August 2024 PC Gaming General Discussion Thread

[Hveðrungr]

Morbius didn't get much play-time, either. He seemed OK, it's just that there are so many others I want to bring.

Morbius works VERY well with Blade, because they both inflict and benefit from Bleed. To the point where if a mission was being led by one of them, I'd automatically bring the other.

I don't remember last magazine I bought.

I subscribe to PC Gamer (UK)! I also bought the last few editions of Private Eye because it had some investigative pieces I was interested in. I get IQ Magazine with my Mensa membership so I guess I technically pay for that.

 

[ZedClampet]

I swear it felt like the dungeon we just did in Enshrouded was the size of the entire Ark map. It took us 3 hours. Guido. who almost never complains about anything, was begging it to come to an end.

 

[Brian Boru]

great article on the Far Cry games just recently

Searches around for magnifying glass…

I'm not going to mention it to my kids yet

You're learning! Kids work great with mushroom management

I'm going to attempt to Minecraft on my Deck

But won't the kids notice you digging up blocks of lawn and hauling them up onto your deck?

need multiple accounts just to play one stupid game

Amen to that bro—even for pure offline SP like my Far Crys, I need Steam & Ubi accounts… and of course Denuvo is there too to stop me cheating myself

Does Steam's Family Plan thing not cover this?

 

[ZedClampet]

Amen to that bro—even for pure offline SP like my Far Crys, I need Steam & Ubi accounts… and of course Denuvo is there too to stop me cheating myself

Does Steam's Family Plan thing not cover this?

I think Denuvo is only to prevent pirating. You can still cheat all you want. Also. Minecraft is not on Steam.

****
I love Enshrouded. but in the most typical Enshrouded moment ever. I crafted two beehives and placed them down. Immediately bees appeared and started buzzing around. For a split second I was happy. and then I noticed I had to provide the sugar and water for the bees to make honey. What kind of lazy arse bees need me to collect supplies for them? The hives are right next to my farm and my water. So. anyway. now I'm growing sugarcane. The recipe for sugar better require nothing but sugarcane, like a brass bowl or something. I didn't even look it up.

 

[Brian Boru]

Minecraft is not on Steam

I thought that too, but…

Minecraft Games Bundle on Steam

store.steampowered.com

…is one of a number of Minecraft titles that are on sale there via Mojang.

Maybe offshoots or sth—I know nothing about Minecraft

 

[Brian Boru]

I think Denuvo is only to prevent pirating

Wiki:
"In addition to Denuvo Anti-Tamper, Denuvo Software Solutions has developed the anti-cheat system Denuvo Anti-Cheat and Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection"

Dunno which version FC has, don't care much as long as it doesn't brick my PC

 

[ZedClampet]

Wiki:
"In addition to Denuvo Anti-Tamper, Denuvo Software Solutions has developed the anti-cheat system Denuvo Anti-Cheat and Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection"

Dunno which version FC has, don't care much as long as it doesn't brick my PC

Those are games based off of Minecraft, not actually Minecraft itself, and the main version of Denuvo is just anti-piracy, which is what FC games use.

Don't get ridiculous on me. It's all okay.

 

[Brian Boru]

Don't get ridiculous on me

Had a feeling I might be treading that well-worn path

 

[neogunhero]

Nearly all my deaths in DayZ are the same. I’m doing so good, got tons of loot and ammo, found a car and filled it with my storage, about 10 hours into this character. Having a good time exploring and hunting and making my campsite. Decided to drive somewhere far off, so I get into the car and start to drive.

Suddenly the ground becomes ice and my car starts to slip, flinging me into a tree at 80km/h, killing me instantly.

Whenever that happens, my DayZ phase is over for the year and it’s time to find a new game.

