December 2024 General Game Discussion Thread

[ZedClampet]

Chaps, any way I can see easily which games (licenses) on my Steam library have Linux and MacOS versions as well as Windows?
I can do it easily enough on GOG, but can't seem to find the option on Steam..

You used to be able to do that, but I don't see it anymore. It may have moved somewhere else or it's just gone. Don't know.

The only thing I see is that if you go to your library in Steam, there's a search bar on the left. Click on the 3 lines beside it and then sort by Steam Deck Verified.

 

[Pifanjr]

Now that I've finished Shadow of War, I had planned on going back to my Baldur's Gate 3 game. However, I didn't feel like playing it this evening, so I decided to check GOG Galaxy for inspiration.

It seems like Galaxy imported a bunch of games that I only have access to through Family Sharing, so I spent quite a while going through all of the new games it imported and tagging them. However, when I had done most of they suddenly disappeared. Hopefully I won't have to do it again if they reappear next time.

Anyway, I ended up installing and playing Besieged. I think the last time I played it it was still in Early Access and only the first island was available. It's still a blast to play. I love finding creative solutions.

My favourite win was when I strapped a bomb to my machine and it accidentally exploded prematurely, but the explosion catapulted the scraps of my machine against the building I had to demolish so I won anyway. That's how I found out that I hadn't activated Steam's recording functionality yet.

 

[ZedClampet]

I had plans for what I would do when I was set for money, but now that I have $344 trillion in Chillquarium, and it's going up at an alarming rate, I've started to lose interest in what I was wanting to do, which was sit around and open fish card packs until I got all the "gold" ones.

 

[Zloth]

I need to get back to BG3, too. Last I played, I was staring down an undead surgeon that looked VERY tough.

X4 is still very much like it was. The AI has to take care of thousands of ships, so it tends to be pretty low quality. For example, I told a scout to head back to base. She picked the shortest path, of course. Never mind the two big, nasty Kha'ak bases - just stick to the shortest path.

 

[Johnway]

Although i'm playing POE, i'm starting to get those pangs of hopelessness as i continue to grind away at goals. yes, i'm close to getting 3 or 4 crossed off my list, but at the speed i'm going, i'm starting to think the target for the challenges is just unachievable. I could be better spent playing Resident evil 2 or completing another game or something then repeatedly grind. i need to be more efficient with what and how i do things or just walk away and accept the rewards on offer just aren't worth doing.

Onto other news, still playing Ramp 2024. With the library of oddities finished. We're moving onto the forever stairway station. The library offered some jolly entertaining maps that were out of left field. Most were just large art projects, others were some of them were technical glitch experiments with furries.

There were some maps that stood out however. There was one map that was a puzzle game where you had to travel to the past, present and future to solve puzzles. smart stuff but it does get slightly tedious at the end as you fruitlessly jump through (time) portals to progress.


The other stand map that stood out was on the new station. Its just one giant hedge maze with destructible walls. You start off with a chainsaw and a pistol and the further you cut the more monsters and equipment you encounter. On the whole, its not complicated but its surprisingly interesting. At first, you would be gingerly cutting a path through to somewhere, exploring and using the walls to maximize door fighting and ambushing the enemy. But once you get a few more weapons and see tougher monsters, you face a dilemma? Do i switch out to weapons in the hopes to fight the monsters? Do i destroy cover to increase movement space at the risk of exposing more monsters then i can handle?

Eventually players have to pick a time to go nuts and intentionally break all the cover. When the spider mastermind and cyber demons become loose, i had no choice but to start breaking cover like there was no tomorrow to free more monsters for infighting, ammo and more movement. By the end of it, the entire hedgemaze was just an empty shell as i blasted the once glorious hedge maze flat.

 

[neogunhero]

Lots of GTA 4 this past weekend. I installed a small mod that changes a lot of small, subtle things. Things like making the driving more responsive, softening edges of objects which slightly improved the poor AA issue, fixing bugs that prevented certain cars from spawning and certain paintjobs from randomizing, and more. It didn’t change any of the graphics, but with this kid the game feels more complete. Traffic has increased which is nice because there was too many times before installing that mod where the streets felt too empty. It also fixed some other tiny things like the underground gun shop owners being Hipster NPCs changed to more tough looking bouncer type guys, just fits the shop aesthetic better than having a guy in an oversized beanie selling you a shotgun.

