Hawke64

What would happen if you murdered Biff? --- Get in the Car, Loser. Defeated the Act 3 boss and did not run out of fuel. Gameplay-wise, it is one of the worst things I've played, alongside Final Fantasy XIII, which apparently, was the inspiration. Story-wise, it is decent. Questioning whether my gamer ego can let go of something that unpleasant or should I hit the credits for my opinion on it to be "valid". Elden Ring. Found and upgraded a nice shield. Though, I might have to respec to make it more effective. Batbarian. Started the game. So far, I can tell that the controls are rebindable, the fonts can be switched from pixel style to dyslexic ones (I don't have dyslexia, but the last 2 games with pixel fonts were hard to read), the mouse is supported, the writing is funny. Also, there is a cute pet bat.

Elden Ring. Watched a quest NPC being fatally bitten through a wall by a dog t-Rex. Closed the game with Alt+F4. Looted the academy key and rode away from a dragon. Realised that blocking was not viable with the current shield - 1-2 attacks drained the stamina bar. Curious if it is possible to play sword&board at all. Get in the Car, Loser. Got through most of Act 3 with 1 macro, which was activating all abilities with 0.1 delay between them then switching to the next set. Hit the wall at the boss.

Murder by Numbers and The Elder Scrolls Online (base game) are free on EGS. (Was there a separate thread for sales?)

Elden Ring. Somehow, not as well-paced, enjoyable, or engaging as Blasphemous. The hand spiders are amusing, though. Defeated Loretta, then watched a dragon boss fleeing at half health bar while I was shooting at it from the safety of the nearby tower. Get in the Car, Loser. Despite a relatively interesting plot and social commentary, the combat outside of the boss battles can be bound to a macro seemingly without losses. The equipment system encourages it - each equipment item grants 1 ability, which are used in order in combat. The controls are only partially rebindable, and considering that the inventory management is a major part of the gameplay, makes the process rather unpleasant. The first boss battle required some tactical thinking and remembering how to switch targets.

The surface effects were more prominent in D:OS2, so one might have wanted to hit an oil puddle with a fire sword. I think, they were lessened somehow, the cantrips used to create them on contact. I guess, I'd prefer more typical actions (such as reviving a knocked out companion or hitting a foe instead of the floor) to be the default ones, with specific keys to access all available actions. I'm also curious how the stat unrestricted multi-classing is going to work and whether it will be possible to create the whole party at the start without running 4 instances of the game. Finished Blasphemous. Overall, a very well-made and good-looking action-adventure/Metroidvania. The combat, traversal, and exploration are enjoyable, though there are significant difficulty spikes in the DLC areas and the insta-killing spike pits are extremely irritating. Also, the "true end" version of Crisanta is an amazing farming point, as each stage counts as a separate boss battle. Review:

I think, it was quite similar in D:OS2. Also Solasta had less random junk items everywhere and generally better visibility (from fonts to GUI in general to environments). Though, the inventory systems are rather uncomfortable in both (few tabs and limited sorting).

It is somehow unsettling that ChatGPT can easily produce believable output, including explanations, for code, yet verifying/debugging it takes quite a lot of time and effort. Especially when the components described have been deprecated since the training data for it was acquired.

This sounds brilliant. I might try it if I ever replay Skyrim. Celeste. Slowly climbing up. The story is picking up and the game overall is genuinely nice. Edit. Finished the main game. An excellent platformer with gorgeous art and touching story. Review: Elden Ring. Defeated Margot the Fell Omen at level 25 with a Scimitar +3, then Godrick the Grafted at level 40 with a Scimitar +4. The delay in rolling is very noticeable and irritating, so are the hard-coded menu controls, including the map. Which I had not known I could access out of the bonfires/sites of Grace, because the key was not in the settings. Wandered the Limgrave and Caelid areas for 2 hours, discovered the entrance to the Siofra river, ran away from several dragons and the duo of pumpkin head bosses, found another boat necromancer and killed it. I suppose, the locations are still as lovely as they were in Dark Souls 1, but the reskinned or simply copy-pasted bosses are somehow disheartening. The ones in ER strongly remind of Immortal: Unchained. Somehow Conan: Exiles, Dragon's Dogma, and even Shadow of the Colossus, not to mention The Elder Scrolls, had more engaging open-world structures than ER. There were quests, there were more traversal abilities, there were unique bosses. I suppose, I had had unreasonably high expectations, given the developers' previous games (which have become worse), the high ratings, and the price, hence the disappointment. Still going to finish it, though. The mods are on and I should be able to just run into the next main area, skipping the grind.

