Video Games Randomness - Prioritize specific game threads!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Feb 25, 2020 8:59 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Feb 25, 2020 8:46 pm
Isgrimnur wrote: Tue Feb 25, 2020 5:45 pm You should have just called Blackhawk.
Or, rather, my son. I have never played a Fire Emblem. My son subsists on it.

I assumed you would be the one that would actually answer the phone and speak on it.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:43 pm

I've uninstalled Metro Last Light because I've really felt unable to pass the Red Square courtyard battle. The game is just too difficult at times even on the lowest difficulty setting, ie the Normal setting.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 7:27 pm

Rumpy wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:43 pm I've uninstalled Metro Last Light because I've really felt unable to pass the Red Square courtyard battle. The game is just too difficult at times even on the lowest difficulty setting, ie the Normal setting.

I've found Metro to be pretty tough too. I dislike games with levels that require so much work. To me the easiest difficulty should allow the player to enjoy the story with just enough challenge to avoid skating through it.

On a lighter note

I picked up Transport Fever 2. I had the original one but only put in ten hours on it as it just didn't get me interested. I held off on getting TF2 (not the Valve one

) till now when I was in a gaming lull. Turns out that they have tweaked a number of features to make it more accessible and also added a fun introductory campaign. It's not really a tutorial, as it will tell you what to go do but not how to do it, but usually it is fairly obvious. I've run into a few problems but each time it turned out that it was operator error

as I wasn't picking up the right cargo or I was forgetting to complete some link in the delivery chain. I'm now at ten hours in this game and really enjoying it.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 7:45 pm

Ive wondered about the Tropico series. I think I own one on one of the services. I dont like being rushed or told what to do though. I just want to build my own little town / island up. Sandbox style. No scenarios. Need to look into that series and see which I have and how they play.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:07 pm

jztemple2 wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 7:27 pm
Rumpy wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:43 pm I've uninstalled Metro Last Light because I've really felt unable to pass the Red Square courtyard battle. The game is just too difficult at times even on the lowest difficulty setting, ie the Normal setting.
I've found Metro to be pretty tough too. I dislike games with levels that require so much work. To me the easiest difficulty should allow the player to enjoy the story with just enough challenge to avoid skating through it.

It's not so much the difficulty, as I've played plenty of difficult games. It's a combination of little things compounded by the game's overall difficulty that make it so difficult. Like the save system for one thing, and the way ammo and weapons are dispersed througout the world. It's like it wants to be an open-world game at times, but then forces you into these linear situations. Even if I use skills I've used over the years from playing these types of games, I totally get creamed in this situation, and it's just not fun.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:41 pm

Daehawk wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 7:45 pm Ive wondered about the Tropico series. I think I own one on one of the services. I dont like being rushed or told what to do though. I just want to build my own little town / island up. Sandbox style. No scenarios. Need to look into that series and see which I have and how they play.

The last two Tropico games (5 & 6) do have scenarios as part of a campaign which basically is an extended tutorial. You can play in Sandbox mode, but even in that mode there are obligatory missions and goals you have to achieve to progress through the different eras. You can select Modern Times as a start point for a sandbox game which will remove a lot of those obligatory actions.

I've found that for just something to relax with, the Farming Simulator games are good. If you are subscribed to the Epic Store, FS19 was of their freebies.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:49 am

Rumpy wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:43 pm I've uninstalled Metro Last Light because I've really felt unable to pass the Red Square courtyard battle. The game is just too difficult at times even on the lowest difficulty setting, ie the Normal setting.

I think I played through most of the game with a trainer.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:16 am

GOG has changed their refund policy.

starting now, you can get a full refund up to 30 days after purchasing a product, even if you downloaded, launched, and played it

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 3:41 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:49 am
Rumpy wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:43 pm I've uninstalled Metro Last Light because I've really felt unable to pass the Red Square courtyard battle. The game is just too difficult at times even on the lowest difficulty setting, ie the Normal setting.
I think I played through most of the game with a trainer.

