General Game Discussion for February 2026

[Pifanjr]

What are you powering your base with? I always used geothermal.

I haven't built a base since unlocking geothermal, so I've been stuck using bioreactors for the three bases I've built so far. I only really use the one though and I need to check if I can add a geothermal plant somewhere nearby, because the bioreactor can only barely keep up with the water filtration system and scanner room. If not I'll just built a nuclear reactor.

Kills are a good way to get points, but when someone gets 12 aces in a row, they're going to be the more valued volleyball player every time.

What kind of volleyball did you play?

 

[Frindis]

Had a little fun in Fallout: New Vegas using Iron Sight. If you listen closely, you can hear my mesmerizing chuckle.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxsESSZycXI

 

[neogunhero]

Still been in a rut. I have over a week left of Game Pass but just not interested in sticking with anything. Dark Tide is a lot of fun but I’ve got my fill for now. All I can think about gaming wise is Crimson Desert. I want that game so bad! Nothing seems as fun as the fun I’m imagining I’ll have playing Crimson Desert. Am I delusional?

I have been enjoying some S&box, Facepunch’s spiritual successor to Garry’s Mod. One of the biggest differences is a vastly expanded engine allowing much more intricate games to be made on it. It’s going for a Roblox approach to user-generated content: Facepunch provides the tools to create games and the community makes the games we play on while being hosted on the S&box platform. Facepunch has an incentive program that will pay developers depending on how popular the game is, and will have in-game microtransactions.

What I focus on when I boot this up is playing all the small indie games people are making. One game I played was a first person lawn cutting and zombie slaying game called Lawn Scare. You have to do some chores like cutting grass, watering flowers and blowing leaves while waves of zombies climb over your fence and try to eat you. The leaf blower is the best weapon, you can blow the zombies away into a burning pile of leaves you’ve made and watch them wither away.

Games like this make me excited for the future of this platform but unfortunately people are already trying to make cash-grab games. There are lots of tycoon games that are extremely similar to Roblox. If the similarities continue, it will be riddled with microtransactions to buy things like More Energy or Faster Movement for $1.99 each. I’m more interested in the unique games made without the sole purpose of generating profit.

 

[BeardyHat]

Had a little fun in Fallout: New Vegas using Iron Sight. If you listen closely, you can hear my mesmerizing chuckle.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxsESSZycXI

I need to get back to that one. Never was any good at iron sites in Fallout though...

Still been in a rut. I have over a week left of Game Pass but just not interested in sticking with anything. Dark Tide is a lot of fun but I’ve got my fill for now. All I can think about gaming wise is Crimson Desert. I want that game so bad! Nothing seems as fun as the fun I’m imagining I’ll have playing Crimson Desert. Am I delusional?

You're succumbing to the hype train! I've definitely felt that one before. No advice for you, other than thinking about what else sounds appealing. Though for me I can never think of anything, until suddenly something just hits me in the face.

I've actually been playing Diablo 2 Resurrected pretty consistently on my Steam Deck lately. Had been thinking about playing it again and then the new Warlock dropped and got me back in, even though I refuse to give Blizzard any money for it at the moment; I'll wait for a good sale.

Anyway, I've made it further than I ever have before in Diablo 2, I'm at the last step before Act 3. This is pretty unusual for me, because I don't typically get into ARPGs, usually getting pretty bored of them quickly, but right now, it's hitting right.

 

[Frindis]

All I can think about gaming wise is Crimson Desert. I want that game so bad! Nothing seems as fun as the fun I’m imagining I’ll have playing Crimson Desert. Am I delusional?

The game does look very, very promising, but I hope the world feels alive. The best example of the opposite right now is Where Winds Meet (a game in the same ballpark as Crimson Deser), which is a good game in many areas, but it lacks the feeling of home. You can put a lot of stuff to do, but it takes a lot more work to make the world feel real in a way. I sincerely hope they have thought about that and if so, ooooooh booooooy, are we in for a treat!

I need to get back to that one. Never was any good at iron sites in Fallout though...

I'm not even sure it is possible to be good at it. At least from my perspective, while shooting, I was low level and super lucky using a Chinese TEMU Vermentide rifle. I know that you can get better perks and such, but pure aiming, I think it might just be using the same stats as the WATS system, but having you shoot faster instead and hope for same % as WATS? I dunno, could be wrong there.

 

[Colif]

You're succumbing to the hype train!

too many disappointments to make me fall for that train these days.
Spore was hyped up as well... Cyberpunk as well.
If anything I try to avoid hype trains. Never sure where you end up.

I was excited for the Sacred 2 remake last year... so I am not immune. I had been wanting a remake of it for 12 years, I have an excuse

I will look at it in March... maybe.

Was a 3 hour podcast recently with one of the devs, some of the highlights are here:

 

[dxchase]

I try and try to play other games, and i do, but Stella Montis Arc Raiders keeps calling me back. Ill sit down for a few runs and then notice 4 hours have gone by. I dont even really bother with the other maps. I play them and the variants and stuff but nowhere near the amount i play stella.

It seems that the pvp part of Arc attracts me more than trying to pve and getting killed while minding my own business. I know its apart of the game but id just rather fight and loot bodies. I didnt think id like the "solo vs trios" mode, but its worked out well for me. The extra xp is great because im used to playing regular trio's and losing my 2 teammates but making it out by myself.

I have my "expedition" all set to reset next week (this erases your stash and progression, but you get rewards for going through the grind again, whether those are good or not is debatable) so im just burning through my stash of volcano and venetar 4's. I also wanted to add that i have gotten roughly 7-10 messages from Embark returning my loot because i died to cheaters.




Aside from Arc Raiders, ive had the chance to demo some new games.

First, High On Life 2. Funny FPS by Squanch Games aka Rick and Morty people minus Roiland. Runs nice, looks great but i dont think ill be finishing it.

Then there is Nioh 3. Now, im not a dark souls fan but ive always had a soft spot for Nioh, behind Dark Souls 3 (the only dark souls i beat lol). I have 1 and 2 so i wanted to try this out. Its soulslike still where i die a million times to the first boss but it looks fantastic and i do like the 2 system fighting theyve added here. Probably wont finish this either.

Last, but not least i just tried out Darkhaven. This is an upcoming ARPG with a kickstarter campaign from some of the major devs who worked on Diablo and Diablo 2/LoD. Its like a POE but you can jump and climb all over the terrain, even digging holes and trenches to find loot. Its in a pretty early stage and im not a huge kickstarter support of games but this will remain on my radar because ive had fun with what ive played so far.

I say check this out if you are a Diablo fan or just a fan of ARPGs in general.

Anyway, I've made it further than I ever have before in Diablo 2, I'm at the last step before Act 3. This is pretty unusual for me, because I don't typically get into ARPGs, usually getting pretty bored of them quickly, but right now, it's hitting right.

I think most people playing D2R currently, myself included but on battlenet, are really just doing it for the warlock class and abilities but its really nice to see that blizzard added a whole new class to the game. They also stated that "millions" still play D2R. So maybe more stuff in the future.

Im not a big fan of supporting blizzard either but Diablo is my poison i guess. Im still currently playing Diablo 4 daily and now, with the warlock, i think my hopes of getting to the max paragon level in D4 (which they are removing in april) have been dashed due to this and other gaming/life stuff. Its not that big of a deal since at paragon 250 on any class you pretty much can kill and beat every piece of content.

Have some other stuff to talk about but this is already long...

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm not even sure it is possible to be good at it. At least from my perspective, while shooting, I was low level and super lucky using a Chinese TEMU Vermentide rifle. I know that you can get better perks and such, but pure aiming, I think it might just be using the same stats as the WATS system, but having you shoot faster instead and hope for same % as WATS? I dunno, could be wrong there.

I'm pretty sure if you aim yourself your stats do not factor into the accuracy of the shot.

Also, why do you call it WATS instead of V.A.T.S. (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System)?

 

[Colif]

Currently installing D2R. I had to reset my battlenet password, it wasn't what I thought it was.

Might as well install D4 after it.

I have darkhaven on my radar as well

 

[Rolfil]

Been playing ETS2 delivering Valentine cargos. Also been playing some GOD Forsaken. Somehow I've just found that I like Roguelites after never playing that genre before!

There is a new POE 1 league starting in a couple of weeks (which I have 2 weeks holiday booked off). I have two builds I'm going to try with that I think so have been spending a bit of time in Path of Building and Poe trade getting ready for that.

Looking forward to Forza Horizon 6 coming out in May, Looks really awesome.

Also been playing around a bit more with Docker. Gone over to Trilium now and have the database it uses under my actual docker installation instead of the virtual drive. This means using a powershell script and a windows task it auto backs up everything to an external drive completly silently at the start of every hour if my PC is on.

 

[Frindis]

I'm pretty sure if you aim yourself your stats do not factor into the accuracy of the shot.

It's a bit wierd though, because while I did hit that guy in the back from a longer distance (the V.A.T.S would probably have been like 2-5%) there was also some other guy I tried to hit from a similar distance and none of the shots hit. The guy also had his back towards me, but maybe it was a higher level target?

Also, why do you call it WATS instead of V.A.T.S. (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System)?

I wondered about that too . Probably the same reason why @Colif reported me for saying thought instead of taught🔤 For reference:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgLmCGhAfh0

 

[Colif]

Also, why do you call it WATS instead of V.A.T.S. (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System)?

its mean to pick on his lisp like that.