Watched the romance cut-scene on YouTube. The "bear" was a buff (half?)elf druid and anything above the age rating was covered by grass and twigs. Not counting the general weirdness of streaming emotional player-driven moments in front of a howling audience, it seemed fine. Curious if the general narrative style is closer to Baldur's Gate or Divinity (grimdark gore with "lol so random"). I was certain that Larian has toned downed the barrels and surface effects during the EA and D&D 5e should be relatively harder to break than D:OS. Though, I have not watched the whole show, only the articles and some clips.

The last Origin for Larian's D&D game has been announced. Now it is possible to integrate murdering random NPCs into your roleplay. https://www.pcgamesn.com/baldurs-gate-3/dark-urge On one hand, the more options, the better. On the other, why only CE? Also, now I am curious if it affects the child immortality there.

I generally prefer RTwP to TB and TB to the weird thing in Final Fantasy VII/7 (probably 7, the one with "select the menu option while on timer because hotkeys are hard"). My issue with D:OS was that the animations were unskippable (in WotR it was possible to triple the speed and, as painful as that one battle was, at least it was faster) and that only the combat area was entering the TB mode, so everyone else could randomly wander into it. In terms of encounter design, often something was appearing out of nowhere (e.g. the second wave of slimes in the oil pits) and there was no way to prepare except for the meta knowledge. Then all surfaces were lava (sometimes literally) and just finding a safe spot to stand was a problem. Though, I think, Larian has lowered the number of environmental hazards in their D&D game. Going to play it at some point, but likely in co-op. On a related note, Wasteland 3 had this amazing feature of switching between the players in dialogues (providing that the other player was in range) with 1 button. I strongly doubt that Larian will add it, so triggering dialogues with the rogue/fighter then reloading and putting the bard in front is going to be a thing. Elden Ring. Defeated a dog/cat statue boss, then went to another dungeon and died to 2 dog/cat statue bosses, then went to the main story castle and died to some guy with magic hammer. Then defeated a skeleton boss with a boat and ran away from a dragon boss. The two positive things I can say so far are there is a horned horse called Torrent and Torrent can double jump. Considering just modding the game and running the critical path. Overall, the open-world in Dragon's Dogma and Shattered: The Forgotten Subtitle was more enjoyable and engaging. They also were smaller and the PCs were less flinch-y.

Blasphemous. An incredibly well-made Metroidvania. Not sure if the gore and the religious aesthetics are supposed to make it more humorous, but they do. The visual design is outstanding and the controls are reasonably comfortable, though the insta-kill spike traps are rather unfun. Discovered that I can get more Estus Flasks by filling the empty ones at the blood fountains after the third (?) boss. Celeste. A very beautiful platformer. Despite the checkpoints being quite frequent, I activated almost all Assist Options by the end of the second area and didn't feel like I was missing anything. I guess, my reaction limit is closer to PoPTSoT than Celeste. The soundtrack might get slightly annoying, though.

