Random Game Thoughts Thread - February 12 - February 18

[WoodenSaucer]

Speaking of crocs and alligators (yeah, I know, we moved on from that), but according to theHunter: Call of the Wild, the best place to shoot them is between the eye and the ear. I finally got my alligators yesterday. Got two and stuffed them both for my hunting lodges.

In real life I don't shoot alligators. I feed them Doritos. Went on a golf trip to South Carolina years ago and rented a condo. The condo had a back porch that butted up to a pond, and there was an alligator that hung out there. One time as he was swimming by, I tossed a Dorito at him, and he immediately ate it, so every now and then, I would toss another one in, and he would swim over and eat it.

We would go out at night and come back late, and there was no lighting at the condo. As I would stumble my way through the darkness, it would occur to me that there was an alligator around that considered me a source of food.

I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina for a year, and we had alligators around there. There was one park there with a pond that was full of them. From what I understood at the time, they usually didn't bother adults, but small children and dogs were definitely at risk around them.

 

[ZedClampet]

I lived in Wilmington, North Carolina for a year, and we had alligators around there. There was one park there with a pond that was full of them. From what I understood at the time, they usually didn't bother adults, but small children and dogs were definitely at risk around them.

Adults are definitely at risk, and a couple of adults have died from alligator attacks somewhat recently, but there's no doubt that bringing a small child with you reduces your risk.

 

[Brian Boru]

Far Cry 6

Play for free until February 20! Your progression is saved if you decide to buy the game.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/far-cry-6--trial-weekend

 

[ZedClampet]

Far Cry 6

Play for free until February 20! Your progression is saved if you decide to buy the game.

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/far-cry-6--trial-weekend

Hey did you see this week's Epic freebie? Looks like something you might like.

 

[Zloth]

I was about to start Mass Effect 2 LE, but with the Midnight Suns' free weekend, I think I'll start that out to see if I should keep it on my wish list.

I think I'm done with Wrath of the Righteous. I've been playing that off and on since... September?? WAY WAY too long, anyway. It's getting to where I have to force myself to play, and it isn't like the end is in sight. Maybe I'll come back to it, but I doubt it.

I finally got my alligators yesterday. Got two and stuffed them both for my hunting lodges.

Oh, who did you stuff them with?

 

[Brian Boru]

did you see this week's Epic freebie?

You mean this…?

Page 27 - The Free Time Limited Games List

Page 27 - Love gaming? Join the PC Gamer community to share that passion with gamers all around the world!

forums.pcgamer.com

Thanks for tip It's nice to see a game where I'm still well above recommended specs!
FFS, second time in a couple of hours that Epic has made me do the 2FA dance—grr.

Amazing!

Warpips downloaded and installed in less than a minute, and launch-to-play ~30 seconds. 90% positive on Steam, so must be good, if it suits.

Reading some reviews, maybe it's a candidate to replace Solitaire

who did you stuff them with?

You heard the man—that's what kids and dogs are for!

 

[Pifanjr]

Warhammer 3's Immortal Empires mode has left beta on its one year anniversary of being released:

View: https://youtu.be/Qqhc3mK06r0


This video really makes me wish they would make a Warhammer movie. Or a whole bunch of movies.

The biggest change with the official release is that you no longer need to own the first two games to be able to play Immortal Empires. You can play with any of the core races of Warhammer 3 in the Immortal Empires campaign and you can unlock other races by buying any DLC that features them.

And while the game is a lot more polished now, there's still quite a few annoying bugs that will hopefully be addressed in the next patch which is expected to arrive in April, together with the DLC for Chaos Dwarfs.

 

[ZedClampet]

So I actually beat Guido at theHunter last night (the game keeps score, which is based on things like using the correct weapon and ammo for your kill, how difficult the shot was, whether you hit a vital organ, etc.). The crazy part is that we were on an even playing field. I had given him the mods I was using, so he was crazy fast, etc.

