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Daehawk wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 5:41 pm Anyone remember Spelljammer? I just noticed the box on my shelf. I dont think I ever played it. I bought it based on the cool box art lol.
…or you can play it free within your browser at the Internet Archive.Max Peck wrote: Wed Mar 19, 2025 5:57 pm GOG has it. It's currently on sale for 50% off.
https://www.gog.com/en/game/spelljammer ... realmspace
| Running__ | __2014: 1300.55 miles__ | __2015: 2036.13 miles__ | __2016: 1012.75 miles__ | __2017: 1105.82 miles__ | __2018: 1318.91 miles | __2019: 2000.00 miles |
No..you can still enjoy them.stessier wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 1:01 pm I've never played any of the Mass Effect games and they are currently on sale on Steam for $5.99. My computer is from 2015, but these games all appear to have released before that, so I think I'd actually be able to play. Were they fun/worth playing or have we come too far that going back to those old ways would be too hard?
If you're looking at any of the first 3 games in the series, the best option the Legendary Edition. It includes everything from the trilogy and is on sale for a lower price than any of the original games. It is a remaster released in 2021, however, so you'd want to check the system requirements to see if your PC can run it.stessier wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 1:01 pm My computer is from 2015, but these games all appear to have released before that, so I think I'd actually be able to play.
Yes, absolutely. One of my favorite experiences on the old XBox360. I think the second game was the peak, but they were all enjoyable. Really great story and characters.Blackhawk wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 2:00 pm Yeah, they're at the peak era for Bioware RPGs. The trilogy was a great ride that I keep meaning to go back to.
Well, from my perspective as a retired gamer with lots of time on my hands, I love big open world games because, in part, I can go exploring. I walked, on foot, a hell of a lot of the GTA5 map. And in AC Shadows, which I'm playing now, I'm tending to go on foot rather than on horseback just so I can get a better look at things.So there I am playing a game with a big, beautiful open world. It's got lovely scenery and eye-catching landmarks, it's stuffed with quests and missions and collectibles, and I'm free to go in any direction I choose. What's the problem?
Me. I'm the problem, or at least I'm part of the problem, as former Grand Theft Auto 6 and Red Dead Online game designer Cameron Williams explained in a panel at the Game Developers Conference.
Williams opened the panel with a slide titled "Common Open World Problems," and the first bullet point read: "Players don't explore."
"Players just don't explore right?" Williams said. "Whether that's because you have a super action-oriented game or because they just simply aren't compelled. Or, [your game has] a huge time investment and it's hard for players to pick up and put down, which is an increasing challenge, especially with the sort of evolving ecosystem of free-to-play and live service games that are kind of eating everyone's time and attention."
Williams, who is now a senior mission designer at Absurd Ventures (launched by Rockstar Games' co-founder Dan Houser), said these issues contribute to "open world fatigue," which can leave players less willing to go exploring. Question marks and other icons on a map let players know where they can go to find something, but according to Williams, players may also experience "exploration anxiety": they know the location of something, but are hesitant to actually go there.
I think the author's conclusion is a wildly incorrect interpretation. Williams isn't blaming players at all, and the author shouldn't be blaming himself. Williams is blaming designers for not giving players compelling reasons to explore, or not making exploration worth their time.jztemple2 wrote:'Players don't explore': former Grand Theft Auto 6 and Red Dead Online designer lays out the perils of 'open world fatigue'
OMG the GENESIS version of Buck Rodgers was the shit!Daehawk wrote: Thu Mar 20, 2025 6:03 pm As I recall SJ didn't get a lot of love when it was new. Thats most likely why I never got around to playing it. It was a few years old by the time I found it in a sales bin. I had wanted it on release but I didn't have a PC back then. I was a huge fan of the Genesis version of Buck Rogers and SJ ..I think...and the Gold Box games all played the same way. But a RPG about magical space pirates? hell ya!
I would love a new rpg space pirates like game. Done like maybe Mass Effect but you have a customizable pirate frigate ship. Gather your crew and train them in the styles and weapons you want. A sci-fi game all the way though. Laser pistols and needlers instead of muskets and flintlocks.
