August 2024 PC Gaming General Discussion Thread

[Brian Boru]

AAA companies … Its a club and you need to prove you worthy of being in it.

Zed summed it up very nicely—you prove by spending many 10s of millions of dollars. No quality requirement, just like being in the Forbes or Fortune 500s doesn't make you a good person or company.

Any expectations of quality are due to assumptions made by consumers, sometimes based on past performance—not a reliable indicator—but more usually based on around half the budget being spent on marketing—an even more unreliable indicator.

AAA companies … get more attention from media whenever they so much as sneeze

As do almost all AAA anything in this world—celebrities, cities, military powers, pandas… More people are interested in AAA X than in Indie Y, so coverage gets more eyes or ears.

Feels like a marketing scam to me

No, just a shorthand business description.

Wasting several 100 million just in case it works.

Of course it works, otherwise it wouldn't be such a huge chunk of the budget. Unlike social media opinions, marketing initiatives are tested up the wazoo and continually refined to become even more deceptive and manipulative—isn't progress great?

So it's not "wasting", it's exactly the opposite. But take solace from:
“I am convinced that about one-half the money I spend for advertising is wasted, but I have never been able to decide which half.”
—probably John Wanamaker

being AAAA just means

No, not at all—see above.

$275 million GTA 5 reportedly cost to make

Which is ~$350 million adjusted for inflation, according to The Scotsman newspaper.

the economy has changed

It's not so much that—in GTA time world was coming out of Bush crash, these days we're coming out of Covid crash. The big difference is the games market has expanded hugely in the intervening decade, and is expected to continue significant increases for quite a while. So it's worth more marketing money cos the RoI is there.

 

[Frindis]

Star Wars outlaws might sell if the people buying don't watch reviews. Its a shame for Ubisoft that they don't have physical copies anymore as way easier to sell to unsuspecting parents and grandparents for a present for little Johnny, who didn't buy it, as he knew it was bad.

I was the little Johnny and then I went to the store and said that the game didn't work. I had already installed the game since it was floppy, so I basically got a bad/good game for free and then could pick another game for the same price😅

 

[ZedClampet]

It's not so much that—in GTA time world was coming out of Bush crash...

Poor Bush. He just wanted everyone to own a home--the American dream! I worked for Citibank then. I was one of 5 people charged with saving people's homes rather than foreclosing on them. Among other things, I taught customers budgeting, helped them pay off debt, lowered their interest rates and moved all their missed payments to the end of the mortgage. To get to me, you had to be referred to me by the collections department, who basically sent over anyone they thought there was hope for, or sometimes they just felt bad for the customer. Maybe they were a single parent or disabled, etc.

Was the most rewarding job I ever had. Unfortunately they restructured and closed the Knoxville office. They told me I'd be welcome to move to the new office in Charlotte, but my wife's job was more important than mine, so I just left and pivoted into cybersecurity.

I have a cousin who is/was pres/ceo of a regional bank, and during a family get together my wife told him his policies were irresponsible. He got mad and kind of gave her the cold shoulder, but about 18 months later they had to be bailed out by the gov.

Actually, what I meant to say before I went down narcissistic memory lane was something about high risk loans actually being forced onto banks, to a certain degree, by something-or-other...I've lost interest in talking now...

Try not to mention anything banking related in the future...

 

[ZedClampet]

For anyone who likes tactical, turn-based games, Tactical Breach Wizards is excellent.

Tactical Breach Wizards on Steam

In Tactical Breach Wizards, you lead a team of renegade wizards in kevlar through turn-based battles to unravel a modern conspiracy plot. Combine their unique spells in clever ways, or rewind time to try every crazy plan you can think of to punch a Traffic Warlock through a 4th story window.

store.steampowered.com

 

[neogunhero]

Played a bit of Yakuza last night but got caught up chatting with an old Steam buddy. I got the free code from Nvidia for Game Pass but of course it requires a new MS account. At this point I’ve probably made 10 different MS accounts to be able to use free codes I’ve gotten from various places, like bags of Doritos and Monster Energy cans haha. It’s worth buying a little snack to get a month of free games sometimes, but I’m starting to get really fatigued by Game Pass. Every time I get a new subscription, these days mostly from Bing rewards, I activate it then scroll through the library and close the Xbox app. I’m just not very interested in the games on offer besides brand new games I don’t want to buy. I may make a new account so I can have a month to play Age of Mythology but on the other hand I really want to play it on my main account, kind of the same feeling as playing a game on EGS when you’d rather have it on Steam.