I didn't deep dive the score, but it was probably because I was maximizing my scores while he was just killing stuff.

He wasn't pleased that he lost. He didn't act angry. He just got quiet. That's the difference between dads and sons in games. Dads enjoy when their sons win probably more than when they win themselves. I actually regretted winning.

 

[mainer]

Interesting PCG article (probably not worth its own post) about Cyberpunk games: The best cyberpunk games to play in 2023 | PC Gamer

Most of those games I've never played or even heard of, but the three that I have played from that list (Deus Ex, System Shock 2, & the original Blade Runner) always felt more like sci-fi games to me, though maybe it's just my perception. I've also got Shadowrun: Dragonfall in my Steam backlog, though I have yet to play it (for some reason, and it always seemed to be more "cyberpunk" than the others).

By dictionary definition, they all fit the criteria:

1. a genre of science fiction set in a lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology.

Also, notable omissions from that PCG article were Cyberpunk 2077, and The Ascent. The whole "cyberpunk" designation seems a bit arbitrary to me. By definition, couldn't some post-apocalyptic games also be considered to be cyberpunk? Any thoughts on cyberpunk games?

 

[ZedClampet]

Interesting PCG article (probably not worth its own post) about Cyberpunk games: The best cyberpunk games to play in 2023 | PC Gamer

Most of those games I've never played or even heard of, but the three that I have played from that list (Deus Ex, System Shock 2, & the original Blade Runner) always felt more like sci-fi games to me, though maybe it's just my perception. I've also got Shadowrun: Dragonfall in my Steam backlog, though I have yet to play it (for some reason, and it always seemed to be more "cyberpunk" than the others).

By dictionary definition, they all fit the criteria:

1. a genre of science fiction set in a lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology.

Also, notable omissions from that PCG article were Cyberpunk 2077, and The Ascent. The whole "cyberpunk" designation seems a bit arbitrary to me. By definition, couldn't some post-apocalyptic games also be considered to be cyberpunk? Any thoughts on cyberpunk games?

Played Dragonfall and really enjoyed it, though I thought it dragged on a bit at the end. Haven't played to finish any of the other games on the list, though I've played portions of Invisible Inc and Deus Ex.

One game I'm surprised didn't make their list was Cloudpunk, which they repeatedly called "the best cyberpunk game of the year" just to annoy Cyberpunk 2077 fans. But it is a good game. I didn't realize it had gotten a First Person option. The city is very cool, so I've downloaded it again to see what it looks like with the new perspective. You are a cab driver. You fly around the city taking people here and there and get some interesting stories.

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@Brian Boru Warpips (Epic's weekly freebie) is pretty fun. Reminds me a bit of a tower defense game, but maybe all RTSs are a little that way. Dunno. I don't have much experience with them. Having fun with Warpips, though.

 

[Brian Boru]

Play for free until February 20!

AoE4 and Midnight Suns also

It's a great weekend for trying big games for free

Date superheroes, fight historical battles and spread some chaos throughout a tropical island.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Brian Boru]

Warpips (Epic's weekly freebie) is pretty fun. Reminds me a bit of a tower defense game, but maybe all RTSs are a little that way

You're right, RTS typically requires you to survive the early game, explore and expand mid game, and dominate late game—so early part can resemble TD until you get settled.

I gave it a quick spin, and will take longer some time soon—ETA got AoE4 to try this weekend Reminded me straight away of one of my Replay games, War Robots Planet Defender, which I've recommended here before—similar auto-battle and force makeup design.

 

[Zloth]

Any thoughts on cyberpunk games?

System Shock 2 seems more like normal science fiction to me. It's got some of the cyber, but none of the punk. Shadowrun: Dragonfall (definitely a good game!) is more of a cyberpunk/fantasy hybrid. FF7 is... well, it just pulls from whatever if feels like: fantasy, science fiction, modern day, haunted house... Deus Ex games are the most cyberpunk I've played, but I still haven't gotten to CD Projekt's game yet.