Daehawk wrote:Thats Drazzil's chair damnit.
Nine. HUNDRED. Korok seeds.YellowKing wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 9:06 pmI think the author's conclusion is a wildly incorrect interpretation. Williams isn't blaming players at all, and the author shouldn't be blaming himself. Williams is blaming designers for not giving players compelling reasons to explore, or not making exploration worth their time.jztemple2 wrote:'Players don't explore': former Grand Theft Auto 6 and Red Dead Online designer lays out the perils of 'open world fatigue'
Yep, that's what I went with and it does indeed run. The recommended specs are a 1060, but my 960 seems to be doing just fine...of course I'm only 4 hours in and on the Citadel for the first time, so no idea how long that will last.Max Peck wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 2:28 pmIf you're looking at any of the first 3 games in the series, the best option the Legendary Edition. It includes everything from the trilogy and is on sale for a lower price than any of the original games. It is a remaster released in 2021, however, so you'd want to check the system requirements to see if your PC can run it.stessier wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 1:01 pm My computer is from 2015, but these games all appear to have released before that, so I think I'd actually be able to play.
| Running__ | __2014: 1300.55 miles__ | __2015: 2036.13 miles__ | __2016: 1012.75 miles__ | __2017: 1105.82 miles__ | __2018: 1318.91 miles | __2019: 2000.00 miles |
Looks like it might be up my alley. Though I actually prefer turn-based. Still, it says it works on the Steam Deck. So I went ahead and grabbed it. Not sure when I'll actually get to it, however.Daehawk wrote: Sun Mar 23, 2025 7:49 am Anyone seen Tunguska: The Visitation - Enhanced Edition before? I caught it from the Steam sale thread that IS does. I haven't bought it yet but thinking about it. It looks like its a overhead RPG of Stalker basically....is that what it looks like to you guys? Might be fun if so.
This game is a lot slower than I was expecting in terms of gameplay. I knew it was an RPG, but was still expecting a FPS. Once I made the brain switch, it's been pretty fun.stessier wrote: Sat Mar 22, 2025 3:26 pmYep, that's what I went with and it does indeed run. The recommended specs are a 1060, but my 960 seems to be doing just fine...of course I'm only 4 hours in and on the Citadel for the first time, so no idea how long that will last.Max Peck wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 2:28 pmIf you're looking at any of the first 3 games in the series, the best option the Legendary Edition. It includes everything from the trilogy and is on sale for a lower price than any of the original games. It is a remaster released in 2021, however, so you'd want to check the system requirements to see if your PC can run it.stessier wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 1:01 pm My computer is from 2015, but these games all appear to have released before that, so I think I'd actually be able to play.
| Running__ | __2014: 1300.55 miles__ | __2015: 2036.13 miles__ | __2016: 1012.75 miles__ | __2017: 1105.82 miles__ | __2018: 1318.91 miles | __2019: 2000.00 miles |
Ubsioft will spin off its most successful game franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six Siege, into a separate subsidiary thanks to a $1.25 billion investment from Chinese conglomerate Tencent. The massive deal allows the founding Guillemot family to remain in control of the publisher despite its recent struggles and cratering share price.
The details of the agreement are complex and it’s not immediately clear how it will all hash out in practice. The new entity doesn’t have a name yet but will have its own board of supervisors and include Ubisoft studios Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia. Those teams will be in charge of the Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six Siege franchises moving forward, as well as their back catalogs. But all of it will still report up to Ubisoft proper and its current CEO, Yves Guillemot.
“With the creation of a dedicated subsidiary that will spearhead development for three of our largest franchises and the onboarding of Tencent as a minority investor, we are crystalizing the value of our assets, strengthening our balance sheet, and creating the best conditions for these franchises’ long-term growth and success,” Guillemot said in a press release on Thursday. “With its dedicated and autonomous leadership team, it will focus on transforming these three brands into unique ecosystems.”