Yeah, and that's something I'd rather not resort to. I don't want to rely on some file from a random website.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:42 pm

I got Civil War 2 on sale at Steam. After watching two hours of how to videos with another three hours left to go I got a refund.
How can anybody get a handle on that game?

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 12:42 am

Decided to go full retro... Started playing MOH:Pacific Assault. I had the CD/DVD somewhere, but decided to play the freebie EA handed out way back when. I remember getting through Pearl Harbor, or did I even fail that? Different shooter era, different ergonomics.

This is the era where you either find a health pack, or hope your AI buddy can get to you in time. And checkpoints? Bad checkpoints. Never in the right place checkpoints. The hardest thing to get used to... Right-click to melee, ALT to zoom in / iron sights. REALLY have to remap that... It's kinda ridiculous. And right now, I'm stuck at a section on Makin. Just achieved both primary objectives: blow up the radio tower, and took out the fuel depot. The squad had to race the Japs to recover a downed pilot. Was about the skirt the camp with a Japanese tank when the commander spotted us up on the hill and opened fire. We plowed through the Japanese squads, but my guys were getting slaughtered by the tank. But without infantry support, it's vulnerable. I ran up behind it, cleaned out the remaining squad, and plopped a satchel charge on it. Kaboom! It's dead. Finally we move on to the next part, through the path to another section of village, and somehow, we lost that battle, got bayoneted by a Jap. Then the game reloaded... Back to just starting the tank fight. WTF...

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 12:59 am

I played it when it was given away. I know I played it back in the day and enjoyed it. But now days I couldn't like it at all. Too dated.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 5:20 am

Decided to try a different game that I never got around to play much... Battlestations Midway. It's kinda unique in that it allows you to play EVERYTHING... From a pilot (fighter, dive bomber, torpedo bomber, or level bomber!) to a destroyer, cruiser, even carrier captain... or a submarine captain. But as a result, everything is simplified, and despite a lot of AI routines to help (like auto engage, auto-move, auto dodge torpedo) it's very... Klunky trying to squeeze EVERYTHING into a single interface.

It also doesn't help that is thing is ANCIENT (Win XP era game) and getting it to play nice in modern Win10x64 took downloading multiple DLLs turns out there's an alternate EXE in the gamedir I need to use. Then I found the controls are clunky as ****. I never got my gamepad to work (even though it should be auto-recognized) and I'm not sure if I want to use Steam key emulation or try to make it work with the internal command mappings.

And the control sensitivities are just WEIRD. When using a ship, the crosshair BARELY moves. While in a plane, it moves like greased lightning. And I mean moving the viewpoint, not the actual vehicle.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 3:15 pm

Loved Battlstations Midway and its sequel. Was going to mention them to you. I finished them both twice. But I tried to replay it a couple years ago and couldn't take them. Again too dated.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 3:59 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 5:20 am Decided to try a different game that I never got around to play much... Battlestations Midway. It's kinda unique in that it allows you to play EVERYTHING... From a pilot (fighter, dive bomber, torpedo bomber, or level bomber!) to a destroyer, cruiser, even carrier captain... or a submarine captain. But as a result, everything is simplified, and despite a lot of AI routines to help (like auto engage, auto-move, auto dodge torpedo) it's very... Klunky trying to squeeze EVERYTHING into a single interface.

It also doesn't help that is thing is ANCIENT (Win XP era game) and getting it to play nice in modern Win10x64 took downloading multiple DLLs turns out there's an alternate EXE in the gamedir I need to use. Then I found the controls are clunky as ****. I never got my gamepad to work (even though it should be auto-recognized) and I'm not sure if I want to use Steam key emulation or try to make it work with the internal command mappings.

And the control sensitivities are just WEIRD. When using a ship, the crosshair BARELY moves. While in a plane, it moves like greased lightning. And I mean moving the viewpoint, not the actual vehicle.

Dunno if you've tried it, but I suspect you may enjoy Sky Rogue as a more modern "fwooshy rogue-lite action flight simulator":

It's good fun when you're in the mood for some retro arcade-style dogfighting (all the moreso as a two-player splitscreen local co-op game). There's also a wide variety of different aircraft and weapons to unlock that help keep it interesting.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Feb 29, 2020 4:26 pm

Actually had Sky Rogue on my wishlist for a year, hahaha. Just never got around to buying it. Either something else got my interest or, well, you know.

