What are you playing this weekend? (25-26 Sept)

[ZedClampet]

(Mod note: It's probably just me, but I'm not inspired to post to or read threads that are 20+ pages long, so I thought a weekend only thread on what you are playing might be nice)

Plan on playing some more Tyranny and X4. I'm still just at the beginning of those games because I've been obsessed with Car Mechanic Simulator 18/21.

Will probably play some Voidtrain with my son, although I'm beginning to get a little irritated with it. Progression basically means that your crafting becomes ridiculously complex. What can I unlock now? Sturdy wood, reinforced bolts and thickener. Those are components. I don't want to unlock components. I want to unlock grenade launchers and forges that use less fuel and cook faster. But no, almost everything you unlock is a component. And what is Forge II? Well that just cooks steel and bronze. You still have to keep Forge I for iron and copper. Workbench II just unlocks more components that make crafting recipes more difficult. Etc. All the things I really want, you just find or are unlocked from the beginning, you just can't craft them yet. The normal way that games do this is to unlock a new workbench that has all the components and some new cool things in them. This just doesn't feel very rewarding to me. I'm still kind of liking it, though.

So what are you guys/gals/other playing this weekend?

 

[Frag Maniac]

I told myself I would knuckle down and get back to continuing my video walkthroughs of the 3 games I was doing them on, the next up being GRID 2019. I left off on a race event that's very difficult to win though, so I don't know how well that's going to go.

 

[Pifanjr]

I had the day off yesterday and finally got to continue with my Thorek Dwarf Vortex campaign in Total War: Warhammer 2.

I had saved right as my secondary army was being attacked by two high elf armies, with the auto-resolve telling me I would suffer a close defeat. I managed to turn that into a valiant defeat where I killed a bunch of their elite units and half of my army survived. The next turn I could attack them back with reinforcements from a nearby city, wiping out both armies.

That same army then marched on, taking two more cities before losing a siege, again taking out a bunch of elite units, but this time only two units of mine survived.

I finally managed to end the war on one the other front with my main army, but my ally has dragged me into a new one which he can't manage himself, so now I lost another city while my main army is rushing over to the other front to break a Skaven siege.

So now I have to decide whether to back again or to use my main army to kill the high elves first, hoping that I don't lose too many cities in the meantime.

 

[ZedClampet]

I had the day off yesterday and finally got to continue with my Thorek Dwarf Vortex campaign in Total War: Warhammer 2.

I had saved right as my secondary army was being attacked by two high elf armies, with the auto-resolve telling me I would suffer a close defeat. I managed to turn that into a valiant defeat where I killed a bunch of their elite units and half of my army survived. The next turn I could attack them back with reinforcements from a nearby city, wiping out both armies.

That same army then marched on, taking two more cities before losing a siege, again taking out a bunch of elite units, but this time only two units of mine survived.

I finally managed to end the war on one the other front with my main army, but my ally has dragged me into a new one which he can't manage himself, so now I lost another city while my main army is rushing over to the other front to break a Skaven siege.

So now I have to decide whether to back again or to use my main army to kill the high elves first, hoping that I don't lose too many cities in the meantime.

Fighting the Skaven can be really annoying. Ambushed! Wait, where did those extra two armies come from?

Last time I played a Vortex campaign, Naggaroth went absolutely nuts, controlled at least 25 percent of the map and was half-way through the vortex ladder when I decided I had to just go ahead and declare war on them. I was Teclis, and my part of the map was a disaster as my usual allies were weak. Was so much fun clawing my way out of that. Normally, if I played Teclis, I wouldn't venture out too far, just grab a few local ritual sites and hunker down, but that was a hopeless plan this time.

But that's one of my all-time favorite games. More replay value than any game I've ever owned with so many different factions and all their different types of troops. Vortex campaign is great, but I've been playing Mortal Empires lately as a sort of relaxing, no time limit alternative.

I have a bad habit of starting games and then dumping them and starting new games as soon as I reach a certain level of comfort, although that's usually short lived anyway.

 

[Sarafan]

Two games: Diablo 2 Resurrected and Ghostrunner. As for the first there's not much to comment. The remaster is great and the only downside were the overloaded servers on the release date. Now everything is running smooth, so we can just enjoy this wonderful game.

As for Ghostrunner, it's definitely not a game for everyone. It's very hard and very satisfying. Running with katana and smashing opponents with one hit is very entertaining. It also works the other way around. If you receive one hit, you have to start from the checkpoint once again. The game has some performance problems with ray tracing on. It's only used for shadows and reflections, but the problem is that after level 4 the performance hit is unbearable and even DLSS doesn't help.

