July 2023 Random Game Thoughts Thread

[Pifanjr]

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\dumps\reports

Me is empty. Maybe it's only for bad players?

It seems most of them were generated on two specific days, so I guess it was one specific thing that went wrong and then spawned several gigs of logs.

This knowledge was brought to me by WinDirStat by the way, which I somehow either have never used before or have completely forgotten about. It's incredibly useful to get a sorted overview of which folders on your PC take up the most space though. I also threw away several gigabytes of old save files that had piled up.

Now that I've made some room, I can continue trying to figure out which game to play...

 

[Brian Boru]

WinDirStat

Yep, nice little utility. 2 other similar ones worth a look are WizTree and TreeSize.

 

[Pifanjr]

I decided to play Watch Dogs, because I think it'll be a game I can pick up easily again even if I don't have time to play for a while in between sessions.

I'm planning on mostly playing it as a stealth game, trying not to kill anyone if it isn't necessary. However, I'll need to seriously improve my driving skills if I want to avoid "collateral damage", because I keep accidentally finding myself driving on the side walks. It's making me consider playing with a controller, as I assume it uses the trigger for the gas, which would give me better control of my car's speed.

 

[Johnway]

Oh my gosh

No, safe to say I didn't know about that at the time!

Just downloaded the 3 games—apparently Contract Jack still has a few issues. Have you tried this installation?

Sadly no not tried any of the links tbh. i heard that contract jack wasn't particularly good. PCG UK didn't think much of it at the time.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Per Aspera and Resident Evil Village for me.

Per Aspera is still good, waiting to see where the story goes. Seems you have to be scanning for resources all the time as they are finite, so its going to leave me with a bit of a problem as old veins run out and the factories I've built to take advantage of best position between their required resources become more and more inefficient.

I'm warming to RE Village more after a slow start. Its not quite as shooty as I was expecting and there seems to be a lot of fights that you can't win with only guns anyway. Story is nonsense, but fun. Not sure which of the writers of these games has a thing for hand injuries but theres some stuff thats made me wince a few times already. Its pretty good.

 

[Zloth]

PSA: check your Steam/dumps/reports folder, it might have over 18 gb of error logs from well over a year old...

I had some dumps from a few days ago that were 1.7MB each, but they were one level up in the dumps directory. I've had PLENTY of other crashes, though, including with games I still have installed. <shrug>

I'm still cranking through Midnight Suns and having a lot of fun. The exploration had a fight that recommended you be level 8 before trying. I tried it at level 4 and (barely) made it through, so now I've explored about two thirds of the map. And raised the difficulty level.

 

[ZedClampet]

PSA: check your Steam/dumps/reports folder, it might have over 18 gb of error logs from well over a year old...

Mine was empty.

****

I've talked before about World's Adrift, a game I positively loved that was shut down a few years ago. I even sent the developer a certified letter proposing to buy the IP.

Well, I found out yesterday that they are brining it back as a singleplayer/co-op game called Lost Skies. The new trailer starts out cartoony and is mostly fan service, but reading the description, they are including the stuff I loved about the game. The only thing they didn't mention were the dungeons, but I'm sure they wouldn't leave those out.

Of course, it won't be quite the same without the MMO part. Some of the most fun I ever had was piloting a ship into the PvP area with Guido, who's the best shot I've ever seen, manning the guns and taking down the griefers who were camping the spawn point. Between my piloting and Guido's shooting, we never lost an encounter, and never really even took significant damage.

Still, the thought of being able to design and sail my ship through the floating islands again is pretty exciting, even without taking on the griefers. The description mentions bosses, which were not a part of the old game, and these will do just fine assuming the AI is solid.

The only time we ever lost a ship was when I was playing by myself and fell asleep at the wheel. I woke up and the ship was being torn to bits because I had sailed too low and hit the "out of bounds" area. It's funny now. It was not funny then, particularly since that ship had our entire inventory on it.

Anyway, can't wait!