 

[BeardyHat]

Finally have my first mechanical keyboard, as my Logitech K520 was starting to show its age. It already had paint and the like on it, but more so, I felt the key presses were not registering as they should and I figured I'd had it for...10+ years maybe, so it was time for something else. I picked-up this Aula F99 board in Grey/White and so far, I'm enjoying it, though it's very much different from the membranes I'm used to.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLLHSWRL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

It seems pretty neat so far, though I haven't used it much since I just got it yesterday and my desktop isn't really my primary machine. My only complaints are that it's much taller than my old Logitech, so I have to adjust how I sit and where my monitor is, as I need to pull my keyboard tray out, rather than use it underneath my desk. This is probably a good thing overall, but I do need to get acquainted with it, as it feels pretty weird. Only other issue is that it lacks volume control, something I used constantly on my old keyboard. I do have a SoundBlaster Omni 5.1, which has controls on it, so I moved it into a different position and am going to try to switch to that for my volume control. The switches overall seem pretty quiet and they have a nice muted clack to them.

Oh, it also has RGB. It looks neat, especially all the different modes you can use with it, but I'm just going to leave it as a basic keyboard backlight, as all the flashing colors and whatnot just seem like a huge distraction.

 

[Hveðrungr]

Only other issue is that it lacks volume control

I'm very surprised: I've never had a mechanical keyboard that didn't have volume control. Might it be that there's a setting you're missing?

 

[Johnway]

I've picked-up Diablo 2 recently. I'm not big on ARPGS, but damned if Diablo 2 doesn't feel amazing to play on a handheld with a controller and I think the pace is perfection. Too many modern ARPGs (haven't played PoE in ages, so can't comment) shower you with loot to the point that much of it is pointless and not really worth looking at. Grim Dawn does this and much as I enjoy that game and have put 50-hours into it, seeing showers of colors laying around me at the end of a battle and having endless inventory space means I need to sort through a bunch of garbage that all looks similar.

I like in Diablo 2, most stuff is just basic Blue and it's not constantly dropping, so when you see that yellow on the ground, you get excited because you've got something special. Plus I like the balancing act of keeping your inventory clear or picking a bunch of stuff and trying to extend your time out in the field before you return to camp to sell and repair.

Also, summoning isn't cheating! Actually, I'd say it's essential depending on your build in many cases and if you're ramming your head against the wall and your only option is to grind to eek a little bit more power out, it's pretty essential to summon. Better to summon and break through to kill a boss than bore yourself to tears and become frustrated by grinding.

its the numbers game. if gear is vital, i rather have too much then too little. i normally filter out things that are relevant and just ignore the rest. The problems begin when it all has a value and you want to get as much as possible out of it. in poe most of the currency of gear sold is pretty low level so its fairly easy to jettison. but problems do arise when i see stuff that says "useful to someone else or to another character". i don't engage in the real world market so i don't trade etc and i'm less inclined to keep everything. i generally keep random loot in POE so that i can trade in full random sets of gear for chaos orbs, but its not easy to just keep getting the type you want to fill out the set tbh.

In DS3 having companions does make the game much much easier. I did it twice and it really did trivalize a battles as it either evened the odds or we had the advantage as we ganged up on them. but yeah, in previous games i never summoned as i felt that even with their help it wasn't going to be enough. but since estus is so frequent (killing most monsters drop them) i felt i might was well spent one or 2 to see how much better it was.

The good news in DS3 is that the 2 princes were defeated so i have the choice to go straight to the final boss, or bum around a bit collecting any last bones or estus shards to prepare for the final fight. The DLC also needs to be finished but whether i have the skill/patience to beat them i don't know. AOA i'm at the end and just need to defeat the boss. Who apparently you face off 3 times...

otherwise, i'll just beat the last boss and just call it a day. new game to play and get back to playing indie games again.

 

[ZedClampet]

Got the first floor and the stairwell done in my new Enshrouded house. Now it's time for the second floor. Outside is nice with some huge columns. Not ready for viewing yet. though. I'm missing a resource that will be used to add some more detail.

****
@neogunhero you should drive to match the conditions. slow down and always wear your seatbelt

--Mom

 

[Pifanjr]

I unlocked the last character in Marvel: Midnight Suns and took them on a generic mission, where I immediately got my ass handed to me by yet another boss showing up. Their mechanic of getting stronger by getting hit is nice in theory, but even with a larger health pool than normal they still can only take like 4-5 hits total, so unless you have healing it doesn't really help much.