If anyone wants the code just let me know via private message. You have to make a brand new MS account if you’ve had Game Pass before, if not then you can use your current one if you have an account.

 

[Johnway]

For anyone who likes tactical, turn-based games, Tactical Breach Wizards is excellent.

Tactical Breach Wizards on Steam

In Tactical Breach Wizards, you lead a team of renegade wizards in kevlar through turn-based battles to unravel a modern conspiracy plot. Combine their unique spells in clever ways, or rewind time to try every crazy plan you can think of to punch a Traffic Warlock through a 4th story window.

store.steampowered.com

Fun fact: Tom Francis use to work for PCGamer UK! I originally played Gunpoint and loved it. haven't played his second game heat signature but getting around to it. Glad to see that TBW is actually getting good reivews. Another game to watch for i guess.


i am looking at the HB for detective games and it looks tasty, 7.77 isn't much but with so many games i'm in the frame of mind to wait. but then again it sort of less 1.50 per game atm... so its really no reason to wait.

 

[Pifanjr]

Played a bit of Yakuza last night but got caught up chatting with an old Steam buddy. I got the free code from Nvidia for Game Pass but of course it requires a new MS account. At this point I’ve probably made 10 different MS accounts to be able to use free codes I’ve gotten from various places, like bags of Doritos and Monster Energy cans haha. It’s worth buying a little snack to get a month of free games sometimes, but I’m starting to get really fatigued by Game Pass. Every time I get a new subscription, these days mostly from Bing rewards, I activate it then scroll through the library and close the Xbox app. I’m just not very interested in the games on offer besides brand new games I don’t want to buy. I may make a new account so I can have a month to play Age of Mythology but on the other hand I really want to play it on my main account, kind of the same feeling as playing a game on EGS when you’d rather have it on Steam.

If anyone wants the code just let me know via private message. You have to make a brand new MS account if you’ve had Game Pass before, if not then you can use your current one if you have an account.

I haven't tried out Game Pass yet exactly because I suspect I'd have the exact same problem where I wouldn't know what to play. And it's not like I have a shortage of games to play.

 

[neogunhero]

I haven't tried out Game Pass yet exactly because I suspect I'd have the exact same problem where I wouldn't know what to play. And it's not like I have a shortage of games to play.

I think at this point, you should save trying Game Pass for the first time until there is a brand new game added on there that you want to check out. I’ve gotten most value from Game Pass by doing that. When it comes to older games it doesn’t seem worth it in my mind for some reason. Best for checking out brand new AAA $70 games when you feel like you’re only going to play it for a few hours.

 

[ZedClampet]

I haven't tried out Game Pass yet exactly because I suspect I'd have the exact same problem where I wouldn't know what to play. And it's not like I have a shortage of games to play.

Not trying to convince you, but they have a pretty large "Family and Kids" section.

Overall, I think Game Pass is probably better the more free time you have, when gaming time isn't so precious. You are more likely to waste your time trying things you don't like since they are free.

 

[Johnway]

I've hit a bit of a slump when it comes to handheld gaming. i thought i would play Final fantasy tactics on the PSP but that game has managed to rub me the wrong way extremely quickly. The main problem is perhaps its a bit too tough for my liking. The mechanics meant that its a lot less forgiving and flexible/accessible compared to the GBA and DS games (which i had a lot of fun playing). Grinding has an extra layer of difficult by the lack of opportunities and the occassions it does trigger it takes a while to happen.


Still playing arcade paradise and we've so far clocked 13hrs to the game the last time i checked. Which is crazy. i should have jettisoned this game as it was boring (i don't need to simulate laundry. I can do that at home right now). But i guess the money rewards from the arcade and laundry keep me going as i continue to make progress. That said, its all relative, as you make more money, the more expensive arcades come into play are they any good? no idea, i'm spending more time doing laundry. For some reason, i'm a lot more busy doing laundry and the poor layout makes it a hassle. There is an upgrade to reduce the amount of laundry/trash but its all goes to money so i leave it.

Will play more as i'm invested in the game so we'll keep playing and give it a fair chance and give it a fair assessment.

 

[ZedClampet]

Inn Tycoon is a fun game, but it's too similar to Tavern Master for me to recommend it. Tavern Master is great fun and actually finished. It is bug free and has a ton of content.

