The General Pooter Games Thread.

[Psychosplodge]

:p

[Gotthammer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it2sk2nzbnY

Ranking my favourite post apocalyptic games:

#7 Fallout
#6 Fallout: Tactics
#5 Wasteland 2
#4 Fallout New Vegas
#3 Fallout 2
#2 Fallout 3
#1 Splatoon:

http://cdn.wikimg.net/splatoonwiki/images/thumb/9/9e/Sunkenscroll26.png/800px-Sunkenscroll26.png

http://cdn.wikimg.net/splatoonwiki/images/thumb/a/a7/Sunkenscroll10.png/800px-Sunkenscroll10.png

http://41.media.tumblr.com/98b90ab78ef605badc8f08de1a34db1f/tumblr_inline_nmq89b236y1ry6e07_500.png

https://41.media.tumblr.com/8d542b0e6c33f70c29fb777c4af72d60/tumblr_inline_npljjvdAkP1r4qtf8_540.jpg

https://33.media.tumblr.com/27531faf54f2551e381ecc61b68203c4/tumblr_npm0b7AgYa1qg0b7fo1_r1_500.gif

[Kirsten]

Splatoon looks odd

[Cap'nSmurfs]

kid now/squid now paradox

Splatoon looks fun, shame I don't have a WiiU. :(

[Gotthammer]

Splatoon looks odd


Splatoon looks fun, shame I don't have a WiiU. :(

All of these statements are true :p


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhaBiv-ShqM

[Psychosplodge]

Does it have hats?

[Kirsten]

I have a Wii U but I don't like online games typically, so I doubt I will be trying it.

[Psychosplodge]

Yeah I don't have enough friends with wii u's so even when i get one it'd be pointless.

[Gotthammer]

Does it have hats?

Yes! :p

[Psychosplodge]

:eek:

[Gotthammer]

Also shirts and shoes lol :D

[Kirsten]

well that is me sold...

[Psychosplodge]

http://i.imgur.com/sGwIXr7.jpg

[Gotthammer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PsBfxHrQHY

[Wolfshade]

So far in the steam sale, I have been quite good. Only 1 purchase, all the xcom dlcs.

[Kirsten]

I haven't bought anything yet, not sure I will. got a fair backlog already, and just bought the Last of Us remastered and Dark Souls 2 on PS4.

[Houghten]

I got this jumping puzzle game called "Deadcore." The reactions it's produced out of me thus far would have made for a highly amusing* Let's Play if I did that sort of thing.

*assuming you're the kind of person who takes a savage joy in listening to a grown man gradually reduced to tears

[Kirsten]

lol, sounds entertaining

[Paintingplasticcrack]

I haven't bought anything yet, not sure I will. got a fair backlog already, and just bought the Last of Us remastered and Dark Souls 2 on PS4.

Last of Us is brilliant on PS4. It's pretty scary and lots of tension. I'm currently playing Witcher 3 and Eldar Scrolls online. Both very good.

[eldargal]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnsDyv-TtJg

[Psychosplodge]

I got Valkirya(or however its spelt) chronicles complete and democracy 3 complete for about £8 I think. Was also gifted wolf among us. Not a big fan of QTE games, but the stories good. Not played the two I bought myself yet. Hoping banished will drop to 75% off at somepoint as well.

[Kirsten]

Last of Us is brilliant on PS4. It's pretty scary and lots of tension. I'm currently playing Witcher 3 and Eldar Scrolls online. Both very good.

yeah I completed it on the PS3 and gave it to my mum, fancied playing it again so got the PS4 version.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnsDyv-TtJg

so excited


I got Valkirya(or however its spelt) chronicles complete and democracy 3 complete for about £8 I think. Was also gifted wolf among us. Not a big fan of QTE games, but the stories good. Not played the two I bought myself yet. Hoping banished will drop to 75% off at somepoint as well.

Valkyria Chronicles is one of my all time favourite games. was absolutely gutted when the sequels came out on PSP, and the third game was Japan only.

[Psychosplodge]

I remember having a quick go on it on the PS3 when a friend got it, so when I saw it other day I thought it was worth a shot at the the price.

[Kirsten]

definitely, I bought it on PC just on the off chance they might bring the others over if it sold well.

[Psychosplodge]

There's still a chance they'll do it eventually.

They ported some of the FF games years after they were released on the consoles didn't they?

[Kirsten]

they did yeah. I was tempted by the Playstation tv thing because that allows you to download PSP games to use on your PS4, and includes Valkyria Chronicles 2. cheaper than buying a PSP and the game, and more useful.

[Psychosplodge]

That's because the PS4 has no games.

[Kirsten]

it has plenty, I have a backlog of PS4 games at the moment

[Psychosplodge]

pffft

[eldargal]

Dishonoured 2 lets you play as Emily if you want, so much excite over that.

[Kirsten]

does she get a cool but pointless skull mask too?

[Gotthammer]

It appears not but I'm ok with that:

https://33.media.tumblr.com/f21a29669f8bb24e0a12e73a63619ebf/tumblr_npyuneoMIc1qhdwy7o2_540.gif

https://38.media.tumblr.com/644113a12f02308bba6d711ad40fad8b/tumblr_npyuneoMIc1qhdwy7o3_540.gif

https://38.media.tumblr.com/882f84bd93d12cccebef66a8466d1652/tumblr_npyuneoMIc1qhdwy7o1_540.gif

[Kirsten]

ooooooooooooooooh

[eldargal]

I'm really happy they did this, I enjoyed Dishonoured 1 but it squeaked through just before my no male-only games rule. I'm kind of hoping Doom has the option to pick gender too, that will really make all the misogynist gamer ****boys lose their minds.

[Kirsten]

I can't see Doom being anything other than the stereotypical angry shaved marine, but who knows.

- - - Updated - - -


I'm really happy they did this, I enjoyed Dishonoured 2

what is it like there in the future? :p

[eldargal]

Me too, would be nice if not but... It is Bethesda publishing it now though so who knows

- - - Updated - - -




what is it like there in the future? :p

Typo, Dishonoured 1.:p

[Kirsten]

an option to play as Vasquez is what it needs

yeah yeah, you and your time machine.

[eldargal]

Totes.

I can neither confirm nor deny that I have a time machine.

[Kirsten]

I can neither confirm nor deny that I have a time machine.

hmmmmmmm

[Psychosplodge]

Doom you could be literally anything. you're just a gun in the middle of the bottom of the screen.

[Kirsten]

14602

that face at the bottom suggests otherwise :p

[Psychosplodge]

That could be a female space marine :p

[Gotthammer]

https://40.media.tumblr.com/eafaee09a6ee4c5e7f17792df607f960/tumblr_nq051uJ6tW1qimi3zo1_1280.jpg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG8V9dRqSsw

totally worth staying up for

[Kirsten]

http://i1216.photobucket.com/albums/dd380/KirstenIGMB/pratt_zpstvcaj45o.png (http://s1216.photobucket.com/user/KirstenIGMB/media/pratt_zpstvcaj45o.png.html)


Microsoft have put me in a quandary. The Xbox One is going backwards compatible for christmas. Was planning to get one this year anyway. Game are doing a trade in offer to get £100 if you trade in your 360 and five games. On the one hand, good deal, and I have a decent amount of money clearing this weekend in income tax return and can afford one. on the other hand, I wont be able to play my 360 games until christmas. on the other other hand, the only game I have played on it this calendar year is Dark Souls, which I nearly finished anyway...

decisions decision.

[Psychosplodge]

https://41.media.tumblr.com/d5759c28dfbe2d265314b450b5fdd7cb/tumblr_nq0dcmsB5r1qawplno1_540.jpg


Geography fail.

- - - Updated - - -

oh, I forgot to mention.

Democracy 3 is ****ing hard. during recession threw everything into tech and education. went from £80bn deficit to surplus while rest of the world is still in recession. Then some country cuts off my supply of rare earth metals and the economy falls through the floor :eek: went from loved to hated in a turn.

[Psychosplodge]

https://40.media.tumblr.com/07b19cd8d24646dd69616aa54d31158f/tumblr_nq0fdrrntA1rg4djqo1_500.jpg

Nintendo's handheld fps machine

[Psychosplodge]

https://36.media.tumblr.com/3ac7a004cd96c4747159ab87ed145ba1/tumblr_npzzdcIRl31qegbwao1_540.png


It’s like a murderer wearing a shirt with their victim’s face on it

[Tyrendian]

oh, I forgot to mention.

Democracy 3 is ****ing hard. during recession threw everything into tech and education. went from £80bn deficit to surplus while rest of the world is still in recession. Then some country cuts off my supply of rare earth metals and the economy falls through the floor :eek: went from loved to hated in a turn.

hell yeah it is... I never seem to be able to make Capitalists happy without sinking my economy and/or the environment... AND i tend to get shot by some religious folk... :)

[Psychosplodge]

I couldn't ever get re-elected no matter how happy the people were, and the capitalists hated everything no matter how much money the country was making.

