Video Games Randomness - Prioritize specific game threads!

[Skinypupy]

Keep seeing all these adds for WoW and they have me interested.

Guess that means it’s time for my annual “sub for one month until I get bored and wonder why I bothered” trip into Azeroth.

[Daehawk]

Im doing that in SWTOR

[Daehawk]

DOOM is 29 years old today. Almost missed it.

[Skinypupy]

I bought Scarlet Nexus (action JRPG) on sale for PS5 and I'm REALLY enjoying it so far. The combat is easy to learn and tons of fun, with the ability to alternate weapon attacks and psychically throw environmental objects at your foes to build massive combos.

I also like that it doesn't go overboard on the typical JRPG complexities (or if it does later on, it's certainly doing a great job easing me into it). The skill tree is straightforward, and there's a great, easy-to-access help system. And so far the characters have all been surprisingly un-annoying.

The only thing I've seen so far that may turn some off is that it's very linear. Goals and maps are very confined, so you will be proceeding from a clear Point A to Point B and fighting X pre-defined battles between those two points. I actually don't mind that in JRPGs, but I know it turns some players off.

I've read some people say that this is sort of a "prototype" TALES OF ARISE, and I agree that it's a much simpler version of that game's combat. However, I abolutely loved Tales of Arise so the comparison doesn't bother me. Honestly I never really got the hang of Tales' combat even though I learned enough to beat it. So far, SCARLET NEXUS's combat system seems much more approachable.

For anyone interested in Scarlet Nexus after YKs write up, the Deluxe version is on sale for $20 on PSN right now.

I’m adding it to my ever-growing queue

[stessier]

Unreal Engine 5.1 .....The .1 is important.

Thank you - that was really interesting.

[Daehawk]

You're welcome. I hoped someone would find it interesting as I did. I found it neat that they can increase the look and actually gain frame rate. Amazing.

[jztemple2]

Just found out about this new release (it might have been posted about before). There's a demo too.

[coopasonic]

I more or less annihilated my backlog. Everything I've wanted to play is either abandoned or completed and there is nothing new coming that I am interested in until February... I am working two more days this year. Those other ten days are set to be *really* boring.

I have the Shadow Tactics stand alone expansion, Aiko's Choice that I guess I will play, though I am not super enthused.
I have State of Decay 2 installed, which I've never finished as the lack of actual narrative connecting it all together leaves me bored.
Ancestors The Humankind Odyssey I played when it first came out and abandoned it and I am not sure why.

My wishlist is empty for the most part, full of Early Access and Presale games.

I might play games too much.

[coopasonic]

Just found out about this new release (it might have been posted about before). There's a demo too.

Played the demo a bit and it's an interesting concept but the endless trial and error is a bit much.

[jztemple2]

In the nearly four decades I've been cleaning my pool, I have never seen an alligator in it... yet . But I have seen flamingos

[gbasden]

In the nearly four decades I've been cleaning my pool, I have never seen an alligator in it... yet . But I have seen flamingos

No offense to Yellowking, but I cannot wrap my head around chores that I don't want to do in real life somehow becoming "games" for my relaxation time.

[jztemple2]

In the nearly four decades I've been cleaning my pool, I have never seen an alligator in it... yet . But I have seen flamingos

No offense to Yellowking, but I cannot wrap my head around chores that I don't want to do in real life somehow becoming "games" for my relaxation time.

What, you're not looking forward to "Toilet Cleaning Simulator"?

[Isgrimnur]

Was at lunch last week with a colleague and heard a guy talk about his love for mowing the lawn, as it was an hour where his family wasn't bothering him.

[jztemple2]

I was just joking but..

[Daehawk]

Totally fake Unreal Engine 5 water flood

[Blackhawk]

Totally fake

How so?

[Daehawk]

Totally fake

How so?

My wording could be taken wrong I guess...fake as in its a game engine not real life.

[Blackhawk]

Ah, yes. I took it to mean that the video was fake.

[coopasonic]

Ah, yes. I took it to mean that the video was fake.

yeah, probably some CGI or something...

[Kasey Chang]

Another Zach-Like programming puzzle game where you compete for minimum nodes and minimum steps? Free demo available. Beyond the tutorial, there are a couple more levels in the library under "journal".

[Kasey Chang]

The demo's pretty impressive. I think the screen UI is a bit too busy, as the way they did the logic, I had to move the "slates" around to make the logic obvious. I hadn't finished all of the "library" puzzles, but they are significantly more complicated than the tutorial, and that's a good thing. And the price is right, esp. with the Winter sale.

[Skinypupy]

A truly excellent deep dive into how modern gaming has gone wrong. Long, but well worth the watch.

[coopasonic]

A truly excellent deep dive into how modern gaming has gone wrong. Long, but well worth the watch.

Spoiler: the answer is not a surprise. I could post a video to watch as a follow-up but it would head into R&P land. The only challenge for me would be deciding if capitalism is actually a religion.

[Fardaza]

I just don't buy the stuff they're offering in their "boxes".

When I was playing Diablo 3, Oblivion, etc., I ignored their extras for sale. I don't enjoy or play any of the current fps or mmo games which seem to be where many of the offerings pop up. As a famous first lady once said, "Just say no."

I especially don't mind businesses trying to make money. Many people seem to have forgotten that they have to turn a profit and make money. That's what business IS. That's what business DOES. If it bothers you that some game company had sales of over a billion dollars, go find another hobby.

