What are you playing? [SPOILER TAGS PLEASE]

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

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

Hemingway

I finished Snake Eater, I finished Uncharted ( I got the impression Drake's Fortune was considerably shorter than Golden Abyss ) and I'm now playing MGS4 while waiting for Uncharted 2 to download ( I can't help it! I like the games even if they're deeply flawed! )

Anyway. My first time playing MGS4, I struggled. I don't think I'd quite gotten used to the stealth mechanics of the series yet ( despite having played Snake Eater, Peace Walker and Sons of Liberty! ), or possibly because the series has gotten more and more, ah, dynamic. In that by Snake Eater, you were no longer concerned with simply avoiding vision cones and not making noise. It was about using camouflage, and patience. It's the patience bit I didn't quite get the first time. Because in MGS4, that's even more important. Enemies no longer follow simple, linear patrol routes, and simply face one way. Patrols consist of multiple soldiers covering their flanks and so on. But I have patience now, and I managed to get through the first part of the first stage without getting seen or heard at all. Nobody even suspected my presence. Then I stupidly made the mistake of moving too fast while crouching ( always crawl! ALWAYS! ), and someone heard me, and I had to neutralize him. Non-lethally, of course. I think that if you play MGS loudly and violently ( i.e. simply shooting everyone with an automatic weapon ) you're missing the point slightly. Well, only slightly. But still.

So, yeah, I'm better at the game, but I don't think I'll be trying for the Big Boss Emblem just yet. What's that, you ask? If I remember correctly, you have to finish the game without raising the alarm, without using continues or health regenerating items ... and in less than 5 hours. On the highest difficulty ( which, among other things, means there's a finite supply of non-lethal ammo, as you can't buy more during the course of the game ).

WHAT.

Just finishing the game in less than 5 hours is an achievement deserving of the highest praise!

Sabby

I'm going to put the scorched balls picture in a spoiler tag... just in case...

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

As for the rest, here's my unlucky little brothers Argonian Battle Mage who keeps getting a face full of barbecued penis. Fun character though. The new Histskin is not a daily Power, it's a toggle, and can be switched to Magicka, Health, or Stamina Mode, so it boosts what you need when you need it, but it stops the other two from refilling at all. Turn it off to get your three stats back up.



And here's my sexy redheaded Yaksha warrior, with the absolutely beautiful colour and water mods on.



My Moggy Assassin, in her dark-as-pitch Unholy Black Sacrament Armor



And here she is in her snow white Mythril variant. I'll put this one in Spoiler tags as well, since it's a big one.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

And lastly, Cthulian horror enters Skyrim. That's a Dagon. Hordes of them have been assaulting Riften with undead armies.


Oniya

Quote from: Oniya on July 16, 2012, 01:02:31 PM
Gah - got caught up in a little mining/construction/exploration game called 'Glean' over at ArmorGames.  Simple concept:  You are a mining robot, stranded in a system of planets.  You have a shuttle craft, and a drill, and the ability to fly short distances (jump/glide).  You have to mine enough resources to a) add systems to your shuttle, and b) upgrade and maintain yourself, while searching for these strange capsules with 'alien artifacts' in them (18 unique items at various depths).  The artifacts let you upgrade your systems even further, and tell the story of a the civilization that left them behind.

Simple, free - and I've lost hours going 'Okay, now I need to go for a big planet with emerald and titanium!'

And - its over.  *wants sequel*
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Heaven Sent Blossom

Lost 11 rounds in a row at Marvel vs Capcom 3. Feel pretty comfortable laying claim to being the worst Mahvel player on the planet after getting so comprehensively bodied.
Decided I needed something to rebuild my self esteem so I started up a fresh game of Shogun 2, when I'm ruling the entirety of Japan with an iron fist I shall probably feel a lot better.

In random video game news I found out today that Ninja Theory have seen fit to remove the taunt button from their Devil May Cry "reboot". It's a shame because I had started to warm to them being given a chance with the title with each new video they have shown, however a decision like that shows a fundamental lack of understanding in the genre and really isn't something I can get past.
Basically I'm a very, very shallow man.

Sabby

Oh my... so, I've snuck into a bandit camp, which is set into the mountain side of a Dwemer ruin. In other words, it's a whole lot of walkways, stairs, bridges and rooftops. Aside from a dozen bandits, there's a Guar. It's basically a Werewolf reskinned to look like those big headed dinosaur things from Morrowind. It's too powerful for me to cast Fury on... however... everyone else seems fair game.