On a call with investors following the announcement, however, the company’s leadership clarified that Ubisoft 2, or whatever it ends up being called, will still report up to Guillemot. “There will be a dedicated management under the supervision of a board that will be controlled by Ubisoft,” CFO Frederick Duguet told investors. “So Ubisoft will continue controlling and consolidating this entity.”
Just get the legendary edition, plus the various patches and mods to make it more... cohesive. My PC is from 2018 or 2019 thereof, but it runs fine today with a few additions (now it's still i7-9700K, but 32GB of DDR4 RAM, SSD and HDD upgraded, but RTX2070 is still in there, with triple monitor setup on my desk, plus way too many accessories and peripherals on my desk.stessier wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 1:01 pm I've never played any of the Mass Effect games and they are currently on sale on Steam for $5.99. My computer is from 2015, but these games all appear to have released before that, so I think I'd actually be able to play. Were they fun/worth playing or have we come too far that going back to those old ways would be too hard?
I think I'm in on this one as well. I LOVE old Hollywood history, so the theme really appeals to me.jztemple2 wrote:Hollywood Animal Early Access is coming on Steam on April 10th. Although I have pretty much sworn off Early Access titles, I'll make an exception for this one
I usually dream about some generic exploring a dungeon for chests. In the dream it seems really important.Skinypupy wrote: Mon Mar 31, 2025 1:18 pm I often have dreams that are at least loosely associated with whatever game I'm playing at the time.
Played about 6 hours of Disco Elysium yesterday...dreams last night were completely batshit insane.
This looks really good! Wishlisted!YellowKing wrote: Sun Mar 30, 2025 10:30 pmI think I'm in on this one as well. I LOVE old Hollywood history, so the theme really appeals to me.jztemple2 wrote:Hollywood Animal Early Access is coming on Steam on April 10th. Although I have pretty much sworn off Early Access titles, I'll make an exception for this one
As an aside, if you love stories about Hollywood's golden era (along with some more modern era sprinkled in), I highly recommend the pocast "You Must Remember This." Host Katrina Longworth does big multi-part series on different facets of Hollywood's past, and they're really fascinating.
actually been hearing good things about this. going to also post in the Soulslike thread
Yet another “I’d buy that in a heartbeat if it wasn’t a Souls-like game” to add to the pile.hitbyambulance wrote: Tue Apr 01, 2025 3:20 pmactually been hearing good things about this. going to also post in the Soulslike thread
Avowed has been great at this, by design:YellowKing wrote: Fri Mar 21, 2025 9:06 pmI think the author's conclusion is a wildly incorrect interpretation. Williams isn't blaming players at all, and the author shouldn't be blaming himself. Williams is blaming designers for not giving players compelling reasons to explore, or not making exploration worth their time.jztemple2 wrote:'Players don't explore': former Grand Theft Auto 6 and Red Dead Online designer lays out the perils of 'open world fatigue'
Oh, and it's not just limited to little goodies - there are some cool dungeons, fights, items and even mini-quests hidden all over the living lands.Part of the reason Avowed is full of so many rewarding secrets, to hear Ritger tell it, was its parkour system, which was in Avowed's earliest iterations and survived a development reboot in 2021. The robust clambering, climbing, and jumping demanded vertically-oriented levels to support it, but also made it easy for testers to break the game and reach places the designers didn't expect.
Hey, player, we see you. You came up here, and we put a little bird's nest, a little coin in it.
Ritger said the team suppressed the impulse to combat that behavior with invisible walls or unclimbable surfaces. "People are going to figure out a way to get up on the roofs. Let's just lean into that and commit to rewarding that exploration, because it is so fun to just clamber on all this stuff."
Ritger clarified that it didn't always have to be a huge or game-changing thing, "but more of that little acknowledgement of, 'Hey, player, we see you. You came up here, and we put a little bird's nest, a little coin in it.' And that's going to make you feel good, because I know as a player, that feels good for me, and that'll just keep encouraging [exploration] throughout the game.
