Octopus Overlords

I like the art style. Kind of a cel-shaded blocky style. Don't know if you played A State of Mind, but it also had a blocky style that I found charming. I might pick this up at some point. It looks interesting, and I think I've had it on my wishlist.

I'm still really enjoying Tavern Master. I'm about half way through the research tree which unlocks objects, staff and the like.


The gameplay design is very clever to make this "beer and pretzels" tycoon game easy to play but with lots of depth. For instance, drink prices. When you select the bar you see this image:


First, look at the two buttons on the top right of the box, labeled Decrease and Increase. Rather than adding a lot of questionable complexity by altering prices drink by drink, each button lowers or raises all prices by one.

Second, let's look at the number at the top left of the box, which right now is 256.2 guests/day. That is the maximum number of customers who will attempt to eat and drink at your tavern each day. They don't all arrive at once, but by what looks to be a bell curve distribution between 8am and 10pm. You don't really need to worry about the details of when they arrive because you can just look at your tavern and see how many of the seats are being filled. They come, spend a few hours eating and drinking and then leave. If it is still isn't too late in the day, other people will come and sit where they were sitting. My current tavern seats 134 and it fills to capacity each day and as the early patrons leave the later patrons take their place, up to that possible 256.

Again, it might look complex, but as you play it is very straight forward. You'll see a screen at the end of the evening summarizing the day's events and at the lower left there is a list of the customers served. In the image below you can see it is 179+19+9+1=208. So of the possible maximum of 256, I served 208, which is pretty good.


Now, back to that drinks prices screen and my point about this being a "beer and pretzels" game. As I said, clicking the Increase button increases all prices by one. Let's do that and we get this result:


By increasing the price, my guests/day number went from 256 to 130. That means I'll get in about half the number of customers I am currently getting and that's bad because not only do people buy drinks, some also buy food and if only half the number of people show up, I'm going to make a lot less money.

But let's do it the other way, drop drink prices by one. This is the result:


Now instead of getting a max of 256 people a day, I'd get 340. But I can't even accommodate those 256 right now, so there's no point in dropping the price since I won't be able to get any more customers inside than I could before, at least not until I expand.

And that's my point about this being a more straightforward tycoon game. I didn't need to look at spreadsheets to figure out about whether to raise or lower drink prices. I just see how many customers I'm able to service a day and make sure that the price doesn't drive them away. The rest of the game is like that as well, no need to look at spreadsheets (there aren't any in the game anyway), just some logical numbers and symbols to indicate the health of the business.

I'll post more about the game if people are interested. But for now, here's a look from the first person camera at a private party (there are eight different types of those), filled with knights drinking, the band playing in the background and a waitress walking by.

Grid Legends progress continues. Still playing Pro level events. Just played a couple more races in Special category, and each car indeed runs quite differently. Some cars are super-stable due to their aero package, some cars are just super agile but easily spun. And some cars are... like the Wedge Car in Fast and Furious... Bad braking and you will plow under the car in front. Some of these cars I barely heard of... some had been seen before, like the "Moby Dick Porsche" i.e. the 935/78 specially built for LeMans. (last seen in... NFS: Porsche Unleashed) but no, I'm not driving it. So what was I driving? Ford Capri Turbo Category 5, which was a real car... in 1981, in Europe only (it raced in German Touring Car series, the predecessor of DTM). So the Capri had never raced the Moby Dick in real life. Oh, and there's also a BMW M1 Group 5 as well. Interesting lineup.

saved a few dollars on my wishlist:

* DOOM 64 is free on Epic this week

* "Final DOOM" (two add-on levelpaks) is now included with DOOM II and no longer available for separate sale

Im collecting all the Doom games I can and plan to do one epic run through of them one day. Ive not played or completed a DOOM game since the 90s other than the 2016 one.

Still grinding through Pro-level events. Just finished most of the "Time Attack vehicles" section under "tuner" category. These cars are designed with max aero with extra-wide front aero dams and making them grind with each other on tight courses is pure chaos.

I'll do some electric cars and open-wheel vehicles next. Hopefully by then the trucks will be opened up. THEN we'll have a little more variety.

hitbyambulance wrote: Fri Aug 19, 2022 1:33 pm saved a few dollars on my wishlist:

* DOOM 64 is free on Epic this week

* "Final DOOM" (two add-on levelpaks) is now included with DOOM II and no longer available for separate sale

full list of Steam store changes to DOOM and Quake:

https://slayersclub.bethesda.net/en/art ... solidation

another change is that current owners of either DOOM 3 or DOOM 3: BFG Edition will now get the other title included

Bout time. All the name shenanigans were getting tiresome.

