froghawk on 4/2/2019 at 14:56
The only RTSs I've ever finished were the two Starcraft games. It's odd - I like the genre a lot, and yet only feel the need for one game series in it.
demagogue on 4/2/2019 at 15:13
I don't think I've played an RTS since the '90s. Too twitchy for my taste. Also I just recall doing the LAN thing just to hang out with friends and hearing a lot more clicks from the people around than I can figure out things to even click. And right about the time I'm just figuring out how to make something useful, swarms of I don't even know what storm in and decimate everything. Age of Empires 2 & Homeworld were great though.
Thirith on 8/2/2019 at 16:36
I'm still playing Gris (utterly gorgeous, though I think the game gets in its own way by trying to be meaningful), and don't even ask about Doom (2016), but I've also started playing Sunless Sea. I'd previously played some of it on iPad, but not more than an hour or so. I love the world, atmosphere and writing, but I find its mechanisms and controls less than helpful. Perhaps it doesn't matter all that much, but I keep thinking that this is a game that would be massively improved by a user interface and general game feedback to the player that's better designed.
WingedKagouti on 8/2/2019 at 17:30
Quote Posted by Thirith
but I've also started playing
Sunless Sea. I'd previously played some of it on iPad, but not more than an hour or so. I love the world, atmosphere and writing, but I find its mechanisms and controls less than helpful. Perhaps it doesn't matter all that much, but I keep thinking that this is a game that would be massively improved by a user interface and general game feedback to the player that's better designed.
From what I've heard about it, Sunless Skies is basically Sunless Sea but with some updates. But since I have not tried Skies myself, I can't say for certain that your issues with Sea have been solved. Maybe watch some ingame footage of Skies to check it out yourself?
henke on 8/2/2019 at 18:21
I've been playing a bit of Thy Sword lately. It's pretty fun.
[video=youtube;6ssUJnL5C6g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ssUJnL5C6g&feature=youtu.be[/video]
And only a fiver (
https://store.steampowered.com/app/560300/Thy_Sword/) on Steam right now, if you're in the mood for a bit of classical hack n slash action.
qolelis on 9/2/2019 at 00:41
I've been playing Inked a couple of hours, but I'm not going to finish it; it was great up until the final boss, which is just annoying. I did the first part of it, then watched someone do it all, and just "fuck that"! Other than that, great puzzles; nice, handdrawn art; decent story; and some nice, transcendental moments. I actually enjoyed the game as a whole; I just really dislike that kind of boss fight. I might replay in order to do more collectibles and achievements, but, other than that, I'm done.
I also played and finished The Enigma Machine today, which was great. Sort of predictable story, but nice to follow it anyway. Nice retrostyled art. Reminded me a bit of the MOBD prototype.
demagogue on 9/2/2019 at 12:58
Guys I made my first car in Automation & exported it so I could drive it around in BeamNG. The thing hums along, V8 engine with a lot of horsepower. Lime green & black 2012 sporty sedan model, kind of Miata-like. Balancing the front & back breaks with the engine type & weight distribution (I think) was the biggest challenge ... best I could do has a some break fade, but not too bad. You gotta know what to expect when you go into a turn, and I only ran into some trees & flipped her a few times. Not bad for my first go of it.
It's an interesting thing. It's not like a Zachtronic kind of challenge. It's more like you have lots of graphs, and when you adjust each parameter, they're all going to update, some lines are going to converge, some diverge, and some move in directions I haven't completely understood yet. There's never any perfect position, but you have to know what features want to play up (do you want the extra torque & suspension for offroading or steering that's going to hold a turn at higher speeds, how much under- or over-steering do you want at what different speeds, with your gear shifting, do you want to get to 100km/hr faster or get through 5 gears up to a faster top speed, i.e., are we drag racing or endurance racing, etc, etc) and what features you just want to make sure don't catastrophically fail (basically anything that raises a warning or doesn't sound or look right when it's running. Took me some work to stop the knocking for example).
