NOW what are you playing?

demagogue on 24/6/2019 at 09:03

I think I'm a "collector" type, in the sense of collecting experiences. Despite a good number of AAA games in my queue I know I'd have fun with, I keep reaching out to obscure games, dollar indies and free Itch games, just to see things I haven't seen a game try before. There's something almost ritual about it. I think right now in particular, I'm liking really deep sims where you know what's happening is happening just for you, just now, and may not happen again. The two games that are really scratching that itch are:

(1) GravTeam Tactics, the massive scale military sim. Each time you commit your forces, you never really know 100% what you're walking into, whether it will be a tiny skirmish or suddenly some epic decisive battle, or even if you have a rough idea, you don't know how it will play out and you just make your best guess and roll the dice. No matter how many times you replay a map, you'll still have completely new battles, and you can zoom in to a soldier's perspective and you see things, man, things that stay with you.

(2) The other is Caves of Qud. It's so cleverly written. But the way the procedural generation is done and just by the sheer scale of simulation, Dwarf Fortress level?, in many games you'll see really unique things going down. For that matter, Dwarf Fortress could count. But DF is a little too stressful, it's a big commitment to a lot of work for what you know is a fortress that can't last forever. With Caves of Qud, it's more like a classic Rogue-like. There's just you and the world. As long as you take care of yourself and watch your environment, you're making progress. Or even if you die, it's easy to start back up and go at it again.

Edit: Avorion is the other game in that list. Procedurally generated X-like space sim. It's not even that deep, sim or content wise, but building your own ship Minecraft-style really sold me to it. I love the ships I build over the course of that game.

Judith on 24/6/2019 at 11:44

IIRC, Fortress of Doctor Radiaki was a Rise of the Triad offshoot, and very, very poor game. The fewer people played it back in the day, the better.

Marecki on 24/6/2019 at 16:01

Having got it something like a year ago, a month ago I finally began to play Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - and I have yet to have it let me go. I do not really feel so bothered by the "a show set up just for you" feeling some people in the "Thoughts on Mankind Divided" thread in the DX forum have complained about, after all even the first two Thief games have made excessive use of conversations starting only once Garrett came close enough. I am a bit bothered by the fact DXMD feels more like an extra campaign for DXHR than a standalone game (the story aside, consider the fact there are quite a few augmentations you never actually get to use - although in case of the ability to kill someone standing next to a weak wall section that's in fact in advantage, I very nearly wore out my quickload button because of this "feature" in DXHR) as well as by various signs of sloppiness such as poor balance (one ends up swimming in credits even before leaving Prague for the first time), a fairly large number of bugs (most striking example: on my first play-through I raided the bank CEO's office very early on, and when I came back there later in the course of a certain side missions I discovered that all the items had magically respawned) or glaring omissions in the story tree (e.g. one can easily kill the mob boss during the second visit to Prague yet apart from a brief, indirect acknowledgement in the final cut scene nobody gives a damn). Who cares, I'm hooked anyway. Give me the cloak, smart vision, high-level normal hacking, and remote hacking - and I am happy. Fear the Ghost Kleptomaniac!!!

PS. The above also applies to the DLCs but not Breach. off which I have pretty much bounced. I guess there are people out there who play DX the way that is compatible with Breach but for me it feels like it forces me into a play style completely at odds with what DX games are in my mind. Especially the !@%@^$#@!@$ time limits.

Renault on 25/6/2019 at 15:02

I've been playing Black Mesa - it's most fun I've had with a shooter in a long time. I haven't played the original Half Life since around the time it came out, so I can't speak to how accurate the levels are, but I'm assuming they're mostly faithful. Kind of forgot what an incredible game this is, and how it draws you in and feels "real," unlike other more cartoony shooters out there (the updated visuals help). The lack of actual levels, and moving through a continuing world, sticks out the most. I'm guessing it was one of the first games to do it.

I'm also still hacking away at Infra, the game that never seems to end. I'm 40 hours in now, and I've still got a ways to go. I really love this game, but I think it would have helped to make it more concise. I think I must have restored power to about a thousand generators and turned just as many steam vents, while avoiding dozens of floods and electrified floors. I really appreciate what must have been a massive effort in designing this game, but sometimes you need to know when to quit.

I just realized, I guess I'm on a Source engine kick. Maybe I'll fire up Goldeneye next.

Renault on 26/6/2019 at 05:15

Not using any mods, but from the research I did, it seems the Surface Tension mod was added into the main game awhile ago. The only thing I'd be missing is the extended version of On A Rail. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Thirith on 26/6/2019 at 06:27

I'd heard of XCOM 2's RNG being very strong evidence that there is True Evil, but this morning I experienced actual grace at the hands of the game's invisible dice. I was doing the mission to free ~~Worf~~Pratal Mox, which was stressful enough because I hadn't bothered to take a specialist along (apparently this would've helped me with that damned door). In any case, I got Mox out of his cell but didn't count on him being unconscious, so one character had to carry him. Which obviously slowed that character down.

And then I made the following mistake: I had my two other units get to the extraction point and get the hell out of dodge, without thinking that there'd be Advent reinforcements swarming the area very soon - and I do mean swarming, with several enemy units being dropped in every single round. The soldier who was carrying Mox needed two or even three rounds to get to the exfil point, without being able to defend herself in any meaningful way.

Reader, she made it. Just about. She was down to her last couple of HP as three enemies on Overwatch fired at her just as she stepped onto the exfil area. With one HP left, she made like a badly wounded tree oozing sap from several bullet holes and got outta there. No units lost, though she will be spending a lot of time doing Sudoku in the infirmary.

henke on 29/6/2019 at 21:00

I'm playing Wolfenstein 2. The writing isn't necessarily good, but it sure is going for it. It's not boring. I just witnessed one of the most bonkers crazy plot developments I've seen in a game in a while, and after that the game gave me a stilt-legs upgrade. *approving nod*

Malf on 29/6/2019 at 22:15

I've been getting back in to Dwarf Fortress recently, and am struggling to find a way to deal with the constant tantrums. It's fun though!
A butcher was recently taken by a fell mood (which I'd never seen before, only heard about), then proceeded to kill a child and turn its bones into a pickaxe.

froghawk on 30/6/2019 at 05:29

Quote Posted by henke

This game was so much more repetitive and grindy than its predecessor, which featured a great deal of gameplay variety. I enjoyed a bit of it but was ultimately disappointed. Excited to see what Arkane brings to the series.

henke on 30/6/2019 at 08:37

I don't remember the gameplay being more varied in TNO. What did that one have that's missing here? This one seems to offer pretty much the same range of gameplay, maybe more. I mean, just a short while ago it turned into a grimdark Gone Home sequel for one level. Wasn't expecting that.