So I reloaded a save from before I started the mission and added a healing card and fully modded and upgraded the cards of the other two heroes I brought, Nico and Spider-Man, after which I managed to win with only one hero down at the end.

 

[BeardyHat]

its the numbers game. if gear is vital, i rather have too much then too little. i normally filter out things that are relevant and just ignore the rest. The problems begin when it all has a value and you want to get as much as possible out of it. in poe most of the currency of gear sold is pretty low level so its fairly easy to jettison. but problems do arise when i see stuff that says "useful to someone else or to another character". i don't engage in the real world market so i don't trade etc and i'm less inclined to keep everything. i generally keep random loot in POE so that i can trade in full random sets of gear for chaos orbs, but its not easy to just keep getting the type you want to fill out the set tbh.

In DS3 having companions does make the game much much easier. I did it twice and it really did trivalize a battles as it either evened the odds or we had the advantage as we ganged up on them. but yeah, in previous games i never summoned as i felt that even with their help it wasn't going to be enough. but since estus is so frequent (killing most monsters drop them) i felt i might was well spent one or 2 to see how much better it was.

The good news in DS3 is that the 2 princes were defeated so i have the choice to go straight to the final boss, or bum around a bit collecting any last bones or estus shards to prepare for the final fight. The DLC also needs to be finished but whether i have the skill/patience to beat them i don't know. AOA i'm at the end and just need to defeat the boss. Who apparently you face off 3 times...

otherwise, i'll just beat the last boss and just call it a day. new game to play and get back to playing indie games again.

I just get overwhelmed easily and struggle to separate the wheat from the chaff. I also just prefer the overall slower pace of Diablo 1/2, where I'm not killing hordes of enemies and then showered in loot. Diablo 1 in particular feels almost more like a survival horror game and I just much prefer that over newer ARPG iterations.

Have you tried Lies of P at all? It's an excellent take on the genre (meaning Soulslike) and the summons in it are limited to essentially a single bot that you can mildly customize with a temporary buff during the fight. LoP feels like a game doing something newer and trying to find interesting mechanics, rather than being saddled with some of the baggage that the Dark Souls series has (keep in mind, I love Dark Souls).

 

[BeardyHat]

I'm very surprised: I've never had a mechanical keyboard that didn't have volume control. Might it be that there's a setting you're missing?

I didn't see it on the list of shortcuts, but I'll have to take another look. I did buy a more compact keyboard specifically because I wanted more space on my keyboard tray than my previous Logitech used up. Still has a numpad, but everything is more compressed.

Got to use it for a little while this afternoon and immediately ordered a wrist rest. It's so much taller than my old keyboard that my wrist, which is already developing carpal tunnel, is sitting at a much more inclined angle making the keyboard uncomfortable to use, so I need to kind of hold my arm up. New rest should be here this evening and I'll hopefully have time to give it a go tomorrow and see if it solves the problem.

 

[Zloth]

How did I miss this!?

The night sky in Forbidden West is pretty good. Lots of stars, some clusters, and you can sorta see the Milky Way. The stars move with the moon, too. I was quite happy with it all.... and then I noticed it. When the sun sets in the west, the moon rises in the west, not far from where the sun went down! It eventually sets in the east, and then the sun comes up about where it went down.

If I use the select-a-time slider to move time back and forth, the night sky's stars seem to spin around a point not at the North Star, but someplace in the south-east sky. After midnight, they don't even do that. But it's the moon that's bugging me. Why would the devs make the moon go backwards!?

I unlocked the last character in Marvel: Midnight Suns....

"Midnight Suns, disassemble!" That last hero has quite an ultimate, btw.

 

[Pifanjr]

"Midnight Suns, disassemble!" That last hero has quite an ultimate, btw.