[eldargal]

https://40.media.tumblr.com/eafaee09a6ee4c5e7f17792df607f960/tumblr_nq051uJ6tW1qimi3zo1_1280.jpg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uG8V9dRqSsw

totally worth staying up for

*high pitched squeal flails*

Playable Asari or GTFO though.

- - - Updated - - -

Just read you're human again, female or male confirmed though not that it's a surprise.
http://blog.bioware.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/MEA_small.png

[Psychosplodge]

Just read you're human again, female or male confirmed though not that it's a surprise.


Been an option since the first, but no doubt BBC will report it as something new like fallout.

[eldargal]

Yep or IGN reporting that the VATS system is making a comeback lol.

[Psychosplodge]

:D
This week in not news...

[Learn2Eel]

Today's E3 has been great, full of great conferences and some amazing trailers/demos. Microsoft kicked the day off incredibly well, though the ****ty Gears of War 4 demo was a huge let-down. The highlight from Microsoft was definitely the Xbox 360 backwards compatibility, though games-wise everything looked good with Tomb Raider being the stand-out. The exclusives all look good, but aside from Tomb Raider none of them truly "wowed" me, and there was no "megaton" announcement; clearly Gears of War 4 was supposed to fit that bill but the demo was shockingly bad, sadly. They were using obviously recycled animations from the old Gears games, you could barely see anything and the visuals really didn't look like that big of a step-up from Gears 3. Halo 5 looks the goods though!

EA were the worst of the day's conferences but were still massively improved over last year, they started well and ended well; the middle section though was atrocious. Battlefront is everything we could have ever wanted!

Ubisoft almost stole the darned show today though with a great all-round conference full of lots of new big budget games, the Honour game being my personal favourite.

Of course though, Sony just blew the competition out of the water with the announcement/reintroduction of the big three; The Last Guardian, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and Shenmue 3. Any single conference that drops that trio can't fail to go down as the strongest showing of this E3, let alone the decade so far. Horizon really was the surprise hit of the show though with many agreeing it is easily the best looking new IP shown today. By the by, it was the only conference this year to have caused Neogaf (and much of the internet) to crash for the better part of an hour. The problem here is that the lack of holiday 2015 exclusives wasn't addressed, meaning multiplatform games are going to be the saving grace for the PS4 this year.

Overall, it is a great time to be a gamer - at the very least, if you can wait until 2016 anyway - and I'm really pleased with all the conferences so far. The only way this day could be topped is if Square Enix show off a full-on Kingdom Hearts III demo and Valve announce Half-Life 3.

[Psychosplodge]

The highlight of the "next gen" microsoft console is the ability to play old games? :eek:

[Kirsten]

some amazing reveals these last few days, loving it

[Learn2Eel]

The highlight of the "next gen" microsoft console is the ability to play old games? :eek:

The backwards compatibility actually doesn't affect me as I traded my 360 in to get my Xbox One but it is still a really nice feature, even if only for convenience; after all, it is a roughly 6-7 years worth of games to choose from.
I do kinda agree with your point though; games-wise it wasn't as stellar a showing as some others thought, in my opinion. None of their demos remotely compared to Horizon or even Uncharted 4, and they had no truly massive game announcement.

[eldargal]

Microsofts game lineup looked rather uninteresting. EA had ME4 so that's basically auto-win for me.

[Psychosplodge]

See how Nintendo go on later :D

[Gotthammer]

http://40.media.tumblr.com/2519e06ea17850efebe842d5da317811/tumblr_npxwqr3JUo1rn8um6o1_540.jpg

http://41.media.tumblr.com/938d6804b325fc1b2cdd6f45e8a8e19b/tumblr_npxwqr3JUo1rn8um6o2_540.jpg


1992 vs 2015

artist: Akira “Akiman” Yasuda

I like how the Smash Bros equivalent to Zangief is the Wii Fit Trainer :p

[Kirsten]

I need to pick up Ryu for Smash Brothers, it is brilliant

[Mr Mystery]

Battlefront 4 is looking simply jaw dropping.

Just hope the game play follows through (and not in a touching cloth way). Would be a shame if they spent all their time on the graphics.

Oh, and seeing as last one I played we wound up in an infinite space battle loop where he kept repawning a fleet where we were, leading to it being shattered, which lead to respawning....

Oh, and the Starfighter sections had best be ace.

[Gotthammer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h80zM6u0f0

https://38.media.tumblr.com/d7575b390a3f8e470c074dc477d40033/tumblr_nq09rrnHg21tz8qg0o2_500.gif

https://38.media.tumblr.com/dcbed8cbeaf03b56609c513b33f73dcf/tumblr_nq09rrnHg21tz8qg0o1_500.gif

https://38.media.tumblr.com/11112201e07b4c93edaaf1026bb9bf1e/tumblr_nq09rrnHg21tz8qg0o3_500.gif

https://33.media.tumblr.com/2ae87029a64a46eeaf649b7f8680e5fc/tumblr_nq09rrnHg21tz8qg0o4_500.gif

https://38.media.tumblr.com/b546ec355292b47aca919ff408769435/tumblr_nq0le1UrZB1u3fdy9o1_250.gif https://33.media.tumblr.com/aa84c180dec52263449ceaaee903a709/tumblr_nq0le1UrZB1u3fdy9o2_250.gif


I made most of the design while I was on a camping trip with my family way out in the countryside. I was so full of ideas, but I didn’t have a lot of tools to work with out there, so I figured I could act out the gameplay. And that’s how Yarny came to be. I created this little doll with old metal wires that I found and some yarn that I managed to borrow. Then I wandered around in the woods, putting Yarny in different situations and snapping pictures, figuring out fun ways that you could use your yarn.

[Kirsten]

I saw something about that yesterday, looks brilliant

[Mr Mystery]

I'm not entirely sure why, but Unravel just looks like an absolute classic waiting to happen.

[eldargal]

Looks interesting.

[Learn2Eel]

Unravel was the most heart-warming part of E3 and the only good thing to come out of the middle section of the E3 conference. The creator was so darned nervous which in almost any other situation would ruin the presentation instantly, but in this case it only made it abundantly clear how much this game meant to him and his team. The game looked great and the overall tone of the stage demo was genuinely nice.

By the by, Nintendo conference on now - new Star Fox announced! - and Square Enix to come in under 30 minutes!

[Learn2Eel]

The Squeenix conference was phenomenal. New Kingdom Hearts 3 footage (OMG), Nier 2 made by Platinum Games as a PS4 exclusive (OMG), new Star Ocean as a PS4 exclusive (OMG), gameplay footage of both new Hitman and new Deus Ex (OMG), new classic JRPG in "Project Setsuna" (OMG), etc. 2016-2017 is looking mighty stacked for PS4, jeebus. Japanese gaming truly has been the star of E3 2015.

[Psychosplodge]

I think Nintendo had the most announcements that I had some interest in. Not necessarily the ones I'm most excited about individually, but certainly as an entire thing.

[Mr Mystery]

Seems to me that Microsoft essentially said 'Woo! Halo! Halo y'all! Look! Halo!', and not much else.

Least that's what the reviews tell me.

Getting me PS4 next Tuesday, which is nice.

[Learn2Eel]

I think Nintendo had the most announcements that I had some interest in. Not necessarily the ones I'm most excited about individually, but certainly as an entire thing.

I'm really surprised that so many people (elsewhere) say the Nintendo conference was their biggest disappointment of E3 (besides EA perhaps), I thought it was at worst a solid showing. I mean, it might be because everyone's expectations were raised after the holy triumvirate display Sony pulled off, but still...

In other news, Shenmue 3 reached its $2 million Kickstarter goal in exactly 8 hours and 33 minutes (they had 31 days to reach the goal). Sony confirmed it is fronting the rest of the budget; obviously, the Kickstarter was done just so Sony and the development team could make certain the interest was there.

Having seen pretty much everything now - there might be a surprise at the PC show but I rather doubt anything will top what we've seen already - I think I'm confident in saying that my game of the show is Horizon: Zero Dawn.

http://i.imgur.com/emMZtSf.png

http://i.imgur.com/d9IviZt.gif

http://i.imgur.com/Ik2aICB.gif

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5611/18849066731_75f88d51ac_h.jpg

We've always known Guerilla are techno-masters surpassed only by Naughty Dog and possibly Crytek on consoles, but for actual unique ideas and gameplay they've never really made any head-lines quite like they have with Horizon. It stars a female protagonist, it is an open-world third person Action Adventure game, the gameplay mechanics are highly reminiscent of Monster Hunter or even Dragon's Dogma, the visuals and art direction are stunning and the story actually sounds pretty darned interesting. I'm pleased to see that so many people in the gaming press and on forums aren't ignoring this game in favour of the "Big Three" of the Sony conference; it is earning a lot of high praise and mentions as the possible Overall Game of Show. For a studio that has been seen as "Bungie-lite" for a decade now, breaking the generic FPS mold and starting anew with such a cool idea really is inspiring; we know Guerilla have the talent, but can they pull something like this off?

