What are you playing? [SPOILER TAGS PLEASE]

Started by Sabby, May 31, 2009, 12:45:35 PM

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Hemingway

#5450
Well, the Total War games usually have incredibly high system requirements, at least if you want to play them smoothly on the highest possible settings. I guess it has something to do with the thousands of units moving around, getting blown up and thrown through the air by realistic-looking explosions, and so on. Also, shadows are a pain. The Witcher 2 has some truly amazing graphics if you play it on ultra, or whatever the highest is. I mean incredible. I can't play it like that, though. But if I turn down the shadows, it runs smoothly, with barely any difference to how good it looks.

Edit: I think I've figured out why I played through Dead Space in one go, but have trouble with Dead Space 2. DS2 is just ... exhausting to play! It's a harrowing experience!

I there's a few reasons why it's just .. a much scarier experience than the first game. I mean, one is the improved graphics and darker environments, but that's only part of it. It also feels like ammo and med kits are a lot more scarce, compared to in the first game where I never really ran out of ammo or medkits. There's one more thing, but I'm not sure what exactly it is. I'm not sure if there are fewer but more dangerous enemies, or if it just feels that way, or ... yeah, I don't know. It's a more difficult game, though, that's for sure.

Inkidu

That's true. It's freaking terrifying to me.

Well, I found X-Com: Terror From the Deep and Apocalypse. They both look awesome but TFtD kind of terrifies me with the catastrophically infamous difficulty. I have a fixed version of X-Com, but I wonder if they have a patch or something that makes TFtD (frankly) easier to play.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

LunarSage

I don't remember Terror From the Deep being overly difficult.  It was just X-Com but underwater to me.

Actually I think I liked TFtD better.  Awesome game.

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Inkidu

Quote from: LunarSage on April 01, 2012, 07:46:34 PM
I don't remember Terror From the Deep being overly difficult.  It was just X-Com but underwater to me.

Actually I think I liked TFtD better.  Awesome game.
Apparently, because of a bug in the original that kept the level of difficulty at Beginner. No one realized this at the time, so a year later and a lot of complaints about how (relatively) easy it was Microprose upped the difficulty immensely. It's not as subjective as you think.

"A bug in UFO Defense caused the difficulty to reset to beginner no matter what you actually set it at. Because of this, gamers complained that the game was (relativly) easy, which made the developers of TFTD increase the difficulty across the board. The result was a ridiculously hard game."

--TV Tropes sub-entry for dynamic difficulty in the X-Com general tropes folder.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

LunarSage

Huh.  Maybe I got the bugged version.  I played it when it was new.

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Hemingway

I think the difficulty bug in Enemy Unknown / UFO Defense was fixed in the Gold edition. However, I don't think that's the only reason why Terror From the Deep is more difficult, because it is a far more difficult game. I mean, to start with, many of your weapons only work underwater. The aliens aren't troubled by this, though. I also think, though I could be wrong, that TFTD's version of E115 is a lot rarer than in the original. And then there are the lobster men... goddamn lobster men.

Ahh, it is pretty satisfying getting a guy up to a lobster man with a drill, though. It's their weakness, see. Their ONLY WEAKNESS. Heh. My brother dubbed the weapon "DentaDrill 2000".

Sabby


Inkidu

Quote from: Hemingway on April 02, 2012, 07:17:01 AM
I think the difficulty bug in Enemy Unknown / UFO Defense was fixed in the Gold edition. However, I don't think that's the only reason why Terror From the Deep is more difficult, because it is a far more difficult game. I mean, to start with, many of your weapons only work underwater. The aliens aren't troubled by this, though. I also think, though I could be wrong, that TFTD's version of E115 is a lot rarer than in the original. And then there are the lobster men... goddamn lobster men.

Ahh, it is pretty satisfying getting a guy up to a lobster man with a drill, though. It's their weakness, see. Their ONLY WEAKNESS. Heh. My brother dubbed the weapon "DentaDrill 2000".
I'm kind of excited to get to Apocalypse, it's the only other one done by Gallop, and I'm interested in seeing what he changed (beyond the obvious, no spoilers).
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Hemingway

Ugh. I've said it before, but I'll happily say it again: Zero G environments in Dead Space were perfect. In Dead Space 2, they're kinda ... mediocre, and less realistic. In the first one, you didn't have the little boosters you have in DS2, so if you wanted to get somewhere, all you could do was jump in a straight line, and the physics were realistic so there was no stopping before you got there. Well, that's what would happen in a vacuum, anyway. In DS2, you've got the pointless boosters, you can orient yourself with the touch of a button so there's no risk of losing your way, and they did away with Newton's first law. In Dead Space 2, Sir Isaac Newton is not the deadliest son-of-a-bitch in space.