 

[ZedClampet]

I had the day off yesterday and finally got to continue with my Thorek Dwarf Vortex campaign in Total War: Warhammer 2.

I had saved right as my secondary army was being attacked by two high elf armies, with the auto-resolve telling me I would suffer a close defeat. I managed to turn that into a valiant defeat where I killed a bunch of their elite units and half of my army survived. The next turn I could attack them back with reinforcements from a nearby city, wiping out both armies.

That same army then marched on, taking two more cities before losing a siege, again taking out a bunch of elite units, but this time only two units of mine survived.

I finally managed to end the war on one the other front with my main army, but my ally has dragged me into a new one which he can't manage himself, so now I lost another city while my main army is rushing over to the other front to break a Skaven siege.

So now I have to decide whether to back again or to use my main army to kill the high elves first, hoping that I don't lose too many cities in the meantime.

When do you auto-resolve versus manually fighting the battles?

I usually auto-resolve any time I'm told I'm going to win unless I think the game is underestimating how badly I'll win. I usually fight every time I'm told I'm going to lose except for hopeless cases, like when a 20-stack is attacking a town that has a small garrison.

 

[Zloth]

Just hit hour 500 on X4: Foundations, building this station:

View: https://youtu.be/tuhrwXm2G3g

Looks like there's a little video corruption at the start (Nvidia's recorder has been doing that to me of late) but it smooths out pretty quick. Just uploaded so it may be some time before YouTube processes the HD version.

I'm also playing Wastelands 3.

Mechwarrior 5's big patch tore up many of the games mods, which it really needs to be fun. I'll let it sit for a while until the mods can get restored.

 

[mainer]

I started playing Diablo 2 Resurrected, as0 I just couldn't hold off. Blizzard really did a nice job on this remaster, and while they had some server issues, I'm only playing the single player portion. No bugs, crashing, or performance issues, at least so far; the game is still fun 20 years later.

I have a bad habit of starting games and then dumping them and starting new games as soon as I reach a certain level of comfort, although that's usually short lived anyway.

I try to avoid this as much as possible, but I had to stop playing Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning at what I estimate to be at about the 3/4 mark, and start Diablo 2 Resurrected, the urge was just too strong. I will go back and finish it (honest) though, but sometimes I reach a point where I just need a break from a certain game.

(Mod note: It's probably just me, but I'm not inspired to post to or read threads that are 20+ pages long, so I thought a weekend only thread on what you are playing might be nice)

You are not alone. I think it's much easier to see a weekly post on games we are playing, it's much easier to keep track of, as older, longer postings can become a bit tedious to keep track of.

 

[Frindis]

Going to be playing some Rust, upgrading my base, and doing some scavaging runs on water. Blade Runner, I'll play tomorrow and maybe I stumble upon something else. Norway has also opened up today (corona-wise) so I'm celebrating a little. Started the celebration with an impulsive buy, a Channel 5 Andrew Callaghan t-shirt.

 

[Frag Maniac]

As for Ghostrunner, it's definitely not a game for everyone. It's very hard and very satisfying. Running with katana and smashing opponents with one hit is very entertaining. It also works the other way around. If you receive one hit, you have to start from the checkpoint once again. The game has some performance problems with ray tracing on. It's only used for shadows and reflections, but the problem is that after level 4 the performance hit is unbearable and even DLSS doesn't help.

Ghostrunner is one of the 3 games I'm doing a video walkthrough on. It's very hard indeed, even on the default Normal difficulty. I see tons of no scratch speedruns of it that people do, some amazing stuff. I've only managed to do 2 levels so far with no deaths, Dharma City, and In Her Own Image. In Her Own Image was pretty surprisingly easy to do with no deaths after just a few tries, but Dharma City took quite some time, largely due to that level for some reason crashing every 4 min or so.

Curious if you've done Dharma City yet, and if you had it crash a lot on you? It's the only level I've had that problem with.

Despite much difficulty playing it, I feel this game is addicting. Even if you come nowhere near a no death result, it's very rewarding just to get through a level.

 

[OsaX Nymloth]

Pathfinder: Kingmaker.
Got my mythic class. The level of stuff to manage keeps growing and growing and I am surely not even half into the game. Damn, I am getting lost trying to figure out the stuff related to my class alone, not to mention mythic classes and all the companions.
Also saw some demon being almost summoned in a ritual. It was big as a mountain. I am not looking forward to meeting it - because you know I will be meeting it.

