December 2023 PCG Article Links and Discussion

[Zloth]

Hideo Kojima announces OD with Jordan Peele: 'It is a game... but it's at the same time a movie, but at the same time a new form of media'

"I am absolutely honored to be collaborating with the GOAT," said Peele.

www.pcgamer.com

A good hunk of twisted horror, followed by a 20-minute lecture explaining just WTF happened. That will scare the pants off a lot of gamers!

Really, though, he made an impression with that Silent Hill P.T., so there's some real possibility with that game.

 

[Brian Boru]

is a game, don't get me wrong, but it's at the same time a movie

Same as usual, huh?

 

[Brian Boru]

Some very decent games in Fanatical's latest.

[Mod edit: fixed link.]

 

[Pifanjr]

Some very decent games in Fanatical's latest.

FYI, your link is broken, you pasted the URL twice in a row (I fixed it in the quote).

 

[Colif]

FYI, your link is broken, you pasted the URL twice in a row (I fixed it in the quote).

users aren't supposed to correct mods... I feel a break in the walls of reality. Must whitewash thread and hide this fact

 

[Pifanjr]

users aren't supposed to correct mods... I feel a break in the walls of reality. Must whitewash thread and hide this fact

I fully expect Brian to edit his post and delete mine

 

[Colif]

Brian currently trying to work out how to delete internet to remove all evidence.

 

[Pifanjr]

Lego Fortnite is way bigger than we thought, and millions of people are playing the new survival mode

Whoa, they put a whole survival game into Fortnite, with free persistent servers for you and your friends.

www.pcgamer.com

My own experience was in line with this article, but I didn't notice that you need to specifically share a "world key" to make your friends a permanent part of your world. I assumed the world would only be accessible while the host was playing and you just needed to be in the same party.

 

[Brian Boru]

your link is broken, you pasted the URL twice in a row

No, no—some of our members—starting with Z, shh—are a bit slow, so I wanted to give them a second chance. I'm very caring like that.

PS thanks, and fixed

users aren't supposed to correct mods

What? I used to do it all the time when I first joined—that's why they dragged me in with you lot, to up the general performance level. But I understand if you're still in denial, takes time…

I fully expect Brian to edit his post and delete mine

Oh that's a good idea! Ah well, I got half of it done—too much time with the mod squad has reduced my acuity

how to delete internet

Spoiler: how to delete internet

Alt-F4… found on hack of Al Gore's phone.
Make a backup first.

 

[ZedClampet]

E3 is officially dead: 'Thanks for the memories. GGWP'

After a rough few years, E3 has been killed off for good.

www.pcgamer.com

Pretty sad for me. I loved all the hype, trailers and announcements. E3 organizers really should have tried harder to get a show running in 2021 even if they had to leave California due to Covid restrictions. All in all the last few years seems more like they were giving up. I'm sure they could have, for instance, reached better deals with large publishers that would have kept them on the hook.

 

[neogunhero]

Bethesda teases 'all new ways of travelling' coming to Starfield next year

FSR3 and XeSS support are also on the way.

www.pcgamer.com

“These will be rolling out with a regular cadence of fixes and updates we expect to have roughly every six weeks. If something can be done in a smaller hotfix in between (like the asteroid), and we feel it’s safe, we’ll get one of those out as well. Safe is the key here. We do take a lot of time to test even the smallest change in a game this large and dynamic."

Sure the game is large and dynamic, but does it really take that long to get updates out? One could argue Baldurs Gate 3 is just as large and dynamic as Starfield, yet they had updates coming out faster than you could even check out the new features. They added a whole new ending to the game for christs sake. In the three months since Starfield launched, all that was really added was a fairly small amount of bug fixes, some quest fixes, DLSS and an FOV slider. BG3 has only been out for one month longer and it seems as if they’ve patched every bug out of existence and added tons of features players were wanting.

It could also be the fact that Bethesda is a huge company owned by Microsoft so there are extra checks and balances that need to be figured out before an update, and Larian is largely independent from higher-ups having a say in what goes on in the development of these patches.

Either way it makes me sad that it’s taking so long to see these new updates. Very curious to see what new modes of transportation they are talking about. I’m being cynical, but it’s probably just being able to use the subway in New Atlantis properly rather than being a fast travel method.