Going strong in the story still too. Been working with Brucie, one of my favorite characters in the whole series. Whoever voice acts him does an amazing job. The vocal inflections, the intensity of being a juiced up muscle head, it all fits so great and makes me laugh every time he talks. His missions can be a bit lame at times but it’s always great to talk with him. Most of his missions involve stealing a car and bring it back to him, with some side objectives thrown in.

One of my favorite things about this game is how well it juxtaposes a character with a dark history like Nico against a word of parody and satire. We all know how well GTA is good at satire and holding up the mirror to our society, so throw in their darkest character they’ve ever written against that background, you get some great results. One moment Nico is talking about all the horrors and trauma he’s experienced in the old country, the next moment you’re getting drunk with Little Jacob and trying to drive home. The constant change from serious to unserious makes the story very interesting. It’s almost like the Yakuza games, where the cutscenes are so dramatic and full of emotion, but the missions have you doing some silly stuff.

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I’ve also been on top of claiming the daily free games on Epic. Picked up some good ones like Dredge, but so far only tried a game called Killer Knight. What an awesome game! It’s a twin stick shooter that brings a lot of fresh and innovative ideas to the table. It’s a lot more in depth and complex than your average twin stick shooter. One cool idea it brings over is Gears of War reload mechanic which I haven’t seen in any other game besides Gears. When you reload, there is a bar with a solid part in the middle. If you hit your reload button again in the solid portion, you do increased damage. Where Kill Knight expands on that is it gives you three buttons to press there. Reload again in the solid you’ll do more damage, hit X while in the solid and you do a powerful massive sweep with your sword, or hit RB to vacuum up all orbs to convert them into a specific power bar that allows you to do a special move for healing orbs. Yeah, you can see now how it’s quite complex.

I’ve only played for an hour and can barely make progress but I’m having too much fun to care. You just fight an onslaught of enemies and you have objectives to complete. The very first objective is to essentially get a kill streak of 555 kills. You only have a few seconds between kills before that counter restarts. I haven’t been able to reach that yet but I’m having too much fun trying to get it.

 

[neogunhero]

Been doing a lot of thinking lately. What if I sold my entire PC set up and just got a steam deck? And if I had anything leftover I could just get a console to play newer games. It’s about time for a whole brand new pc upgrade but I’m not willing to shell out $1000+ for it. My pc now is good but not good enough for brand new games which is why I’m thinking of regressing to a steam deck. Plus I’m getting tired of working all day in front of my computer at the office then going home and doing pretty much the exact same thing. It would be so nice to lay in bed and enjoy a game more comfortably. And I feel like a steam deck will open me up to different kinds of games that I don’t like playing at my desk. Things like platformers and card games, fun to play but would be better on a steam deck.

 

[BeardyHat]

Been doing a lot of thinking lately. What if I sold my entire PC set up and just got a steam deck? And if I had anything leftover I could just get a console to play newer games. It’s about time for a whole brand new pc upgrade but I’m not willing to shell out $1000+ for it. My pc now is good but not good enough for brand new games which is why I’m thinking of regressing to a steam deck. Plus I’m getting tired of working all day in front of my computer at the office then going home and doing pretty much the exact same thing. It would be so nice to lay in bed and enjoy a game more comfortably. And I feel like a steam deck will open me up to different kinds of games that I don’t like playing at my desk. Things like platformers and card games, fun to play but would be better on a steam deck.

Re: your post in Coconut Monkey thread: I definitely get in those ruts too and often drift back to gaming because it feels like the default. In these instances, I do find that it's usually better to focus on a different hobby for awhile and let that take-up a lot of my time. That said, I've been in "Gaming Mode" for most of this year myself after painting something like 200+ models between December 2023 and August 2024. I'm pretty burned out on that hobby myself, so it's been nice to do something different, especially considering I don't feel like I did nearly as much gaming in 2023 as I did in 2024.

That said, I cannot give you advice on selling your current PC, because I'm a PC hoarder and often keep my old ones around to find different uses for them. Have you considered hooking up your current gaming PC to the TV and relaxing with a controller for some gaming? That might be a free or cheap way to experiment with what you're looking for without going whole hog on a Deck.