I wondered about that too . Probably the same reason why @Colif reported me for saying thought instead of taught🔤 For reference:

I reported as I figured it was the least embarrassing way to do it... but if you going to just admit it, I will point out in threads in future

 

[Frindis]

I reported as I figured it was the least embarrassing way to do it... but if you going to just admit it, I will point out in threads in future

String those green floppy ears up, I can take it! In all honesty, I do not mind it at all; it is a friendly grammar tap on the old noggin.

 

[neogunhero]

You're succumbing to the hype train! I've definitely felt that one before. No advice for you, other than thinking about what else sounds appealing. Though for me I can never think of anything, until suddenly something just hits me in the face.

I know, it's very bad. The last time I was this caught up in a hype train was for Starfield and yeah... I still put over 60 hours into it but it was definitely a slog. This game seems like it was handcrafted for me specifically, it has everything I love from other games stuffed into one. Throw in the fact that it comes out on my birthday right before the weekend... the stars are aligning for me with this game. Let's just hope it turns out actually good.

The game does look very, very promising, but I hope the world feels alive. The best example of the opposite right now is Where Winds Meet (a game in the same ballpark as Crimson Deser), which is a good game in many areas, but it lacks the feeling of home. You can put a lot of stuff to do, but it takes a lot more work to make the world feel real in a way. I sincerely hope they have thought about that and if so, ooooooh booooooy, are we in for a treat!

My thoughts exactly. I can very easily seeing the mechanics being half-baked and the world feeling flat and uninteresting to explore. I just hope that isn't the case because if this game can pull off all its features and be fun to play, this could easily be a GOTY contender for me.

too many disappointments to make me fall for that train these days.
Spore was hyped up as well... Cyberpunk as well.
If anything I try to avoid hype trains. Never sure where you end up.

I'm generally strong against hype but this seems too great to me. We will only know how good it is once it's in the hands of the players. I bought into the Cyberpunk hype also, mainly because at that time I could not get enough of anything labeled as being cyberpunk (Blade Runner is still my all-time favorite movie), and while it was disappointing I did play a good 50-60 hours around launch. It wasn't until the expansion and 2.0 update that I got back into it and have poured over 300 hours into it since. Great game... only took an additional 4 years after launch to get great.

The devs being so transparent about the game and doing these hours long podcasts answering questions about it gives me a good sense that it will turn out good, but then again anyone can talk about their game for hours and release it in a bad state. Just need to be cautiously skeptical when something seems too good to be true and when the devs are doing all the correct things promoting it. They could have easily been very quiet and mysterious with it if they wanted, instead they are showing it off with great pride.

 

[Colif]

String those green floppy ears up, I can take it! In all honesty, I do not mind it at all; it is a friendly grammar tap on the old noggin.

I can't type so pointing out other peoples typo's is fraught with danger. I learned not to do it on IRC years ago. At least in forum posts I can edit them.
Grammar isn't a strong point. I won't correct you on that.

We will only know how good it is once it's in the hands of the players.

Yes, its watching other people play it that will tell me more.

Be nice to have a game to test PC on.

(wishes he was still a mod to add a little space in neos last post... breath. Walls of text are hard to read... many people just don't try.)

 

[Frindis]

I know, it's very bad. The last time I was this caught up in a hype train was for Starfield and yeah... I still put over 60 hours into it but it was definitely a slog.

This game seems like it was handcrafted for me specifically, it has everything I love from other games stuffed into one. Throw in the fact that it comes out on my birthday right before the weekend... the stars are aligning for me with this game. Let's just hope it turns out actually good.

Hear!, hear!

I'm generally strong against hype but this seems too great to me. We will only know how good it is once it's in the hands of the players.

I heard rumors that some content creators are getting the game a month in advance, so perhaps that means the embargo will lift early, or maybe a major PR stunt to let people leak as much as possible.

 

[Colif]

I had starfailed on Game Pass, I seem to have uninstalled it. Never played it. Story of all my game pass games really

One of these days I will change my plan on ISP, downloading Diablo 4 is going to take longer than I thought

Funny thing I don't really want to play it, just got it as the D2R expansion includes something for it. Not sure I even get expansion... but well, I have 2.62 tb of free space on that drive, might as well get it.

It may include something for Immoral as well, but I am not insane. They can keep that extra.

 

[neogunhero]

(wishes he was still a mod to add a little space in neos last post... breath. Walls of text are hard to read... many people just don't try.)

I type too much and have a lack of grammatical editing skills, resulting is massive walls of text. Beats one-word answers. My texts usually go like this: "Hey ___, ___ and I are thinking of getting together this weekend. How does the Italian restaurant at 8pm sound? We can get drinks and they're playing live music that night." "sounds good".