Pulled off a Deadpool in TF2 tonight. Was a sniper and I have a gun that penetrates multiple enemies if they are lined up...sure enough 3 guys came around a corner all in a perfect line for me to one shot all 3. Was pretty cool. Wasn't sure I saw it right until I looked at the death scroll up top and yep got all 3 at once. lol. First time ever.

Daehawk wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:17 am Pulled off a Deadpool in TF2 tonight. Was a sniper and I have a gun that penetrates multiple enemies if they are lined up...sure enough 3 guys came around a corner all in a perfect line for me to one shot all 3. Was pretty cool. Wasn't sure I saw it right until I looked at the death scroll up top and yep got all 3 at once. lol. First time ever.

Very nice!

TheMix wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 12:36 pm

Daehawk wrote: Sun Aug 21, 2022 2:17 am Pulled off a Deadpool in TF2 tonight. Was a sniper and I have a gun that penetrates multiple enemies if they are lined up...sure enough 3 guys came around a corner all in a perfect line for me to one shot all 3. Was pretty cool. Wasn't sure I saw it right until I looked at the death scroll up top and yep got all 3 at once. lol. First time ever.

Very nice!

I do well in TF2 and Fortnite and have funny adventures my friend tells me I should be streaming it all. I feel Im too old for the stream generation now.

jztemple2 wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 4:31 pm I just picked up Tavern Master on Steam. ...

If a few folks indicate an interest in hearing more about the game I'll start a separate thread.

I am not at all shocked to find that I had this on my Wishlist already. I only skimmed your two posts about the game, and have refrained from buying it thus far. But who am I kidding... it's only a matter of time.

Still grinding through pro-level events in Grid Legends, and I think I hit a glitch in the program. According to career, the "gauntlet" isn't available, but individual events in the gauntlet are available through the main menu.

Some of the events I may not be able to complete as I *hate* drifting, and at least a couple sponsors require drifting events or drifting objectives completed. Many of the events now are locked because I haven't put enough miles onto the vehicles, so the upgrades can be installed. I question this heavily, as I feel it adds an extra step that aren't really necessary. It'd make sense to have this if the races before this "fully-upgraded" event provided enough mileage to open up the upgrade menu so one qualifies for these upgraded events, but often they don't.

If this sounds confusing, let me give an example. Most cars requires you to own it, and drive it for 10 miles before upgrade 1 opens up. Upgrade 2 is at 25 miles, and upgrade 3 at 50 miles. Also keep in mind, usually the first event in this class, means you don't have the car, and you're driving a loan car (for a fee). So if you do win, the mileage you did here did NOT count. You won the car, and it's the NEXT event that you can start accumulating miles.

So let's say there are 2 events, each with 3 races, and the 3rd event, locked away, is the "fully upgraded". Event 1's 3 races added together for 17 miles. But as player does not own the vehicle, winning event 1 just means player get the car, and none of those 17 miles counts. Let's say event 2's 3 races totaled 21 miles. Finishing event 2 would NOT have enough miles to start fully-upgraded, as 21 miles is only enough for upgrade level 1. One needs to finish a few more races before opening up upgrade level 2.

Just a heads up for folks who might care, Project Cars delisted following licensing issues. That headline is somewhat incorrect, as the delisting hasn't happened yet, see below.

Slightly Mad issued a Project Cars delist announcement on Twitter, citing the expiration of existing car and track licenses as the reason for taking the racing game off storefronts. The team will also delist Project Cars 2 for the same reason, though you have a bit of time before both games disappear off storefronts for good. Project Cars’ delisting will take place on October 3, and Project Cars 2 will vanish on September 21.

If you already own the game, then there’s nothing no cause for concern. They’ll remain playable even after Slightly Mad delists them, and the devs promised to continue supporting multiplayer for both games, though they didn’t say for how long. The only difference is, obviously, you can’t buy them after their delisting date.

The game glitched on me, wasting some of my time.

Under Track Day category, there are some Hypercars I need to take a spin around the track, and I had my eyes set on this Ford Prototype, and I was able to do enough miles all the way to THIRD level upgrade. Except... the game refused to open up the "fully upgraded" event. I had to put enough miles on a DIFFERENT car (Aston Martin Valkyrie), THEN the event opened up.

I think this was the result of game refuse to give me first place finish for the event, even though I had the most points after 3 races, because I lost the final face. It just glitched quite badly.

