April 2023 Random Game Thoughts Thread

[ZedClampet]

I realized that my favourite build, which is a melee weapon with fast attacks and armour piercing and a ranged attack that can kill specials, is great because it's mostly self-reliant.

That's pretty much THE build. I soloed the whole game with that build. but it's also good with randoms because you can't really rely on them for anything in particular.

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I started with $500,000 in Big Ambitions and got down to $27,000. That was when I finally started making decent money from my stores. I started over and am not creating duplicate businesses and want to have one of each. The coffee and pastries shop is the most difficult so far. Requires the most number of employees and has the lowest profit per item. I finally managed to get close to $2000/day profit from it.

 

[mainer]

Ah, the last day of April. I assume @ZedClampet must be hard at work on the May 2023 Random Game Thoughts thread?

I'm finishing up April by continuing to play Icewind Dale EE, which was unexpected. I started it a couple weeks ago as sort of an interim game before I latched onto something else, mainly because I was still in the mood to roll dice and create characters, but I've really become immersed in this old classic D&D game.

I hadn't played it since around the original release back in 2000, but there are certain locations and battles that I still remember from 23 years ago. Guess I have a few brain cells still functioning.

It's combat intensive, and can be extremely difficult at times, even on the normal difficulty setting, where your party is beset by mobs of varying monsters with different abilities. Utilizing the 2nd Edition Ruleset and real-time w/pause combat, it took a while for me to acclimate. One of those old-school games where you really had to think about your party creation to succeed. But I find myself completely immersed and challenged (though not oppressively challenged).

 

[Frag Maniac]

Just started playing Far Cry 6 after getting it a few days ago on the cheap. I have kind of mixed feelings about it. The stealth is fairly good, and I even enjoy the challenge of finishing off capturing a camp once cover is blown. There are clearly obvious shortcomings though. The AI are often braindead unless you make it stupidly clear by being overly loud and obvious where you are. I mean they aren't the best at spotting you otherwise. The plastic bottle suppressors that quickly overheat, then go loud, then miraculous repair themselves vs melting are weird as well. I also don't like the that bows, something I finally got and was looking forward to using for hunting and camp takeovers in place of suppressed weapons, apparently have very little effectiveness unless you manage headshots. The horses are also a chore to ride on keyboard and mouse. There's no way to regulate speed or make gradual turns. It gets a tiny bit better turning with mouse vs keyboard, less jerky anyway, but since they are full throttle all the time, they're still hard to control.

On the plus side, the game looks and runs great, even at max settings at 1440p DSR on my old spec, but I have to wonder how long it will entertain me. This is probably the most arcade Far Cry I've ever played. You can get badly injured from falls, bullets, explosions, or fire, yet instantly heal yourself, a skill that regenerates pretty fast. They seem to also want to try to get you to use vehicles, amigos, and the Supremo, yet strangely, many camps, including high value ones like anti aircraft installations, are almost void of guards. It's funny that they guard their tobacco farms more carefully than these expensive guns.

It's not all bad, I enjoyed my first raid to get Depleted Uranium, leaving Guapo behind so he wouldn't ruin my stealth. I'm hoping overall the game will get a bit better as I go though.

 

[Pifanjr]

That's pretty much THE build. I soloed the whole game with that build. but it's also good with randoms because you can't really rely on them for anything in particular.

Right, it's just a shame because I can see how other builds could work really well if you could rely on other people. I tried the tanky dwarf for example and I just wouldn't die, but my team members didn't utilise me as a tank, so I would've been far more effective playing my usual build.

Though to be fair, I can't really rely on my friends when playing with them either... we just don't play together often enough to work together as a team well.

 

[Zloth]

X4 is still dominating. I've got my little empire going OK, but the Xenon have gone from nuisance to serious threat. I really don't have the firepower to take on all they are sending, so the factions are going to need to step up - and I'm not so sure most of them can.

So I just got past the part in chapter 2 where you have your first “boss fight” with that huge BT and I definitely learned the benefits of using the grenades right there Haha

Oh, that one was a surprise! I didn't expect trouble, so I really wasn't prepared for that fight. "Huh, big open area - this looks like a good place for a boss fight. Guess I'll be back here sometime later in the... game...?? Oh buggars."

That's also just after that 'getting over the pass' experience. I fell in love with the game once I got over that pass.