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm still playing with keyboard and mouse, but my driving skills in Watch Dogs are a lot better already. It just took a little bit of practice to get a feeling for how fast I can go without losing control.

I was planning on being mostly pacifistic, but it turns out that most of the stuff I can hack explodes and it's too much fun not to use it. I'll still try to limit hurting civilians, but that isn't easy during high speed chases. I do avoid stealing from regular people and I only take parked cars.

The activities all take around 5-10 minutes at most so far, which means it's worth starting the game even when I only have half an hour to play, which is great. I'm really enjoying the game so far.

 

[Sarafan]

I had to buy a new gamepad. One of the bumpers in my old one stopped working. I picked a new designed for Xbox Series X. The previous one was from Xbox One and they're pretty much the same, which satisfies me completely. The plastic on the backside and triggers are a little different, but I like those changes. I hope that it'll serve me for a few years.

Also, I'm not sure if you guys know about it, but there's The Outer Worlds Spacer's Choice Edition available on Humble Choice for 12 dollars (or 10 euro). It's a very good occasion because the game currently costs almost 40 USD on Steam sale.

 

[ZedClampet]

@Pifanjr I really enjoyed Watch Dogs 2. Never played the first one. I'll sometimes drive with keyboard, but I have a controller next to my computer, and I generally just pick that up, do the driving, and put it back down. Driving is usually pretty good in Ubisoft games. In fact, any random Ubisoft game has better driving than the Need for Speed series.

i'm sure you figured it out already but tapping 'w' instead of holding it down is usually the best way to control your speed with keyboard. Depending on the game, they may have to be deliberate taps, like holding it down a half second or something. Once you practice it a bit, it's pretty fun.

 

[ZedClampet]

Oh yeah, they fixed the stuttering in Super Mega Baseball 4, and I've been playing one game a day. It's the sort of game that's just impossible if the FPS isn't smooth.

Despite not playing that much comparatively speaking (they show you everyone's playtime in rank form), I'm ranked in the top 100 in home runs. In overall points earned, I think I'm around 800ish.

 

[Ryzengang]

Still primarily playing Diablo IV with a friend and it has been a great time. I'll be playing it to some degree for quite some time, I think. For my singleplayer gaming sessions. I'm continuing to make my way through Yakuza 0. I'm 17 hours in and still super impressed by how good this game is. It has definitely earned a spot on my all-time favorite games list. The story hasn't cooled off at all and is really gripping. Also, the deft balance of silliness and seriousness in the game is excellent, and I've scarcely experienced games that do this right - it's really difficult. Overall, quite a unique game with quality in nearly all areas.

 

[Zloth]

Yakuza 0 has a slow start right at first, but it doesn't take long to ramp up andbecomeoneofthe BEST GAMES EVER!
(Zloth rips off his t-shirt with one hand)

 

[Brian Boru]

@Frag Maniac you still in FC6?
StealthGamerBR has a new video out, it's one of his best yet—some LOL moments mixed in with the always top methods.

His slide tackles are better than an Italian central defender's—yes, even Franco Baresi's

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTLIa91iTxw

 

[DXCHASE]

Had the week for the 4th off so i have been primarily grinding Diablo 4 solo and some with the family. I have also played a little Destiny 2 getting paid content done but have all but stopped the grind with that game for Diablos lol. Excited for season 1 to start and hopefully getting a character to 100 sometime this year.

 

[mainer]

I've been playing the System Shock Remake for about a week now and really enjoying it as the exploration is great, the atmosphere creepy, and there's tension in not knowing what you're going to find; much like the original. It feels like a game from the 1990s, but at the same time looks and plays like a more recent game, which is was Nightdive's intention. Just don't go into it thinking it will look like the recent Dead Space Remake in terms of graphics, as SS is a much more retro experience.

There are several graphics options to tweak, including a DLSS mode, and my experience thus far is the game running very smoothly with no stuttering and no crashes. I may end up tweaking some of those settings I have at medium to high.