[Psychosplodge]

Probably Half-Life 3

[Learn2Eel]

Probably Half-Life 3

People already think this is the best E3 ever (and that the Sony conference was the best E3 conference ever)....surely not....if Half Life 3 appears.....*shudders*

[Psychosplodge]

You're ok everyone knows Valve can't count to 3.

Though in seriousness I think I recall a few places speculating on L4D3 a couple of months ago so maybe that?

[Mr Mystery]

Interesting.

Nintendo and Activision have agreed a deal which will allow Amiibo figures to be used in Skylanders. First two are Donkey Kong and Bowser.

[eldargal]

EA had ME4 and Star Wars Battlefront both of which look amaze so not sure why people are so disappointed beyond the standard 'hate everything EA does' thing.

Horizon is impressive though, and also good to see a major company starting a brand new high profile IP with a woman protagonist. Sad its PS4 exclusive, though I think we have one. But boo having to leave my room to play games.

[Charon]

Probably because the ME franchise suffered from ME3 which was really disappointing. While the Story was good as always (if you ignore the stupid endings and the gigantic plotholes it leaves behind) the gameplay was extremely boring. It was basically running up and down the Citadel interrupted by very few and short missions (sometimes what? 10 minutes of real gameplay before you had to run into every section of the station again to not miss a mission?)
My wife was furious... don't think she will bother with ME4 and neither will I.

Battlefront suffers from not beeing Battlefront 2. I guess most people expected BF2 with better graphics and more options. And we know as it is EA we will have a good chuck of DCL if we want more than a handful maps and different game modes.

[Erik Setzer]

Well, people mostly credit Bioware with the ME series (because they produced it, whereas EA were the distributors). I do think ME3 (and DA2) had issues with being rushed to market, but my only problem with ME3 was the ending. They at least tried to improve it, but some things were never explained in-game (i.e. why the AI took that form... it's entirely reasonable to assume it could pluck "thoughts" from Shepard's mind and chose that form from there, but they never say that, or anything else).

EA has earned a bad rep, sadly. Too many big recent releases were plagued with issues. DA2, ME3, Battlefield 4, SimCity, SWTOR... And there's the whole thing with their sports franchises, where Madden NFL might be the worst. They release a new game every year, and often the "new" feature(s) will be something they removed from an earlier version. Add in Day 1 DLC, over the top monetizing plans, all that, and EA has put itself in the position it's in. Hopefully they'll learn and get better, but it seems they're slow to apply lessons. ME:A's a good chance to show they've learned not to rush a game to market.

[Learn2Eel]

EA had ME4 and Star Wars Battlefront both of which look amaze so not sure why people are so disappointed beyond the standard 'hate everything EA does' thing.

Horizon is impressive though, and also good to see a major company starting a brand new high profile IP with a woman protagonist. Sad its PS4 exclusive, though I think we have one. But boo having to leave my room to play games.

The reason people were unimpressed with the EA conference is that they started with a bang (Mass Effect: Andromeda) and ended with a bang (Star Wars: Battlefront), but the rest of their show was generally lackluster or just boring. Unravel was great but aside from those three games, the rest of their show was just forgettable, at least in comparison to the rest of the major conferences that all generally had a good overall roster without any lulls or dips.

As far as EA's bad reputation is concerned, let's not forget their insidious Dungeon Keeper reboot that was pretty much a horrendously ill-disguised attempt at extortion from fans of a classic franchise. It's for stuff like that which has seen them labeled America's worst company several times in the past decade, though I agree with the consensus (and their assertion, amusingly) that they have gotten better in the past year or two. Still, their deep history of resurrecting or continuing franchises only to extort a profit out of them then ultimately kill them won't easily be forgotten any-time soon.

[Cap'nSmurfs]

I really liked Mass Effect 3. Andromeda has me pretty excited.

At the moment, though, I'm so ****ing excited for MGSV: The Phantom Pain. Early previews are sounding phenomenally good.

I'm also unsure about the FFVII remake. So much of the charm of the game (which I'm currently replaying) is in the cute sprites and their funny animations. I'm also unsure how well that game's wild tonal fluctuations will translate to a more modern, realistic depiction. I mean, you climb on a jumping dolphin to get up a tower. Hojo suns himself on a beach surrounded with bikini-clad women immediately following one of the early game's darker portions. Cait Sith.

[Wolfshade]

I've never been able to get the capitolists to like me either :(

[Psychosplodge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ84glIAfWc

Hope some more pop up from the other presentations :D

[Erik Setzer]

I've never been able to get the capitolists to like me either :(

I don't think anyone likes anyone in that game. It does seem to take some groups to extremes, sometimes even to illogical extremes. But heck, it's still an amusing game.

[Psychosplodge]

Banished is currently at 75% off so I got it.

Spent a good few hours on it last night. it's third year and think I've already ****ed it up. not lost anyone yet, but haven't built a blacksmith quick enough and running out of tools, which I imagine will lead to a loss of productivity and deaths through cold or starvation.

[eldargal]

Banished is currently at 75% off so I got it.

Spent a good few hours on it last night. it's third year and think I've already ****ed it up. not lost anyone yet, but haven't built a blacksmith quick enough and running out of tools, which I imagine will lead to a loss of productivity and deaths through cold or starvation.

That's how it goes, you think things are going well then you realise they aren't and huge numbers of people die and you have to spend ages consolidating and rebuilding or starting again lol.

[Psychosplodge]

I also don't think I expanded the housing quick enough for new families, so I think if that doesn't do it I'm going to end up with a dip in population.

[eldargal]

Build one of those big guest houses first and then build stone housing if you can, it uses so mcuh less fuel to keep warm it helps keep your ickle peeps alive in winter. There are some good guides on managing population growth and such it can be tricky.

[Psychosplodge]

Once I get my quarry going, I'll look at that. Reading the web now it looks like I've started farming too early as well.
At least I've got a good town naming convention going, This one is New Oldtown, the next obviously is New New Oldtown, and so on.

Can't expect it to go well first time.

[Houghten]

A farming community called New Oldtown?

When the Admiral comes demanding supplies, don't refuse him. He'll flatten you from orbit.

[Psychosplodge]

Don't ever mention that name again, it annoys me...

Someone got the reference :D

[Erik Setzer]

Don't ever mention that name again, it annoys me...

Someone got the reference :D

Warlord Zsinj? I want to say the planet's name started with an A, it's where Lara claimed to be from, and he made the comment to his second-in-command.

Hey, it's been a little while since I read the Wraith Squadron books, I had to buy replacements a few weeks ago, I can't remember *every* detail. :-P

- - - Updated - - -


I also don't think I expanded the housing quick enough for new families, so I think if that doesn't do it I'm going to end up with a dip in population.

Well, on the bright side, if they start dying out due to cold and starvation, you no longer have a housing problem.

[Psychosplodge]

That's it exactly! I suppose on a wargaming forum people would.

that depends on which ones die.

[Erik Setzer]

I'm a big Star Wars fan and the X-Wing novels were my favorites, especially as they didn't involve Jedi doing insane Jedi stuff, Superweapon-of-the-Week, or anything like that.

Also, Zsinj was a very amusing bad guy, and those books introduced the world to Lieutenant Kettch.

R.I.P., Aaron Allston...

[Psychosplodge]

Did I miss that, has it been mentioned on here? or have I just forgot it?

When did that happen? I suppose that means the wraiths are now completely gone.

[Erik Setzer]

Not sure where I saw it mentioned, might have just been looking up his list of books one day, but Allston passed away in February last year. He was only 54, too. That's five years more than Douglas Adams, but still, way too early. And I think Wraith Squadron got shoved into "Legends" status along with the rest of the EU. Ah well.

I'm still not sure where SWTOR falls on that spectrum. It should theoretically be Legends, especially as it refers (in often error-filled ways) to other EU stuff, but it's still running and having story added to it. People think Warhammer: Total War is going to be odd coming out after the world's been destroyed, but it's sort of a "historical" game in the setting and works that way, whereas with SWTOR theoretically the story you're playing never existed.

[Psychosplodge]

Oh of course they went legends, but some legends stuff is still being written isn't it? or is it stuff that was commissioned but unreleased when things changed? But I meant wraith squadron was pretty much his baby, so if he's gone have they gone from legends to thats all foks?

[Erik Setzer]

Yeah, they've probably had all the stories they'll get now. I'm hoping X-Wing sees some rules made for them, at least some of the pilots like Face.

