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So me.

Playing some Armored Core 6. It's good, but sometimes I start to question my sanity about why I torture myself with those From Software boss battles which I suck too much to do well. So far it isn't as bad as in Elden Ring, but there's a few fights now that I had to repeat a bazillion times and it almost makes me want to just never boot up the game ever again.

Hey, you could be a nekkid hot woman in Saint's Row reboot. People still review bombed it for being woke but Vampire always had a bit of eroticism in the genre, and you can't cut that out. It isn't a vampire story without some seduction. Some forbidden promises whispered in an ear. The lips slowly traveling lower. Without the goosebumps as they brush the neck. And the white flash as the fangs come out and pierce the flesh. and you know why they only let me paint cats and not write anymore

Tbh, that trailer gives me nothing. All we see is some combat action, but simple truth is, I rather do the talky or sneaky way in my roleplaying games. And that's pretty much what would be important to me in a new Bloodlines game... How is the dialog, what stuff can I do, and how avoidable is the combat. The new company has no (good) track record in any of that stuff, but since everyone got fired some years ago, who knows what's going on now. Maybe they did find good replacements, maybe not. tl;dr - need to see actual gameplay if they want me to get excited.

Sea of Stars demo: I've heard so much about this little rpg game, so even tho I typically don't like turn-based combat, thought I'd give the demo a whirl. What's shown off in that is all very cute, and I like the small environment interactions. Being a demo, there are ofc a lot of "can't do that in the demo" spots/points, and it sorta felt like it maybe fast-skipped over some things to show you certain stuff earlier. Could be wrong tho. Combat in the demo wasn't all that difficult per se, but, y'know, just the demo, no clue of later game. It was nice to see that for those that are less combat oriented, there's a ring/item you can turn on that gives a huge HP boost or something, so you can focus less on tactics or whatever I guess. The usual skills, items, cooking/food, etc. Anyway, I liked the throwback pixel (is that what you say these days?) artstyle, occasional goofiness, the demo's light "figure out how to get that thing over there" tasks, and I'd imagine if you love/d this type of rpg, it's probably a good one. Probably not something you'd play for hours and hours at a sitting, but good light fun. That said, I still don't like turn based combat in rpg's and this one didn't change my personal mind, so I'll probably skip. But I can understand the overall positive reception. Charming, is what I'd call it, perhaps.

I think a big part of the problem is that Larian has chosen to change their approach from previous games, where none of your dialogue options were actually verbatim. It thus adds another layer of obfuscation between you and the game, where you can only guess at the intention behind the written dialogue line. Now in most cases it's fairly obvious: DOS2: *Ask him to tell you more about LOOM* BG3: "Hey, tell me more about LOOM" But when it comes to interpersonal relationship building... DOS2: *Flirt with him* BG3: "I don't want to kick your head in" Yeah... BG3 really needs to tag the lines where any interpretation other than the literal one is possible. [Flirt] "I don't want to kick your head in" Problem solved.

I'm finished with the underdark and ready to hit the shadow cursed lands, which I have been repeatedly told are a very bad place. I saved some gnomes from slavery, picked up an amulet that tries to make me laugh, and made some adamantine armor for my bard and Karlach. The fights are generally easier because Swords bard has some very high potential burst damage coupled with hypnotism, but that forge golem was bull****.

I am open to them proving themselves up to the task to make a fun game. It turns out even Werewolf: Earthblood was actually good (in an AA or possibly Aa kind of way). The WoD has potential for good games.

So far I'm really enjoying the setting. I've been even reading the books.

I figure there's enough of us here either already playing Starfield or that will be once the peasant tier unlocks that this warrants its own thread to keep the what are you playing thread more tidy. I'm in the peasant tier so I've got a couple of days to wait. I plan on being a pirate and smuggler so I'm going to ingratiate myself into whatever the pirate/thief/scoundrel faction in this game is. Anyway, here's everybody's second favorite throwback character to get us started: Hopefully, M'aiq the Liar shows up somewhere. He has to, right?

I pirated a pirate ship, but upon entering space I was arrested for the pirate contraband and subsequently coerced into an undercover operation. At least I got to Sol immediately. Typical Bethesda game shenanigans

Why put in the effort when it will be modded eventually...

Turns out you can actually fly between planets in a solar system, but it takes hours.

The unequivocal star of the U.S. team, ANT aka Anthony Edwards, said "we're not really worried about those guys" with regards to Lithuania and Montenegro leading up to the game, .

Nope, it's literally only Anomen for female player characters, who is no option at all. Haer'Dalis is a mod.

The areas that are created where you land are massive, maybe Skyrim size.

The hirelings might be interesting - level-appropriate backgrounds and no inclination to bother the PC (also more variety of classes and races). Though, I'd like them having 1-2 lines of dialogue (as is, they are corpses lore-wise). With the Origin companions, I think they calm down and focus on their own quests after Act 1.