 

[Zloth]

Bethesda also has a DLC they are working on. Larian isn't planning to do any DLC for Baldur's Gate 3.

 

[Colif]

Bethesda also has a DLC they are working on. Larian isn't planning to do any DLC for Baldur's Gate 3.

priorities, have to work on something to suck more money in rather than fix the game for those silly enough to keep playing it. Modders fixed it mostly already. Where would Bethesda be with modders? Closed and forgotten where they deserve to be.

 

[Pifanjr]

Bethesda teases 'all new ways of travelling' coming to Starfield next year

FSR3 and XeSS support are also on the way.

www.pcgamer.com

Sure the game is large and dynamic, but does it really take that long to get updates out? One could argue Baldurs Gate 3 is just as large and dynamic as Starfield, yet they had updates coming out faster than you could even check out the new features. They added a whole new ending to the game for christs sake. In the three months since Starfield launched, all that was really added was a fairly small amount of bug fixes, some quest fixes, DLSS and an FOV slider. BG3 has only been out for one month longer and it seems as if they’ve patched every bug out of existence and added tons of features players were wanting.

It could also be the fact that Bethesda is a huge company owned by Microsoft so there are extra checks and balances that need to be figured out before an update, and Larian is largely independent from higher-ups having a say in what goes on in the development of these patches.

Either way it makes me sad that it’s taking so long to see these new updates. Very curious to see what new modes of transportation they are talking about. I’m being cynical, but it’s probably just being able to use the subway in New Atlantis properly rather than being a fast travel method.

Baldur's Gate 3 might have been patched quicker, but their patches also broke things several times, including breaking the entire third act once. So I don't fault Bethesda for being slower if they do manage not to break stuff.

 

[Zloth]

priorities, have to work on something to suck more money in rather than fix the game for those silly enough to keep playing it.

Actually, I think there's a good bit more to it than that. Everywhere I've ever worked, new features are always more important that fixing bugs. It takes a pretty nasty bug before most places will see it as urgent and, even then, that urgency drops over time. It's always distressing for us engineers. (I made a mistake! It's right there where everybody can see it, too! It MUST BE IRRADICATE!!)

 

[Pifanjr]

Most RPGs are getting character creation wrong

Making a new character shouldn't feel like taking an exam that you can fail.

www.pcgamer.com

I talked about this last month on the article about respecs, but I fully agree with this article (except the comments about respecs). For me it was Wasteland (2?) where I had no idea what skills I should be choosing at the start of the game and I just quit when I found out my build was bad instead of restarting the game.

 

[Zloth]

The article brings up the Elder Scrolls way of picking as you go, which does work nicely. I wonder if anyone has tried the table-top Rolemaster style where picking a class doesn't determine what skills you can get, but does determine how much they will cost your character. Monks can get martial arts skills for cheap, sages have to pay a lot. So, it's pay-as-you-go but your class still matters. That should make for a more interesting system, IMHO.

 

[ZedClampet]

Creative Assembly apologizes for 'missteps' and says Total War: Warhammer 3 DLC will become better value and players will receive partial refunds for Total War: Pharaoh

After players declared Total War on Total War, the studio has promised free updates and better value.

www.pcgamer.com

Creative Assembly takes note that they've caused everyone to hate them. Says they are sorry, gives refunds to everyone, says they will do better.

Also, it looks like their non-Total War games have all been canceled by Sega.

 

[DXCHASE]

In less than a year, Blizzard transformed Diablo 4 into an action RPG worth grinding for

Fundamental changes helped Diablo 4 find its identity in a sea of RPGs this year.

www.pcgamer.com

If you just take a look at the comments. I have the same sentiment. Sure Diablo 4 has improved since it first dropped but its nowhere near being this great ARPG that this article is stressing. It still has a ways to go imo.

Look, i still play it and all, i have 3 level 100 characters just this season. I've been grinding out their winter event (that has very boring and un-rewarding loot i should add) and im probably going to continue, but its far from its 'niche' i think. Its hard to really defend it though, even with its positives.

Its nice that these events over the last couple weeks were added too, but theyre just 2 events, both leaving at the end of the season, one in which you have to be at level 100 to even attempt, and 1 that is very shallow in its content and rewards so theres still not enough endgame content, at least one to make a live service game more enjoyable imo (on top of other problems.)