[Psychosplodge]

And Kettch of course

[Psychosplodge]

So I persevered with New Oldtown and it's looking very likely that I'm about to have a population crash through my earlier lack of housing expansion, as the houses I am building now get occupied by people past breeding age. Acquiring stone seems to be my biggest problem. Suffered my first deaths (two old age I assume, and one quarry accident). Then getting the builders to actually build...

[Erik Setzer]

Went to GOG.com just before going to bed last night, saw Banished still at $5, purchased and downloaded it. That sounds like too much fun to skip on, and having put ~120 hours into Civ V in the last month or so is making it a little too "samey" (I had to start challenging myself to win without fighting anyone except Barbarians... and then accomplished that). I'll try to get some time in on it over the weekend, and it might suck me in from what I'm reading here. Only problem there is I'm trying to actually get a complete play-through of New Vegas done for once (seven hours in and I'm still not actually to New Vegas yet, because sidetracking is FUN!), and I'd also like to get through Fallout 3 (didn't realize how much there was to that game, I must not have gotten far) before Fallout 4 comes out. DA:I, the Witcher series, and Skyrim will have to wait until I find more time that isn't being taken up by people wanting to chat all night on Skype...

[Tyrendian]

well chatting to people via Skype while playing games is fun, especially when you suddenly yell at them "shuddup there's a cutscene!!!" :) Or, in the case of Civ, you casually say "and now let's nuke Berlin..."

[Psychosplodge]

*snort*

- - - Updated - - -

Erik, it's certainly interesting. And it's kinda what I wanted for years, a challenging city builder without all the hassle of combat.

[Erik Setzer]

well chatting to people via Skype while playing games is fun, especially when you suddenly yell at them "shuddup there's a cutscene!!!" :) Or, in the case of Civ, you casually say "and now let's nuke Berlin..."

I'd have to say "shut up" a lot while playing something like SWTOR. I can play a game like Civ or even WoW (no real voice acting) without needing sound.

Speaking of Civ, Skype, and nukes... I was playing Civ V with my friend while talking with him on Skype, and as we were cleaning the last of the other civilizations and city-states off the globe, he says, "Hey, we should build Giant Death Robots and have a big fight on this small continent to kick-start our own war." I agreed, because that'd be fun, so I build my GDRs and put them in the area described. After expressing surprised repeatedly at how many I had, he later asked, "So you're build up the army around Vatican City, right?" I confirmed I was indeed, as agreed.

And he dropped atomic bombs on me, wiping out my army.

I responded by starting production on my own nukes (missiles), and a fleet of stealth bombers. Once he realized the futility of it, he said something like, "Watch this"... and quit the game. :-P (We started a new game. I wasn't upset, we both knew how that war would go.)

[Kirsten]

well today I traded my Xbox 360 in for an Xbox One. it is an enormous great big box and looks very 80s. Got Titanfall, which I have had my first round of and is excellent. currently downloading Ori and the Blind Forest, Peggle 2, Massive Chalice, and Pool Nation (all free). Ordered Killer Instinct Season 1 online, because I loved the original Snes game and was feeling nostalgic.

[Erik Setzer]

Titanfall is pretty fun. I especially enjoy dropping your Titan on another Titan when the person isn't expecting it.

When you get auto-eject and nuke-on-eject, the fun really starts. "Oh, you cornered me and have beaten my Titan into submission? Cool, it just ejected me before it dies, and is now going to explode all over this city street."

[Tyrendian]

picked up The Stanley Parable earlier today - half-way between amusing and disconcerting... really well done, that...

[Mr Mystery]

Might stay up inadvisably late tonight to order me PS4, as Amazon do same day delivery round where I work...

[Kirsten]

do it

[Mr Mystery]

I'm gonna!

Can't get same day delivery though.

[Kirsten]

booo

[Mr Mystery]

Ordered it!

As of tomorrow night...

[gravelly mumble]I'm Batman[/gravelly mumble]

[Kirsten]

excellent.

I have a PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U now, well set.

[Mr Mystery]

Not interested in the XBone. PS4 shall serve my needs!

Also, sold the Wii U.

I now partially regret this and may get another.

[Kirsten]

why did you sell the Wii U? loon.

[Kirsten]

IGN discussing Assassin's Creed Syndicate:

"When civilian NPCs spotted the body of a rival gang member I had taken out, they reacted with mild alarm, and nothing more."

sounds like Ubisoft have nailed British NPCs :p

[Mr Mystery]

why did you sell the Wii U? loon.

Needed the money - I hideously overspent one month.

[Kirsten]

well that was a silly thing to do.

[Mr Mystery]

Yarp.

[Mr Mystery]

Picking it up today. Woo!

Also, picked up Alien Isolation, as it was £20, and it's been ever such a long time since I last pappered my kex.

[eldargal]

Oh dear (http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/batman-arkham-knight)

[Psychosplodge]

IGN discussing Assassin's Creed Syndicate:

"When civilian NPCs spotted the body of a rival gang member I had taken out, they reacted with mild alarm, and nothing more."

sounds like Ubisoft have nailed British NPCs :p

lols.


Got myself cities skylines on Monday.
It's quite frustrating, especially the unlock system, but Wolfie you should like the traffic management :D
Took four builds before I managed to get a starting town with an increasing population so I could survive the wait for profitability.

[Kirsten]

Arkham Knight is apparently fantastic, just having major problems on PC at the moment. Rocksteady are saying that a different company ported it to PC.

[Mr Mystery]

I'll be playing it tonight when I get home.

In theory.

In theory as it's not been delivered yet, and I don't want to count me chickens.

[Kirsten]

I will be finishing Ori and the Blind Forest, and playing some Sunset Overdrive I expect.

[Psychosplodge]

Fail Damn fake game t-shirt printers

https://40.media.tumblr.com/e05c925c3fcdc137ad656a186e7dd7d4/tumblr_nqekc1mygK1qzcv7no1_540.jpg

[Kirsten]

lol

[Psychosplodge]

https://41.media.tumblr.com/c4d9b20831a002d3abe575d0657c2bdb/tumblr_njxpvaXfai1s2i16to1_400.jpg

[Kirsten]

a-ha!

[Erik Setzer]

Fail Damn fake game t-shirt printers

Not sure if I want to cry or scream...

[Mr Mystery]

Got me new toy!

Soon as I'm home, getting it all set up.

[Psychosplodge]

All that money wasted...

[Mr Mystery]

Quiet you!

[Mr Mystery]

It is beautiful!

Arkham Knight has moved some of the controls around which will take a wee bit getting used to, but it's worth it for the new innovations.

[Psychosplodge]

Quiet you!

:p

[Psychosplodge]

Jigglypuff got mean

https://38.media.tumblr.com/c354f6258ef138f953b7f98ce5952a9e/tumblr_inline_mub3bswByI1ro9z20.png

[Kirsten]

Jigglypuff has always been mean

I am playing Sunset Overdrive at the moment. Reminds me a lot of Crackdown, big, colourful world, lots of verticality and jumping, hordes of zombie like creatures. Similarly, it is reasonably entertaining, but not amazing. Some quite inventive weapons though

[Erik Setzer]

Not sure how many people play sports games, but after playing 2K's NBA 2K15, I'm more disappointed than ever in EA's treatment of the Madden NFL series. I got NBA 2K15 a few days ago with the Steam sale ($15), and have been enjoying the heck out of the mode where you play through a player's career.

In Madden NFL, you can do something similar. You make a player, give him a name and position and looks and number, select a team you want, and where you were drafter (which sets attributes). You can instantly make yourself a starter. Each week between games, you have a small bit of news items that might relate to you in the league news, and you can do basic training and spend XP. That's pretty much it outside of games. In-game, you see a sim of the game on a map of the field when you're not playing. Each game starts with similar intro and commentary (every season has the same opening comments), and the two commentators are pretty stale (especially if you've heard their commentary for years). The commentary is also glitched in that any first down you get after spending time off the field is likely to be referred to as "the first first down of the game," even if it's the 15th. Or if you run as a quarterback, it'll talk about the running back having good vision and all. They never use your name, even if it's a last name they have recorded for an existing player (a feature prior Madden games had). The halftime is just a few play highlights and showing stats. The end game is some highlights, show the player of the game and play of the game, hear the same comments.

But NBA 2K15? Oh no. They don't roll like that.

Let's start with out-of-game.

You make a player, select a name and nickname from what's available. A bit limiting, sure, but there's a nice selection to choose from. Then it starts up, showing your player in his apartment on draft night as the draft ends and he's not selected. The players gets upset with his agent, the agent dodges his angry glare and tells him, "It's good, you can get on a team you want!" Ha. You're a raw player. You have only teams that really need a backup at your spot, and you get 10 days to make them like you. When you pick a team, it shows a scene of meeting with the GM and he tells you what's expected. Scenes like this pop up all the time, whether it's other players celebrating with you after a game, getting advice from a veteran player, having the coach tell you he might promote you to starter, getting to do a press conference after your first game as a starter... often with a couple of dialogue options. Kind of like an RPG. There's also a "Twitter feed" that shows between games, where fans, players, and coaches might make comments about you, positive or negative. It made me feel more invested in the player and felt it sting even more when he was rejected by the first team he played for, then elated when the second team offered a contract for the remainder of the season after the 10-day trial.