My memories of playing the original SS are blended together with the memories of SS2, as I haven't played the originals since installing them from CDs/DVDs, but it feels like the levels are much larger, very maze-like, easy to get turned around, and often have multiple routes to reach a certain area. Maybe Nighdive added to the original layouts? I don't know, but it's very well done, and the map is great.

Combat I found to be challenging (even on normal), especially at first when all you have is a lead pipe (or lucky enough to find the wrench which does more damage), and even when you start to find the different guns, ammo is pretty scarce so I found it better to conserve it for when I really need it. There's also a few types of grenades that can help with large groups.

The wrench does 5 more damage than the lead pipe, but it's hidden in a secret area.

There are quite a few guns, as well as ammo types, choosing the right combination will give you an advantage.

But inventory management becomes an issue, as you only have so much space and can't keep everything.

There are also times where you have to jack into cyberspace to unlock certain areas that are otherwise inaccessible, and that can be trippy. It's light years ahead of what the original SS had, and maneuvering in cyberspace feels much like playing the old Descent from Interplay; it can be very disorienting.

 

[Frag Maniac]

@Frag Maniac you still in FC6?
StealthGamerBR has a new video out, it's one of his best yet—some LOL moments mixed in with the always top methods.

His slide tackles are better than an Italian central defender's—yes, even Franco Baresi's

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTLIa91iTxw

I just finished up my final playthrough of Far Cry 6 last night. I have only the Paint the Town side mission left. I've captured McKay Global Acid Plant and The Battle for Esperanza. I was thinking of maybe capturing Paint the Town too because it involves some tricky stealth combat in one of the toughest districts, which has high level troops and Special Forces at the end of the game.

Yeah that guy does some amazing stuff in his videos, but I have to wonder how many tries it takes on some of them, like the ones where he just casually chucks a hatchet straight up in the air and it lands on one of the enemies. The bit at 1:44 had me laughing, it reminded me of the Arrow in the Knee guard in Skyrim.

Lately I've been playing Doom 2016 and some more Batman Arkham Knight. Right now I'm compressing some Batman Arkham Knight vids, but I just realized it's been 6 months since I posted any in a thread I made, not 3. Hope it's not considered necroing an old thread.

 

[Zloth]

Marvel's Mightnight Suns is going well. Wake up, check the messages, open up yesterday's loot, set tonight's research, send somebody off on a hero op, update some decks, see if any loot crates have re-spawned, do the next mission, hang out a bit with my fellow supers, and go to bed. There's some drama from time to time, but nothing terrible. Until yesterday....

View: https://youtu.be/doYaN4EWqJQ

Yeah.... he doesn't play so well with others. Blade has already given him a dressing down - basically, he ran him through with a sword.

 

[Brian Boru]

there's tension in not knowing what you're going to find

Ah, so it's like buying pre-release. Nice, that could help some trainee Patient Gamers who're experiencing withdrawal.
[who said apostrophes are incidental to meaning?]

all you have is a lead pipe (or lucky enough to find the wrench which does more damage)

That really is 90s! Combat took such a leap forward in 2004 with the intro of the crowbar!

levels are much larger, very maze-like, easy to get turned around

Ugh, one of my least-fav level designs. Escape from Durgesh is prob my least-fav Far Cry 4 mission, and its maze is tiny! Same in Crysis with 'Core', the first weightless mission in the alien ship—have dumped the game before that in recent plays, since it all continues downhill from there anyway.

quite a few guns, as well as ammo types, choosing the right combination will give you an advantage

Do you have to fiddle about when changing these things? That was one of the main design flaws in FC6, who the heck wants to be scanning enemies to see which type they are so you know which ammo type works best against them—and then futz with your weapons to find and equip said stuff Oh yeah, when you're done, that enemy has gone behind cover and there's a diff type charging in your direction!

inventory management becomes an issue, as you only have so much space

Ugh again, I don't even play those casual sliding puzzle games. In my employed life, we rented extra external warehouses when we needed more temp inventory space. I so much prefer the 'loadout' and 'max' inventory systems—choose which 3 'bags' you want …eg ammo bag, syringe bag, rockets bag… and you get max 4 grenades, max 30 pistol ammo, etc—which achieve the same objectives without taking me out of the gameplay via unnecessary complication.

how many tries it takes on some of them

I don't recall SGBR saying, but Clockner said years ago that it typically took 3-4 tries after memorising the target map layout. I recall some perk somewhere which locks hatchets onto target, dunno if it would help vertical shots.