I heard you need a few loading screens to go from one planet to another. And then you can only walk 300 m before needing to move with your spaceship to explore more of the same planet. Is it true? I wouldn't mind loading screens for entering/leaving the ship and landing/taking off, but I hope the planets are big enough. Which is worse, BG3 or Starfield? Post it in the Pictures thead or it didn't happen.

I refused it in the dialogue and that scene that happened later was about the tadpole, not romance. In Lae'zel's case it looks the same due to her apparent tastes. Well, she had already said something similar before, but this time she explained that she was wrong about me and I'm not that bad. It may have been a bug, since this first dialogue was a reaction to the goblin camp, while the second happened after I put her in the party and gained more approval in the Githyank meeting.

Forge golem is a gimmick fight - it’s very possible to kill him by just using lava and conventional weapons but

The Progenitor boss fight. The Progenitor is the small blue insect. It infests these big flying insect things that look like Zerg Overlords from Starcraft. You have to damage the host enough to force The Progenitor out into the open to damage it. It's a battle of attrition and the first boss fight I've beaten on my first try, albeit just barely. I was completely out of relic charges when I defeated it. The N'Erud area is some sort of space ship that was either built into an asteroid or the asteroid was built around it, I guess. While the surface looks very much like an asteroid and has flying jellyfish looking robots as enemies, among other things, the interior areas look very Alien, and by that I mean the 1979 movie. The enemies feel that way too. They're not exactly xenomorphs, but they're definitely insectoids.

The Chinese Room didn't develop Amnesia: The Dark Descent nor Amnesia: Rebirth nor Amnesia: The Bunker nor any of the Penumbra games, those were all developed by Frictional Games. The Chinese Room developed Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs which is generally considered the black sheep of the series. That doesn't mean that they can't make a great game, hopefully Bloodlines 2 is fantastic, but I'm not holding my breath.

Dont stop ...just pause, I need to get a handkerchief and dab my forehead

That definitely not bugs, thats intentional coding by design so modders can address it later. Its a Bethesda game after all

So in a big upset the USA lost to Lithuania, which makes us losing to Italy actually lucky. We get the easier side of the bracket. Still have to beat Lithuania which is easier said than done.

Don't forget, they made the 1 Amnesia game that everybody pretends doesn't exist.

So according to Wikipedia, The Chinese Room sacked all their employees in 2017 and at that point the company was down to just the two directors working out of their house. In the six years since then they've been acquired, released one new mobile game, and re-released one of their old games for mobile. Alrighty then.

I've been playing BG3 and Starfield. BG3 has far more bugs and niggles than Starfield. All the complaints, be they genuine or not, are tied to the limitations of the engine and not due to bad design. Is it 'good'? That depends. Do you like Bethesda games? If so, yes. If not, no. As for the standing animation. At no point in the game are you locked into sitting down to have a conversation. You might do so for immersion. Heck, I did that just a few hours ago before chatting up a bartender. But choosing to sit in a conversation is also choosing to get your ass shot off as you're locked into a standing animation 'cause you suck at talking. To me, that seems to be emergent choice and consequences working as intended.

Guys, I just learned of that new Atari 2600+ (I'd guess some combo of emulation+new hardware). Supposedly plays old cartridges (not that I have any). It's $130. If I could get Breakout with it, I want one. I mean, look at it, so sexy.

Ah s- here we go again. Not sure what to think of it. Too lazy to check the old stuff, but looks kinda the same to me. /Edit: And more. https://www.pcgamer.com/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-has-been-quietly-rebuilt-by-dear-esther-developer-the-chinese-room-with-different-gameplay-mechanics-and-rpg-systems/

It's one of the unmarked "romance" options, as far as I know. ("Do you see me differently now?", if I'm not mistaken). I hope they will be more transparent in the Definitive Edition (either rewriting to "Hey, wanna bang?" or "You look like a swell lass/lad/person" or just adding the [flirt] tag). Edit. The difference between the writers' intentions* and the player's expectations** might lead to rather uncomfortable experiences and situations, not counting the bugs (scene triggers not registering correctly). @Bartimaeus Sorry. I think the only other "romance" scene that might be unpleasant and is easy to encounter happens in Act 3. Though, I haven't used Long Rests in Act 1 much and these scenes are mostly there. * ("obviously, the PC would ask if Lae'zel is interested in casual sex with them right after meeting her") ** (going through the neutral-looking dialogue options one by one to get the general idea about the companion)

And I thought Lae'zel was horny before. I put her in the party to meet with her people and she went completely mad. I actually thought she would try to force herself on me.

I don't think that it's finished yet.

