October 2023 Random Game Thoughts Thread

[Pifanjr]

I thought the release of Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria would be bigger. However, from what I've read so far it's pretty mediocre at launch.

 

[ZedClampet]

good cause... 666... um

Anything to make people remember that game still exists.

It's kind of hard to forget. PC Gamer is still running near daily articles on it.

 

[ZedClampet]

I thought the release of Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria would be bigger. However, from what I've read so far it's pretty mediocre at launch.

Everyone made a big deal about it when it was announced, but now there's nothing. I looked yesterday for reviews, and metacritic only had 3 critic reviews and no user reviews, and I'd never heard of the sites. I think being an Epic exclusive is killing it. Out of sight, out of mind. I was very interested in that game, but I'm not going to even consider it until it gets at least some decent user reviews. Hopefully Epic paid them well.

 

[ZedClampet]

I've always been surprised by Sennheiser's popularity among PC gamers because their headphones have such low sound pressure that on many PCs I would think you would almost have to have a DAC to really push good sound out of them. They do sound great with enough power behind them, though. Of course, I've only had 2 pair. Maybe they aren't all that way.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I've always been surprised by Sennheiser's popularity among PC gamers because their headphones have such low sound pressure that on many PCs I would think you would almost have to have a DAC to really push good sound out of them. They do sound great with enough power behind them, though. Of course, I've only had 2 pair. Maybe they aren't all that way.

I dont know a lot about audio but do a lot of gaming headsets work well straight from the headphone jack? Guess I just assumed people were using soundcards or something to drive the more expensive gaming themed models at least.

 

[ZedClampet]

I dont know a lot about audio but do a lot of gaming headsets work well straight from the headphone jack? Guess I just assumed people were using soundcards or something to drive the more expensive gaming themed models at least.

I guess it just depends. It's been a long, long time since I bought a prebuilt PC, but I do window shop occasionally just to see what's out there, and either a lot of them don't bother listing a soundcard or they just don't have them. Maybe the higher end ones do.

But I would assume a lot of the PCs people build have them. I can't find any solid information on whether more gamers build or buy prebuilt, so I'm just taking a wild guess it's around 60/40 built to prebuilt.

That's the long way of saying I have no idea whether most people have soundcards or not.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Yea I dont know, Google links seem to say less than 100 Ohms then usually onboard is good enough. I guess you can have some fairly beefy by non audiophile standard headsets without the need for anything external

 

[ZedClampet]

Yea I dont know, Google links seem to say less than 100 Ohms then usually onboard is good enough. I guess you can have some fairly beefy by non audiophile standard headsets without the need for anything external

A DAC is a good solution if you have more than one device you need to use it for. I've got one that gets used with my old laptop and my iPhone, which has terrible audio quality.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I have a fairly cheap as they go DAC that works fine with my headphones, had it a few years. Thinking about it my current motherboard has way better onboard sound than either of my old ones and I never tested it on teh headphones.

New DAC eh, hmmm.

 

[Brian Boru]

whether more gamers build or buy prebuilt, so I'm just taking a wild guess it's around 60/40 built to prebuilt

My wild guess is at least 95% pre-built, maybe 99% if you count laptop gamers in pre-built. This is based on a few hundred PC owners where I knew the source of their machine—only I and one other were builders. I know a few hundred is a small sample, but it's a good pointer.

That should change going forward tho, since building today is so much easier than in previous decades. Perhaps it did change during pandemic, which would have been an ideal time for anyone interested in learning to build.

 

[neogunhero]

Most modern gaming motherboards have pretty decent audio built in which is good for people like me who just want to plug in some headphones and not mess with anything. Of course they aren’t on the same level as standalone DACs you can buy but I believe the majority of people won’t notice or care. I’d guess that prebuilt PCs don’t put in dedicated sound cards anymore since mobos handle that easily nowadays, and it reduces cost for the manufacturer.

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I played some Strange Brigade last night. It’s on sale on Steam for $2.50, or $4 for the deluxe edition. I had it in my library already, so I checked the player count and because of the sale it’s surging, for this particular game at least. It was at 1000 players when I got on last night. I played it on Xbox One a few years ago and I had a blast. It’s a third person shooter with a setting best described as Indiana Jones meets zombies, and the levels are full of puzzles and secret treasures. The shooting is fairly solid, but the levels and exploration is what makes it great to me. The levels are really linear, but it makes for a good quick game. Levels can take 30 minutes - 1 hour to complete. There is an upgrade function but I didn’t get enough resources to do that yet. For that low price I think it’s definitely a must play for anyone who likes third person co-op shooters. The game seems mostly abandoned, but it could really use a quality of life update, because I could not for the life of me figure out how to mute people and multiple people got on with their mics transmitting.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Most modern gaming motherboards have pretty decent audio built in which is good for people like me who just want to plug in some headphones and not mess with anything. Of course they aren’t on the same level as standalone DACs you can buy but I believe the majority of people won’t notice or care. I’d guess that prebuilt PCs don’t put in dedicated sound cards anymore since mobos handle that easily nowadays, and it reduces cost for the manufacturer.

