Video Games Randomness - Prioritize specific game threads!

[TheMix]

Oh, and if you have the DLC, you should really give Gaige a try. "Best robot ever!" The robot makes the game easy mode on the lower difficulties.

[Blackhawk]

I dont have BL3 or Id play that.

I figure I might try to make my Kreig with explosives based and such. So a pretty easy to get health restoring shotgun listed. But if he is hard to play that makes me rethink and maybe not bother.

I always played the turret maker people or Mordecai the sniper. I think i tried claptrap one. its just so intimidating to have many characters to choose from. i always feel like I chose the wrong one when I start having problems with one.

maybe i should wait on a sale of BL3.

He's not hard to play.

Or, rather, every character is hard to play in some situations.

Salvador is frustrating early in the game, but by the late 2nd playthrough he's easy. By the third, he's godlike, especially if you use the Grog Nozzle.

Krieg can be unkillable and can wipe the floor with most enemies, but struggles with distant targets.

Axton (turret guy) is very straightforward and easy to play, but he's arguably the weakest character in any Borderlands title.

Maya can wipe everything off of the map in the first couple of playthroughs, but really struggles in the third.

You get the idea. It's about picking what seems like the most fun, then finding a way around their weaknesses.

[Blackhawk]

Mordecai was a beast with pistols. I much preferred that to sniping.

Absolutely. He's what I just ran. And once I found my Unforgiven Masher, he was instant death.

[stessier]

Now I want to play BL again. Can someone take over my adulting so I can put a few weeks into the game again?

[Jaymann]

Whatever happened to all the PC gaming is dead talk?

[Anonymous Bosch]

Whatever happened to all the PC gaming is dead talk?

Last I heard, it was buried under a pile of Steam sales and Twitch streamers.

[Blackhawk]

It was a phase caused by the Rise of the Consoles. The markets have found their equilibrium now, and people have found other things to hand-wring about.

[Max Peck]

Yeah, IIRC it was driven by a combination of console gaming going mainstream along with the perception that people were largely abandoning traditional desktop PCs for mobile devices and tablets.

[Daehawk]

Im wishing for a Ur-Quan Masters on android tablet now. Not a mod or anything like ive seen but a good release.

[Max Peck]

Im wishing for a Ur-Quan Masters on android tablet now. Not a mod or anything like ive seen but a good release.

https://www.reddit.com/r/starcontrol/co ... app_store/

This is what Google Play support came back with:

"I just received an update and that the app is no longer available on Google Play

Either the developer has chosen to remove the app, or the app has been taken down due to violations of the Google Play Terms of Service.

As updated, it is up to the developer discrimination where they might have removed the app.

I wish I could get more information for you but, due to account security reasons our specialists would not disclose to us.

As an alternative, you may reach the app developer on this issue."

Update:

I've emailed Pelya (Sergii Pylypenko) - the author of the Android port. He got back to me, and said that the game has been removed because sourceforge.net fileserver it uses to download game data is broken really often, and he did not get enough free time to build another release.

You still can download it here:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/libsdl ... n-Masters/

[Daehawk]

I saw that. Its a mod. I want a real game not a mod or hack of it. And up to date.

[Max Peck]

From what I can see, it's that or nothing.

[AWS260]

I picked up Yakuza: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth as birthday present to myself. It's my first Yakuza game, and I wouldn't have been interested were it not for some glowing coverage on Aftermath. I think I love it.

It's so weird and charming. A few things that have happened in the game so far:
- I went on the world's most awkward first date, which peaked with me declaring my commitment to caring for our future children. Again, this was a first date.
- I got run over by a speedboat while diving for trash in the ocean.
- I own a pet shellfish named Nancy.
- I sang karaoke.
- I was walked around naked on a public beach without realizing I was naked.
- A dating app matched me with a dude in a bondage outfit.
- I rode a Segway.

It's just a lot of fun. And the PC port is technically excellent. It looks great while stressing my GPU much less than a lot of older, uglier games.

[Daehawk]

Does it still have that random guy that shows up to fight you all the time? I never got that. I never played them either though. Watched my friend stream it. he loves those games. Dont seem for me. i did like Sleeping Dogs.

[YellowKing]

I picked up Yakuza: Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth as birthday present to myself. It's my first Yakuza game, and I wouldn't have been interested were it not for some glowing coverage on Aftermath. I think I love it.

I just finished Yakuza: Like a Dragon (the predecessor) and had a blast with it. I got downright obsessed with it for a bit there, completing the entire business mini-game, grinding levels, going completely all-in.

I was all prepped to pick up Infinite Wealth but I've been waffling back and forth whether to drop $70 on it when I still need Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, or just wait for a sale. Unable to decide, I just picked up Yakuza 0 for $5 and have been playing that instead.