Inkidu

See, I'm the opposite. I hated the Zero G movement in the first game. The excitement of no sound and whatnot was cool, but the movement was so gamey. Look where you want to go and jump. Boring. I can count the number of times I ever killed myself jumping on one hand... it's once. Once. It's not hard to line up three dots on a surface.

I like 2's because of the freedom, sure you can orient yourself, to the ground, but sometimes the ground is not what you want to orient yourself to. Sometimes a wall is a lot better.

Besides, the First Law would be canceled out by forward boosters on the suit. I thought it was kind of hokey that space engineers didn't have some kind of method of controlling themselves in space. That would be kind of issue number one.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Sabby

Would have been cool if you didn't immediately stop once you take your thumb off the stick. Then there'd actually be that momentum that comes with weightlessness, and having to put on tiny bursts of your thrusters to steer and slow down.

Hemingway

Quote from: Inkidu on April 02, 2012, 02:37:08 PM
See, I'm the opposite. I hated the Zero G movement in the first game. The excitement of no sound and whatnot was cool, but the movement was so gamey. Look where you want to go and jump. Boring. I can count the number of times I ever killed myself jumping on one hand... it's once. Once. It's not hard to line up three dots on a surface.

I like 2's because of the freedom, sure you can orient yourself, to the ground, but sometimes the ground is not what you want to orient yourself to. Sometimes a wall is a lot better.

Besides, the First Law would be canceled out by forward boosters on the suit. I thought it was kind of hokey that space engineers didn't have some kind of method of controlling themselves in space. That would be kind of issue number one.

I wouldn't mind, if they'd made it realistic, and kept the option of just launching yourself toward a distant surface. When the thrusters are slower than jumping anyway, there's absolutely no point.

As for Newton's first law, it would make sense except for two things. The first is that having to keep the thrusters firing constantly is a waste of fuel - even more so because you'd have to have thrusters firing the opposite way just to counteract the acceleration, of which there is none. Basically, if it'd been realistic, you'd go faster and faster. You don't. Secondly, when you stop, there are obviously no thrusters firing to slow you down. You just stop as if there was air resistance, which, in a vacuum, there wouldn't be a whole lot of.

The point about having the ability to orient yourself to the ground is that it kills the disorientation that comes with navigating a zero G environment. In DS, it was a seriously uncomfortable experience - but in a good way. There's none of that in DS2, and getting disoriented is less of a problem that you need to deal with, and more of an annoying thing that doesn't cause any real problems.

Inkidu

Yeah, but wasting fuel (which they use and all you really need is compressed air, so go figure) would ideally be better than say relying on the nearest object. So it makes more sense that engineers would have some way of stopping themselves from going out into deep space. Though, Dead Space is not known for its OSHA compliance.

If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Hemingway

Quote from: Inkidu on April 02, 2012, 04:50:27 PM
Yeah, but wasting fuel (which they use and all you really need is compressed air, so go figure) would ideally be better than say relying on the nearest object. So it makes more sense that engineers would have some way of stopping themselves from going out into deep space. Though, Dead Space is not known for its OSHA compliance.

The point about wasting fuel is that it's totally unncessary. I only bring it up because the only logical way Isaac can maintain constant speed - which he does - while firing his thrusters in a zero gravity vacuum, is if he's compensating with other thrusters. Which is completely and utterly pointless.

As for compressed air ( and it does look like that's what's being used ) would be rather hard to come by in a vacuum, so you still want to spend it wisely.

Bayushi

I'm a big RPG fanatic (not quite the fan of games like The Witcher, or similar).

Right now, I'm looking for another game from Steam, but coming up empty. Games on sale are a bonus.

I really need help on this one!

/beg

Hemingway

You need to get the Witcher 2. I don't care about what you said. It is the best RPG ever.

It would help to know what you've already played, too. With that said, though, going throuh my list of Steam games... Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines? Awesome game, one of my all-time favorites. The Witcher 2 is also in my favorites. I also have Dragon Age 2 there, but I take it for granted you've either played or considered it.

Hmm. I can't really recommend that many Steam games, simply because ... I find Steam really lacking in the RPG department. Or maybe it's modern RPGs in general.