Thank you for the suggestion. I will look into it, though installing BIOS images correctly might require slightly more experience than I have. Edit. It seems Asus actually locked the voltage settings in one of the updates (I doubt that the files for a different model would work for mine): https://www.reddit.com/r/ASUS/comments/qdvyui/asus_undervolt_unlocked_for_model_gl704gw_via/

I am looking for a safe way (software suggestions and step-by-step guides) to decrease the CPU temperature while being able to use the notebook for gaming (Elden Ring, Baldur's Gate 3) and ML (e.g. XGBoost). Asus ROG GL704G, Intel® Core™ i7-8750H. The CPU reaches 90+C under stress. The goal is <80C without blue screen, ~45C when idle. The notebook has not been used much and changing the thermal paste at the moment is not an option. I have not found the CPU-related settings in UEFI/BIOS. I have tried to decrease the performance via Control Panel/Power Options, but it did not change anything, and to undervolt the CPU with ThrottleStop by -125mV (cores and caches)*, but it led to hard crash and 3 blue screens. The monitoring software is HWMonitor. Could try with smaller steps (-50mV), though would prefer to know more about the process first. *the guide used: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-undervolt-cpu-guide/ Edit. Found an official Intel software (https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/17881/intel-extreme-tuning-utility-intel-xtu.html), which lists CoffeeLake as supported, but not the exact CPU model. If anyone has experience working with, the information would be most welcome.

Chests, not barrels. Barrels are single-use, chests last for the whole game. From what I've heard, there should be less surface effects than in D:OS, though, as you've said, meta is still recommended (getting everyone into stealth and on the higher ground before starting combat). I guess, there should be less obvious exploits in a year of active updates. Then again, they might be features, not exploits. Edit. The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk is free on EGS.

Finished The Last Hero of Nostalgaia (pronounced as Nostal-GA-ia). It is an action-adventure/Souls-like. The world is dying and only the main character can save it. The controls are rebindable, the progress is saved on exit. Can't exactly recommend or not recommend, thus not posting it on Steam - the combat is clunky and the backtracking is uncomfortable, but the location design is memorable and the weapon upgrade system is unique. Though, I had to edit the save file to enable fast travel (after trying to backtrack through the woods) and to fix a failed side quest (the time limit and the need to backtrack were not clear). Review:

I think that the puzzle or stealth elements don't work well with more active action platforming. E.g. Guacamelee is an excellent platformer/metroidvania, but has no puzzles or stealth. Same for Celeste (the game is very impressive, but I don't think I would be able to play it without the Assist Mode). The Last Hero of Nostalgaia. It is a purposefully junky Souls-like. Some systems are simpler, some are more intricate. The location design feels a bit linear (the path forward, a dead end, a shortcut), but nice otherwise - there are reasons to return to the previously visited areas, but I have not unlocked the fast travel system yet (if it is present in the game). The second boss battle was ridiculous (might have something to do with me trying to use a new sword and repeatedly misjudging the attack range) - several very different stages, including a group, and the save point was far. Edit. Reached the Wilds (woods). The place is a labyrinth and it is connected to the previously-visited areas.

Finished Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. It is as good as can be expected, though the technical quality of the Sands of Time was higher. I think the boss battle against the twins was bugged (the Eye of the Storm ability turned off after one hit), I fell ~12 times on the jumping plate in the Middle Tower (it did not throw me far enough to reach the dagger-holding point), and there are quite a few differences between the pre-rendered cut-scenes and in-game graphics. Mixed feelings about the idea of accepting fixable mistakes*. The total playtime is around 5 hours, including 20-30 minutes away from keyboard. *

Somewhere in the middle of Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. A few things I've noticed only because I'm playing through the series sequentially - the sound design is better (VA, music, and random noises are separated mostly correctly), the targeting is much less forceful, and the boss battles are somehow more diverse (might be because of the QTEs, though - no giant griffons* this time). On the other hand, the graphics and animations are poorer and the gallery unlocks are not exactly immersive (the "Sand Credits"). *it was odd that the only boss faced during the infinite Sand period did not have any Sand-related gimmicks (like slowing down Mahasti in T2T). Purchased The Last Hero of Nostalgia after playing the demo. It is a Souls-like with a very unfriendly narrator, similar to The Stanley Parable. The controls are comfortable and mostly rebindable and the progress is saved on exit. Will continue after finishing the trilogy.