I am so backlogged on JRPGs right now it's not funny. And I want to play them all simultaneously.

[Baroquen]

I just mentioned in the Games Played thread that I finished Dragon Quest 4. Really enjoyed it. 99% completed it - only thing I left undone was picking up a couple pieces of uber-gear, but didn't need it to finish the last bonus boss. But yeah, it was a lot of fun. Initially, the DS emulator was really bugging me where the screen seam was distracting. But I got used to it, and the game was fun.

I'm switching back to Trails in the Sky the 3rd as I want to finish that trilogy before I forget the details. Even in the last couple months, I've forgotten some of the minor characters and lore so I think it is a good choice to get back to it next. The one thing I was dreading (somewhat) was that I enjoy trying to get all the achievements, but the Trails ones are tricky and sometimes buggy. For the 3rd title, they have achievements for beating the game on multiple difficulty levels. That means beating it on Nightmare, or playing multiple times. Neither of which I'm going to do. So while it's initially disappointing to know I'm not going to 100% this game, I'm relieved I won't have to worry about trying. I'll play through and hit as much of them as I want and move on.

No idea what game I'll play after, but that's way down the line. Plus - OOTP and MLB the Show both come out this week. I'm not as jazzed about them as in past years, but I'm sure one or both will suck up a significant amount of time for awhile.

[Kraken]

I guess this is the place to warn you: don't get too excitable if you're a keyboard warrior, because the feds are coming for extremist gamers.

Gaming companies are coordinating with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to root out so-called domestic violent extremist content, according to a new government report. Noting that mechanisms have been established with social media companies to police extremism, the report recommends that the national security agencies establish new and similar processes with the vast gaming industry.

The exact nature of the cooperation between federal agencies and video game companies, which has not been previously reported, is detailed in a new Government Accountability Office report. The report draws on interviews conducted with five gaming and social media companies including Roblox, an online gaming platform; Discord, a social media app commonly used by gamers; Reddit; as well as a game publisher and social media company that asked the GAO to remain anonymous.

...

Federal law enforcement and intelligence have long focused on gaming as an avenue for both radicalization and as a backdoor platform for extremists to communicate. A 2019 internal intelligence assessment jointly produced by the FBI, DHS, the Joint Special Operations Command, and the National Counterterrorism Center and obtained by The Intercept warns that “violent extremists could exploit functionality of popular online gaming platforms and applications.” The assessment lists half a dozen U.S.-owned gaming platforms that it identifies as popular, including Blizzard Entertainment’s Battle.net, Fortnite, Playstation Xbox Live, Steam, and Roblox.

[Rumpy]

It's those types of gamers that give us a bad name.

[Blackhawk]

These days 'gaming' is a hobby to such a wide range of people, and such a big chunk of the population, that finding that someone plays games is like finding that someone watches TV. I'm not sure that there's much of an 'us' to have a bad name.

[Rumpy]

Yeah, but a lot of what you hear about the hobby gives it a bad rap. Reminds me of what I had talked about with my Mom awhile back, in that she told me not to mention I was a 'gamer' because of the bad rap associated with it.

[Kraken]

Just for the record, I am opposed to domestic terrorists.

[Daehawk]

Reminds me of what I had talked about with my Mom awhile back

I forget a lot of OOrs still have their parents or parent. My first thought is "Mom??" and then im oh ya people live a while lol.

I lost my mom 31 years ago in 1993 when she was about 56 and I was 24. ( I will be the age she died in 1 more year..strange feeling that )

I lost my dad 22 years ago in 2002 when he was 76 and i was 33.

So Ive not been able to see or talk to either of mine in decades and Im just 55.

[stessier]

Just for the record, I am opposed to domestic terrorists.

Interesting that you felt the need to include the "domestic" modifier.

[hitbyambulance]

this game looks like digital crack. i'm going to have to get it

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379780/Balatro/

[Isgrimnur]

Baroquen should have some impressions.

[Daehawk]

Just for the record, I am opposed to domestic terrorists.

Interesting that you felt the need to include the "domestic" modifier.

How do you like your terrorists sir? domestic, craft, or imported?

[Isgrimnur]

Bespoke.

[Kraken]

Just for the record, I am opposed to domestic terrorists.

Interesting that you felt the need to include the "domestic" modifier.

Foreign terrorists aren't nearly the threat that domestic extremists are. That's not just my opinion; the FBI and Homeland Security agree. Not that I like foreign terrorists either, I'm just aware of where the real danger lies.

[Baroquen]

Baroquen should have some impressions.