 

[Pifanjr]

Bethesda needs a change after Starfield's middling release, just not the one you're thinking of

Part of my ongoing campaign to turn every videogame into Dwarf Fortress.

www.pcgamer.com

I think the article writer doesn't realise that most of the stories that happen in Dwarf Fortress and Rimworld are often happening mostly in the imagination of the players and are dependent on being able to see the exact traits, thoughts and history of each character.

If you come across a bunch of people killing each other in a game like Starfield, there would be no story because you would have no idea why they're mad at each other. And I don't think there's a way to relay that information that wouldn't feel extremely artificial.

It seems to me Bethesda just needs to invest more in their writing and quest design. Every Bethesda game has had good quests, so we know they can do it.

 

[neogunhero]

Best gaming mouse in 2023

The best gaming mouse for every game, budget, grip, and size.

www.pcgamer.com

Glad to see Razer DeathAdder V2 is still PCG’s favorite wired mouse. I’ve had mine for going on 3-4 years now and it’s fantastic. I have big hands and use a palm grip, so its big size works perfect for me. I will agree that the buttons are a tiny bit flimsy, but as long as you’re not smashing the buttons with the full force of your fingers, it’s absolutely fine. I had the V1 and it broke within a year. I was skeptical about getting the V2 but the stellar reviews convinced me, and this is the longest I’ve ever had one single mouse for. I remember my V1’s right click button stopped being clicky, and I had to shove a small piece of cardboard under neath the gap where it clicks just to fix it. After that the rubber side grip came off, and it left a small indent where it’s supposed to be. That indent rubbed my right thumb raw, a very slighty raised plastic edge that my thumb kept brushing over. Glad to report that I’ve not experienced any of that in my many years having the V2, and I plan on using it until it breaks.

To me, gaming mice is one of those things where you’ll spend a lot of time trying different ones and when you find the perfect fit you want to stay with it for as long as you can. I’ve had so many different mice over the years. Sometimes I miss my Logitech G500 with the black chrome paint from 2009, that was a beast of a mouse. It had removable weights and I spent so much time tinkering with that to get the perfect weight. I think I ended up settling for ALL the weights, which adds a good 27 grams extra according to the Amazon page. It’s funny to think about that since now manufacturers are trying to make mice as light as possible. I think I prefer heavier mice, and the DeathAdder V2 has a nice in between of too light and too heavy, it’s just right.

 

[Brian Boru]

It had removable weights and I spent so much time tinkering with that to get the perfect weight

Do you know about the RAT mice from Mad Catz?
I had an old one ~a decade ago, hugely customizable. Hmm, I see that one has side scrolls too—I miss that function.

 

[ZedClampet]

Wait, was Cyberpunk 2077 just quietly in early access for three years?

It means two of the best games of 2023 are RPGs that came out in early access in 2020, which isn't a trend but it's weird that there are two.

www.pcgamer.com

Similar to my take from a few months ago.

 

[ZedClampet]

TinyBuild closes indie publisher Versus Evil, all staff laid off

The closure comes just two years after Versus Evil was acquired by TinyBuild.

www.pcgamer.com

Very disappointed in this news and in tinyBuild. Versus Evil was a pretty good publisher that didn't push developers to release their games too early. In the end, that was apparently one of the main reasons tinyBuild got rid of them, because 3 of the 4 games (including Broken Roads) scheduled for this year were delayed to 2024. Now I have to wonder what state those games will launch in.

Versus Evil published some good games, like the Banner Saga. I think one of the Pillars of Eternity games was also published by them, and I've been looking forward to Broken Roads for awhile now.

 

[Pifanjr]

Wait, was Cyberpunk 2077 just quietly in early access for three years?

It means two of the best games of 2023 are RPGs that came out in early access in 2020, which isn't a trend but it's weird that there are two.

www.pcgamer.com

Similar to my take from a few months ago.

I aim to argue with myself until we don't have a clear answer either way.

One of my favourite hobbies.

I suspect Starfield fits this as well, if I look at what they've promised for the upcoming updates. Though that isn't really new for Bethesda, as they've been releasing their games and then adding, for example, a survival mode months later for years now.