In-game presentation... Yowza. I don't think I've seen the same opening twice, and they sometimes will do an opening like actual game presentations with shots of the two teams' players in games while a modern pop song by someone like Lorde is playing. The commentary is not just accurate to what's going on in the game, it actually tracks the game, and uses the last name and nickname you selected. In a game I was playing last night, I had a rough first half, but the second half was hot, and they actually mentioned that in the commentary. Scoring mostly in the paint? They'll say that. Grabbing multiple rebounds? They'll mention that. And you don't even hear the transition to splice in names. When your player isn't on the field, you can watch the game in first-person mode from the bench, or just skip to where you're in. When you come off, the coach will comment based on how you're doing. At halftime, they show a quick interview with a player heading into the half (if it's your player, you can pick a dialogue option), and then you see the locker room with the coach talking about what went right and wrong, and the second half plan. Heading into the fourth quarter, they'll pop up a brief commercial for an upcoming game. It all feels like an actual televised game, that you happen to be in the middle of playing, and it's very clean feeling.

And, of course, you can upgrade attributes with points earned, and earn badges giving you boosts.

Both games cost $60 when they're released each year. 2K develops their game for PC as well as XBox and PS. EA only does the consoles. Yet EA's games either remain stagnant, or drop features to pick them back up later as "new" features (sometimes watered down), and they change some things (I don't think the draft ever works the same from year to year) just to change them.

Even if you're not a huge basketball fan, I'd recommend checking out NBA 2K15 if you can find it cheap. I'm only a "minor" fan, having been talked into it by some former coworkers, but it's fun and I'm starting to figure out some of the rules just by playing.


TL;DR: EA is lazy, 2K is awesome, buy 2K's sports games if you like sports or even just want a fun game.

[Psychosplodge]

You mentioned sports games and then started talking about NFL and NBA?

- - - Updated - - -

Seriously though, they killed fifa years ago form what I've heard. And while I've played the demo of NHL 15, everything I've read online suggests it's not as good as 14

[Mr Mystery]

Never really 'got' sports games meself.

But I'm rapidly building up my PS4 Library.

So far? Arkham Knight, Alien Isolation, Stick It To The Man and Murdered: Soul Suspect. All surprisingly cheap!

[Psychosplodge]

Not bad for a console with no games

[Mr Mystery]

Got more games than the XBone, and plenty on the way.

Glad I waited 18 months before buying though. I don't mind playing 'middling' games, especially if they're lesser seen genres (Murdered is one of those) but I do mind paying top dollar for them.

[Psychosplodge]

That has none either...

[Erik Setzer]

Never really 'got' sports games meself.

Eh... no different from playing a skirmish-level war game when it's at the team level, and no different from an FPS or RPG when you're at the player level. It's just playing a different type of "fantasy" out, and sometimes you actually have to use strategy and thinking.

- - - Updated - - -


You mentioned sports games and then started talking about NFL and NBA?

Seriously though, they killed fifa years ago form what I've heard. And while I've played the demo of NHL 15, everything I've read online suggests it's not as good as 14

Well, NFL and NBA are sports, so...

Haven't been able to get into soccer much (sorry, as an American I'll use that term to distinguish it from American football). I've seen a game live (match between Fulham FC and DC United when they unveiled the new video boards at the local stadium), and saw the World Cup a few years ago, but that's it. There's actually a team in Jacksonville now (Armada), and they're even trying to build them a real field to play so they aren't using the baseball field, but unfortunately their games are usually on Saturday, and that's when I'm gaming with friends. Otherwise I'd have a season ticket.

Not sure how good I'd be with the game, though. Soccer and hockey games give me a bit more trouble at times. I think they've gotten better.

[Psychosplodge]

Lols

If it hasn't caught on yet I doubt it will tbh

[Erik Setzer]

Lols

If it hasn't caught on yet I doubt it will tbh

I like the sport, just haven't had the opportunity to catch many matches. It's usually on cable, and I don't bother spending money on cable TV because it'd increase my monthly bill a large amount just for a very small number of channels I'd occasionally watch. If networks like ESPN ever get online packages without requiring cable service, that'll help. I was all prepped to get Armada season tickets until I found out the games were on Saturdays, which is the day my friends have to play games. And I like going to sporting events with someone, but it seems most of my friends aren't sports fans (like there's an unspoken rule that you can't be a nerd and a sports fan at the same time?).

[Kirsten]

Fifa is always improving, it is inevitable in an annual series like that that just needs tweaks. I enjoyed 14 and will be picking up 16. PS4 and Xbox One both have plenty of games.

Stick it to the man is good fun, I enjoyed that. Get playstation+ membership if you haven't already. regardless of whether or not you play online, you get free games every month. Been three or four a month for the last few months.

[Erik Setzer]

Fifa is always improving, it is inevitable in an annual series like that that just needs tweaks.

Eh... You'd think so. But there's parts of older Madden NFL games that are better than current, and missing, or were removed for a short time before being added back, i.e.:

- Sideline camera view when playing coach mode
- Ticker tape at the bottom of the screen that showed scores from other games
- Owner mode (just got brought back, watered down)
- Some of the Superstar features
- Studio show

That's just off the top of my head.

But given that NCAA Football has more features and better presentation, I think it's just the one series, not necessarily EA in total. Though I'd heard similar problems with the NHL series.

With NCAA gone, I guess FIFA is the lone EA Sports series that actually bothers trying to improve each year. Think I'll give it a look.

[Psychosplodge]

Fifa is always improving, it is inevitable in an annual series like that that just needs tweaks. I enjoyed 14 and will be picking up 16. PS4 and Xbox One both have plenty of games.

Stick it to the man is good fun, I enjoyed that. Get playstation+ membership if you haven't already. regardless of whether or not you play online, you get free games every month. Been three or four a month for the last few months.

O_o

You get "free" games after paying for "membership" but they're "free"

http://img13.deviantart.net/9ba6/i/2011/111/d/b/denpa_onna___meme__s_head_tilt_by_lovekuja-d3eiu2y.png

[Kirsten]

well you get other things as well like online functions. the total value of the free games in the first year was something like £400, from a £40 membership.

[Psychosplodge]

I bet you'd get better value spending that £40 on steam sale items.

[Mr Mystery]

Dunno dude.

As I have a PS3 and a PS4, I get monthly free games for each.

And it's not silly app type games. It's proper games.

Not bad at all for a piffling £40!

If I get a PS Vita (no plans to) then that gets free games as well.

[Psychosplodge]

its literally not free by definition, and you only get what you're given, you don't get to pick!

[Kirsten]

exactly. there are loads of great indie games free too, I have dozens already.

[Psychosplodge]

and you're paying for services freely available elsewhere

[Kirsten]

available freely on other things. free on PC has no real bearing on anything else. you can't just say 'oh, instead of spending £40 a year I shall spend £1,000 on a PC then I shall game online for free. that will show them.'

[Psychosplodge]

You know you don't need to spend anywhere near that to beat a console. If you put a second hand gtx 660ti you can probably do it for sub £400.
And you lose all these freebies the moment you stop paying the subscription don't you?

[Kirsten]

a sub £400 PC wont beat a console. and it will need upgrading, whereas the PS4 and Xbox One will last far longer. You lose the PS4 freebies until you renew your subscription, Xbox freebies are free forever

[Psychosplodge]

I disagree. you certainly don't need to spend anywhere near a grand, and if something does break you don't need to replace everything.

[Kirsten]

there is no getting round the fact that PC gaming is massively more expensive than console gaming

[Psychosplodge]

It really isn't in any manner what so ever.

- - - Updated - - -

there's even a easy guide (http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/wiki/guide)

[Kirsten]

lol, it lost me at 'industry harming' what a load of tripe.

[Psychosplodge]

PC games are so much cheaper that they alone can allow even a high-end PC to undercut a console within a single year

All year round, PC games are being sold at extreme discounts thanks to Good Old Games, Humble Bundles and Steam sales. Even brand new titles that have yet to be released can occasionally get a pre-order discount or otherwise drop below the traditional console release price of $59.99. There's also the occasional franchise or "studio" bundles that can save you around 25-50%. Summer and winter Steam sales offer the largest discounts, with single titles going as much as 75% off with entire franchises and bundle discounts stacking onto the discount Valve already added to it. Yes, it's true that you may sometimes get games that you don't want from a bundle, but you have to be trying pretty hard when you try to label that as a disadvantage. The games are yours forever, and there's a pretty good chance that someone may want to "borrow" it from you and try it out even if you don't. Over the course of 3-4 years, some people have saved over $3000 by using Steam. All those discounts, and developers still earn more on the PC.