Also some Hunt: Showdown. Fun playing with lower rated friend for a change, no one was no scoping me from 200 meters away and I killed bunch of teams on my own. Usually I play with other people on 5/6 stars (which is max rating) and I get rekt by insane players that are able to spot me, aim at me and headshot me all within 0.2ms from turning a corner.

Or by random sniper hiding in a bush, playing solo and waiting for that one perfect moment and then disappearing into the night. Hate those guys.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Just finished the first of the next set of 3 events of GRID 2019 I'll be posting when done. It was a Super Tourer event, and thankfully, the last one in the game. The race that was causing all the stress and time was the one at Barcelona called Marina Gate, which is brutal to race in the sketchy handling Super Tourer class. I ended up settling for a 3rd, figuring if I could win each of the other 3 races, I'd have enough points to win the event, and thankfully I did.

The problem is, the next event I plan to do is the 4 race international truck championship, and those handle even worse.

 

[Brian Boru]

<off topic>

it may be some time before YouTube processes the HD version

I ran into that for the first time today, downloading a couple of Euro sports videos for games I can't get in US. How long can it take for YT to put up the full quality video?

</off topic>

I'm celebrating a little … an impulsive buy, a Channel 5 Andrew Callaghan t-shirt

Way to go, you really know how to live!

 

[Pifanjr]

Fighting the Skaven can be really annoying. Ambushed! Wait, where did those extra two armies come from?

So far the Skaven have been the least of my problems. Their armies are almost entirely made of skavenslaves and clan rats, which do nothing against dwarves armor. The one Skaven army that spawned when I forged my first artifact was stronger, but I managed to ambush it immediately and wipe it out.

I just haven't been able to take their biggest city which has warp fire catapults in their garrison (not for lack of trying).

Last time I played a Vortex campaign, Naggaroth went absolutely nuts, controlled at least 25 percent of the map and was half-way through the vortex ladder when I decided I had to just go ahead and declare war on them. I was Teclis, and my part of the map was a disaster as my usual allies were weak. Was so much fun clawing my way out of that. Normally, if I played Teclis, I wouldn't venture out too far, just grab a few local ritual sites and hunker down, but that was a hopeless plan this time.

I understand that Naggaroth usually gets pretty big. I have only done a Settra campaign before this though, so I haven't encountered them yet.

But that's one of my all-time favorite games. More replay value than any game I've ever owned with so many different factions and all their different types of troops. Vortex campaign is great, but I've been playing Mortal Empires lately as a sort of relaxing, no time limit alternative.

Since I haven't played a Vortex campaign involving rituals, I haven't really had a problem with time limits. I have played a bunch of Mortal Empires in coop, as it's the only thing my friend wants to play.

I'm not sure if it's one of my all time favourite games yet, but I have been obsessively reading about it and watching strategy videos whenever possible. I expect to be playing it for many more hours.

When do you auto-resolve versus manually fighting the battles?

I usually auto-resolve any time I'm told I'm going to win unless I think the game is underestimating how badly I'll win. I usually fight every time I'm told I'm going to lose except for hopeless cases, like when a 20-stack is attacking a town that has a small garrison.

I'm pretty much the same. Though sometimes I like to manually play a battle against a far weaker army. Especially if I just got a new unit I haven't played with yet, to get to learn them a bit better, but sometimes also just because it's satisfying to easily crush an army for a change.

I remember when playing Rome (the first one) and Medieval 2 I would fight all of the battles myself, but if I did that now I would never finish a campaign.

 

[Sarafan]

Curious if you've done Dharma City yet, and if you had it crash a lot on you? It's the only level I've had that problem with.

Nope, no Dharma City yet. I had a crash related to not big enough swap file however. I have it set to a specific value and for some reasons it was not enough for this game running with ray tracing on. Never happened before in any other game with a swap file set to this value.

 

[Mazer]

Still cracking through Skyrim, about to go find Alduins wall which is probably as far as I ever got in the MQ before now.

Groguk the Orc also just added 'Vampire' to his resume, alongside 'Dragonborn' and 'Dick to Questgivers'. I've got little to no skill in illusion or stealth which may end up hamstring me a little, but I'm making up for it by not giving a crap about my reputation.

I'm using the Sacrosanct vampire mod, so I've been draining barracks full of guards while roadtripping around the holds feeding from important NPCs to unlock extra vampiric perks, it's a great mod, as expected from Enai Siaion. Just unlocked the ability to feed from staggered opponents during combat which is going to be a lifesaver.