Balatro impressions:

It's fun. Graphics are minimal, as it's a straight card game. You play successive rounds where you form poker hands from your dealt cards. You need to score X number of points per round, with only a limited number of hands (and limited number of discards) to play. High cards (like aces) score you more points. Higher ranked poker hands usually score you more points, though you can power up hands that you use more often (i.e. - you play two pairs often, you can crank up the value through purchased power ups in between rounds).

So yeah, there's a shop where you can purchase lots of different advantages. Some will power up your types of playable hands as mentioned above. Some are Tarot cards that are like one shot, "consumable" advantages (like we've seen in lots of rogue-likes). Some modify or add to the cards in your deck. Some Vouchers are large global advantages (like having +1 hands / round for the remainder of the run).

But the prime modifier for each run is the use of Jokers. They can affect your play in a variety of ways - they can increase the values of the cards played, the hands played, or often times contribute to a multiplier for your score each hand. There are at least a couple dozen jokers (I think) and you can have up to five each run. They aren't in your deck, they just modify your play. Using and combining them can really extend a run as the point values needed to continue past each round increase.

There are also some global advantages to earn/unlock between each run, but this area doesn't seem as complex and developed as other similar games. Like in "Against the Storm" the meta game in between rounds of city-building is quite intricate. Here, there are some unlocks for general progress. Nice but hardly earth shattering.

Bottom line: If you enjoy poker at all, or you enjoy these kind of repeatable "rogue-like run" games, this might be worth your time. It's relatively cheap, and will probably go on sale. I think it sold well, and it's got an "Overwhelming Positive" review score on Steam. I haven't been playing it too much lately, but that's not a knock. Just my distractible gaming nature these days.

[Daehawk]

Steam Spring Sale has started. Go find a deal.

[jztemple2]

I'm facing a conundrum. In less than three weeks I'll be having surgery on my right hand which will probably prevent me from using a controller or my wheel/pedal set for a month or more. I'll probably still be able to push a mouse around somewhat, or even use it left-handed, although both of those will be awkward. So I'm trying to plan to play something that needs some mouse and some keyboard.

Which brings me to my conundrum. Each year I get the newsletters all about the latest Out Of The Park Baseball release and I get all excited. Then I remember that I own, in Steam, OOTP Baseball 14, 16, 17 and 18 which in total I've probably played only a dozen hours . I did play some older non-Steam OOTP editions and put in a lot of hours on those, but that's gotta be more than a decade ago. And the last time I played seriously was about six years ago.

The latest edition, OOTP Baseball 25, is getting good reviews. I especially like a couple of comments that mentioned that if you passed up on getting the last few editions, this years edition is definitely worth getting. And so I'm getting the itch to delve into this year's edition, especially while the Spring Sale is on and the game is 30% off.

So, anyone out there playing OOTP 25? Or have some insight? Or just sitting home on a Saturday night?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2384 ... seball_25/

[Daehawk]

Or have some insight? Or just sitting home on a Saturday night?

Ive slept about all day. Woke up at noon but turned over and slept until 3pm. Was up 3 hours but turned sick at my stomach so took phenegan or phenegran or whatever that pill is and it knocked me out and i slept 6 more nearly. Im up playing a game but think Ill go back o bed now at 12"30am.Still tired. So I got to be awake a total of 3 or 4 hours today.

[Fardaza]

I'm facing a conundrum. In less than three weeks I'll be having surgery on my right hand which will probably prevent me from using a controller or my wheel/pedal set for a month or more. I'll probably still be able to push a mouse around somewhat, or even use it left-handed, although both of those will be awkward. So I'm trying to plan to play something that needs some mouse and some keyboard.

Which brings me to my conundrum. Each year I get the newsletters all about the latest Out Of The Park Baseball release and I get all excited. Then I remember that I own, in Steam, OOTP Baseball 14, 16, 17 and 18 which in total I've probably played only a dozen hours . I did play some older non-Steam OOTP editions and put in a lot of hours on those, but that's gotta be more than a decade ago. And the last time I played seriously was about six years ago.

The latest edition, OOTP Baseball 25, is getting good reviews. I especially like a couple of comments that mentioned that if you passed up on getting the last few editions, this years edition is definitely worth getting. And so I'm getting the itch to delve into this year's edition, especially while the Spring Sale is on and the game is 30% off.

So, anyone out there playing OOTP 25? Or have some insight? Or just sitting home on a Saturday night?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2384 ... seball_25/

I can't comment on the newest version. I haven't played in a year or two. My latest version is 17 I think, which I don't even have installed on my machine. What turned me off was having to download demo version, install, load old save, wait a loooong time, save, and then start the process over again for each newer version. It took forever to go from say 14 to 17 this way. I have a great league/team that I put together, and I want to play it, not some newly created league.