You don't think individual console exclusives hurt everybody?

[Kirsten]

no, they don't.

the article is very misleading. console cycles are not about trapping you with outdated hardware, they are about giving you a great long life for a machine. in another six, seven, eight years the PS4 will be getting new games, and I wont have spent any more money beyond the original outlay. my PC wont be able to run games released in six or seven years. I will have to upgrade over time. that means it is impossible to get the same value for money out of a PC as a console.

[Psychosplodge]

If it's a console beater now you should have no problem, sure the high graphics will have moved on, but you'll still be beyond the console level ones.

[Kirsten]

games don't keep working though. my PS3 games will always run in my PS3. any PS3 games released this year or next year will still work. Games released in six years for my PS4 will still work. PC games released in six years will be designed for that hardware, and wont work on what I have now, or will run badly.

[Psychosplodge]

I can still run alpha centurai or civ 2, or the the original colonisation- not the civ 4 remake, the original DOS based one with zero issues.
these are 20+ year old games.

[Kirsten]

sure you can, run all the ancient games you like. my point is, Civ 10 or whatever it will be in the future wont work on the PC I have now. Civ 10 on PS4 would still work.

I have had consoles and PCs all my life, they are both excellent. the idea of PCs being inherently better is utterly laughable. "Consoles have continued to stick around over the years but their time has long passed." try telling that to Sony who have sold over 20 million PS4s. all these PC gamers were proclaiming the doom of consoles and how this generation were going to flop and would be the last. and wouldn't you know it, sales have been huge :rolleyes:

[Psychosplodge]

civ 10 will never come to PS4, maybe its *******ised cut down offspring will make an appearance. You'd be surprised at what you can get to run.

I've had consoles since the master system. I've had PC since 1999?
I know which I spend more time on. I can't even remember the last time I attempted to turn the ps3 on. And the Wii appears to have stopped working.
I do want a wii u though.

https://36.media.tumblr.com/364ba1fcd0697fc5510ec30ed71d6a9c/tumblr_nqhy1khlg91s3vkrio1_540.jpg

[Kirsten]

our family have always had both, and we have spent far more on PCs over the years. fifteen years ago you couldn't get a PC for less than £1500. it lasted a long time, but my Snes, my brother's N64, our Gamecube, even my Wii all combined cost less, and covered a far longer period of time. You have no idea what will come to PS4 in future, and this stuff about cut down games is bull****. sure, strategy games are better on PC. so?

the article is massively skewed to the point that a lot of their arguments are fabrications. complaints about used games? the only reason there is no used PC game market is because they don't always physically work. you have no idea if the activation code will work, if there will be problems getting it transferred to you. and PC games are far too easy to rip and pirate, which is why no stores will trade them in. nor are console manufacturers restricting used games. Microsoft were going to, and gamers told them where to stick it, so they scrapped the idea.

Consoles aren't going anywhere, neither are PCs, and one is not harming the other. they are all good, and will all continue to be good.

[Psychosplodge]

You still don't think exclusives hurt the market?

[Erik Setzer]

I bet you'd get better value spending that £40 on steam sale items.

For my XBox, I've gotten some solid games, like Sleeping Dogs, Bioshock Infinite (saving me having to buy it somewhere to complete my collection), Tomb Raider, and some others I can't recall at the moment.

Given that I'm already spending the $60/year on the online service for my XBox, I think those are nice extras. You can debate if they're free or not, but eh, it's something I wasn't getting before.

PS3/4 deal is similar, and I believe has also had nice games.

[Erik Setzer]

On the PC vs console thing... I built my PC for maybe $1000 at the time (could have been a bit less), which is quite a bit less than a grand across the pond. Threw in a good bit of RAM, eight core processor, all that fun, and a nice video card not just to run games, but also to run two monitors at once. I learned the value of a potent PC from my job, so I definitely wanted to have a good one at home.

I've got a lot of games for PC as well as my consoles. The funny thing is, most games on consoles, at least the popular ones, are also available on PC. (Really, the only reason a game wouldn't be on PC is if the producer or distributor is just wanting to flip the bird to PC gamers). You can often run them at higher graphics settings, too. In my Steam library, I have the latest three Elder Scrolls games, Saints Row 2-4, Batman: Arkham Asylum & City, Dead Island, various FEAR games, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Mortal Kombat Kollection, Risen 1 and 2, Metro 2033 and Last Light, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Dragon Age: Inquisition, NBA 2K15, and Torchlight II, all of which are also available on consoles (some of those I have on both systems due to various things like getting games in sale bundles, stuff like that). If I want to play them like on a console, I can just use my XBox 360 controller that plugs into a PC via USB.

I could also list a load of awesome games on my PC that aren't available on consoles. And quite a lot that wouldn't work on consoles (hello, RTS's!).

That said, I do enjoy my XBox 360 and my ability to just flop on the couch (or stand, depending on the game) while playing a game on my big TV screen. And I don't feel so bad about replacing the 360 in the near future with an XB1, because I can play my 360 games on it starting later this year.

So, good points and bad on both sides. Nice to have both, but maybe not so cheap.

[Psychosplodge]

Not a minecraft fan but wow

https://40.media.tumblr.com/e6dcf0cd971d35838d93970be624778e/tumblr_nqbeehB4uF1u0x24bo1_500.png

[eldargal]

Arkham Knight being called the worst PC launch ever, bunch of retails no longer selling it and offering no conditions refunds.

[Mr Mystery]

I'm a console fiend because fundamentally, I'm quite a lazy person.

Buy console - good for X years. No need to upgrade (though I did embiggen my PS3's HDD), and can play any game released for that console.

Minimum fuss involved. Could I build a PC just as/more powerful for roughly the same dollar? Probs. I dunno. Can't be bothered to find out.

- - - Updated - - -


Arkham Knight being called the worst PC launch ever, bunch of retails no longer selling it and offering no conditions refunds.

I really hope the developer takes action against the porting company.

Arkham Knight is a truly excellent game - and it's reputation will now be forever marred by this unfortunate event.

[eldargal]

Someone did a thing where they built a PC that could match PS4 and they did it for three hundred pounds I think it was. Spend double that and you get a Pc that will be good for another whole console generation probly. Even people in teh industry saying the new console generation is only marginally better than the previous and its holding back gaming standards.

[Psychosplodge]

Arkham Knight being called the worst PC launch ever, bunch of retails no longer selling it and offering no conditions refunds.

http://i.imgur.com/dHVFDqz.jpg

It's amazing the port has been so badly botched considering the current consoles are apparently using PC architecture.

[eldargal]

Apparently they outsourced it to some tiny console game company. I'm betting they won't be around much longer. If its true 1mil+ Pc copies have been returned Rocksteady might not be around much longer lol.

[Mr Mystery]

I wonder if you can take out insurance against such events?

[Psychosplodge]

it seems to work fine though

http://i.imgur.com/bIX317l.jpg

[Erik Setzer]

Arkham Knight being called the worst PC launch ever, bunch of retails no longer selling it and offering no conditions refunds.

It's got to be pretty amazingly bad for that. I did watch the first half of an Angry Joe meltdown on it last night, with the game repeatedly crashing. But other games have been like that as well. IIRC, SimCity couldn't work because it required online servers (for a single player game). SWTOR was a bit of a mess... it ran okay most of the time, but was missing a lot of the stuff it was supposed to have. Battlefield 4 was a mess. Diablo III couldn't be loaded because it's tied into online servers. There's a lot of PC launches with issues, and those are just the ones I remember recently. "Worst ever" is pretty strong.

So... how bad exactly are we talking here?

[Mr Mystery]

30fps....

[Psychosplodge]

30fps....

worse, cinematic 24fps

- - - Updated - - -

Bethesda (https://twitter.com/DCDeacon/status/614181606429982720)suddenly inundated with caps...

[Erik Setzer]

30fps....

CAD did a joke about the framerate. That's not really forgivable in a modern PC game. I think they bragged about that in the 90s, but, well, I game with people who weren't born back then.

[Paintingplasticcrack]

Not sure if this video from Bethesda on Fallout 4 has been linked here. Sharing anyway. I am super excited for this game. This presentation is very good if your a fan.


http://youtu.be/ju01QbTNIGg

- - - Updated - - -

Part 2


http://youtu.be/qeu4fFyRXLA

[Psychosplodge]

We're all going to be trawling the wasteland for the right bit of scrap aren't we? I look forward to the idea of making a laser sniper rifle.
Even better if we can name them. I'm hoping there is more support for following a laser weapons build this time.

[Kirsten]

playing the Planetside 2 beta on PS4. wasn't sure about it on PC, too much going on and not enough information, and the PS4 beta drops even that basic tutorial. quite enjoying it though. I managed to jump in a turret and rack up about twenty five kills without reply, went up four levels.