Something else got my interest, like studying or finding a job.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Mar 01, 2020 6:27 pm

Went to play Besiege for a little while. Didn't get very far. Did a couple mission, that first kil mission, kill 70% was pretty hilarious. My machine was basically immobilized by all the bodies. Haha. I changed the key assignments so I can make it do tank turns (spin wheels in opposite directions) and the end result is mutual destruction... Killed 70%, but the machine itself was destroyed. Right now I'm get the grab 2 mines mission. And it's like... What?

Played Sentinel III for a while... Tower defense game. Nowhere as polished as Defense Grid or things like that, but it's fun little diversion.

Played Dogfight 1942 a bit more. Realized all the achievements involve deliberately NOT get a high school, like using a weird aircraft or do things a little differently, like use torpedoes instead of bombs, or intentionally go after fighters instead of going per objective against bombers.

Fardaza · Post by **Fardaza** » Sun Mar 01, 2020 8:06 pm

@ Kasey Chang

I was cleaning out my closet in preparation for moving across the country soon. Lots of nostalgia in those old PC game boxes.

I've been holding onto them for years. It's hard to let them go. The trash can seems like such an ignominious end for all those memories. I even have many of the hint books from when they were still worth buying. Anyway, enough crying.

I found a 68 page document that I printed out in 2003. "XCOM: UFO Defense, Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ by Kasey Chang." Is that you?

Assuming that's you, I can't begin to tell you how useful that guide was for me back in the day!! It's still my favorite game ever in spite of being hard to figure out how to move the plot forward. I'm not sure I would have ever finished XCOM without it. Thank you for going to those lengths to help others.

Every time I read one of your posts from now on I will hold you in honor! (Insert bowing emoticon here.)

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Mar 01, 2020 8:51 pm

Probably. I used to read his guides online...I think gameFAQS but not sure now. Was years and years ago.

You aren't going to part with those old games in boxes are you!? If so try selling them on OO first. Never know what someone would want.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Mar 01, 2020 9:53 pm

Yes, it's still on GameFAQs somewhere, among other things.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/community ... tions/faqs

Fardaza · Post by **Fardaza** » Sun Mar 01, 2020 11:24 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: Sun Mar 01, 2020 9:53 pm Yes, it's still on GameFAQs somewhere, among other things.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/community ... tions/faqs

That's the one.

Cheers!

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 1:13 am

I had a particularly shitty weekend, with coronavirus concerns cancelling a huge chunk of my overseas work for the next quarter. Being in somewhat of a foul mood, I found myself jumping back to my gaming version of comfort food, Neverwinter. I have no idea what it is about that game, but I find it immensely satisfying. The D&D setting, the fun combat, the myriad zones that are all geekily familar...it all makes for something that I can keep going back to time and time again.

It never really has terribly long staying power, but I can always jump in for 50-100 hours and come away feeling like I had fun with it.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 11:20 am

What's the best, most balanced, single player RTS out right now that's pretty current?

I've been having an RTS itch, but would like to try some new mechanics - not delving back into StarCraft or Supreme Commander.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 11:38 am

My first thought would be Company of Heroes 2, although it isn't new.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 11:40 am

Northgard, circa 2018

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 11:54 am

Paingod wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 11:20 am What's the best, most balanced, single player RTS out right now that's pretty current?

I've been having an RTS itch, but would like to try some new mechanics - not delving back into StarCraft or Supreme Commander.

If you're in the mood for a tense, stealth-based, real-time tactical puzzle akin to the classic Commandos, you can't go wrong with Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun.

If you prefer a more traditional RTS with a solid sci-fi setting, Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak has a great solo campaign.

Also, the updated remake of Age of Empires II is well worth checking out for a more tried and tested approach with new additional content.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 1:56 pm

I've got Shadow Tactics but never got past the first (tutorial) mission. I remember feeling like something was off in the animations and it broke me out of the game. I'll give it another shot. I adored Commandos and owned/finished all of them.