That said, I love my Deck. Around 2018 I started getting really into handhelds and while I still played a lot of PC games, many of them were on my laptop because I felt similarly: I have zero interest in sitting at my PC to game anymore. It's uncomfortable, I can't stretch out and I really want to be able to sit next to my wife while I play a game, rather than sequester myself in my office. Even when I want to game on a PC when a keyboard and mouse, I'm using my laptop on the couch rather than my considerably more powerful setup in my office, which was my impetus behind getting the eGPU solution for my laptop. That said, a Steam Deck probably won't solve your issue of being able to play AAA games; sure it'll do some, Cyberpunk at 30FPS Low on Deck is really cool, same with RDR2, but it'll struggle with a lot of things, so don't expect it to be a be all, end all solution.

I'm not saying whether you should or shouldn't, but gaming for me the last few years has been about gaming how I want to. I don't know that it will solve your gaming ambivalence, but for myself, I'd probably play games considerably less if I didn't have access to a huge variety of handhelds and my laptop.

 

[DXCHASE]

Although i'm playing POE, i'm starting to get those pangs of hopelessness as i continue to grind away at goals. yes, i'm close to getting 3 or 4 crossed off my list, but at the speed i'm going, i'm starting to think the target for the challenges is just unachievable. I could be better spent playing Resident evil 2 or completing another game or something then repeatedly grind. i need to be more efficient with what and how i do things or just walk away and accept the rewards on offer just aren't worth doing.

Are you referring to POE 1? I see that this is a problem in the endgame for POE 2 as well. The endgame is brutal in POE 2, having to go a full map and kill a boss w/o dying is super lame and i can see why people quit grinding at that point.

So yes, im still playing POE 2, popped into some diablo 4 for their xmas event and Super Earth still needs defending in Helldivers 2.

Little rant...
the games i play have terrible endgames, both diablo 4 and POE 2. Like these developers have no remorse for peoples time and ARPGs i think suffer the most here. Neither one of these games endgames, and ill thrown in other ARPGs like Lost Ark, Last Epoch etc. are at all reasonable. Spending hours to get nothing is ridiculous. Fighting the same boss 400 times to get 1 or 2 good items (if your lucky enough) is ridiculous and losing all progressing on a map because you die ONCE is ridiculous.

People that defend these types of grinds have no concept of reality for a game to be fun after the main part is over with. Feeling burnt out trying to power up and seeing that theres no other option than the painful 1 or 2 options these games seem to only give when grinding endgame gear/loot.

 

[ZedClampet]

Rule the talking movie industry in tycoon game Hollywood Animal

There's a nice little demo of this Old Hollywood business manager.

www.pcgamer.com

RE: "Talking Movie": My grandfather, who fought in WWI, said he couldn't understand why they were adding talking to movies. He may have been wrong on that one, but he was a very good dude.

I've been looking for a movie tycoon game. Two of them came out late last spring to early summer, but I ignored them because the user reviews were so bad. Fingers crossed for this one.

 

[Pifanjr]

I wanted to play something while my kid was still awake, so continuing with BG3 wasn't possible. I decided to try out Cursed to Golf instead. It's a roguelike, 2D, side-scrolling golf game with a bunch of power-ups you can activate to give yourself an advantage.

It's pretty fun, but I wish you could see slightly more ahead while making your shot. You can view the entire map before you start making your shot, but you can't when deciding on the angle and power of your shot.

I also think the game is supposed to be played with a controller. There was an area with platforms that allowed you to redirect your ball, but on a keyboard you can only use the arrow keys to set the direction, while with a controller I think you get a full 360 degrees to aim with.

 

[Johnway]

Are you referring to POE 1? I see that this is a problem in the endgame for POE 2 as well. The endgame is brutal in POE 2, having to go a full map and kill a boss w/o dying is super lame and i can see why people quit grinding at that point.

So yes, im still playing POE 2, popped into some diablo 4 for their xmas event and Super Earth still needs defending in Helldivers 2.

Little rant...
the games i play have terrible endgames, both diablo 4 and POE 2. Like these developers have no remorse for peoples time and ARPGs i think suffer the most here. Neither one of these games endgames, and ill thrown in other ARPGs like Lost Ark, Last Epoch etc. are at all reasonable. Spending hours to get nothing is ridiculous. Fighting the same boss 400 times to get 1 or 2 good items (if your lucky enough) is ridiculous and losing all progressing on a map because you die ONCE is ridiculous.

