Octopus Overlords

jztemple2 wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 11:59 pm I really hate Steam early access . I have 203 games on my Steam wishlist, but if I exclude pre-release (not a lot of those) and early access, I have exactly twelve . I'm really trying to avoid buying games that aren't in full release because I tend to burn out on them in EA and then not bothering with them when they hit full release.

Is there a way to find out how many Steam games I own that are in early access? I'm afraid it is going to be a significant number.

Anonymous Bosch wrote: Fri Jan 05, 2024 2:14 am

jztemple2 wrote: Thu Jan 04, 2024 11:59 pm I really hate Steam early access . I have 203 games on my Steam wishlist, but if I exclude pre-release (not a lot of those) and early access, I have exactly twelve . I'm really trying to avoid buying games that aren't in full release because I tend to burn out on them in EA and then not bothering with them when they hit full release.

Is there a way to find out how many Steam games I own that are in early access? I'm afraid it is going to be a significant number.

YMMV, but this has increasingly become a meaningless distinction for me, for the reasons clarified below (though I would hasten to add, I certainly do not mean to imply that you are an "Early Access hater" simply because you prefer to play fully released games):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjwBx2XWZt0

jztemple2 wrote: Fri Jan 05, 2024 12:07 pm A ten minute video? I might read a paragraph or two to understand the uploader's arguments, but otherwise I have other things to do with my time

Max Peck wrote: Fri Jan 05, 2024 1:28 pm

jztemple2 wrote: Fri Jan 05, 2024 12:07 pm A ten minute video? I might read a paragraph or two to understand the uploader's arguments, but otherwise I have other things to do with my time

Why you gotta be such an Early Access Hater hater hater?

Now, thirty years later, I’m surprised to find myself in need of some accommodation to allow me to continue gaming. I’ve always been able to game with no accessibility issues, but in my fifties, I’ve found that my hand dexterity has decreased to the point where it is about nil. A delightful combo platter of degenerative nerve, tendon, and bone conditions have conspired to both numb my hands and lock my thumbs in place to the point where my doctor told me that either I stop gaming, or I lose what little grip and motion I have left. Let’s be real: I’m getting old, but I'm not going to stop gaming. Since holding a standard controller is now out of the question, I’ve had to look for alternatives.

Enter the Sony Access Controller, a new device developed by Sony with a great deal of input from disabled gamers. Sony announced the release of the Access Controller right around the time that my hand issues were coming to a head, and I latched onto the idea of using one like a drowning man latches onto a life ring.

I’ll be honest, for the first couple of days after it arrived, the Access Controller and I just kind of sat there in the living room giving each other the stink eye. The controller was giving me some serious “Who do you think you are, you’re not a person with disabilities” vibes, and in return I was sending it some “I really want to play Gotham Knights now that it is on Plus, but I can’t believe I’m going to have to use you” sneers. It can be tough coming to terms with new physical limitations, even those as minor as my own. In some ways, unpacking the Access Controller felt like admitting to myself that I was moving into a new phase in my life, and I did not like it one bit.

Remember when Valve made an ingenious pair of puzzle games about portals and then failed to count to three? Nothing new there, but it's a shame Portal remains one of Valve's forgotten children while the company aims to keep exploring Half-Life. These days, the hallowed halls of Aperture Labs only make an appearance when Valve needs a quick and quirky tutorial for its latest VR hardware or PC handheld. But the Portal community never stopped testing. They've been at it for years uploading new test chambers, original stories, and entire fan campaigns to the Steam Workshop.

This weekend, a big one dropped.

It's called Portal: Revolution. It's a completely original seven-hour campaign with new characters, mechanics, and a story that takes place between Portals 1 and 2. It's a huge mod—so big that developer Second Face Software published it with its own standalone Steam page and thumbs up from Valve. Revolution was built on Strata Source, a "community-made branch of Source engine" officially licensed from Valve. Revolution is still very much Portal 2, you even need to own it first, but Second Face says the upgraded engine means it can do things that "would be impossible in Portal 2." I've put almost two hours in so far, and I'm starting to see what they mean. Revolution isn't just "more Portal."

jztemple2 wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:28 am A fan-made, 7-hour Portal 2 prequel just hit Steam for free and it's so good that I'm sad Valve stopped making Portal all over again

Sharpen your axe, fill your canteen, and make sure you pack some emergency rations: 2024 is shaping up to be an excellent year for survival games. Not only are there a lot of them coming in the near future, they all look substantially different from one another.

Do you want to explore a fantasy realm shrouded by a life-sapping mist, hunt for artifacts in an irradiated exclusion zone, or fight creatures that have been twisted by an alien virus? If mobile bases are your thing, how about driving a station wagon through a forest filled with deadly anomalies or piloting a rolling base over an alien planet while surrounded by duplicates of yourself? Pick your poison, because 2024 has the survival game you're looking for.

coopasonic wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2024 4:54 pm So many early access survival games. I love the genre but I hate that none of them are ever completed.

coopasonic wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2024 4:54 pm So many early access survival games. I love the genre but I hate that none of them are ever completed.

Rumpy wrote: Thu Jan 18, 2024 2:36 pm

coopasonic wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2024 4:54 pm So many early access survival games. I love the genre but I hate that none of them are ever completed.

Yeah, I feel like part of the survival aspect is having the game survive early access.

jztemple2 wrote: Fri Jan 19, 2024 3:00 pm I think I've posted about this game before, it's from the folks who brought you Bomber Crew:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2078 ... ands_Crew/

To recap the timeline, the $40 game launched on December 7, Fntastic abruptly said it was shutting down on December 11 and Mytona pulled the plug on the game’s servers on January 22. After the studio’s closure, an official statement from Fntastic said, “Unfortunately, The Day Before has failed financially, and we lack the funds to continue.”

A message from Fntastic CEO Eduard Gotovstev, allegedly posted on Russian social channels on December 11, claimed the game had sold over 200,000 copies. At the time, the title had garnered 81 percent negative reviews on Steam, and nearly half of buyers had requested refunds.

ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2024 10:08 am

jztemple2 wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:28 am A fan-made, 7-hour Portal 2 prequel just hit Steam for free and it's so good that I'm sad Valve stopped making Portal all over again

Downloaded this last night. I'll have to try it soon.