Hope it's not considered necroing an old thread

Not at all, especially with your own thread

 

[Pifanjr]

I continued Watch Dogs and unlocked more ways to explode things, which is nice. My main complaint thus far is that the game keeps throwing side content at me, even when I've already set a marker for a side mission. It even sometimes suggests online content, even though I suspect the servers are completely dead.

 

[Brian Boru]

Zade has a nice new 45m video about Command and Conquer 3 Kane's Wrath—the last 'real' C&C game.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DqUrb1yIdQ

 

[Zimbaly]

Lots of Satisfactory today while my wife, who's on vacation, and Guido swam in the pool. I took some heat for not swimming, but like I told them: I'm a pretty princess and the water has to be at least 84 degrees for me to be comfortable. Tomorrow will be in the low 90's, so it should be fine.

I did go sit by the pool for a couple of hours, at least.

Buy a old plastic kids pool, put your chair in it at your desk, buy an eye dropper and every time someone says you should swim, just drop a single drop of water in it and go I'm freaking swimming!

As for random game thoughts. I picked up BF 2042, Divinity 2, and that FPS Star Ship troopers.

BF 2024 seemed fun, but chaotic, gotta try it some more.
Divinity 2 doesn't seem bad either.
And Star Ship man..... this game has some potential for coop fun.

I also picked up a new graphics card. I'm a budget gamer so I got a RTX 3050. Honestly stuff looks sick. Cyberpunk looks gorgeous. Totally worth it. Now I know it's not the top end card, but honestly I'm happy. Way better then my 1650, which ain't a bad card for what it is, but man the ray tech looks dope.

 

[ZedClampet]

I feel like maybe I'm done with Satisfactory until full release. It's possible Guido will want to keep going and do uranium, and if so, I'll keep going. He's really wanting nukes lol. I'm just not personally feeling it right now. Uranium is, for now, the grand finale, and it's an absolute bear.

Next Tuesday, Techtonica, another first person factory game, releases into early access. The demo was very fun. There's no telling how much content it will actually have, but it will be something different in a genre I love, so I'm looking forward to it. Based on the level of polish in the demo, I'm assuming the game will be pretty solid.

**************

Of course, I was really looking forward to Forever Skies, but I'm struggling to get into it. It's a survival game where you have an airship (which you can build out pretty extensively) and you are exploring ruined skyscrapers and looking for...the cure to a virus that is wiping out humanity. That's a popular storyline. It seems to be the storyline to Satisfactory, too, although it's impossible to really tell since the story is barely implemented right now.

Anyway, Forever Skies is really annoying to me because you have to constantly eat, drink and sleep. Food and water are easy to come by, but there's a process for both. You have to fish for food and then cook it. You can only cook one thing at a time. For water, you have to constantly build condensers. The condensers produce dirty water for some reason, which you then have to purify.

To make matters worse, food that you 've cooked spoils very quickly, so you can't just do a lot of fishing and cooking and then expect to have food for awhile because 10 minutes later the food becomes worthless.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Not at all, especially with your own thread

Was wondering and hoping that was the case. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I'm still playing Per Aspera and its good. Story is getting more interesting and taking some unexpected turns.

Anno 1800 is on sale for cheap and theres also a nice reduction on the bundle. Anyone played it? Is it worth getting any of the DLC's while theyre also reduced?

City/Colony games are fitting in pretty well with my life at the moment and I'd like to grab something else for the queue once I'm done with Per Aspera.