So I cast Fury on a guy sitting down, he stands up, looks right at the Guar and bangs his axe on his shield. "Come on! Gimme a REAL fight-URK!" Guar casually slaps him into the wall so hard he rebounds and rolls over the wooden railings and falls to his death.

And it begins...

Wolfy

Quote from: Sabby on July 16, 2012, 06:33:05 PM
Oh my... so, I've snuck into a bandit camp, which is set into the mountain side of a Dwemer ruin. In other words, it's a whole lot of walkways, stairs, bridges and rooftops. Aside from a dozen bandits, there's a Guar. It's basically a Werewolf reskinned to look like those big headed dinosaur things from Morrowind. It's too powerful for me to cast Fury on... however... everyone else seems fair game.

So I cast Fury on a guy sitting down, he stands up, looks right at the Guar and bangs his axe on his shield. "Come on! Gimme a REAL fight-URK!" Guar casually slaps him into the wall so hard he rebounds and rolls over the wooden railings and falls to his death.

And it begins...

Or, you know..you could aggro everything, line them up with the wooden railing, and Fus Roh Dah them all off.

.....But that would be cheap.

Sel Nar

Got Alpha Protocol working again on my PC. Playing as if Jack Bauer were whispering 'MURDER EVERYTHING' in my ear everywhere. So far, my rampage through Taipei and Moscow has left some 400 people dead and 0 incapacitated.

Inkidu

I'm playing Free Orion (finally got it figured) there's not much in the way of A.I. so I play it as my mighty Terran Theocracy (that's what it's called) claiming the galaxy away from monsters (though I could actually use those monsters to make my ships if I so choose, and could find a planet with a nest).

Anyway, I hit on the idea of using asteroids to guard my systems with asteroids. I just got done with the shakedown run of the new Sentinel Series Mark I Golem asteroid ships. Large, slow, stationary things packed with guns and cheap armor. Raid me will you. Looking into a robotic fighter series.

I wish titanic level hulls didn't come so late in the tree. I've already got big plans for the Holy Sword Class Super Battleships.

The Mark I Beta patrol frigates seem to be holding up against the monster hordes (I get attacked nearly every turn) considering that they only have a deflector shield in place of their normal defensive suites.

In talking about my game I forgot what my real intent was:

I've been playing a lot of strategy games lately and so I've decided to make a list of commandments that constitute things that good strategy (from 4X to RTS and all in between) should follow.

I. Thou shalt not have useless research. All research must bequeath some reward to the player, simply having merely prerequisite tech to get to the good stuff is bad.

All research must do something. Seriously Free Orion is chocked full of "prerequisite theory" research that does nothing but string out the tech tree, it's padded, and it's not like it's moderately priced research some of the theory's are in the thousands of research points, they lead to good stuff, but come on. Fluff-Tech (TM) is no good.

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

#6133
MGS4 on Big Boss Hard is ... Hard. Especially when you're determined to go through game without killing anyone, without raising any pointless alarms ( getting too close to a guard you're about to knock out and having him turn and put you in alarm mode counts as pointless ), without using an excessive number of recovery items ( unsure of what counts as excessive, but ony my first playthrough I got a "Pig" emblem for using a lot of them... ).

I've restarted chapter 2 about half a dozen times ( in the very first zone... ) but I finally managed to get to the second zone without killing anyone, with no alarms, and using no recovery items.

Edit: Wow. Uncharted 2 is just a million times better than the first. You're not butchering hordes of enemies within minutes of starting the game, Drake acts like he actually has a conscience, and like he's not a one-man army. Enemies no longer react the instant you show yourself, but rather go to check if they saw you and you disappeared. Unlike in the first game, where the moment you were spotted by one guy, everyone would know your position, and they'd open fire from miles away with pinpoint accuracy.

Sabby

Yeah, Drake Fortunes 2 is actually pretty good -.- I hate it, personally, but I can't fault it's design. It's so damn fluid. Good thing theres plenty of other stuff I can hate on.

Hemingway

#6135
Yes. It's good.

And even as I sit here, with Uncharted 2 just waiting for me in the background, I feel like starting a fresh playthrough of MGS4. No, I haven't finished it already. But I want to start fresh and make this playthrough perfect. No kills, no alarms, no recovery items, no continues. ... though I won't do it in 5 hours.

I mean, I got through the first chapter with something like 3 alarms, 0 kills and 1 recovery item used. The alarms were my own damn fault, the recovery item was an accident, and the kills ... well, that was by design. But I just feel like .. it's still not perfect. "Only 3" is infinitely worse than "none". Or ... something. I don't know!