Even for Bethesda the intro to starfield is very bad. It's cringe dialog and then fast tracking you to get a ship. It happens in such an insulting way. Very early spoiler

I'm not sure if there's ever been a game with a larger disconnect between the time that could and should pass on your adventures and the time that actually does, because time is basically "frozen" on the same day until you go and rest. If you hike from the Nautiloid to the old temple where you meet Withers, then move on to the Grove, explore that, talk to the people, maybe even clear out parts of the Blighted Village - well, that's like a couple of hours of real life cRPG time, but in terms of any regular PnP campaign that would be several sessions, easily, and quite a lot of time for the characters. That's just all not very well designed, at least not for me and my preferences. Act 1 is basically the sum total of all Baldur's Gate wilderness areas stitched together, forming one giant map, with the really big holes of nothing removed. It is a super dense blob of things to do you're thrown in with no sense of time progression at all (mostly because there really is none, aside from the game's internal round counter and a pseudo-advancement of time when you go to camp and come back without resting) and arguably worse, no clear sense of direction. Baldur's Gate at least was nice enough to provide you with a destination and a trail to pick up that would not prove to be overly problematic to your party. You could vector away from that, of course, and run into your fair share of maps you should not be in and find yourself fighting Ankhegs or getting wiped out by Basilisks with your trusty level one group (although those Basilisks make for really good experience even with very low level characters once you know what you're doing) but if you follow Baldur's Gate 3's meager pointers the game - quite literally and in a break of immersion - tells you that your party is in for a really bad time if you move on or you end up potentially facing a hike in encounter difficulty that puts the Owlfinder games to shame while trying to solve the Druid Grove's problems. All things you should logically prioritize because the game drives home how much of a priority they are. Instead you have to go on side adventures to reach a good enough level. Well, have to, there are ways around everything, as always, but as far as the "intended" way to play the game goes, I have no idea how it got all those glowing reviews. Yes, going to the Friendly Arm Inn and then to Nashkell without spending some time poking around in Beregost would net you two pretty annoying battles with assassins in Baldur's Gate that could potentially be devastating, but they're nothing compared to the killer sheep in Larian's game. Then again, I don't know how glowing reviews come to be for a lot of games, TV shows and movies, so clearly it is not just the Baldur's Gate 3's problem.

Yep, they do but not additively, rather the first ability is checked initially, if that fails the second is checked and so on. The formula that results for the final hit to crit chance is 1-(1-p1)*(1-p2)*...*(1-pn). In your example it would be 1-(1-0.1)*(1-0.15)*(1-0.1)=1-0.69=0.31, so 31% chance for hit to crit.

This was the hardest boss fight I've had so far. Against Faceless Void from DOTA 2 Sha'Hala: Guardian of N'Erud. It's a multi-phase fight and each phase has several different attacks and there doesn't seem to be a pattern to the order the attacks are used. Even when I figured out what to do for every attack type, it's a long enough fight that it was hard for me to stay clean the entire time, leading to many many deaths.

Character animations are probably the one thing where it's fair to compare BG3 and Starfield directly against each other. And it's no contest. BG3's motion captured faces are amongst the best ever seen in video games, Starfield's are just one step above using literal sock puppets.

At least with older games, if you played a female main character, you could just butcher all the guys to make sure no sham romances would suddenly start to fire off. Isn't it that only Cernd, Anomen, and Haer'Dalis are romanceable for female main characters in BG2? I'd gladly kill all those morons even if I weren't playing a female main character, but the fact that I do makes it even better. Now, my only option is to apparently murder everyone I meet. (e): Wait, no, I don't think Cernd is romanceable - he's already got a kid, right? He really is the worst...until I remember that Anomen exists.

pretty sure world of darkness are the most woke and sexual part of table top community where are these complain come from

It's hilarious, but there's a Shadowheart clone NPC in New Atlantis. She doesn't seem to be in any quests yet though.

I've seen fairly little gameplay so far, but the first few minutes of live gameplay I saw went like this (it was the Spiffing Brit on YouTube I believe): - Player is involved a dialogue with a quest NPC with psychotically exaggerated facial animations (I note that eyebrows in particular seem horrible in the game), player accidentally sits as well but that's actually unintentional good roleplaying as the NPC is seated adjacent. - Conversation turns hostile, NPC starts firing away while the game plays a 5 second canned "standing up from seated" animation for the player. I'm pretty sure it's the exact same animation they used in Skyrim. - Player retreats to an airlock and closes the heavy steel door of the airlock. The other airlock door opens shortly thereafter because they automatically operate in sequence, and it just clips through the player (otherwise it would have squished them against the wall). - The whole exercise was pointless anyway, as the bullets travel straight through the door as it it weren't there. Maybe people no longer classify the above things as bugs, but it's certainly not good gameplay, and it's four immersion-breaking glitches occurring in the space of a minute. It certainly feels neither good nor polished. Now to be fair, I watched for another 30 minutes or so and there was nothing else that came close to being as quintessentially Bethesda as that sequence, but it also shows that they've made zero improvement to that type of interaction in the 12 years since Skyrim. ____ Found the sequence: