December 2023 General Discussion Thread

[ZedClampet]

My kid is staying over at my sister's and my wife took a nap when we got home from celebrating Christmas at my parents', so I got to spend 4.5 hours playing Subnautica. I might have played throughout the night if my wife hadn't woken up wanting to play something herself.

I love games where I can hoard resources to upgrade my tools to hoard more resources and unlock more tools that allow me to hoard even more resources. Especially when they give you something to work towards. Subnautica does a great job at letting me hoard, upgrade and unlock stuff and I really love the little bits of story and world building.

I have already died once, from running out of oxygen, though I blacked out when I was right by the hatch of my base. I respawned inside and didn't seem to miss anything, so I guess I got lucky.

Love the Subnautica games. I played them without mods, but have downloaded some inventory mods for the second one (I played it while it was in early access, so I've never actually finished it) that add a few slots to both your backpack and your lockers. I think I may have downloaded a few other QoL inventory mods, like using your nearby locker inventory when you craft.

Loved the whole ending sequence. Gave me a real sense of doom.

 

[ZedClampet]

Yesterday, someone who shall remain nameless left a chocolate for me on my laptop keyboard that I didn't notice when I returned because I was playing Total War Warhammer 3 and not using the keyboard (and because I was at least half asleep yesterday afternoon). I played for a couple of hours before I noticed it sitting there. Then I thought about the Christmas miracle that this wasn't my Sager, and I picked it up and ate it. With the Sager, there wouldn't have been anything left but a sticky puddle and some hopeless keys. With the HP, the chocolate was still cool to the touch.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

My nephew got my name in a drawing and gave me a $20 Steam card. I was able to snag Red Dead 2 at something like 67% off, and I only had to pay around $1.40. Pretty sweet. I still haven't played it, so I'm kind of stoked. I know what I'll be doing whenever I'm finished playing Starfield.

 

[BeardyHat]

Yesterday, someone who shall remain nameless left a chocolate for me on my laptop keyboard that I didn't notice when I returned because I was playing Total War Warhammer 3 and not using the keyboard (and because I was at least half asleep yesterday afternoon). I played for a couple of hours before I noticed it sitting there. Then I thought about the Christmas miracle that this wasn't my Sager, and I picked it up and ate it. With the Sager, there wouldn't have been anything left but a sticky puddle and some hopeless keys. With the HP, the chocolate was still cool to the touch.

All the more reason that integrated graphics on old business laptops are superior...

My nephew got my name in a drawing and gave me a $20 Steam card. I was able to snag Red Dead 2 at something like 67% off, and I only had to pay around $1.40. Pretty sweet. I still haven't played it, so I'm kind of stoked. I know what I'll be doing whenever I'm finished playing Starfield.

Helluva deal! I keep looking at RDR2 and while $20 isn't a bad price, I just can't bring myself to spend on it.

Finally got to open-up and use the VR my wife and I bought for ourselves for Christmas. I was able to set it up and tinker with it back when we first bought it on Black Friday (ish), but wasn't allowed to touch it until we unwrapped it from under the Christmas tree.

It's just a Quest 2, but it's pretty neat. I ended-up picking up a few games on it, which I should have bought on Steam instead, but didn't feel like being tethered and obligated to play in the basement by my computer. First game is Warplanes, which I only played for about 20-30 minutes last night, but is just damn fun; really need to feel like you're grabbing hold of the stick and pushing the plane around, then using your other hand to grab your flare gun and shoot blimps or pick up bombs and drop them out of the cockpit. Looking forward to playing more.

Also picked-up In Death (In Death: Unchained on the Quest itself), which is great fun. A first person roguelike that is pretty damn challenging and I'm still getting the ropes of. Ended-up coming around a corner last night onto about a dozen enemies, who promptly slaughtered me, so I was going over strategies in my head at bedtime to figure out how to mitigate that. So far what I've come up with: Get on an elevated platform to avoid the melee types and then kill the ranged enemies that will teleport closer to me first.

 

[ZedClampet]

World Warfare & Economics on Steam

Control any country in the world. Have their politics, economy, and military in your hands. Shape your own version of WW3, a global pandemic, or create a custom scenario. Explore up to 66 planets and conquer through war or diplomacy. Become the ultimate strategist in the universe!

store.steampowered.com

@Brian Boru

We both mentioned this at the beginning of the month, and it has launched into Early Access. Has about 150 "mostly positive" reviews but is sitting on the cusp of "very positive".

Reading the reviews, though, it is very rough and apparently lacking most features. Reviewers are imploring people not to buy the game without understanding that it's very early access. One note that was pertinent to me was that the UI was too small and unreadable, and that according to the development roadmap that won't be worked on until February. Apparently many of the UI buttons don't work yet.

Sounds like a long road before I'll be interested in it. I may watch it for a few months and if good progress is being made, I might bank it to support the development.

 

[ZedClampet]

All the more reason that integrated graphics on old business laptops are superior...

The HP has a 3070 ti in it . It just stays perfectly cool.

Helluva deal! I keep looking at RDR2 and while $20 isn't a bad price, I just can't bring myself to spend on it.

Didn't finish it. but enjoyed what I played of it.

 

[Zloth]

First of all, I don't want any mod made by this person. Second of all, comments for the review have been turned off, so even if you have the answer to his question, you can't let him know. I almost think this is a joke. Maybe?

Ugh. SO MANY dumb reviews! Steam gave us the "funny" option so we can give funny reviews their due, but people keep marking them as useful. They are NOT useful!

I'm dipping into 2 turn-based games today:
Civ 4
Cookie Jar Dipping

I thought that second game was in the "Real Time Without Pause" classification?

I love games where I can hoard resources to upgrade my tools to hoard more resources and unlock more tools that allow me to hoard even more resources. Especially when they give you something to work towards. Subnautica does a great job at letting me hoard, upgrade and unlock stuff and I really love the little bits of story and world building.

You're going to have one of those bases surrounded by scores of little boxes full of raw materials and about 10 acres of various plant beds, aren't you?

The only mod I used was one to let you have more hot key items along the bottom of the GUI.

Oh, and BACK UP YOUR SAVES from time to time! My machine decided to crash mid-save and corrupted it. If I hadn't been backing up, I would have had to start completely over. It's really unlikely that you'll get a crash like that but, if you hit the jackpot.... ouch.

 

[ZedClampet]

Oh, and BACK UP YOUR SAVES from time to time! My machine decided to crash mid-save and corrupted it. If I hadn't been backing up, I would have had to start completely over. It's really unlikely that you'll get a crash like that but, if you hit the jackpot.... ouch.

I lost my save to Subnautica Below Zero, so that's an excellent idea.

 

[ZedClampet]

Someone is requesting the AI be even more difficult in TW Troy, but I think I've found someone else's mod that should work synergistically with mine and cause you very serious trouble. I've told him to try using all those mods together and to get back to me.

What's irritating is that he hasn't tried any of them yet. He just reads the descriptions and decides they won't do what he wants when mine alone actually will. I'd like to watch him play if he puts them all on, and see him get run over by the AI.

Anyway, I'm refusing to work on it until he tries out what I told him.

 

[Brian Boru]

a chocolate for me on my laptop keyboard that I didn't notice when I returned

So… you stay in the zone even when you're away from your PC? Man, that's focus! Wanna be my surgeon?

Red Dead 2 … I still haven't played it

Sweet catch, enjoy! Even the $1.47 is likely no value for me since it's TPP—but I did manage a few hours with ROTTR, so maybe. I can hope for a FPP mod by 2027.

Looking forward to playing more

Did you use the WII ~15 years ago? I guess the movement is similar, and of course the immersion is no contest.

watch it for a few months

Thanks for heads up, I added it to Following—and penciled in for 2033.

crash mid-save and corrupted it

Is there only one? Seriously?

give funny reviews their due, but people keep marking them as useful. They are NOT useful!

^ this +1—and since it's XMas, +2.

I'm refusing to work on it until

Uppity devs, don't you just—
Oh, you're a modder! 😇
All hail, here take all my debts and raise my kids

 

[ZedClampet]

PC Gamer Forums 2023 Year in Review​

by CoPilot

Here were the three gaming events/topics that rocked our little part of the web:

1. The announcement of Stampede Racing Royale, a new game that combined kart racing combat with battle royale gameplay, and featured 60 players racing to be the last one standing
2. The launch of TerraTech Worlds, a sandbox sci-fi game where you could build custom vehicles to explore a planet, gather and use its resources, and battle enemies
3. The controversy over Lords of the Fallen, which was a fantasy RPG that used Unreal Engine 5, but was criticized for its bugs, glitches, and poor performance

And since everyone here is always trying to be a comedian, here was the funniest statement of 2023:

“I’m not sure if I would call it a game, but I really enjoyed The Stanley Parable." -- @Pifanjr



So there you have it. The 100 percent accurate 2023 Year in Review from one of the most advanced AI's on the planet. Mods, you should turn this into it's own thread and pin it.

 

[ZedClampet]

I'm so bored. I found a website dedicated to giant women eating tiny people. This led to my discovery of the world of feedees.

I think I'm going to try to make a batch file that deletes the Internet

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I took a little break from Starfield last night to try out RDR2. I haven't had time to get very far yet. So far, there's a couple of long sequences at the beginning that are basically like playing interactive movies. It kind of sucks, but I get needing to have a tutorial and kind of set up the story. So I'm waiting until it finally opens up before I give any judgments. The graphics are really nice, though.

I can tell one thing I'll have to get used to is using weapons from that era. I'll have to get used to reloading all the time. And no fully automatics or laser rifles, like Starfield. Haha

It's just a Quest 2, but it's pretty neat. I ended-up picking up a few games on it, which I should have bought on Steam instead, but didn't feel like being tethered and obligated to play in the basement by my computer.

I have a Quest 2, also. I haven't played it a lot, but it is really cool. And I agree about the games. If you can get a game that is native to the Quest 2, it's better to do that than Steam, because you have a lot more freedom, instead of being tethered. But you'll never find any games like Half Life: Alyx, though. I actually bought that game when I got my Quest 2-3 years ago, and still haven't even bothered to connect the Quest to my PC to play it. Someday, I'll have to do that.

If you ever want to connect it to your PC wirelessly, make sure you have a WiFi 6 router. It's necessary for VR gaming.

 

[Ankit Tiwari]

For the past two years, I've delved deeply into the immersive world of Cricket 19, where every match felt like a dynamic journey through the realm of cricketing excellence. Among the plethora of exhilarating encounters, the Test Match Ashes held a special place in my heart. The intensity, the pressure, and the sheer authenticity of the Ashes series made it a gripping experience, resonating with the true essence of this historic rivalry.
However, as much as I've cherished my time on the cricket field, I find myself drawn to new horizons in gaming. RPGs beckon with their captivating storytelling, character development, and expansive worlds. I'm eager to explore this new genre and step into uncharted territories. I'm on the lookout for recommendations and suggestions for intriguing RPG games that could captivate me in the same way Cricket 19 did. Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[neogunhero]

Went down a gaming rabbit hole over the Christmas weekend.

It all started with me wanting to play some Christmas games but wasn’t sure what to play. I vaguely remembered there was a Christmas DOOM mod, so I learned how to get GZDoom set up to play custom WADs. I booted up the Christmas mod and was a bit disappointed that it was just a reskin of the original game, no custom levels or anything. It replaced your melee with a giant candy cane which is amusing for all of 5 minutes. So I went into a deep dive of the best DOOM mods available and boy what a treat it was.

I played Pirate Doom next which is partly a DOOM recreation of Monkey Island. You blast through Melee Island with flintlock pistons, a portable cannon, boomsticks and cutlasses. The level design is simply fantastic, the enemies all have slight pirate themed reskins, and the music is mostly straight out of Monkey Island so you know it’s good. Almost done with its 16 level campaign and it’s got some really unique mechanics I’ve not seen in vanilla DOOM.

I then hopped around a bunch of random mods including Eviternity 1. Eviternity is considered one of the greatest DOOM mods for its boundary-pushing level design and mechanics and intense difficulty. The way the levels are designed is absolutely mind blowing, and is really a culmination of what the modding community can achieve with a 30 year old engine. Some of the levels look straight out of a N64 game in the best way possible. They are so detailed, intricate and beautiful at times. It’s so hard even on the easiest difficulty, so I jumped to the last chapter to check it out which is supposed to be Heaven themed, and boy is it heavenly. I did not know a DOOM map could be this beautiful. I’ll post two videos below, one showing the level, and one showing a track from the mod that has become one of my all time favorite video game songs. Overall, DOOM mods are amazing, and I’m glad I’m finally checking some out after hearing about them for years.

This song has become one of my favorite video game songs ever, it is so tranquil and relaxing.

View: https://youtu.be/AAbVTGVJXUU


And this is the beautiful level I was talking about.

View: https://youtu.be/0ILfmWRc-nI

 

[Zloth]

I played a ton of Cyberpunk 2077 yesterday and got through the initial Heist quest. I've never seen so many guards that just so happened to be facing away from me! I got through without killing anybody, but, after getting blamed for all sorts of deaths in the Deus Ex games, I'm not sure if I got credit for doing so - or even if there's any credit to be given for doing so.

There's actually something of a learning curve with this game. I've got my attributes, my perks associated with my attributes, my skills (which seem to advance according to stuff I do), and my in-brain-computer with its list of programs.... phew! The whole attitude of the game seems pretty proper for Cyberpunk and the graphics are... wait, what is THIS??

We need to ban Cyberpunk 2077. What if KIDS see that kind of thing and think it's cool!?

 

[BeardyHat]

I have a Quest 2, also. I haven't played it a lot, but it is really cool. And I agree about the games. If you can get a game that is native to the Quest 2, it's better to do that than Steam, because you have a lot more freedom, instead of being tethered. But you'll never find any games like Half Life: Alyx, though. I actually bought that game when I got my Quest 2-3 years ago, and still haven't even bothered to connect the Quest to my PC to play it. Someday, I'll have to do that.

If you ever want to connect it to your PC wirelessly, make sure you have a WiFi 6 router. It's necessary for VR gaming.

My main issue is I don't like being locked into an ecosystem. I like that my Steam games will work on anything that will run them, as opposed to being locked into a particular brand of headset. But after playing tethered for charging, there's a definite advantage to no wires.

So far, I'm really enjoying In Death and can't wait to get back to it. I'm not usually one for Roguelikes and can name off the ones I like on one hand, but this one has got its hooks in me so far.

As for connecting to my PC, my wifi isn't amazing, but it might be decent. I'm running a Ubiquiti Unifi setup, but my AP is about 6 years old now and I haven't bothered to upgrade it to the WiFi 6 version yet because few of my devices support it and it's not super cheap. I'll probably still see if I can get it working eventually and see how it goes, as on a few of my devices closest to the AP I'm seeing 250Mbps, so we'll see.

Otherwise, I'm going to have to drill a hole from my office into my laundry room so I can run the cable to the nearest room with open space. Whenever my wife and I feel motivated to play Alyx, we'll do that.

Went down a gaming rabbit hole over the Christmas weekend.

It all started with me wanting to play some Christmas games but wasn’t sure what to play. I vaguely remembered there was a Christmas DOOM mod, so I learned how to get GZDoom set up to play custom WADs. I booted up the Christmas mod and was a bit disappointed that it was just a reskin of the original game, no custom levels or anything. It replaced your melee with a giant candy cane which is amusing for all of 5 minutes. So I went into a deep dive of the best DOOM mods available and boy what a treat it was.

I played Pirate Doom next which is partly a DOOM recreation of Monkey Island. You blast through Melee Island with flintlock pistons, a portable cannon, boomsticks and cutlasses. The level design is simply fantastic, the enemies all have slight pirate themed reskins, and the music is mostly straight out of Monkey Island so you know it’s good. Almost done with its 16 level campaign and it’s got some really unique mechanics I’ve not seen in vanilla DOOM.

I then hopped around a bunch of random mods including Eviternity 1. Eviternity is considered one of the greatest DOOM mods for its boundary-pushing level design and mechanics and intense difficulty. The way the levels are designed is absolutely mind blowing, and is really a culmination of what the modding community can achieve with a 30 year old engine. Some of the levels look straight out of a N64 game in the best way possible. They are so detailed, intricate and beautiful at times. It’s so hard even on the easiest difficulty, so I jumped to the last chapter to check it out which is supposed to be Heaven themed, and boy is it heavenly. I did not know a DOOM map could be this beautiful. I’ll post two videos below, one showing the level, and one showing a track from the mod that has become one of my all time favorite video game songs. Overall, DOOM mods are amazing, and I’m glad I’m finally checking some out after hearing about them for years.

This song has become one of my favorite video game songs ever, it is so tranquil and relaxing.

View: https://youtu.be/AAbVTGVJXUU


And this is the beautiful level I was talking about.

View: https://youtu.be/0ILfmWRc-nI

I need to try more Doom mods/wads. Over the summer I played Ashes 2063, which was fantastic and I loved every second of it; just this morning I installed myhouse.wad, so when I have a few minutes I'll be giving that one a go. There's so much out there to experiment with.

 

[D10S]

Played a few minutes of The Finals today. I don't get kids' games these days. No idea what I was supposed to do there.
One good thing is that it runs great, epic preset+epic ray tracing still gave me 110-130fps.

I played a ton of Cyberpunk 2077 yesterday and got through the initial Heist quest. I've never seen so many guards that just so happened to be facing away from me! I got through without killing anybody, but, after getting blamed for all sorts of deaths in the Deus Ex games, I'm not sure if I got credit for doing so - or even if there's any credit to be given for doing so.

There's actually something of a learning curve with this game. I've got my attributes, my perks associated with my attributes, my skills (which seem to advance according to stuff I do), and my in-brain-computer with its list of programs.... phew! The whole attitude of the game seems pretty proper for Cyberpunk and the graphics are... wait, what is THIS??

We need to ban Cyberpunk 2077. What if KIDS see that kind of thing and think it's cool!?

This should reduce your health, not increase it.
as for the heist quest, I killed plenty of guards there, then proceeded to play the rest of the game with stealth (still lethally). I like the netrunner (intelligence) build best just so that I can make them commit mass suicides. Best I got so far is 5 enemies pulling the trigger on themselves at once.
Also, try shooting tech (charged) weapons through walls, with wall penetration mods they still do a lot of damage, and you can shoot them trough cover, just tag the enemies first. Especially enjoyable with high damage tech pistols/shotguns/sniper rifles, something that isn't automatic but deals a lot of damage in a single shot. There's cyberware that'll highlight them automatically,even though walls. And then it's just boom, boom, boom through the ceiling. All dead, and you're not even on the same floor. Wicked cool game.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

As for connecting to my PC, my wifi isn't amazing, but it might be decent. I'm running a Ubiquiti Unifi setup, but my AP is about 6 years old now and I haven't bothered to upgrade it to the WiFi 6 version yet because few of my devices support it and it's not super cheap. I'll probably still see if I can get it working eventually and see how it goes, as on a few of my devices closest to the AP I'm seeing 250Mbps, so we'll see.

Well, they say WiFi 6 is required to do it wirelessly, so you probably won't be able to do that until you upgrade. I have Xfinity cable internet, and I just called them and asked if I could upgrade to a WiFi 6 capable Modem/router. They sent me one for free, so it didn't cost me a dime to upgrade. Haha.

 

[neogunhero]

There's so much out there to experiment with.

I can’t recommend Eviternity and Pirate Doom enough. Both are masterfully crafted, showcasing how much is possible with that engine. Eviternity does get pretty difficult at times, Pirate Doom is more my style gameplay wise, but still both are absolutely incredible. So glad I randomly got the urge to play Doom mods on Christmas Day.