[coopasonic]

The problem comes from the deceptive practices used to increase revenues. If you simply charge more for the game, it is easy to see what you are getting for what you are paying and make an informed decision. Hiding costs behind layers of in game currencies and making rewards randomized, using psychology against your customers, is rather predatory.

[Max Peck]

Case in point: FTC brings a $520 million hammer down on Epic Games for Fortnite complaints

In a separate complaint, the FTC said that Epic often charged Fortnite players for in-game items without their "express informed consent." The use of "design tricks known as 'dark patterns'" led to "millions of complaints" to Epic and disputes of unauthorized charges with credit card providers, according to the FTC.

Until late 2018, for instance, Epic automatically stored the credit card information for anyone who made a single purchase in Fortnite and didn't require the CVV security information for further purchases. That made it easy for many children to make additional purchases without their parents' consent, according to the FTC.

Epic also drew criticism from the FTC for putting the "Purchase" button for in-game items right next to the "preview styles" button and offering no subsequent purchase confirmation prompt in the case of misplaced clicks. And while Epic introduced an "Undo Purchase" button in July 2019, it was eventually made much less prominent and harder for customers to find.

In response to the FTC's complaint, Epic says it will now "re-confirm a player's intent to buy" via a "hold-to-purchase" button on its store pages. The company is also offering instant purchase cancellations and self-service refunds, hopefully obviating the need to go through a credit card company to deal with some complaints. And when a credit card chargeback happens, Epic will no longer automatically assume it is related to fraud and ban the affected account.

According to the FTC investigation, Epic was well aware of what it was doing in both of these cases. By reducing the prominence of the "Undo Purchase" button, for instance, Epic reduced the "net undo rate" by 35 percent, according to an Epic product manager cited in the FTC complaint.

[Chraolic]

I just don't buy the stuff they're offering in their "boxes".

When I was playing Diablo 3, Oblivion, etc., I ignored their extras for sale. I don't enjoy or play any of the current fps or mmo games which seem to be where many of the offerings pop up. As a famous first lady once said, "Just say no."

I especially don't mind businesses trying to make money. Many people seem to have forgotten that they have to turn a profit and make money. That's what business IS. That's what business DOES. If it bothers you that some game company had sales of over a billion dollars, go find another hobby.

It becomes a problem when it impacts gameplay negatively, such as adding needless grind mechanics that can be completely bypassed for $50 or whatever.

[Daehawk]

I dont see how people accidentally buy anything. Ive clicked through their items and store area on fortnite a hundred times.

[Max Peck]

Congratulations, you're not as easily duped as a child.

Part of the reason that Epic is paying a half a billion dollar fine is that they deliberately designed the UI so that it was easy to misclick and accidentally purchase something with no confirmation step. Then when they got called out for that, they added the ability to cancel the purchase, then they redesigned that to make it more difficult to even see that the functionality existed. These weren't accidental UI issues that resulted from poorly thought out design, they were features that worked as intended until it all finally caught up with them.

[Chraolic]

I dont see how people accidentally buy anything. Ive clicked through their items and store area on fortnite a hundred times.

Have you played the mobile version?

[Daehawk]

I dont see how people accidentally buy anything. Ive clicked through their items and store area on fortnite a hundred times.

Have you played the mobile version?

No. People play stuff like this on mobile?? No idea how they would do that.

And children should not be playing Fortnite. Where are the parents these days?

[Chraolic]

No. People play stuff like this on mobile?? No idea how they would do that.

Everybody in the world does not have a gaming computer, you know.

[Daehawk]

I mean how do you control a fps on a phone? Or see enemies and aim and anything. Maybe if you hook a handheld to a tv or something.

[coopasonic]

And children should not be playing Fortnite. Where are the parents these days?

Children shouldn't be playing cartoonish video games specifically targeted at children? Many of us play these games WITH our children. Now I will say children shouldn't have unfettered access to the means to make in game purchases. That I would agree is a gross dereliction of duty.

[stessier]

And children should not be playing Fortnite. Where are the parents these days?

Uh - why?

[Daehawk]

Its a shooter where you kill others with guns. Im thinking 12 and under here as children. 13 -17 are young adults to me not kids.

[Isgrimnur]

Not like we grew up playing Operation Wolf or anything.

[jztemple2]

Not like we grew up playing Operation Wolf or anything.

When I was growing up we ran around with toy guns shooting each other.

[Fardaza]

I just don't buy the stuff they're offering in their "boxes".

When I was playing Diablo 3, Oblivion, etc., I ignored their extras for sale. I don't enjoy or play any of the current fps or mmo games which seem to be where many of the offerings pop up. As a famous first lady once said, "Just say no."

I especially don't mind businesses trying to make money. Many people seem to have forgotten that they have to turn a profit and make money. That's what business IS. That's what business DOES. If it bothers you that some game company had sales of over a billion dollars, go find another hobby.

It becomes a problem when it impacts gameplay negatively, such as adding needless grind mechanics that can be completely bypassed for $50 or whatever.

Then don't play that game if you don't want to grind or pay the $50.

I didn't know about Epic's intentional ways of illicitly getting money. That should be outlawed and stopped.

But, if someone wants to pay to avoid the grind, so be it.

[Chraolic]

Then don't play that game if you don't want to grind or pay the $50.

Right, because any expectation of being allowed to enjoy playing a €60 game is just too much to ask, I suppose.