I am not certain I can finish the gauntlet, as some of the events are practically impossible. They have a TC-1 event, where they put you in a loan Porsche Moby Dick. So you have NO upgrades. It's surprisingly UNstable despite the HUGE wing in the back. It also accelerates like CRAP. I'd rather drive the BMW M1 or even the Ford Capri, but somehow the game insists I can only drive the Moby Dick.

So I thought, maybe I can own this car, so I can put some upgrades on it.

Except the vehicle's not for sale... It's a "reward" for beating a Sponsor Challenge. Basically, you can get sponsors for your racing team, (one at a time), and each will have 3 objectives, and they are very different depending on the sponsor. Some want you to do things with electric vehicles, others want you to drift, others want you to win against someone, make X number of jumps, go through X number of boost gates, etc.

jztemple2 wrote: Mon Aug 22, 2022 8:59 pm Just a heads up for folks who might care, Project Cars delisted following licensing issues. That headline is somewhat incorrect, as the delisting hasn't happened yet, see below.

Slightly Mad issued a Project Cars delist announcement on Twitter, citing the expiration of existing car and track licenses as the reason for taking the racing game off storefronts. The team will also delist Project Cars 2 for the same reason, though you have a bit of time before both games disappear off storefronts for good. Project Cars’ delisting will take place on October 3, and Project Cars 2 will vanish on September 21.

If you already own the game, then there’s nothing no cause for concern. They’ll remain playable even after Slightly Mad delists them, and the devs promised to continue supporting multiplayer for both games, though they didn’t say for how long. The only difference is, obviously, you can’t buy them after their delisting date.

I always assumed that a game like this was licensed to do what it did and they were then done getting permission. I didn't realize that their license (or anything like this) could then later be revoked (and/or that the licensing needed to be renewed, etc.)

Sounds illegal on the outside. You pay for a valid license then you should get to use it.

You can use it, you just can't BUY it any more.

EDIT: Oh, wait, you mean the tracks and cars.

But that posts states they are having to remove the game after all the work in making it..

Unagi wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 12:18 pm [
I always assumed that a game like this was licensed to do what it did and they were then done getting permission. I didn't realize that their license (or anything like this) could then later be revoked (and/or that the licensing needed to be renewed, etc.)

I think it works in a similar way to music licensing. They'd pay for an X number of years, once that elapses, a developer can sometimes remove the material and keep selling it, like was the case with San Andreas and other GTA games with specific music, but in the case of a game based on cars which are so intrinsically linked to the gameplay, you can't take them out without altering the gameplay, so it's easier to just de-list it. Players will be able to keep playing it, they just can't make anymore money off it.

Yeah this isn't new, I know it has been a thing for the Forza games. There are a lot of Forza games you can't buy new anymore and it isn't because they hate money.

Games with cars, celebrities, music, etc. have all had this problem over they years. So have shows - there are all sorts of shows from the 80s and 90s that can't be sold or streamed, or are missing episodes due to (usually) music rights. Quantum Leap is a good example.

Yeah, Alpha Protocol, one of the best action/spy games ever (despite the troubled dev cycle) can not be sold again due to expired music licenses.

Kasey Chang wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:10 pm Yeah, Alpha Protocol, one of the best action/spy games ever (despite the troubled dev cycle) can not be sold again due to expired music licenses.

I really enjoyed Alpha Protocol, interesting game. I didn't realize that it was pulled due to expired licenses.

Lapsed music licensing is also why Moonlighting isn't available on any streaming services. Apparently Disney owns the rights to the show, but doesn't feel that it's cost effective to renew the licenses for all the music that was used on the show.

jztemple2 wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 8:06 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:10 pm Yeah, Alpha Protocol, one of the best action/spy games ever (despite the troubled dev cycle) can not be sold again due to expired music licenses.

I really enjoyed Alpha Protocol, interesting game. I didn't realize that it was pulled due to expired licenses.

https://ag.hyperxgaming.com/article/787 ... %20expired.

Alpha Protocol has been delisted from Steam as the rights to music in the game have expired, according to publisher Sega.

Kasey Chang wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 9:10 pm

jztemple2 wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 8:06 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:10 pm Yeah, Alpha Protocol, one of the best action/spy games ever (despite the troubled dev cycle) can not be sold again due to expired music licenses.

I really enjoyed Alpha Protocol, interesting game. I didn't realize that it was pulled due to expired licenses.

https://ag.hyperxgaming.com/article/787 ... %20expired.