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I listen to a fair amount of music on my headphones so I spent out a bit some decent ones and a budget DAC. I just didnt ever think that most chonky looking gamer headphones dont need much power to drive them. Makes sense though as soundcards and DACs arent exactly cheap.

Might pick up Strange Brigade, trying to make a list of co-op shooters and definitely worth a punt for that price.

 

[Johnway]

Still playing AOE2, i'm onto the conquerors expansion pack and just about finished with the montzsuma campaign (the last faction is bottled up and just waiting to launch the last assualt). have to say despite the repetitive nature of all the campaigns, i still seem compelled to keep playing it. i suspect i've formed a habit as i play an hour or 2 a day and the fact that i'm making progress helps.

Immortal redneck i'm also making good progress. I had a bit of luck last night and got to the 3rd pyramid (defeated the final guardian on the second pyramid on my first encounter). Upgrades wise, i'm in a very sweet spot as well. Gold upgrades maxed out and slowly working on the last few upgrades. The increased health, attack, crits are the biggest time sinks, but a bit of grinding i should be able to make progress and hold my own.

 

[ZedClampet]

Most modern gaming motherboards have pretty decent audio built in which is good for people like me who just want to plug in some headphones and not mess with anything. Of course they aren’t on the same level as standalone DACs you can buy but I believe the majority of people won’t notice or care. I’d guess that prebuilt PCs don’t put in dedicated sound cards anymore since mobos handle that easily nowadays, and it reduces cost for the manufacturer.

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I played some Strange Brigade last night.

Might pick up Strange Brigade

I LOVED Strange Brigade. If single-player shooters could take a page from Strange Brigade and Remnant 2, I'd be a huge fan and play them all the time. You can play both games solo, but they are better with a friend or two.

Loved the setting and atmosphere of Strange Brigade. Finished the main story and bought the DLC, but never got around to the DLC. Probably going to do that over Guido's Christmas break when he'll have some more time.

Would love a Strange Brigade 2, but I'm not sure the game sold well enough for that. The reviews are Very Positive now, but when the game first came out, things were not so rosy. People said there wasn't enough game to justify the price, which I completely disagree with. But, hey, it's $2.50 right now. I guarantee there's enough game for that.

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American McGee says that in a few years you'll be able to put his development kit for the Alice game EA won't support and get AI to make the game for you.

I'm not sure we'll get quite that far in 5 years, but what is cool to think about is that if the AI works the way the art and music AI works now that you could get not just one Alice game, but as many as you like. Just input the information, it spits out a game or two. You play those and then ask it to do it again, and you get a completely different Alice game.

Also, I'm trying hard not to panic on behalf of every young person who actually wants to be a game developer. There's no chance this AI functionality isn't coming. Whoever creates the best one will be rich beyond belief. My hope is someone puts a good one on Github like all the other AI I'm playing with

 

[ZedClampet]

@Kaamos_Llama @neogunhero

Zombie Army 4, by the same people as Strange Brigade, is on sale for 80 percent off. I haven't played it, but it has good reviews if you are interested in checking out more co-op shooter action.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Bought Strange Brigade already and we're 5 hours into Remnant 1 so I think I'm good for a bit, but wishlisted Zombie Army too. Should have known who to ask for Co-op shooter recommendations, thanks.

 

[neogunhero]

One thing that is annoying me has been since I already own Strange Brigade, I can’t buy the deluxe edition, and none of the DLCs are on sale… so I would definitely pay the extra 1.50 for the Deluxe Edition if you are interested in it.

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In another post, we were talking about games we can’t get into. I answered that I can’t get into RTS games, so in a way I’ve been challenging myself by playing AoE 4 on Game Pass. (Have you tried it @Johnway ? Wonder how it compares to the classics).

I’ve mainly just been doing 2v2 skirmishes to learn the game and get good at keybinds. I’ve played as the English, and I like how efficient they are at building the town and army. I’ve yet to learn all the ins and outs of each nation, but so far it’s been fun and a chill game to relax and unwind to. I will do a Gigantic size map, put enemies to Easy but my teammate to Intermediate, and just take my time building up my town and army. I also turned off all win conditions besides killing the enemy teams because that’s how I remember older RTS games I’ve played being like. Not really sure what the Wonders or other win conditions really entail but I’ll learn eventually.

 

[Zloth]

Ah, here come the sales! But I'm having fun in Shadow of War, so I think I'll stick with it for a while longer. The sales will stick around until November.