People that defend these types of grinds have no concept of reality for a game to be fun after the main part is over with. Feeling burnt out trying to power up and seeing that theres no other option than the painful 1 or 2 options these games seem to only give when grinding endgame gear/loot.

yep, referring to POE1. it just got worse today in less then 45 minutes i lost all my exp (that too nearly a week to accumulate) and i just snapped. Got incredibly impatient and honestly i'm wondering what the hell is the point. ive done the numbers and its unlikely to get the stuff i want and its becoming pointless.

POE 1 challenges use to be doable, but they've upped the difficulty and frankly i don't have the time to play it for hours to succeed. I use to ride on the coat tails on more successful players but thats rarely an option. i concur, most of these live service games (especially F2P) don't respect your time. Some people could do it for hours me? i have a life outside of one game and like i say, i can play 100+ hours on one game or 100 hours experiencing many games and stories and styles.

 

[ZedClampet]

My store is a little weird in Center Station Simulator, a store that's supposed to be a sort of oasis in the middle of a large desert. I'm selling water, candy, mushrooms, electric motors and circuit boards. Not surprisingly, almost no one buys anything but water and candy. I just happened to have extra motors and boards, so I put them on a shelf. Currently my main focus is to stop using only solar power and get my fossil fuel generators going because there are no batteries for the solar power, and I run out of power constantly, which is super annoying because I have to run across the facility to turn it back on, and then I have to go around restarting things.

 

[isleepinabed]

You used to be able to do that, but I don't see it anymore. It may have moved somewhere else or it's just gone. Don't know.

The only thing I see is that if you go to your library in Steam, there's a search bar on the left. Click on the 3 lines beside it and then sort by Steam Deck Verified.

I ended up doing it by hand (so to speak).
I wrote a spreadsheet with my entire Steam and GOG libraries, making a point of excluding demos, trials, etc.
In total, it's up to 881 entries (700 on Steam and 185 on GOG - there are 4 games I have on both).

Of course the Linux and MacOS compatibilities have to be taken with a grain of salt. There are a myriad of Linux distros and a game might run on Steamdeck and not exactly have a listed page for Linux system requirements (sysreqs).
Similarly, many games might have MacOS sysreq but just for Intel Macs. Of course, as the years go by I'm sure lots of those older ones will be playable on Apple Silicon as well.

According to the most recent Steam software survey, over 96% users use a version of Windows and only around 2% Linux and less than 1.5 % MacOS.
The total of 881 I think is a fairly standard collection, perhaps slanted towards japanese games, old games and indie games. Of these, 20.2% have Linux sysreqs and 33.4% have MacOS sysreqs.
This, I thought, was quite unexpected.

Speaking on MacOS alone there are genres that are notably sparse, in particular shmups and J-RPG, and more generally games made by japanese developers and old games. Other genres that are not as strong are racing and action games. Finally, another aspect I thought surprising was that it's very strong on western made indie games, as well as adventure and point & clicks.
Were I to switch over to the MacOS environment I could easily draw up a list of 50 "desert island" games from my collection that I wouldn't mind playing for the rest of my days, although, naturally, there would be a few I would regret not being able to play anymore.

In all it's surprising that for such a comparatively small install base of MacOS or Linux, one in 5 to one in 3 games are compatible with other OS, in some form - not to mention virtual machines, emulators, compatibility layers and so on, and so forth...

 

[neogunhero]

I'm not saying whether you should or shouldn't, but gaming for me the last few years has been about gaming how I want to. I don't know that it will solve your gaming ambivalence, but for myself, I'd probably play games considerably less if I didn't have access to a huge variety of handhelds and my laptop.

Really appreciate the reply Beardy. I’m still on the fence about it all. I definitely do need to find a new hobby, at least take a prolonged break.

I’m going to hold off on selling the set up for now. Two reasons, one is I’m not sure if I’m fully committed to switching over to a handheld as my primary gaming machine. Second, CES is right around the corner and rumors are that new handhelds will be unveiled with new processing chips. Hoping to see better battery life and stronger gaming performance.