Alpha Protocol has been delisted from Steam as the rights to music in the game have expired, according to publisher Sega.

It really is a shame - it was a great game with an interesting story.

Upon reading this discussion about Alpha Protocol, I felt a little sad that I missed an apparently good game that got delisted. Then after checking the Steam library, I saw that I purchased it back in the day and had forgotten I had it.

Memory... getting... worse...

Still grinding through Grid Legends, which can sometimes be renamed Grind Legends. A lot of those career races are locked behind mileage markers, and somehow, once you get to upgrade 2 or 3, the enemy AI just stopped being a problem, usually. But not always. I've had a few cases where me getting upgrade 3 and I just cruised through the event whereas upgrade 2 I can't win.

Keep in mind I tend to drive better with no one in front of me, so if I have 21 cars in front of me I tend to drive like Jason Bourne. (At Medium difficulty damages are cosmetic only)

Baroquen wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 5:52 am Upon reading this discussion about Alpha Protocol, I felt a little sad that I missed an apparently good game that got delisted. Then after checking the Steam library, I saw that I purchased it back in the day and had forgotten I had it.

Memory... getting... worse...

You can still buy it online used . It came in DVD . I see it on Ebay

Daehawk wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 3:04 pm

Baroquen wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 5:52 am Upon reading this discussion about Alpha Protocol, I felt a little sad that I missed an apparently good game that got delisted. Then after checking the Steam library, I saw that I purchased it back in the day and had forgotten I had it.

Memory... getting... worse...

You can still buy it online used . It came in DVD . I see it on Ebay

Alpha Protocol is available for download courtesy of Archive.org, so it'd be cheaper, simpler, and easier just to grab it from there.

Is there any ways to get the Diablo 1 demo to run in Win10? It keeps returning a Directdraw into fail on clicking the Diablo.exe . I just want to try the demo again as ive not in some 26 years and it is a bit of nostalgia for me to do so.

I have set it to compatibility to winxp and low color mode and 640x480 and such with no change in the error.

Daehawk wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 4:07 pm Is there any ways to get the Diablo 1 demo to run in Win10? It keeps returning a Directdraw into fail on clicking the Diablo.exe . I just want to try the demo again as ive not in some 26 years and it is a bit of nostalgia for me to do so.

I have set it to compatibility to winxp and low color mode and 640x480 and such with no change in the error.

You can play the Diablo 1 demo from your web browser via diablo.rivsoft.net. Just choose 'Play Shareware', and you should be good to go.

Daehawk wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 4:07 pm Is there any ways to get the Diablo 1 demo to run in Win10? It keeps returning a Directdraw into fail on clicking the Diablo.exe . I just want to try the demo again as ive not in some 26 years and it is a bit of nostalgia for me to do so.

I have set it to compatibility to winxp and low color mode and 640x480 and such with no change in the error.

Consider purchasing from GOG. It's cheap and will run on W10.

I just want the demo to work.

Daehawk wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 5:34 pm I just want the demo to work.

Try downloading the DirectDraw files provided here to your Diablo 1 demo directory, and see if that helps.

Well it changed the error so maybe that helped . new error is "This game requires MS DirectX 2.0 or higher..lol. I have no idea what DX is up to these days but know its a lot higher than 2.0

Daehawk wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 6:03 pm Well it changed the error so maybe that helped . new error is "This game requires MS DirectX 2.0 or higher..lol. I have no idea what DX is up to these days but know its a lot higher than 2.0

Yeah, this is why I suggested using the browser-playable demo instead.

If you have a mind to do so, you could probably extract the DIABDAT.MPQ file from the Diablo 1 ISO available on Archive.org necessary to play the full game via diablo.rivsoft.net. Though as Jaymann aptly observed, the GOG version is definitely the superior choice if you do wish to play the full game on a modern PC.

Tnx...I try that browser one. ive spent enough time on it lol.

EDIT:

Well I remembered the slow walk speed..always have because even then i hated it. But now WOW it feels AWFUL. SOOOo slow...slower than even I remembered lol. I could only stand the first lvl. There are So many quality of life things missing. No way to highlight items...I remember looking for dropped rings lol. Having to click everything even gold to loot it. Can only purchase or sell one item at a time and then you have to agree each item. Had no tp scroll so was walking back to town. Cant just walk away fro ma conversation you have to click leave chat or end conversation or something.

So many. But back when it released it was one of the coolest games ever made at that time. Thats the way it will stay in my memory.

Anyone ever play Tinytopia? Looks fun and cute.

https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/tinytopia