These are top down games where you build a tavern, place tables, equipment and decorations (everything impacts some part of making a profit). Send adventurers out to hunt down rare ingredients. Level your employees and decide what they get better at. And then you watch the day play out, which is interesting in the same way, I suppose, as watching fish in an aquarium.

Anyway, great game.

 

[neogunhero]

Nice little change of pace last night. One of my most anticipated games coming out this year, Tavern Keeper, has had a demo up since the end of July that I had no idea about. I played it for little over an hour and it’s was really good!

At first glance it seems a bit basic but there is a lot more than first meets the eye. Of course the feature most people know about is the incredibly detailed furniture/decoration system, allowing you to create entirely new objects and place them wherever with tons of flexibility, then you can upload those creations and share them with the community. I played around a bit with it last night and it’s really cool but I need more hands on with it before I can make anything worthwhile.

The feature that stands out the most to me is the “storybook” characters. Every now and then a patron will visit your tavern with a book above their head. Clicking the book will open up a storybook and give some background on this character. Last night I met a skeleton, forget his name, who said he was tired of working as an evil dungeon henchman and wanted a better job. I eventually offered him a job after going through a few dialogue options, and now he is part of my crew. The part that is blocked in the demo is just how his story will continue to unfold. These characters have an ongoing quest/sidestory with them, and I think it’s very interesting and quite hilarious. The voice actor for the narrator does a tremendous job.

I highly recommend anyone into simulation/tycoon games to check this one out. In a massive sea of simulation games flooding Steam these past few years, Tavern Keeper aims to stand out and be one of the best it seems. After all, this game has been in development for over 10 years, longer than the this trend of sim games we’ve seen on Steam.

Edit: just seen Zeds post above, just want to clarify Tavern Keeper and Tavern Master are different games, hilarious how two very similar games seem to be coming out relatively close to each other.

 

[ZedClampet]

Nice little change of pace last night. One of my most anticipated games coming out this year, Tavern Keeper, has had a demo up since the end of July that I had no idea about. I played it for little over an hour and it’s was really good!

At first glance it seems a bit basic but there is a lot more than first meets the eye. Of course the feature most people know about is the incredibly detailed furniture/decoration system, allowing you to create entirely new objects and place them wherever with tons of flexibility, then you can upload those creations and share them with the community. I played around a bit with it last night and it’s really cool but I need more hands on with it before I can make anything worthwhile.

The feature that stands out the most to me is the “storybook” characters. Every now and then a patron will visit your tavern with a book above their head. Clicking the book will open up a storybook and give some background on this character. Last night I met a skeleton, forget his name, who said he was tired of working as an evil dungeon henchman and wanted a better job. I eventually offered him a job after going through a few dialogue options, and now he is part of my crew. The part that is blocked in the demo is just how his story will continue to unfold. These characters have an ongoing quest/sidestory with them, and I think it’s very interesting and quite hilarious. The voice actor for the narrator does a tremendous job.

I highly recommend anyone into simulation/tycoon games to check this one out. In a massive sea of simulation games flooding Steam these past few years, Tavern Keeper aims to stand out and be one of the best it seems. After all, this game has been in development for over 10 years, longer than the this trend of sim games we’ve seen on Steam.

Edit: just seen Zeds post above, just want to clarify Tavern Keeper and Tavern Master are different games, hilarious how two very similar games seem to be coming out relatively close to each other.

I just played the demo. I didn't do the design thing yet. Going to try that out later.

Except for the two things you liked the most (story and designer) it reminds me of Tavern Master.

*****

More game disappointment. That race game I linked to the other day launched today. I waited until there were a good number of reviews, and let's just say I'll probably never buy the game. I'm going to have to see significant progress made post launch. Along with technical issues, they made the driving like the latest Need for Speed. Their last racing game was a sim, so people are really turned off by driving on rails. Developer really misread their audience. Need for Speed is a racing game for casual players. People who actually like racing and take it somewhat seriously don't play NFS. It's racing for the masses, dumbed down and boring.

 

[BeardyHat]

Met with my kids

I've hit a bit of a slump when it comes to handheld gaming. i thought i would play Final fantasy tactics on the PSP but that game has managed to rub me the wrong way extremely quickly. The main problem is perhaps its a bit too tough for my liking. The mechanics meant that its a lot less forgiving and flexible/accessible compared to the GBA and DS games (which i had a lot of fun playing). Grinding has an extra layer of difficult by the lack of opportunities and the occassions it does trigger it takes a while to happen.

Disgaea?