[Baroquen]

Yeah, if you have an old saved game/league that you want to preserve from several years past, bridging it over through the demos can be a pain. I had OOTP 20, and bought last year's (and now this year's) versions and have been enjoying them. But I didn't need to revive an old league file, so I was able to avoid that headache.

When I last played 4-5 years ago, the Perfect Team system was still somewhat new, and I felt it was half baked. Compared to MLB the Show, or even Madden and 2k, it just seems underwhelming. Upon picking OOTP24 late in the yearly cycle, I was having a ball with the PT component. There were TONS of collection missions that rewarded player cards and packs. There were tournaments and draft tournaments that rewarded special packs. And if you have a twitch account, there are 5-10 daily packs available (when I let it stream in the background). So with all of that to play around with, I've enjoyed Perfect Team much more than I did before. However, if the Diamond Dynasty / Madden Ultimate Team / FIFA Whatever Team style modes aren't your thing, then this means nothing.

I also am playing a historical league where I took over the Orioles in their World Series winning 1966 season and have been running them through the ages. I'm up to 1973 and the dawn of the DH (which is nice since I don't particularly like pitchers hitting. Though Jim Palmer hit pretty darn well). I also have made the trading AI easier and enabled the trading of draft picks. (This lets me game the system, at a cost, if I want to rack up a high draft pick and snag a name or two I recognize). The little 3d models used to illustrate each played game are still rudimentary but better than they've been. I'll typically play out games when I feel like it, simming the rest. And then if I do play out the game, I'll sim the opponents at-bats "Until in Scoring Position" which hopefully doesn't trigger, and it defaults to my at-bats. I'll usually play them out, crossing my fingers the whole time.

The thing is - OOTP does the historical thing, or the simulation thing in general, very well. But it's not exactly breaking new ground each year. In fact, I'm not sure I could tell you what the differences are this time out. Sure rosters are new, and stats might be configured a little differently. They added Team Chemistry and some upgradable cards to PT, and you can test out theoretical tournament teams in a lab setting to find the best mix of cards (also PT). I'm fine with buying it this year, after my re-introduction last year because I'm having fun with it. Not sure it will be an annual purchase, but I'll get my money's worth I think.

If you do pick it up, the 30% launch discount is nice, and goes away soon. Also Exodor plays this a ton and might have opinions about it.

[jztemple2]

But it's not exactly breaking new ground each year. In fact, I'm not sure I could tell you what the differences are this time out.

I've seen several comments about how player development has been overhauled and folks really like the new method. Overall the comments have been very positive. I filter the Steam reviews for ones by players who have put at least ten hours in the game. The only negative review I saw was from someone who doesn't like the game because they feel that the Perfect Team system is pay to win. I've never been interested in Perfect Team so I haven't really paid attention to any discussion of that and otherwise no one has had anything bad to say except for a few minor bugs and the devs have already released one patch over the weekend.

I'm up to 1973 and the dawn of the DH (which is nice since I don't particularly like pitchers hitting.

You are dead to me!

[YellowKing]

I couldn't bring myself to drop $70 on Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth or FFVII:Rebirth, so I went back to an old classic I never finished. Trails of Cold Steel. Finally made it past the point I left off last night, so now I'm completely hooked again. I figure since I still have 2, 3, and 4 ahead of me, that should keep me plenty busy until the $70 games get a price break.

[Baroquen]

I'm in the same spot with the Trails games. I have so many in the backlog, I haven't bought them at full price. I'm only in the third sky entry and have a few of the Cold Steel games waiting for me down the line.

My current problem though, is playing time. I want to finish Sky the 3rd, but I'm getting sucked into baseball games. And the spiritual Suikoden sequel comes out next month. I'm not sure I get it done any time soon. Maybe spring break week will help me fit that in.

[LordMortis]

Trashing/recycling (almost) all of my physical documentation for my video games. Documentation going back to games from the early 90s. 4 filing cabinet drawers full.

I keep putting off figuring out what I want to do with my books. I may have to look to see if anyone would accept a chunk of them as donations. The odds of my reading nearly any of them again nor even using them as reference source at this point in life and with access to technology is nearly zero. it's odd to think of how much money was spent on they physical things just to get rid of them now.

Edit: Man, did Sim Meier games used to "pass the lift test."

Edit: I seem to have bought quite a few strategy guides...

[Pyperkub]

More game dev randomness, but dear lord...

Monopoly Go Devs Spent More On Marketing Than It Cost To Develop The Last Of Us 2

So, the F2P mobile gaming segment is ALL about Marketing, because...

The game's huge marketing budget has worked out for it, bringing in $2 billion revenue in its first 10 months of release.

Wow. Nice return, and dear lord is the mobile market screwy...

[Daehawk]

I tried it the other night. I deleted it.