I’m not too concerned about playing the latest AAA games all the time. I like to check them out when I can but I’ve got a massive backlog I need to get through that I could most likely complete entirely on a handheld. I’m also considering handhelds that support Windows so I could do more modding for older games. I’m still debating with my decisions right now.

 

[ZedClampet]

Been doing a lot of thinking lately. What if I sold my entire PC set up and just got a steam deck? And if I had anything leftover I could just get a console to play newer games. It’s about time for a whole brand new pc upgrade but I’m not willing to shell out $1000+ for it. My pc now is good but not good enough for brand new games which is why I’m thinking of regressing to a steam deck. Plus I’m getting tired of working all day in front of my computer at the office then going home and doing pretty much the exact same thing. It would be so nice to lay in bed and enjoy a game more comfortably. And I feel like a steam deck will open me up to different kinds of games that I don’t like playing at my desk. Things like platformers and card games, fun to play but would be better on a steam deck.

You won't be able to get a console, too. Consoles cost as much as low end PCs now, and that's just upfront costs. They are a money pit. You have the monthly sub of $9.99, and the games are wildly expensive and don't get discounted the way they do on PC.

If you want to have mobility without sacrificing anything, I strongly suggest a laptop like one of these for under $1000:

A fantastic HP laptop for $889
A wonderful Lenovo laptop for $849

But the real problem is that your current computer is perfectly fine. It just can't handle a terribly optimized game like Stalker 2. Almost no computers can. I strongly suggest that you download the new Indiana Jones game and check out how well it runs. Then you'll be happier with your current PC, which is actually great for 1080p gaming. Don't let a poorly made game ruin things for you, and Stalker 2 is VERY poorly made.

If you are running on 1080p, then your very good AMD CPU and the perfectly fine RTX 2060 should still be absolutely great to run games that aren't complete trash.

 

[neogunhero]

You won't be able to get a console, too. Consoles cost as much as low end PCs now, and that's just upfront costs. They are a money pit. You have the monthly sub of $9.99, and the games are wildly expensive and don't get discounted the way they do on PC.

If you want to have mobility without sacrificing anything, I strongly suggest a laptop like one of these for under $1000:

A fantastic HP laptop for $889
A wonderful Lenovo laptop for $849

But the real problem is that your current computer is perfectly fine. It just can't handle a terribly optimized game like Stalker 2. Almost no computers can. I strongly suggest that you download the new Indiana Jones game and check out how well it runs. Then you'll be happier with your current PC, which is actually great for 1080p gaming. Don't let a poorly made game ruin things for you, and Stalker 2 is VERY poorly made.

If you are running on 1080p, then your very good AMD CPU and the perfectly fine RTX 2060 should still be absolutely great to run games that aren't complete trash.

You’re completely right. Stalker 2 is definitely the exception not the rule for how well my PC can run games. I’ve also just been in a rut mentally about the games I most regularly play and it’s been discouraging me which is all just in my head. I had a conversation with a random TikTok commenter and he suggested to branch out more which could help. He says he realized western AAA games made him feel the same way, and since then he has been having a blast playing through classic JRPGs instead. Maybe I just need to branch out and try out different genres of games, not just first/third person action games.

 

[BeardyHat]

Really appreciate the reply Beardy. I’m still on the fence about it all. I definitely do need to find a new hobby, at least take a prolonged break.

This is the stuff that helped me a lot with gaming, just having less time to do it between other hobbies and children. There are days now where I just don't play anything because I'm too tired or just have been busy with a myriad other things; when you've got that forced sabbatical, things get more appealing, I find.

 

[BeardyHat]

You’re completely right. Stalker 2 is definitely the exception not the rule for how well my PC can run games. I’ve also just been in a rut mentally about the games I most regularly play and it’s been discouraging me which is all just in my head. I had a conversation with a random TikTok commenter and he suggested to branch out more which could help. He says he realized western AAA games made him feel the same way, and since then he has been having a blast playing through classic JRPGs instead. Maybe I just need to branch out and try out different genres of games, not just first/third person action games.

This was going to be my other suggestion as well. Try something totally different, as well as playing it differently.

Something I picked up around 2017 was emulating old consoles; I initially started on my phone and now have heaps of handheld consoles dedicated to it. One of the first games I recall emulating was Advance Wars: Dual Strike from the Nintendo DS, using the Drastic emulator on Android.