Edit: Sometimes I hate Final Fantasy Tactics. It really loves stacking the odds against you. I mean, how is placing your main character at the top of the battlements and having him solo fight the strongest enemy fair, when, unless you have a ranged attack, the enemy will hit you at least twice before you're even within range?

Wolfy

Quote from: Hemingway on July 17, 2012, 05:41:09 PM
Yes. It's good.

And even as I sit here, with Uncharted 2 just waiting for me in the background, I feel like starting a fresh playthrough of MGS4. No, I haven't finished it already. But I want to start fresh and make this playthrough perfect. No kills, no alarms, no recovery items, no continues. ... though I won't do it in 5 hours.

I mean, I got through the first chapter with something like 3 alarms, 0 kills and 1 recovery item used. The alarms were my own damn fault, the recovery item was an accident, and the kills ... well, that was by design. But I just feel like .. it's still not perfect. "Only 3" is infinitely worse than "none". Or ... something. I don't know!

Edit: Sometimes I hate Final Fantasy Tactics. It really loves stacking the odds against you. I mean, how is placing your main character at the top of the battlements and having him solo fight the strongest enemy fair, when, unless you have a ranged attack, the enemy will hit you at least twice before you're even within range?

Trying playing Tactics Advance or Advance 2, when the judges decide to be a dick.

Judge: "New Law! No one may attack each other directly!"

.....Well ****. Now it never ends.

SheepishRogue

When I was home (and near an PS3/360) I was playing Soul Calibur V, Halo ODST (multiplayer), Uncharted 2 ( ;D ;D)

Now that I'm limited to a PC: Left for Dead 2, Minecraft (SO MUCH), Daiblo3, and Starcraft 2
More about me!       Ons and Offs
Skype Available

Brandon

Im making another venture into the Elder scrolls series. No not skyrim, I was thinking about trying out Daggerfall but it turns out Im going to be playing Morrowind instead (my favorite of the ES series thus far). I found a really nice HD graphics mod for it that makes it look amazing. The problem is when you dont play a heavily modded game for a long time you tend to forget which ones are the good ones so Ive still got to do some hunting. Ive already started the game as a Dark elf sneak though. Light armor, long blades, and lots of speechcraft and mercantile.

Thus far my adventures just been in Seyda Neen killing mudcrabs, finding the murderer of a tax payer, claiming the coin from a weasely little wood elf, and watching some guy plummet from 50,000 ft  and landing head first in the dirt (no he did not survive).

Although tommorrow my friends and I are getting together again to play Artimes and I dont have to bring the beer and food this time! I'll still probably bring a case of Corona though, party rules dictate when invited to someone elses place you bring something *nods sagely*
Brandon: What makes him tick? - My on's and off's - My open games thread - My Away Thread
Limits: I do not, under any circumstances play out scenes involving M/M, non-con, or toilet play

Hemingway

I decided to give The Secret World a shot. It'll probably go F2P within the year, but ... it has gotten pretty good reviews, it's a very interesting concept, and the gameplay isn't just the same as WoW.

Of course, I've run into the usual MMO/RPG problem: character customization. This game takes it a step further, by making character naming next to impossible for someone as obsessive as me. Is it just me, or do female characters always get better and more varied customization options than male characters? I'm having such a hard time making my character look good that I'd make a female character ... if I didn't prefer to have a male main character.

Names, like I said, make it even worse. Unlike most games, you don't just enter a character name. They have first and last names, as well as a nickname. The nickname, as I understand it, is the only name that has to be unique to your character. Which, you know, is a nice touch. Except it's woefully restrictive. I mean, when it's set up like that, I want to have an appropriate nickname. Nobody calls their friend xXDevil7Xx. And nobody would take you seriously if your nickname was Phoenix or Blade or Darkdeath or Legolas. Now, if your nickname was Jackknife ... ahh, but that's taken! Well, let's make it more complicated then. How about ... Whiskey Jack? Nope, can't have spaces! Who decided nicknames should be limited to a single word? That makes no sense! There's no way "Whiskey" isn't taken, and Jack "Whiskey" Jackson would just look stupid, if your nickname was "Whiskey Jack".

Ahh, but ... whatever.

Inkidu

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

SaturnCeleste

#6141
I'm lucky to find time to Sim.  I have all the expansions and am currently converting the SimEgypt landmarks (tombs) to residential homes in the Lucky Palms 'hood.  It's great fun but I just don't have the time for much of anything else.  At least I can have the Sims run in the background while I work. 