I've looked at that Homeworld game a few times and keep putting off the purchase until I felt like it. Now that I do, it's not on sale.

I also have CoH 2 but don't think I've sunk any time into it... one of those "It's on sale, grab it!" purchases. The (Viking?) game looks interesting.

Thank'ee all!

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:23 pm

Paingod wrote: Mon Mar 02, 2020 1:56 pm

I've got Shadow Tactics but never got past the first (tutorial) mission. I remember feeling like something was off in the animations and it broke me out of the game. I'll give it another shot. I adored Commandos and owned/finished all of them.

If you enjoyed the original Commandos, Shadow Tactics makes for a terrific homage to an otherwise largely forgotten genre of RTS games. Stick with it past the initial tutorial mission and it has plenty of likeable characters along with a surprisingly engaging narrative.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 3:32 pm

Deserts of Kharak
Grey Goo

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Mar 02, 2020 4:33 pm

Fanatical has Grid Autosports for $5 (and some other games) For someone who owns the older GRID titles, but not super into auto racing, I know GRID Autosports is sim-lite, but is it worth $5? FWIW, I find Dirt Rally a bit too hardcore, and Dirt 4 seems to hit the right balance.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Tue Mar 03, 2020 4:00 pm

Right in time for Super Tuesday, for those who were waiting for it, The Political Machine 2020 has been released on Steam.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:15 am

The last story mission I played in The Division 2 is one that had me battling terrorists at the Federal Triangle Metro stop, then goes into the Ronald Regan Building.

It was really weird to walk through that exact same location to get to my client meeting this morning.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:22 am

I had a kick walking or driving through "San Francisco" and the entire "SF Bay Area" in Watch Dogs 2, as I live in San Francisco and can see what they changed while trying to retain the "character" (or caricature?) of the city. But nothing on the scale you experienced.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:31 am

Went sorta retro... Decided to redeem a whole bunch of games I bought but never redeemed on Fanatical.

* Toybox Turbo -- another basic "race toy cars around the house" with Mario Kart like mechanics... get boosters, bombs, guns, etc. They did throw in a couple extra scenarios like "escape", overtake, and things like that. But you play this for the cuteness, not handling.

* Time Recoil -- you have been turned by an experiment into someone immune to time travel, and have extra powers that can be gained from kills. You are now the elite rebel agent attempting to eliminate "Mr. Time" from screwing up the timeline permanently. Kills gains you ability to slow down time, and two kills gives you "dash" that can break through walls (and kills whoever's near) But in your way are bajillion guards even as you must go around retrieving secrets left in the past in order to save the future... Or is that the past? Interesting action game.

* Space Ranger Quest -- sort of super-simplified version of Space Rangers with emphasis put on adventure and choices, instead of bajillion pieces of equipment and fighting. Not sure what to make of it yet.

* Shooting Stars! -- parody game where you had to shoot a bunch of... well... aliens disguised as Hollywood stars (or so goes the story) protected by drones and android kamikazes, or something like that. It plays like Galaga... sorta, or is that a bit more like 1941/1942? Whatever. Meh.

* River City Ransom Underground -- can't get this game to work at all. I have the right gamepad (Xbox 360 controller, genuine) and not of the controls work. Not even the keyboard.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:54 am

Kasey Chang wrote: Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:22 am I had a kick walking or driving through "San Francisco" and the entire "SF Bay Area" in Watch Dogs 2, as I live in San Francisco and can see what they changed while trying to retain the "character" (or caricature?) of the city. But nothing on the scale you experienced.

You come off the Metro into a big courtyard that has a circular sublevel with shops and restaurants. The places I was ducking behind for cover from virtual gunfire on Monday are the same places I was eating lunch yesterday. It was so weird...never had a game approximate a real life location so closely before.

They took some liberties with the inside of the building, but it kept some of the main areas as well. There was a big underground food court, a big open area in the middle, offices on the upper levels, etc. Really cool stuff.