At the end there's consumer preference polling across all kinds of people (muscle car guys, soccer moms, etc), how closely you fit their preference, and how much you're within their budget, which is kind of the centerpiece of the game. I hit pretty close to center in the "family premium sports car" demographic, well in the 75%-ish preference and 90% within their budgets. I was just happy to open the thing in some woodland highway and cruise around.
qolelis on 10/2/2019 at 17:17
I just finished Prominence (released in 2015), a modern point & click (move through a 3D world from node to node and freelook at each one) set in space, which was a lot more than I expected when reading about the game. I had a great time with it, although I did feel a little herded around, always being told what to do, but I learned later that you can turn off the objectives, so, some time in the future, I might do that and replay. The game introduced a couple of mechanics that could be the basis for a true 3D exploration puzzle game, but now they were used mostly as one-time tricks, making them feel a little underutilized. The joy of learning a new skill and then recognising it and making use of it again later in the game shouldn't be underestimated (he game did feature that to some extent for one mechanic (you use a small laptop from time to time to interface with the ship you're on), but I think it could have been done more).
The puzzles were mostly inventory-based (and based on the reality around you) and -- compared to a game like Quern, which is my top-favourite hardcore "no hand-holding" adventure game in modern times -- on the easy side. If it weren't for that one exception, I would call Prominence a casual puzzle adventure. The game peaked somewhere in the middle, before the "auto-pilot" was engaged (figuratively), but was still entertaining to the end(s). On a whole, it's an amazingly pleasant experience, a little too streamlined for my tastes, but great quality over-all (voice acting, story, environments etc...). If you want more of a challenge, turning off the objectives might help.
***
Right now I'm busy with Montague's Mount, a 3D puzzle explorer set on a remote Irish island, and made by one person alone. It started out great with a bleak, undersaturated atmosphere, exploring the island, listening to the narrator, restoring electricity and so on (things being described mainly in Gaelic, as you click on them, adds to the mystery (the English translation also gives you an opportunity to learn a few words)). Everything is going in the right direction, telling me that this might become a new favourite. After a certain point, however, things change and it feels like the game has a problem with identity. The beginning is very Dear Esther, both in the setting and the story/narration (it took all that Dear Esther had and made it "better" (as in "more to my liking"), but then it switches to focus more on the puzzles, which also turn more Myst-like, which I feel only works to distract from the story without adding anything. The visual story-telling also turns more "in your face", which I don't think fits the tone of the game. It also wants to be a (psychological) horror game, but I'm not feeling it. It feels like the dev originally wanted to make a DE-like game with more interaction/agency, but then lost either their confidence or their focus.
I might write more -- or even change my opinion -- when I have reached the end of the game.
Edit:
...and done. I was only minutes away from the ending, which happened very suddenly, but it turns out that this was only the first of two parts. The status of part 2 is unknown. Last thing I heard is that the kickstarter for it failed (in 2016), but that the dev would still be working on it.
This being not the full game does make it harder to review. Part 2 was also meant to include a redux version of part 1, using a new(er) engine, fixing issues, and redoing the puzzles, so waiting for that would have been the ultimate recommendation if part 2 being worked on was a confirmed thing. Those who liked Dear Esther and don't mind a slow game will probably like this too. I would recommend it for the great atmosphere and the exploration if you are willing to ignore a few issues with awkwardly designed puzzles towards the end.
Ornis on 10/2/2019 at 21:05
Contra III: The Alien Wars is not my usual kind of game, but I've found it oddly therapeutic and enjoy the body horror. Run and gun, don't worry about anything except what's on screen, it's good after a mentally taxing day when I still need something to do to hold my momentum between important stuff.
Arcatera on 10/2/2019 at 21:26
Replaying Diablo III: Reaper of Souls as a necromancer (paying for it in Euros was quite expensive, considering the staggering Turkish economy).
I am on the European server. So, if anybody wishes to play with me, feel free to add me: Skyclad#21220
Act II, Level 65, Paragon 89.