Sabby, I like your Skyrim shots.  I have AlienSlof at my forum, she's a remarkable modder so if you get a minute check her work out, she's the best on the Elder Scrolls modding scene, honestly.  ;)  You can use her name as keywords, she has her own site as well. 
To some, steampunk is a catchall term, a concept in search of a visual identity. To me, it’s essentially the intersection of technology and romance. – Jake von Slatt
Saturn Reads Tarot (Free) & E*rotic Readings,
Lickable Limericks, Saturn's Celestial Void, Saturn's Celestial Sojourn


Hemingway

#6142
I swear, The Secret World has the worst naming system I've ever come across. The character's nickname really shouldn't be the unique one. It makes no sense any way you spin it - except that they need to use one specific name for things like whispering, and whispering John Doe isn't quite as ... well, it's kinda weird, you know?

Anyway, a quick list of all the names that are taken: Every word in the dictionary, every real name, most words that actually consists of two separate words ... And, I mean, I'm particular about nicknames. Nicknames tend to evolve quite organically, you know? If someone makes some sort of remark that earns someone the nickname ... I don't know, "Silver Wolf", that name isn't going to last very long. Pretty soon, people will be calling the person either Silver or Wolf. Or Sil. Or something similar to that.

Edit: Having finally made a character I'm happy with, I got to play the game, and ... it's pretty good. It has some really novel concepts, too.

For one thing, it has a mission system where the missions you're given are sorted by category. Sabotage missions seem to involve things like bypassing security cameras and lasers and that sort of thing, without much emphasis on fighting. Investigation missions are where it gets really interesting. And hard.

This one mission sent me to access a datapad or something, but to do that I first had to get the code. And the way you do that in this game isn't by killing a guy who then drops the code, no, no. I was given some hint about the code being the number of the first song the priest would sing, or something like that. Not having attended a service in a church in my entire life, I had no idea what to look for. The sign was there, in plain sight, with the numbers. But I had no idea. So I fired up the in-game web browser, which is a tool specifically included for the purpose of aiding in investigation missions ( not so much to look up the solution, but to do research, you know? ). It's quite an original way, I think, of .. grounding the game firmly in the digital age.

Combat is similar to WoW and SWTOR, but not identical. It's closer to SWTOR, having no auto attacks and such, but ... it's far less static, too. You have the ability to dodge attacks, and certain attacks like shotgun blasts don't target enemies, but an area, and the way you're facing actually matters. It's not revolutionary, but at least it's not just more of the same old.

Another thing it does differently is that there are no classes in the game. Well, in a way there are, but the way it works is you can have two weapons equipped at any given time, and you're free to combine as you please. As you get deeper into the skill trees, you can start to specialize more and more. You don't select them at character creation, either, but pick them during the introductory part of the game. I don't know how flexible it is with regards to respeccing, though.

Wolfy

*attacks topic*

....I want to know how "The Secret World" is...because I want to get it and play it and stuffs.

Right now, I'm playing Skyrim, Team Fortress 2, and Sakura Samurai on my 3DS...waiting for Kingdom Hearts 3D, damn it.

Story Tale

Wolfy, I've heard it is great. I know that as soon as my computer is upgraded it is the first game I'm going to play. Have had lots of people recommend it to me.

Wolfy

That's grea-

....oh no.



My Sabby Senses are tingling.

He's about to come in and rant about it!

EVERYONE HIT THE DECK! D:> *dives*

Wolfy


Brandon

Another awesome night playing Artemis while everyone's tipsy from alchohol. Its become official though, the captain is now the designated beer fetcher for the whole group so there's a love/hate relationship with the position. Things went much better then the last time where we were still figuring out what each station did but the satisfaction of piloting a starship with my friends remains just as awesome due to the immersion factor

Brandon: What makes him tick? - My on's and off's - My open games thread - My Away Thread
Limits: I do not, under any circumstances play out scenes involving M/M, non-con, or toilet play

Hemingway

Quote from: Wolfy on July 20, 2012, 10:11:24 PM
*attacks topic*

....I want to know how "The Secret World" is...because I want to get it and play it and stuffs.

Right now, I'm playing Skyrim, Team Fortress 2, and Sakura Samurai on my 3DS...waiting for Kingdom Hearts 3D, damn it.

My entire post previous to yours was on The Secret World! *flails arms wildly.*

Sabby

Why is there no free trial of Secret World? -.- I'm not buying it until I try it.