GOG.com has a really good selection of older ( and some new - notably the Witcher 2, funny, that ... ) RPGs. All the classic cRPGs are there.

Bayushi

Here. I'll list what I have already (mostly via Steam) that has a shortcut on my desktop.


  • Mass Effect
  • Mass Effect 2
  • Mass Effect 3
  • Diablo
  • Diablo II
  • Diablo II: Lords of Destruction
  • Diablo III Beta Test
  • Torchlight
  • The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
  • The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
  • Jade Empire
  • Dragon Age: Origins
  • Dragon Age II
  • Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
  • Doom
  • Doom II
  • Doom III
  • Plants vs Zombies GotY
  • Sid Meier's Civilization V
  • Warcraft III
  • Warcraft III The Frozen throne
  • Team Fortress 2
  • Portal
  • Portal 2
  • Star Trek Online
  • Star Wars The Old Republic
  • World of Warcraft
  • World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria Beta Test
  • City of Heroes/Villains
  • Spiral Knights
  • Altitude
  • Magicka
  • Sanctum


On an aside, I'm not really interested in Skyrim at this point (haven't even finished Oblivion).

Lastly, whatever is suggested has to be able to run on 64-bit Windows 7.

Inkidu

I would get Skyrim. It'll steal your soul.

If you've got steam I suggest picking up X-Com: UFO Defense (or UFO: Enemy Unknown if you're anywhere else in the world). I haven't played the other two yet (too much school and life and all that... stuff). Sure they're not technically RPG games, but they're actually fairly heavy on the RPG elements like stats and upping said stats. (Of course, I think all games are usually RPGs in some way shape or form). It's more like your organization is the character and the more you get the better you do.

I play the old dos/windows versions on XP. If you go that route you'll probably have to tweak though.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Hemingway

Unfortunately, it appears you own every RPG that worth playing. Well, nearly. If you haven't played them already, and if you care for D&D, GOG has all the classics ( Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Neverwinter Nights ( NWN2 is available on Steam ), Icewind Dale 1 & 2, Fallout 1 & 2, Arcanum, the slightly overrated but still legendary Planescape: Torment, and a lot more ).

On Steam, Risen is pretty good, though far from perfect. If you've ever played Gothic 1, 2 or 3, you'll have an idea of what I mean. It's far better than Gothic 3, though. Of course, Risen 2 is right around the corner, so chances are that'll be a far better experience.

The Witcher 2 ( I realize you only said you weren't interested in games like it, not that you hadn't played it, but ... ) is getting an enhanced edition in two weeks time, which is basically a free expansion, so that'll be good.

Otherwise, I think you've basically discovered what so many others have discovered: there was a time when really good RPGs were released yearly - at least. Now we're lucky if we get a half-decent one a year, with a good one every other.

The same, incidentally, and on a somewhat unrelated note, is true of fantasy RTSs. I recently went looking, and ... they just don't make those anymore. I mean the Warcraft-esque RTS games with base building and all that. It's a real shame if you ask me.

Sabby


Bayushi

omg!

The little girl with the two wiimotes at the end was priceless!

Sabby

#5471
Euthanasia (free indie game)

Sigh... that was actually looking pretty good until he picked up the gun.

Sabby

Replaying Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.

Great game, even if the story sucks and the combat needed more meat to it. I think I understand how Silent Hill fans feel now... their favourite series hit it's prime ages ago, and the newer games are good, really! They're just... not the same.

Hemingway

After an absence of some six months, I've started playing a little bit of WoW again. Just casually, as I don't have time for anything else, but ... man. I was just hit with such a wave of nostalgia, thinking about way back, when I used to raid actively. I went to the boards of my old raiding community, just to see when it was I was actually active there. Six years ago. It's been six years. I miss those days. It's just not the same game anymore. I feel like some sort of relic of the past, which is ... weird.

Bayushi

Quote from: Hemingway on April 03, 2012, 03:27:58 PMAfter an absence of some six months, I've started playing a little bit of WoW again. Just casually, as I don't have time for anything else, but ... man. I was just hit with such a wave of nostalgia, thinking about way back, when I used to raid actively. I went to the boards of my old raiding community, just to see when it was I was actually active there. Six years ago. It's been six years. I miss those days. It's just not the same game anymore. I feel like some sort of relic of the past, which is ... weird.
Don't feel bad.

I am also an old school WoWer (and was playing the RTS games well before WoW). I feel like a relic every day, especially seeing that I destroy Warlocks now (used to be that Warlocks crushed everything in PvP).