I’ll also throw out an off the wall recommendation, Hocus Pocus Doom. It’s a total conversation like Pirate Doom with unique weapons and textures. It’s very lighthearted as far as Doom goes, with its bright colors and silly style. It’s like Doom for kids but that’s why it was so interesting to me. You play as a wizard with an electric spell and need to collect all the jewels in each level, all of which are very bright, colorful, and evokes classic wizard imagery like huge mushrooms and gorgeous green groves. I had a lot more fun with Hocus Pocus than I expected to, I think the fact that it’s so different from all other Doom mods is exactly the reason why I played it so much.

 

[BeardyHat]

I can’t recommend Eviternity and Pirate Doom enough. Both are masterfully crafted, showcasing how much is possible with that engine. Eviternity does get pretty difficult at times, Pirate Doom is more my style gameplay wise, but still both are absolutely incredible. So glad I randomly got the urge to play Doom mods on Christmas Day.

I’ll also throw out an off the wall recommendation, Hocus Pocus Doom. It’s a total conversation like Pirate Doom with unique weapons and textures. It’s very lighthearted as far as Doom goes, with its bright colors and silly style. It’s like Doom for kids but that’s why it was so interesting to me. You play as a wizard with an electric spell and need to collect all the jewels in each level, all of which are very bright, colorful, and evokes classic wizard imagery like huge mushrooms and gorgeous green groves. I had a lot more fun with Hocus Pocus than I expected to, I think the fact that it’s so different from all other Doom mods is exactly the reason why I played it so much.

Sounds interesting, I'll need to give them a go. I'd say I've not even scratched the surface of Doom, but even that's not true, because I've essentially not even managed to get as far as touching the surface!

I did just finish myhouse.wad, which is pretty interesting. Had a jump scare or two in it and it's very bizarre and well done; really interesting what people are pushing to do with the Doom engine these day.

Well, they say WiFi 6 is required to do it wirelessly, so you probably won't be able to do that until you upgrade. I have Xfinity cable internet, and I just called them and asked if I could upgrade to a WiFi 6 capable Modem/router. They sent me one for free, so it didn't cost me a dime to upgrade. Haha.

Ahh, yeah, someday I'll get around to it. I'm a stickler about that kind of stuff, so all my equipment is my own, which is definitely more expensive up front, but should even out in the long run without rental fees. Eventually I'll get myself the Wifi 6 AP, as it is a significant improvement over what we have now, but the 250Mbps of my current setup is pretty sufficient for my local network streaming as far as movies and games go; I need to convince my wife that the $200 is money well spent!

 

[BeardyHat]

Forgot to mention, I'm back on the sauce that is Snowrunner. Currently somewhere around 135-hours and still going, but I take long breaks until I'm feeling the need for some more off road fun. I love, love, love that I get to drive a Scout II, which has been a dream car for me since high school. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll ever actually get the opportunity to own one, as the collector market has finally caught on to them.

https://imgur.com/a/TsNJit9

 

[Brian Boru]

I'm on the lookout for recommendations and suggestions for intriguing RPG games that could captivate me

I suppose Skyrim is the old classic almost every RPG fan loves. Or The Witcher 3. One of those 2 should be pretty cheap at the moment.

The 26 Best RPGs For Beginners

If you've been wanting to get into RPGs but are unsure where to start, these games are perfect for newbies and beginners.

gamerant.com

10 Best Beginner-Friendly RPGs, Ranked

Some of the most infamous games are RPGs, but starting out in the genre can be intimidating. Here are some of the most beginner-friendly RPGs.

www.dualshockers.com

 

[Brian Boru]

DOOM … WADs

…

I need to try more Doom mods/wads

You guys should start a thread and haul @Johnway into it, he's our local King WAD

Xfinity … upgrade to a WiFi 6 capable Modem/router … for free

We have Xfinity too, but our own Modem/router—I assume you've been renting yours from your ISP?

 

[ZedClampet]

Lost the only battle I've manually fought in my current Total War Warhammer 3 game, and I don't think there was anything I could have done to win. It all boiled down to one unit, the enemy's level 23 legendary lord. We couldn't hurt him in any serious way, and he just annihilated 5 of my best units. I am not sure we could have won against him alone. My best armor piercing guys were just hopeless.