[Kirsten]

I am the queen of turrets. I have 80 odd kills now, most of them from turrets. either the base anti tank turrets, which are great fun, or deploying one as an engineer. I deployed one at a junction and killed loads of players from both of the other factions as they each advanced down the two roads to meet the T where I was. the rest of my faction seemed to realise that was a pretty good idea and several others did it after a while too. I did kill one of my team though and get a 'grief token' or something because he suddenly popped up in front of me as I was firing, which is hardly my fault.

It does seem to have glitched though. I was playing as an infiltrator initially, and after upgrading my sniper rifle, I can no longer select it. I am carrying it around, but can't switch to it at all.

[Psychosplodge]

That's quite impressive. On PC you'd have been sniped long before that :D

Get the bolt action sniper rifle they have the longest range and power if slowest reload. I can't really offer advice on engineer as they've nerfed the way I used to play it. (cert into anti tank mines and suicide charge vehicle columns)

TBH planetside two has changed that much since it started I barely recognised it last time I went on. The "meta game", I think the call it, has changed completely.


I spent Sunday afternoon playing WarThunder on the PS4. Struggling with the aircombat, maybe I need to remap the controls. So switched to the tank combat. Spent about five hours on it. Unlocked and upgraded the the panzer IVc/e. became moderately competent.
Went home and downloaded it on steam.(apparently its crossplatform multiplayer) Took 90 mins to get to the same point in experience, and once I'd unlocked the IVc I came top or second on all the games I've played since. The aiming is obviously miles easier with a mouse, but I was genuinely surprised that the driving was improved by the keyboard, as it allowed me to drift the tank in a manner I didn't expect.
Best result I think was eleven tank kills for no loss.

[Kirsten]

Well careful placement alleviates sniper tisk. I know, I am usually the one sniping :p

I have now shot down to aircraft with the base anti tank turret. Had to email the Planetside people because of the sniper rifle glitch, hopefully they get back to me today

I am saving up for C4 at the moment for tank killing.

Played some PS4 warthunder, wasn't sure about plane controls, not as good as proper air combat games. Didn't get much chance for tank combat but it didn't seem as good as world of tanks

[Psychosplodge]

Support is notoriously slow from what I've read on forums, you'd possibly get a quicker response tweeting them, though it is a new company running it now so who knows?

They really nerfed the effectiveness of C4 on sunderers. used to take about three blocks, two and a grenade if if you were lucky, and it caught fire and you gunned down the engies, last time I played it was an exercise in futility. Still good for anti tank though I think.

When you've shot down aircraft with a submachine gun get back to me :p

[Kirsten]

I still don't know how to throw grenades, none of the buttons seem to do it.

Pff, automatic weapons are cheating

[Psychosplodge]

G, G throws grenade. I'd assume that translates to R3 or L3 possibly? Also don't forget to equip it on the loadout screen

[Kirsten]

Tried all the buttons, no idea. I need to look it up

[Psychosplodge]

L1+R1 together

[Kirsten]

Aah ok

Who would ever think of trying that? Silly people

[Mr Mystery]

These Fallout games - how do they cope with nooBs who haven't played the predecessors?

[Psychosplodge]

I started at fallout 3. It was a completely different style to the early ones. it worked fine. I would have thought New Vegas would have worked fine as well. If you still have your ps3 I'd suggest getting three from CEX or somewhere and giving it a spin.
Going back and playing the first ones would require a PC and give you more background. But tbh I'd assume you could enter at four quite easily and the only thing you'll miss is some of the references I'd assume they'll include to earlier games.

[Gotthammer]

All you'll really miss out is a few moments of seeing what they did there or getting of a reference. Fallout 2 is the one that relies most heavily on FO1 to understand

[Kirsten]

just spent several minutes creeping up on an enemy apc. knifed a dude from behind on the way, was awesome. got right up close, threw my C4, and it phased out as I threw it and my C4 just landed on the ground...

[YorkNecromancer]

Anyone here played 'Doorkickers'? I got it for a pound in the GOG summer sale, and it's really very good, but blisteringly hard.

[Erik Setzer]

One problem with computers... Drivers and finicky hardware. My graphics card has been crashing the driver lately, possibly due to overheating, so I need to try to get more fans for it. Part of the problem is that the tower is quite open, lots of holes to vent. That leads to issues with dust as it is. But then my cats decided that hey, it's beside me, and it's warm, so a good place to sleep. But that prevents air being pushed out the top (also resulting in kitties being way too warm), and ends up with fur being dropped down into the computer as well. Just not an ideal scenario. I've taken to covering the top of the PC with darts to keep them off.

The video card doesn't have a problem with a lot of games. Civ V, no trouble. Fallout New Vegas, runs okay. But in World of Warcraft, it will crash multiple times when I'm in a dungeon, forcing me to end the process on the game and then reload it and log back in ASAP so I don't miss an important fight or get booted.

But the worst is NBA 2K15... I've been having a lot of fun with it, but I don't think I can run more than one game without letting the computer sit off for a while to cool down. I've been in a game, with the team leading by a good bit, my player's performing well, it's coming down to the closing minutes... and boom. Driver crashes, shuts down the game. Luckily the game auto-saves between pretty much everything it does (though sometimes things change, like my trash-talking session with Kevin Durant prior to a game changed to a more respectful tone, which is cool with me). But when you play the same matchup four times just to see the game crash as it's getting toward the end... it's brutal.

Also in soul-destroying moments... Had a match where the other team got up quite a bit, I think 16 points, and somehow the team I was playing for started playing good defense and scoring better, and it was in the closing seconds, I got the ball, ran down the court, boom! Put the team ahead by a point with 4.8 seconds to play. "YEAH! I WON THE GAME!" Ha. Other team had a timeout left, used it, got the ball, flung it to a guy at the other end, he went to get it in, and rather than make a good block, the guy on my team fouled him, letting him get two free throws, which he made, leading us to a one-point loss. After the game it showed a scene in the arena tunnel and the player who's basically my player's mentor walks up and says, "You look like someone stole your puppy." Yeah. Something like that. So elated I might have a heart attack all the way down to "I hate everything" in a moment.

Never thought I'd get that into a basketball game, but the presentation around the player career game style is pretty good.

In other news, playing New Vegas, I accidentally blew up a bunch of NCR, killed an NCR hit squad, pissed off my companion, and then got pardoned. (Helios One. Hey, you put a giant death laser in front of me, why would I NOT use it?)

[Psychosplodge]

just spent several minutes creeping up on an enemy apc. knifed a dude from behind on the way, was awesome. got right up close, threw my C4, and it phased out as I threw it and my C4 just landed on the ground...

Sounds about right.


Anyone here played 'Doorkickers'? I got it for a pound in the GOG summer sale, and it's really very good, but blisteringly hard.

I hadn't even heard of it, it looks a bit like a top down version of the original rainbow six.


@Erik, how old is your gpu? I was using a second hand card about five years ago that was crashing under load, and all it needed was the two capacitors on the pcb replacing (not the surface mounted ones).

[Kirsten]

Sounds about right

Using C4 does seem like a waste of time, only being able to carry one and it doesn't do much

[Psychosplodge]

One? I'm pretty sure last time I played I had two. That might be a platform difference.

[Kirsten]

I don't know why it would be.

[Psychosplodge]

you had to cert into two slots on pc

[Erik Setzer]

@Erik, how old is your gpu? I was using a second hand card about five years ago that was crashing under load, and all it needed was the two capacitors on the pcb replacing (not the surface mounted ones).

Maybe three years now? Can't recall exactly. It's a GeForce GTX 550 Ti. Not the newest or hottest thing, and I could probably get more performance by replacing it by now.

I think it was the heat issue. Last night, after leaving the computer off all day, I was able to get through four games in NBA before it crashed in the fifth one (also probably a good hint it was time to get ready for bed). At some point soon I need to either make a trek to a store or place in a quick-ship order for a fan or two and some canned air to really blow all the gunk out of the cracks and crevices. Clean it more, add some extra cooling, should be able to handle things better, until I decide on a new card.

Might start looking for a card in the $200-$250 range. I'll have a bit of extra cash in a couple of weeks, maybe I can keep myself from throwing it all at a local convention.

[Psychosplodge]

Put some fresh thermal paste on the heatsink?

[Mr Mystery]

Going to take a break from Arkham Knight for now. Hunting down the Riddler trophies is starting to feel a bit tedious.

So....onto Alien Isolation! And yes, I have just done my laundry, so many clean pairs of pants are available in case of the jumpies.

[eldargal]

Alien: Isolation is great. Totes scary, try playing it in the dark lol.

[Mr Mystery]

No.

Shan't.

WUSS MODE ENGAGED.