While I don't enjoy the actual game all that much, the re-creation of DC is astounding.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:15 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:54 am
Kasey Chang wrote: Fri Mar 06, 2020 4:22 am I had a kick walking or driving through "San Francisco" and the entire "SF Bay Area" in Watch Dogs 2, as I live in San Francisco and can see what they changed while trying to retain the "character" (or caricature?) of the city. But nothing on the scale you experienced.
You come off the Metro into a big courtyard that has a circular sublevel with shops and restaurants. The places I was ducking behind for cover from virtual gunfire on Monday are the same places I was eating lunch yesterday. It was so weird...never had a game approximate a real life location so closely before.

Heh, that reminds me of the time of my trip to California in 2013 and the whole California/Nevada/Arizona in Fallout: New Vegas. Considering I started playing New Vegas only a few weeks after my trip, everything was very fresh in my mind, and it was surreal just how accurate everything was, even down to the campground we stayed in before heading off to our tour of the Hoover Dam. And I had even found out via research that Goodsprings was a real place.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 5:35 pm

The new way Humble Bundle does their subscription is sort of interesting. There's a selection of 10 games, you can choose a plan to keep 9 of them for $20 or 3 of them for $15.

Here's what I don't get though. When I click on the subscription page (here), it only shows the three "main" games for March: My Friend Pedro, F1 2019, and Planet Coaster. I've spent the past 10 minutes trying to figure out where to find the other 7 games on offer, so I can determine if I might want to jump back in at the $15 or $20 level. I'll be damned if I can find them anywhere.

$15 for the three identified games makes sense. Pretty easy to figure out if I'm interested in that or not.

The other part is baffling to me though. Seems the entire model depends on people blindly throwing them another $5 in the hopes that they might want some of the other 7 games. Is that something people generally do? I know I've become jaded and particular in my gaming tastes, but that just seems like it would be a complete waste to me.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Mar 06, 2020 5:58 pm

Not sub'd since the change. Dont care for their new model. Too ripoffy to me. Way too much indie crap. If I wanted games that looked like 1990s graphics Id just install old games.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Wed Mar 11, 2020 4:41 pm

Just saw an update readme for The Political Machine 2020 and it had this gem:

AI will no longer choose Giant Meteor as their running mate

I guess if the AI won that running mate might hamper the chances of a second term

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Mar 12, 2020 6:03 am

Playing Grid Autosport, had to turn the AI down to "easy". It's a bit TOO competitive for my liking on medium... I can win the race consistently on easy, but I can only get into the top 3 about half the time on medium. On a gamepad, with like 12-15 cars on the grid, and everyone on an equal playing field, starting from the back of the pack sucks. Sometimes I feel as if I'm driving like Jason Bourne, ramming my way through traffic, using another car to slow myself down to make the turn, and so on. I turned off all the nanny aids except ABS and Traction Control. I even turned off the hud and restricted myself to cockpit view only. It does get pretty tense when you're mixed up in heavy traffic.

It's interesting they created five different divisions with road cars alone: street, tuner, GT, enduro, and open-wheel. They each have slightly different rules. Street is about as stock as they come, from hot hatch to sports cars. Tuner is a bit more exotic and has drift events in addition to racing. GT is basically equalized stock cars on road course circuits, and no going offroad, and there's a qualifying phase. Enduro and open-wheel are pretty obvious. Each are divided into five "levels", and you need to win at least one "cup" at each level to open up the next "level".

They also have various teams with big name sponsors like Monster Energy, Intel, Razer (the gaming company), Kicker (audio), and more. There's also a bit of personality in each of the teams. Some teams are able to buy more "enhancements" for the cars, while others let you customize the vehicle settings more. Choosing the right team to race for (as "contracts") is as important as winning. And they have individual "objectives" for each race, like "beat your race rival", "finish 2 places or more ahead of where you start", and so on. All that translates to more EXP, which opens up the next tier that much sooner.

The idea is once you "beat" all five types of a certain level, you get invited to the multi-faceted GRID challenge where you get to drive different types of cars for different events and prove who's the real king of the road.

Oh, and there's plenty of DLC car pack, but I think that's mainly for MP. I'm just playing SP so far.