on British colonial Mars in the... 16th century? 17th? I forget.
The game consists of looking into the disappearance of a colony while fighting, in the game's words, "betentacled Martians, loyal to the Spanish". The story never, ever so much as takes a moment to acknowledge how absurd all this is.
The fantastic orchestral soundtrack is a bonus. So yes, unless you have an aversion to shmups, get it. Oh, and prepare to hate Croatoa's blockfest, I guess.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cespenar
To me, Morrowind is still the best of them, but for some reason, people try to lynch me when I say that aloud. The other two's losing point (IMHO) is the surroundings and the resulting atmosphere. They are, unlike Morrowind, not alien enough.
Those people should not be considered as having opinions worth listening to in this case. Morrowind IS the best of them.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Beautiful thread. *sips tea*
Mostly at the moment I've been sat in Unreal Tournament 2004 (with uni people), minecraft, and am needing to get round to playing E.Y.E divine cybermancy. which is SO MUCH FUN. At least, it looked it when I was sat watching a mate of mine play it.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cespenar
To me, Morrowind is still the best of them, but for some reason, people try to lynch me when I say that aloud. The other two's losing point (IMHO) is the surroundings and the resulting atmosphere. They are, unlike Morrowind, not alien enough.
I never played Morowind, it came out well before I got into gaming, so it's one of those missed things,you know?
I actually like the atmosphere of Skyrim just fine, it's that while playing I don't do very much that seems fun.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
warty goblin
I actually like the atmosphere of Skyrim just fine, it's that while playing I don't do very much that seems fun.
How are you getting lost when quests put a massive arrow in the compass that points you at your next objective? :smallconfused: And once you've "discovered" a location you can fast travel there, which also skips all that tedious walking around and fighting wolves, trolls etc.
Having said that, while I enjoy Skyrim just fine, I echo the people who have already stated that Morrowind was the best of the games. Sure, magic was pretty much broken (in the "useless" way as opposed to "overpowered") and combat lacklustre, but the actual quests were interesting, the locations exotic, and the sheer immersion factor off the scale. If you're finding Skyrim dull, get the GOTY edition of Morrowind and try that instead!
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
factotum
How are you getting lost when quests put a massive arrow in the compass that points you at your next objective? :smallconfused: And once you've "discovered" a location you can fast travel there, which also skips all that tedious walking around and fighting wolves, trolls etc.
By get lost I mean being unable to find a reasonable route thanks to the whacking great mountains everywhere, and the remarkably useless map not actually showing the trails to get over said.
Also, is it just me or is the density of suicidally violent wildlife even higher in Skyrim? Seems like I can't go a hundred feet without some crazed beast queuing up for a spine severing.
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Having said that, while I enjoy Skyrim just fine, I echo the people who have already stated that Morrowind was the best of the games. Sure, magic was pretty much broken (in the "useless" way as opposed to "overpowered") and combat lacklustre, but the actual quests were interesting, the locations exotic, and the sheer immersion factor off the scale. If you're finding Skyrim dull, get the GOTY edition of Morrowind and try that instead!
I don't really play RPGs for the quests, since there's only about six different sorts, and that's if you're generous. I play them for good gameplay in an aesthetically pleasing fantasy setting. Skyrim gets the second, but misses the first for me.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
I think I just finished recovering from the first really big war in my EU3 game, MEIOU mod. Playing as Ottoman Empire, had already taken Hamidoglu and Eretnoglu in Anatolia, and taken all of Thrace and most of Bulgaria in Europe, when Hungary/Croatia declared war on me, bringing in with them Bohemia, a twice-as-large-as-usual Montenegro, and a whole pile of German and Silesian minors, of which the only ones that actually sent soldiers were Saxony and Teschen, a Silesian duchy. Oh, and then Moldavia invaded my vassal, Muslim Bulgarian Dobrudja, so I had to fight them off too... Luckily their Austrian ally didn't send any soldiers, otherwise I would be sooooo dead!