When I'm stuck in a rut on PC or just tired of PC games, having something smaller and more immediate from an older console can hit the spot. This Spring I played a ton of Dragon Quest 3 on GBC and just recently picked it up again a few days ago; it's simple and straightforward, easy to play, as many classic console games are.

And you can always get a dedicated handheld for that. Many ones can be had for $40-$70 that can emulate up to PS1 (which I've also been playing, a game called The Misadventures of Tron Bon). Many of them can even emulate DOS. I can offer suggestions on these if you're ever interested.

 

[ZedClampet]

You’re completely right. Stalker 2 is definitely the exception not the rule for how well my PC can run games. I’ve also just been in a rut mentally about the games I most regularly play and it’s been discouraging me which is all just in my head. I had a conversation with a random TikTok commenter and he suggested to branch out more which could help. He says he realized western AAA games made him feel the same way, and since then he has been having a blast playing through classic JRPGs instead. Maybe I just need to branch out and try out different genres of games, not just first/third person action games.

I've got a ton of off-the-beaten-path games. If you need recommendations, let me know, although most of mine are western games, though they tend to be strategy and economic games as opposed to action games.

Maybe you could try one of those games that combines Match3 with a visual novel. Get a good story to go with some simple but rewarding gameplay.

 

[neogunhero]

I've got a ton of off-the-beaten-path games. If you need recommendations, let me know, although most of mine are western games, though they tend to be strategy and economic games as opposed to action games.

Maybe you could try one of those games that combines Match3 with a visual novel. Get a good story to go with some simple but rewarding gameplay.

I don’t mind western games at all, but it was refreshing to hear that commenter tell me what they found exciting after being in the same rut. The only game I’ve made real progress in besides Vermintide 2 is GTA 4, and I’m kind of tempted to finish it. After I do, or if I decide to move on, I’m going to look for something new. Something like Hades or Stellaris, though I don’t want a game that takes too long to learn and requires too much of my time.

I bought all of the Vampire Survivors DLC day one but haven’t played any of them, maybe that’s what I need to move to next.

 

[Pifanjr]

I don’t mind western games at all, but it was refreshing to hear that commenter tell me what they found exciting after being in the same rut. The only game I’ve made real progress in besides Vermintide 2 is GTA 4, and I’m kind of tempted to finish it. After I do, or if I decide to move on, I’m going to look for something new. Something like Hades or Stellaris, though I don’t want a game that takes too long to learn and requires too much of my time.

I bought all of the Vampire Survivors DLC day one but haven’t played any of them, maybe that’s what I need to move to next.

I can recommend trying some of the shorter games that Epic has given away. I'm currently enjoying Cursed to Golf, which is very easy to pick up and each level typically only takes a couple of minutes, especially the first 5.

 

[Colif]

Colif wonders where the January 2025 post is... guess I just wait.

I been here 5 years today. Its much quieter now than 2020 was.

wait on, this forum counts off
I had forgotten it counts in days and doesn't know what a leap year is

Guess its an early Birthday present.

 

[neogunhero]

Colif wonders where the January 2025 post is... guess I just wait.

I been here 5 years today. Its much quieter now than 2020 was.

wait on, this forum counts off
I had forgotten it counts in days and doesn't know what a leap year is

Guess its an early Birthday present.

Congrats on the badge! The forum stats puts the member count at 501,187, but I only see maybe about 20 regulars posting often here. I made my account in 2020, but didn't start posting often until April of last year.

 

[Johnway]

I've given POE a break and went back to RE2 Remake. We're on the home stretch in the NEST Labs and thankfully getting the upgrades on my weapons has made things much more tolerable. The Shotgun especially has become my bread and butter weapon as its not a reliable hotshot executioner. The matador (9mm) pistol still remains impressively rubbish, knee caps for the win.

Doom Mod update, RAMP 2024, the endless stairway station maps finished. The theme is the corridor teleporter trick that map makers use to implement for room over room or teleporting users around the map. Decently made, but most didn't outstanding. There was one map was somesort of gem swapping mini game. As you swap the gems the random monsters and items spawn. Clever stuff.

But all done now, i'm onto the next station: Martian Bunker. The theme is doom1 E1M1 styled maps.