[Erik Setzer]

Put some fresh thermal paste on the heatsink?

That might help.

I *was* running a game for over four hours at almost top settings (I turned the crowd down from high to medium... didn't really notice, because, well, they're the crowd). I think just having the amount of cooling I'd originally intended would help. There's areas for fans that I know I'd meant to put on there, but for some reason didn't. I also need to make sure the circulation is right. If the fans right behind the card are blowing inward, they might be just keeping the heat trapped inside rather than pulling it out. Side fan should be used for drawing cool air in, but there isn't a side fan right now.

The more I think about it, the more I'm surprised it went this long without trouble.

[YorkNecromancer]

it looks a bit like a top down version of the original rainbow six.

It basically is.

Which is great, because Rainbow 6 is one of my favourite (if not the favourite) games of all time (for gameplay at least. Which is true of all the Tom Clancy games: astonishingly good gameplay, godawful stories).

[Kirsten]

sounds interesting, I will have to look it up

[Psychosplodge]

at the time I played it I loved that game. The first time I completed the embassy siege without losing any of the hostages I was so impressed with myself :D

The planning was meticulous though

[eldargal]

https://41.media.tumblr.com/9ca417c3520628a5a845f675c05d2b21/tumblr_mzsedb0QRX1rfrkigo1_1280.jpg

[Kirsten]

hmm, Halo?

[eldargal]

No idea, just thought it was amusing hehe.

[Mr Mystery]

Bright Wizard for Vermintide is........a woman

And not that inappropriately attired, given she's a Wizard.

http://e5c351ecddc2f880ef72-57d6ff1fc59ab172ec418789d348b0c1.r69.cf1.rackcdn.c om/images/xTpFCFI7T2_v.878x0.Z-Z96KYq.jpg

- - - Updated - - -

linky linky (http://vermintide.com/dev-blog-14-sienna-fuegonasus-bright-wizard/?age-verified=362cb874d3)

[Kirsten]

flame on

[eldargal]

Nice, not young an pretty either. 2/5 characrters are women, respectable.

[Mr Mystery]

Also the third female Warhammer human Wizard as far as I'm aware?

You've got Elspeth from Tamurkhan (badass), the lass from Elfslayer, and now this one.

Good on them for bringing representation to an underrepresented profession.

[Psychosplodge]

It was too hot to use any computer or console yesterday to play games. I had to sit outside like an animal :(

[eldargal]

Still not clear in gameplay though, you control a single player and have a team of NPCs? Or its multi-player? Or they can be NPCs or controlled by player if you want to play with friends?

[Mr Mystery]

Dunno, but it's coming to PS4 so I'll defo be picking it up.

[Kirsten]

should be interesting anyway

I am downloading the demo for Elite on Xbox One as well, looking forward to trying that over the weekend

[Psychosplodge]

Elite was quite fun, but it is a time sink.

Who was playing the Mordheim early access? Is it improving?

[Kirsten]

I was, and yes it is. still a little wonky, but good fun. Regicide I so far haven't been able to complete a game before it crashes, but it is downloading an update at the moment so hopefully that will improve.

[Psychosplodge]

Whens its done we still need a Bols league :D

[Kirsten]

for which?

[Psychosplodge]

Mordheim? if theres some sort of campaign, league setting where we can get the warbands to actually accrue experience and skills and whatnot

[Kirsten]

that I would be up for. I suck at chess, so regicide is a no :p

[Psychosplodge]

lols.

[Kirsten]

I have spent this weekend playing World of Warships. very satisfying when it goes well. today I had a game where my destroyer sank four of the eight enemy ships single handed with torpedoes. and another where my cruiser held off four ships alone, sinking three of them before succumbing, giving the rest of my team time to sink the other four, and swing round to finish off my last.

[Tyrendian]

I have spent this weekend playing World of Warships. very satisfying when it goes well. today I had a game where my destroyer sank four of the eight enemy ships single handed with torpedoes. and another where my cruiser held off four ships alone, sinking three of them before succumbing, giving the rest of my team time to sink the other four, and swing round to finish off my last.

looks neat, gonna give it a try as well - I still fondly remember playing NavyField some 10 years ago, which was pretty much the same game, only top-down. Hella fun as well.
For something similar in space, I'll just drop a quick recommendation for Fractured Space - really good looking Capital Ship battles, and while it's in Early Acces, the Devs are both active update wise, and communicate a lot with the players, so it's the good kind if Early Access.

[Erik Setzer]

Fifa is always improving, it is inevitable in an annual series like that that just needs tweaks. I enjoyed 14 and will be picking up 16.

Had time on the way home, stopped in at GameStop, picked up FIFA 15, came home, gave it a try... Pretty fun game. I like that in the career mode it has skill practice that actually tells you what to do and lets you work at it. Pretty simple game play, once you get the hang of it. Not knowing the rules of the game, I also messed up a couple times, but learned to watch for things like the yellow flag indicating I'll get a penalty if they pass the ball to me where I am. I'm certain I'll get a good number of hours out of it.

I'm just bummed they don't have Armada FC in there. Guess it's in a "minor" league. But hey, it's my home town team, so if I had a chance, I'd definitely play them.

[Kirsten]

yeah I downloaded Fractured Space, it was free one weekend on Steam. not tried it yet though.

I did try the Elite demo on Xbox One, and the tutorial was pointless. tells you to destroy some barrels, but gives you no clue as to the buttons. that in itself was ok, I looked them up and started firing, but after burning through five magazines of ammo against the first barrel, and it still not breaking, I stopped.

Fifa is great fun. plus it is a free kick for being offside, not a penalty ;)

[eldargal]

I've started playing Craft the World,its a fantasy crafting and citybuilding sim where you use dwarfs to build whatever you want starting completely from scratch. It's really addictive and really good. you need to craft things to research technology and every 45 minutes you get attacked by monsters and stuff.

[Erik Setzer]

Fifa is great fun. plus it is a free kick for being offside, not a penalty ;)

I think it just uses the yellow flag marker to help indicate any time when you're in danger of doing something wrong. It's helpful, too, because sometimes the camera angle doesn't make it that easy to tell where you are in relation to other players (which seems to be what offsides is about?).

[Kirsten]

pretty much, the ball cannot be played forward to you if there is only one opposing player between you and the opposing goal. so that usually means there has to be at least the goalkeeper and one defender otherwise you can't be passed to, you have to run back to be level with the defender.

[Mr Mystery]

pretty much, the ball cannot be played forward to you if there is only one opposing player between you and the opposing goal. so that usually means there has to be at least the goalkeeper and one defender otherwise you can't be passed to, you have to run back to be level with the defender.

This has always bugged me.

Let's say I'm a footie manager, and my lads/lasses bag an early goal. My tactic from there would be 'right, everyone up the other end of the pitch, very quickly....NOW' Oh dear other team! Yous is all off-side!

[Kirsten]

the problem there is that you cannot be offside in your own half, and you cannot be offside from a goal kick or throw in. so if you send all your players up field to catch everyone out, they can goal kick past you. or of course counter attack in the usual way.

[Psychosplodge]

yeah I downloaded Fractured Space, it was free one weekend on Steam. not tried it yet though.

I did try the Elite demo on Xbox One, and the tutorial was pointless. tells you to destroy some barrels, but gives you no clue as to the buttons. that in itself was ok, I looked them up and started firing, but after burning through five magazines of ammo against the first barrel, and it still not breaking, I stopped.

Get closer.

I've obviously "leveled up" too much in WarThunder, as it's chucking me into battles with tier 2 tanks when I'm still riding around in tier 1 tanks, and I'm getting my arse handed to me. Had to start playing "realistic" battles to get rid of the name markers etc to give me a chance to ambush as head to head I might as well not bother.

[Kirsten]

I tried getting closer. even where I started off the rounds were clearly hitting the target, and doing nothing. it didn't bother giving any kind of guidance at all either, no controls of any kind. literally just 'shoot these barrels'. if they aren't going to make an effort, then neither am I.

[Psychosplodge]

I sold my guns anyway so I could jump further. The ones you start with are so underpowered they're just dead weight.

[Kirsten]

I never played the first Elite anyway I don't think. I did pay a lot of Freelancer back in the day though, and a bit of X. I like the genre.

[Psychosplodge]

I didn't play the original. I did play a lot of X2, a good chunk of freelancer, and a bit of X3.

[Kirsten]

I played some X2 and bought X3 but it would never work, despite being way over the recommended specs. I had the most badass flight stick too, Saitek Cyborg Evo, great quality, really cheap. something like 14 buttons, throttle lever, and amazing force feedback options, including a load of pre-programmed ones that you could apply to anything you wanted, and included things like 'godzilla approaching'.

[Psychosplodge]

lols. I never had any real problems beyond it crashing every couple of hours. Which meant I couldn't leave the AI exploring overnight for me.

That sounds an awesome stick.