I tend to act the same way in person. I have an issue of providing too much context, too much information, when I could cut down on the words by half and still get my point across. If I had a TED Talk I'd beat the record for the longest one yet.

I heard rumors that some content creators are getting the game a month in advance, so perhaps that means the embargo will lift early, or maybe a major PR stunt to let people leak as much as possible.

Same here, though that interview was pulled from official channels and only a re-upload exists of it. The interview was also a whole hour long, so it could have been for any reason. I hope they do that though, it will give reviewers adequate enough time to fully assess the whole game. This is not a game you can review after just a few short hours.

 

[neogunhero]

I had starfailed on Game Pass, I seem to have uninstalled it. Never played it. Story of all my game pass games really

GP has lost it's charm. I remember when it was $5 a month and they handed out freebies like it was free candy. In 2019 whatever COD came out that year had a promotional campaign where you can get a weeks' worth of GP for free from Rockstar Energy drink cans and Doritos chip bags and they stacked. My brother and I stocked up on them and got a good two months each of GP.

Now I find it incredibly hard to justify spending $18 or $30 a month for a bunch of games I may or may not play and will lose access to after the month is over. They don't do the free codes anymore. The COD promotional campaign from last year were just in-game cosmetics. GP was really a fantastic value at one point, now over half the games on offer can be bought for $15 or less during a major sale.

 

[Colif]

I tend to act the same way in person. I have an issue of providing too much context, too much information, when I could cut down on the words by half and still get my point across. If I had a TED Talk I'd beat the record for the longest one yet.

I don't, I hardly say a word... but I do give too much info when it comes to some things, like any time I want to update my pc with something, I will send an email to a friend and go into too much info. I just like to cover all the bases.

I used forums for too long. I also know that long posts tend to get ignored. And walls of text more so. I may read it at start of day but by 6am its not going to happen (most days, I only awake at 6am if I been awake all night). Knowing that means I am aware of needing to follow the rule and have breaks every once in a while.

I might cancel game pass. Or I may keep it so I can play Forza one day... or try the next one.

 

[Frindis]

GP has lost it's charm. I remember when it was $5 a month and they handed out freebies like it was free candy. In 2019 whatever COD came out that year had a promotional campaign where you can get a weeks' worth of GP for free from Rockstar Energy drink cans and Doritos chip bags and they stacked. My brother and I stocked up on them and got a good two months each of GP.

Speaking of COD, I actually used VPN to buy a burger online so I could get a skin in COD

They don't do the free codes anymore.

They actually did one two months ago'ish for 1 month Ultimate. It was when I tried out Gears of Wars Reloaded and Outer Worlds 2.

I don't see the benefits of Game Pass, considering the price, but also looking at just how many games I own that I will never have the time to play or even want to play. I do test out a lot of games, but I always have a few that I keep on playing, so in that sense for me it would be pointless to buy a GP subscription, but perhaps better for those with less game library.

 

[BeardyHat]

I type too much and have a lack of grammatical editing skills, resulting is massive walls of text. Beats one-word answers. My texts usually go like this: "Hey ___, ___ and I are thinking of getting together this weekend. How does the Italian restaurant at 8pm sound? We can get drinks and they're playing live music that night." "sounds good".

I tend to act the same way in person. I have an issue of providing too much context, too much information, when I could cut down on the words by half and still get my point across. If I had a TED Talk I'd beat the record for the longest one yet.

My problem as well. Brevity is not my strong suit.

 

[neogunhero]

@Frindis I actually do remember you linking me to a free code via Webtoonz. I never did it but was happy to see it’s still possible. I didn’t get it because it required a new MS account and they’ve been cracking down on those. I used to make a new one almost every other month to redeem the $1 for 1 month deal but now I can’t get that to work. I think they are seeing I use the same card for each account with the same billing address and name so that must flag the system. Same thing happened with Amazon after making too many accounts to get the free month of Prime… this is my version of rebellion against the system.

 

[Frindis]

Same thing happened with Amazon after making too many accounts to get the free month of Prime… this is my version of rebellion against the system.

Amazon is really weird in that area, because I have also made tons of accounts, but I can still do it thanks to joining different regions. The only downside is that if the region is not the same as the card, I would not get any twich prime gaming stuff. Now that Amazon Prime has implemented the LUNA gaming platform and doing what they can to keep consumers inside their platform, the Twitch gaming stuff has been much less of quality and interest.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Tried to play the demo for Pragmata Sketchbook, but didn't have any luck with it. First of all, the moment you stop shooting or aiming, the guy puts his gun away and then has to pull it back out if you want to shoot again. So if you are hip firing, it happens between every shot.

Then, the game wanted me to press the "back" button on my mouse. I didn't have any buttons set up as that, so I couldn't do it, so I tried to open my Steel Series software, and it wouldn't open