I've been kind of itching for a Disgaea game lately. I did start 4 on my Vita, but just got (another) new handheld, but I have to run the mobile port of 4 on it if I want to play it. It's...fine? Feels off though, so I may restart 1 or 2 and see how that goes.

 

[ZedClampet]

I have discovered how so many almost identical retail simulators have been released. Someone created a retail engine for Unity. Basically, you just buy the retail engine and it's almost just plug and play.

There's a similar thing for horror games in Unreal.

 

[Colif]

That future thing is getting closer

Doom running on an AI that is making game as you play. Sure, its only 20 FPS right now...

 

[red_5ive]

Star Wars outlaws might sell if the people buying don't watch reviews.

I'm guilty as charged. I don't care for reviews and rarely go digging for game info, apart from what I see in passing on forums. I'd rather find out the good and the bad on my own. Which is fortunate because I also don't normally buy games when they release as I hate paying full retail. I can name all 6 games I paid full retail when they released the past 10 years.

But this time around, I'm also gonna be guilty of feeding the corporate machine because I've been wanting some sort of open world SW game for some time now. I'm also a sucker for open world in general so I'm not waiting for a sale/discount. Counting the minutes when I can fire this one up!

Johnny can go suck it.

 

[Frindis]

GOTY. How PC Gamer and IGN gave it a 7, I will never understand.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-NKcF0KmRE

 

[Colif]

I'm guilty as charged. I don't care for reviews and rarely go digging for game info, apart from what I see in passing on forums. I'd rather find out the good and the bad on my own. I also don't normally buy games when they release as I hate paying full retail. I can name all 6 games I paid full retail when they released the past 10 years.

But this time around, I'm also gonna be guilty of feeding the corporate machine because I've been wanting some sort of open world SW game for some time now. I'm also a sucker for open world in general so I'm not waiting for a sale/discount. Counting the minutes when I can fire this one up!

I rarely buy anything without looking into it. Before the internet I didn't have that choice but now, I try to watch any videos I can.

I hope you have fun. You aren't only one who wanted an open world SW game - this is hardly the first but it is the most recent. At least you didn't pre order it just to get a bug that forces you to restart game... that was fixed in a patch.

Paying for early access to bugs doesn't seem worthwhile to me. You are paying to beta test them... no real difference to a normal game release I guess.

@Frindis don't you have laser proof grass in your areas? It does make cutting it really hard.
Her best weapon is her fists. Her stealth skills are amazing, you have to admit.
Hide & seek simulator, but only difference is you can attack those that find you.

bodies must disappear as where were they all?

 

[Frindis]

Her best weapon is her fists. Her stealth skills are amazing, you have to admit.

Yeah, she puts Sam Fisher to shame.

 

[Colif]

Exactly, All those guys in black suits and night vision goggles were clearly not as talented as her. She doesn't need any of that. Not even a Ghillie Suit was needed. Just a area of convenient grass in a town center that was allowed to grow way too long... Govt Services are pretty slack in that town.

She would make the Hitman games was too easy. I like the other videos that show that even if she standing right in front of them, the storm troopers won't shoot at her unless she shoots one of them. So not sure why she even using that grass,

I know Storm troopers historically are bad shots but now we also expected to believe they blind as well. How did the Empire survive this long with an army this bad?

Next they will be combing the desert

Spoiler

He wanted to like it

 

[Brian Boru]

How PC Gamer and IGN gave it a 7, I will never understand

You're going to be really confuzzled by everyone else then, since it's average on Meta is 77% …ie must be a lot more over 80 than under 70… from 33 outlets—24 positive, 1 negative

 

[Colif]

IGN would have rated it 8 but they had just the week before rated Wukong an 8 and no one would believe that they the same level of game... so they went with 7.
If Wukong didn't exist, you bet it would have been an 8.

 

[Frindis]

You're going to be really confuzzled by everyone else then, since it's average on Meta is 77% …ie must be a lot more over 80 than under 70… from 33 outlets—24 positive, 1 negative

I follow a couple of trusted YouTube reviewers and if they say it is not good, it is not good. But besides them, I always wait for user scores.

 

[Brian Boru]

I follow a couple of trusted YouTube reviewers and if they say it is not good, it is not good

Me too. Mine say it's pretty decent 🤷‍♂️

I wonder how all the anti-fan boys deal with the Meta score tho? Ignore it I suppose, doesn't support the dog pile which gets more clicks & views.

No matter, I won't be considering it in a few years unless there's a FPP mod.