 

[mjs warlord]

some time ago i bought horizon zero dawn at a silly price on steam and up to now i only got about 10 hours on it ,so this weekend i will hammer it. I dont like how it saves , it only saves at end of missions or at fires . When you quit it does not " continue " from where you left off if you have not done a save

 

[ZedClampet]

Since I haven't played a Vortex campaign involving rituals, I haven't really had a problem with time limits. I have played a bunch of Mortal Empires in coop, as it's the only thing my friend wants to play.

Ritual Vortex is very unsatisfying in co-op. I haven't played a non-ritual co-op Vortex game, but with the rituals, you can trade your ritual points (whatever they are called) with your partner, but you can't help defend ritual sites (it won't let you attack the enemy at all) and only one of you can go into the final battle.

 

[Zloth]

I ran into that for the first time today, downloading a couple of Euro sports videos for games I can't get in US. How long can it take for YT to put up the full quality video?

It's all over the place. I've seen them done 10 minutes later, then another one will take over a day. That video has a glitch at the start, which might drop the priority some.

 

[Ryzengang]

Still chipping away at Days Gone this weekend. Really impressed with it so far. I'm playing a few other things on the side but I've been mostly focused on finishing Days Gone. I'm playing New World on releases (09/28) so I'm trying to wrap up what I'm currently into.

 

[Lenson]

Still playing Eastward. Also playing d2 resurrected, spiritfarer, and the Castlevania gba collection. Anyone else playing Diablo 2 resurrected and looking for someone to play with, then feel free to message me.

Battlenet :LenGrey#1249

 

[Brian Boru]

PC Building Simulator

Played my final half hour of PC Building Simulator yesterday, now going to take @Ryzengang's advice elsewhere, and uninstall it—ETA, gone. I gave it 3-4 hours, but it's just too repetitive for me—I guess a Simulator would be, wouldn't it?

It's well done, altho I found the interface a bit unwieldy until I got the hang of it. I recommend it for people who are new(ish) to building PCs, but not for experienced people.

Far Cry 5

Started Far Cry 5 last night—I've never finished it, so time I did that. The breakthru was when I idly decided to check the Resistance mod I used ~a year ago. It's been in constant development since—last update yesterday—and now allows skipping all the intro sequence and starting the game in Dutch's bunker, which is where the real gameplay starts.

If there were things about FC5 you didn't like a couple of years ago, have a look at this mod—it has way too much content to list here, the other main thing in it is it's now possible to finish the game without any of the awful capture sequences.

Mod unavailable

This mod is not currently available

www.nexusmods.com

 

[ZedClampet]

PC Building Simulator

I gave it 3-4 hours, but it's just too repetitive for me—I guess a Simulator would be, wouldn't it?

I tried to play it twice and just couldn't get into it.

Far Cry 5

...skipping all the intro sequence and starting the game in Dutch's bunker, which is where the real gameplay starts.

...it's now possible to finish the game without any of the awful capture sequences.

Mod unavailable

This mod is not currently available

www.nexusmods.com

I don't mind all those things, but I know how you feel. I tried to play one of the Yakuza games, and the intro, which didn't allow you to save the game, took over an hour. I was so frustrated by the time I reached a save point, that I've never gone back to the game. Plus, if I went back now, I'd likely want to start over, but then I'd have to do that ridiculous crap all over again.

 

[Brian Boru]

I'd have to do that ridiculous crap all over again

Same for me with one of Kojima's, MGS5 Phantom Pain iirc. I can assure you, the pain was real, crawling around in a bloody hospital with mostly cinematic bits interspersed with crawl from under that table to under the next one. I think there wa some other guy with me, and if he got killed by patrolling whatsits, you got to start over—but I could be wrong about that.

Uninstalled, no desire to revisit. At least with the Far Crys, I actually want to play the games, so there is some incentive—I know the dev only screws with the player for the intro. Who knows where else Kojima would have interposed his 'artistry'?

 

[ZedClampet]

Same for me with one of Kojima's, MGS5 Phantom Pain iirc. I can assure you, the pain was real, crawling around in a bloody hospital with mostly cinematic bits interspersed with crawl from under that table to under the next one. I think there wa some other guy with me, and if he got killed by patrolling whatsits, you got to start over—but I could be wrong about that.

Uninstalled, no desire to revisit. At least with the Far Crys, I actually want to play the games, so there is some incentive—I know the dev only screws with the player for the intro. Who knows where else Kojima would have interposed his 'artistry'?

Yeah, Kojima is a great example of this. That's why I quit playing Death Stranding. At least at the beginning you are constantly interrupted for cutscenes.