I'm not buying that dictionary definition. A story's world needs prominent cyber implants AND some sort of dystopia going on - a dystopia that the main characters aren't really spending much energy to try and solve (though they may spend considerable energy grumbling about it).

 

[Zloth]

I think I better stop where I am with Midnight Suns. If I get too far, it will be hard to pick up later.

The game started off great, then OMG PLEASE TOP TALKING!! The game has a lot of systems in it, so it seems like you get another one to learn every time you turn around. This morning, I was thinking the game was OK but probably not worth buying and playing through. But I soldiered on and, once I got through to the point where the game says, 'you're free to move around the Abby and do whatever,' the game got quite fun!

If you're looking for a new XCOM with a different style of combat, you're in the wrong game. This is more along the lines of a Persona or Trails of Cold Steel game. The battles are important, to be sure, but there's also chatting/roleplaying and some lightweight (so far anyway) exploration to do. I suppose you could plow through the chatting with the ESC key then just guess on your responses, but you're probably better off simply getting an action or tactical RPG instead.

The game needs some mods that don't exist yet. First and foremost, it needs something to turn those damned subtitles off! (Folks that speak foreign languages would like the ability to have subtitles in one language and speech in another.) Second, add some way so I can put my own screenshots made in other games into this game's gallery.

 

[Brian Boru]

got AoE4 to try this weekend

Soon as I loaded it, recognized it as one I tried before and bounced off—forgot to make a note of that. Didn't grab me this time either.

Tried some more Warpips, decent enough but not a draw for me. Too tactical, too Tower Defency

Back to Far Cry 6

 

[ZedClampet]

Played some more of our "normal" difficulty Vampire campaign in TWW3. The problem is that we've gone overboard on buffing the AI. At one point there were 17 armies invading my territory (I only had about 10 settlements), and I almost just surrendered.

During the next AI turn, I had 4 armies attack my two best armies. Unfortunately, my best armies were at half health. I decided not to retreat because then I would likely find myself in a 4 v 1 situation. The auto-resolve said I was going to suffer a crushing defeat, so I loaded up the battle.

The AI had 3 reinforcing armies, all coming from behind my lines. Two were grouped together and one was to the side. I waited until I got my reinforcements (my legendary lord's army) and I stationed that army right over top of where the two grouped enemy armies were going to come from. Then I split my other army and sent half to meet Balthasar. who was about to arrive from the side.

When you invade the enemy's reinforcement space, they don't do so well. Balthasar separated from his group trying to get away from danger, but I had a legendary hero on a flying mount that tracked his butt down and killed him. My half army defeated his in no time and went back to reinforce the army it has split off from.

Meanwhile, my legendary lord's army was winning its battle against the two reinforcing armies it was fighting. I have a lot of heroes in that army and we were healing a lot, which is a thing for vampires.

Ended up with a pyrrhic victory and was happy to take it.

 

[ZedClampet]

Midnight Suns...OMG PLEASE TOP TALKING!!

This was EXACTLY my last thought before turning it off the last time a couple of weeks ago.

Also, I kind of feel like the random card system hampers strategy a bit. Each battle plays out differently, but they never play out the way I intended them. Also, I got to that first fight with the demonesque guy, and the reinforcements came every round. There's no strategy to that. You have no choice but to wipe out the reinforcements every...single... round...or you are going to start taking too much damage.

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Back to hunting in the mundane human way of tracking/stalking/luring etc. Undid the mod I made except for the extra cash part. They give way too little for each kill. I'm not killing thousands of thing to fill up my trophy lodge. For instance, it cost $11,000 to taxidermy a water buffalo, but you get about $1300 for the kill. And that's the absolute most you get. Most kills are under $1000. And the guns I'm using? They cost $77,000 and $85,000. The damn thing is balanced like it's a free-to-play game, so I made the money X5. Anyway, I got two water buffaloes and 2 pumas, so it was a good day for me.