I answered that I can’t get into RTS games, so in a way I’ve been challenging myself by playing AoE 4 on Game Pass....

I'm the same way. Except for two games: Sacrifice and the Battlezone remake.

The Battlezone remake got remade as Battlezone 98 Redux - you can get it on Steam. It's something of a cross between first person shooters and an RTS, really, as you are in one of the tanks. The "tanks" are hover-tanks that are extremely maneuverable, so it feels more like you're in a shooter. It's certainly an RTS, though, as you'll have multiple tanks to control, a base to build, and resources to gather. When I re-played it a few years ago, it was a faithful recreation, but 1998 was a long time ago - we were fine with levels that expected you to get defeated over and over until you found a winning strategy. (Battlezone Commander might be better.)

Sacrifice never got a remake, which is a pity because I like it a lot more. It's an RTS but you're playing as a wizard that can summon various minions to fight for him. You mostly use an over-the-shoulder third person view, too. I've gone on about it here and there on these forums.

 

[Colif]

Great year for gaming

 

[Pifanjr]

I just learned there's a Stargate video game in the making:

Pre-purchase Stargate: Timekeepers on Steam

Stargate: Timekeepers is a real-time tactics game where you lead a team of specialists through a story-driven campaign set in the SG-1 universe. Sneak your characters behind enemy lines, use their unique skills, craft the perfect plan to unravel a timeloop mystery, and defeat the Goa’uld threat.

store.steampowered.com

I'm not familiar with the developer, but I looked at some of their games and most have a (very) positive rating, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[neogunhero]

On a total whim, I bought Cult of the Lamb on sale for $15. I only played for an hour but so far it’s really neat! You are a lamb who was chosen to be sacrificed, but instead of going to the afterlife, the ‘devil’ lets you live in exchange for running a cult for him. The main gameplay loop is that you do roguelite dungeon runs, going room to room fighting enemies, finding treasure, drawing tarot cards that give you abilities during the run, and visiting shops. At the end of the levels there is a boss fight, and then you return to your camp. Along the way you find people to recruit to your cult, whether by saving them from death or buying them from a spider merchant who trapped them in his web. Then you indoctrinate the people into your cult and make them work for you. At your home camp, you can build up your base with different crafting benches, cult specific buildings and even decorate it. It seems like there is A LOT to do and explore, so the hour I played is definitely not close to what else I’m going to be doing in this game. I usually don’t like stories in roguelites but this one has captivated me plus the amazing visuals really keep me hooked. The visual style is a lot like Don’t Starve, so no wonder they had an in-game collab earlier this year. I’m looking forward to playing more Cult of the Lamb, praise thy lamb!!

 

[Pifanjr]

I made the mistake of looking at Humble Bundle. I'd love to get Middle-Earth: Shadow of War and all of the DLC for Civilization VI, but it's not like my backlog isn't big enough already.

 

[Zloth]

I'm not familiar with the developer, but I looked at some of their games and most have a (very) positive rating, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

I just started watching Stargate for the first time. I'm about halfway through the second season. (Teal'c just got stung by a wasp! It made him scowl, as most things do. In fact, I think 25% of all the scowls I've seen in my life are from Teal'c.)

 

[Pifanjr]

Been playing some more Vampire Survivor on my phone. I've been trying yo figure out which weapons are useful and which are better to ignore, but 50% of the time I forget to check the stats at the end of a round to see how much damage each weapon did. Nevertheless, I'm slowly getting a better idea of which items and passives to match. I just did a round focusing on spamming as many projectiles as possible and it worked so well I could barely see where the pickups were:

I just started watching Stargate for the first time. I'm about halfway through the second season. (Teal'c just got stung by a wasp! It made him scowl, as most things do. In fact, I think 25% of all the scowls I've seen in my life are from Teal'c.)

Stargate SG-1 is one of my favourite series, one of the few pieces of media I've rewatched multiple times, same for Stargate Atlantis. Stargate Universe is good too, but a lot more dark/gritty and I don't think I've ever rewatched it.

 

[ZedClampet]

With apologies to our overlords, House Flipper is not a gentrification simulator, something they mention every single time it comes up.

There are over 50 houses in the game, and only about 8 are what you might consider low income. These are only in the game for when you are first starting and have little cash. The rest are pretty extravagant, with many beach houses, cliff-side mansions, high-rise condos, etc. There's Kame House (private island), Dracula's castle, the Michael Meyers family home. There are suburban prepper houses, at least 10 rural farm houses, at least 10 houses featured on HGTV, most of them rather extravagant, and around 10 from the luxury living (whatever the tv channel is called. I think it's headquartered in Knoxville, so I should know it) channel.

Maybe they should actually play the game.