I'm not sure I'll be able to unlock any more ultimates. It seems I'm pretty close to the end of the game and it refuses to give me opportunities to increase my friendship level with the other heroes. I have a ton of gifts but no opportunities to give them because I'm not doing any optional missions.

 

[Hveðrungr]

I unlocked the last character in Marvel: Midnight Suns and took them on a generic mission, where I immediately got my ass handed to me by yet another boss showing up. Their mechanic of getting stronger by getting hit is nice in theory, but even with a larger health pool than normal they still can only take like 4-5 hits total, so unless you have healing it doesn't really help much.

I'm surprised you don't like him more, since you like Robbie so much. I feel like they're quite similar, except Robbie is more of a glass cannon.

So I reloaded a save from before I started the mission

Iirc you can choose Restart Mission or similar from the menu while in-battle. But yeah I always make sure to save the game just before I use the spooky table.

I'm not sure I'll be able to unlock any more ultimates. It seems I'm pretty close to the end of the game and it refuses to give me opportunities to increase my friendship level with the other heroes. I have a ton of gifts but no opportunities to give them because I'm not doing any optional missions.

If/when you do a second run you will be able to play NG+, which inter alia carries over your friendship progress so you can build from there. I don't suppose I need to tell you that you should always take the Hunter on missions to get the friendship bonus, do Yard training every day, use all your Compliments, pick the conversation responses the NPC will want to hear, etc.

 

[Brian Boru]

missions to get the friendship bonus, do Yard training every day, use all your Compliments, pick the conversation responses the NPC will want to hear

Geez, might as well be done with it and just get married!

 

[Frindis]

I'm doing some Delta Force Hawk Ops Alpha and having a lot of fun with the extraction mode of the game, which is very similar to the extraction system from Escape From Tarkov and the one in Warzone 2.0 DMZ. You have a timer and need to loot up and get to extraction before the timer ends. There are both bots and real players and you can go solo or team up.

 

[neogunhero]

@neogunhero you should drive to match the conditions. slow down and always wear your seatbelt

--Mom

I can’t help but go full speed anytime there’s a car in a game, but I also forget DayZ is a lot more unforgiving when it comes to driving. One little slip up and you are dead, or sometimes barely clinging onto your life but all your gear is totally ruined from the crash. It’s quite brutal and has happened to me more times than I could count.

 

[Frindis]

@neogunhero Dayz and driving, it's something special. Back in vanilla you could even drive underwater

 

[neogunhero]

@neogunhero Dayz and driving, it's something special. Back in vanilla you could even drive underwater

Driving in the DayZ mod for Arma 2 wasn’t bad at all, but once the standalone came to early access, it was like trying to drive a fish out of water. The tiniest little bump would make you fly 100 meters into the air while spinning violently out of control Good times.

 

[Pifanjr]

Apparently I quit Marvel: Midnight Suns right before the final mission, which I just managed to complete.

It wasn't too difficult luckily, though the part with Magik took me forever, using her ultimate every turn to stay alive and slowly chipping away at the enemies until I had won. Then I got Captain America and won in two turns by knocking enemies onto drops (with a little bit of save-scumming).

I'm surprised you don't like him more, since you like Robbie so much. I feel like they're quite similar, except Robbie is more of a glass cannon.

Maybe once you unlock more cards. I only used him twice, one of which was in the final battle.

Iirc you can choose Restart Mission or similar from the menu while in-battle. But yeah I always make sure to save the game just before I use the spooky table.

I discovered that the game keeps a save from before you use the spooky table automatically. And I couldn't just restart the mission, I had to craft some abilities and swap them out.

If/when you do a second run you will be able to play NG+, which inter alia carries over your friendship progress so you can build from there. I don't suppose I need to tell you that you should always take the Hunter on missions to get the friendship bonus, do Yard training every day, use all your Compliments, pick the conversation responses the NPC will want to hear, etc.

I can't imagine starting a NG+ game, at least not until I've forgotten the story. I enjoyed the game, but it did get tedious after a while. If I wasn't so invested in the story I probably wouldn't have finished the game.