I defeated Moldavia, and if not for Saxony, Teschen, and Bohemia, would have defeated Hungary. My ally, Fez, the Moroccan state, helped a lot. They landed their entire army in Croatian Dalmatia, and ended up being crushed by the Croats and Hungarians. However, they tied up the Croat army long enough for me to eventually repel the Hungarians and Bohemians in Thrace and Hungarian Serbia. After a few years of war, however, I had run through all 55,000 manpower for reinforcements I had, and had to concede defeat. Yes, I was consistently defeating their armies, but I just couldn't match up with the rate they were pumping out new armies. The fact I had just scaled my army back from 75,000 to 50,000 soldiers right before the war didn't help.
But, I'm finally finished rebuilding my manpower reserves, and now ready to conquer more lands: except for the little fact that I have next to no targets. The Turks of Karaman conquered Macedonia, and Tunisia's conquered large parts of Albania, leaving me with no border with the Greek states. Trebizond, the last Greek state in Anatolia is now ruled by the King of Hungary, which rules him out, and I still have good relations with the other Turkish factions. That leaves only one option: taking out the last Christian Bulgarian prince, the Prince of Tarnavo.
Well, or I could try taking the Genoese possessions, but their navy is ridiculous. I'm better off getting those by subterfuge.
I've been putting of taking Constantinople: I'll take it a bit closer to the historical fall.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
warty goblin
I don't really play RPGs for the quests, since there's only about six different sorts, and that's if you're generous. I play them for good gameplay in an aesthetically pleasing fantasy setting. Skyrim gets the second, but misses the first for me.
You'd probably hate morrowind then, unfortunately. It's a game that's really best when you're playing the game for the sake of exploring the game, and the actual gameplay is more than a bit terrible. World really is great though, and I'm willing to call it better than it's sequels because of that.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
warty goblin
I don't really play RPGs for the quests, since there's only about six different sorts, and that's if you're generous. I play them for good gameplay in an aesthetically pleasing fantasy setting. Skyrim gets the second, but misses the first for me.
Ah. In that case, we should probably mention that Morrowind is that, except more so. The lack of fast travel and compass arrows is nice for showing you the scope of the world, but not so nice for players that need to budget their time. It gets a bit annoying when you have to wander through the same ashen canyon for the fifth time to get to that Ashlander encampment, or when your latest quest is "You need to kill some guy. He's in a cave somewhere in the mountains. I think there might be some steam vents nearby." And don't get me started on the combat...
Really, the only thing Morrowind's got going for it is that the world really does feel exotic and alien. Which, to be fair, is a pretty big deal in a sandbox game, in my opinion: If the entire point is that I'm exploring the world, I want it to be a world worth exploring. That being said, I honestly think that if Shivering Isles had been an entire game (with a larger map and more detailed factions), it would have topped Morrowind.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Did the 360 ever get an update that let it play Morrowind? I know I got a copy of Morrowind as one of the first games for my 360 and being really disappointed that the 360 couldn't play it. So I have as of yet not ever tried it (not counting a few hours spent at a friends house like a decade ago when it was a new game)
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
warty goblin
By get lost I mean being unable to find a reasonable route thanks to the whacking great mountains everywhere, and the remarkably useless map not actually showing the trails to get over said.
You want a horse. A lot of slopes and steep inclines which cannot be walked on foot, can be ran through on a horse, because Skyrian horses are great climbers.
Normally, in most games, you pick a horse to go quicker. Horses in Skyrim are not really all that much faster than your own running speed, but instead they allow you to use more direct routes.
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Re: The General Gaming Thread!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Drascin
You want a horse. A lot of slopes and steep inclines which cannot be walked on foot, can be ran through on a horse, because Skyrian horses are great climbers.
Normally, in most games, you pick a horse to go quicker. Horses in Skyrim are not really all that much faster than your own running speed, but instead they allow you to use more direct routes.
Image version.