Mostly agree, though the only issues I had with Farah in T2T (vs TSoT) were the lack fire support during gameplay and the kidnapping part. Liked the new VA a lot, though. The Prince's character development seemed to make sense in the context (especially that not all switches and arena-shaped spaces are traps, but one should think before pulling/entering them). For combat, stealth became a viable approach (which was incredibly ironic with one the Prince's lines in WW - "Where I came from, we face our opponents"). Going to replay T2T next.

Finished Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. The "realism" (as in "How would it work/be used by human beings normally?") of the environment and the combat barks/visual design of the enemies are somehow worse, but the platforming and the ability to traverse the island more freely (to backtrack to collect the health upgrades) feel good. There are more optional collectibles, such as weapons and artworks, but now I am much less interested in hunting them down. I also realised that I had forgotten what some of the switches did and was pulling/pressing them to find out, which was very in-character. Defeated the final boss on the first attempt, the thing did not glitch (it used to instantly pull itself from the ledge in one of the previous playthroughs). In terms of combat, Warrior Within is more comfortable than the Sands of Time, but the targeting and auto-activating the combat mode are somehow inconvenient and some of the actions are bound to the same inputs (e.g. rolling back and doing a backflip with S+Space, which was unpleasant during the final battle). The total playtime, according to Steam, is around 6 hours. Finished Fable III - Traitor's Keep and Understone DLCs. I had forgotten some of the design issues (rather poor combat, untracked fetch quests, and good-looking but inconvenient GUI, including maps), but overall it was a very nice experience. Also Fable III has one of the most impressive character customisation systems and environments - the stats affect the PC's appearance and the story choices change the locations. I suppose, if the reboot is anywhere close to that (and preferably returns visible HP/MP, local maps, and the magic system from the original Fable), it will be great. Also, the game definitely needs a chicken companion animal.

Finished Lucifer Within Us. A short (3-4 hours? If I didn't check the store page, I'd think that it the whole game was an introduction) investigation game. Somehow, it captures the idea better than Pentiment did, but the objective is also different and there is a specific murderer for each case. Fixed the save files for Fable III and was able to load them. Somehow relieved that I can access and use my digital media (technically, we purchase licenses, while the files are the means to fulfill the agreements), although with third-party tools (DRM remover and save editor). I still might start a new game after finishing the DLC, as the saves are from the post-game. Finished Solasta: The Lost Valley. The update slightly messed up the pregen characters' backgrounds. The paladin's I noticed (from Lawkeeper to Lowlife), but missed the wizard's (from Aristocrat to Acolyte) and added her to the party (a rogue, a barbarian, a wizard, and a druid). At some point, the party got another wizard as a follower for a side quest. Because the quest was for a higher-level party and the follower wizard was very effective, he stayed with the party for the rest of the campaign. Overall, I chose a wrong party composition and the parts that I liked were not the ones intended by the developers, such as being able to explore an area without fighting our way through it or using an NPC in the manner described above. I am curious if it is possible to kill and loot Orenetis on the first meeting (thus skipping most of the game), but not going to test it.

You are correct - the water sound does lead to the right door, and I have never noticed it between the characters' comments and the music. The reboot is fine (the controls are a bit unresponsive due to the animations), though the semi-open-world format hurts it - you know that nothing horrible will happen mid-area and that you have to clear all the areas and possibly backtrack to gather the light blobs. But it looks gorgeous and the companion is likable. The Forgotten Sands would be better if it was a stand-alone game (the trilogy has 1 theme and it has concluded; it also does not have HP pickups falling out of vases) without any online components. I think, at different points I've encountered 2 progress-stopping bugs (a handhold not appearing mid-game and a door not opening somewhere late-game). Also, the Steam version might not work at all due to the DRM issues. --- Installed Fable III. After downloading external patches, it agreed to run, but I could not access my saves, because the DRM player's ID was different.

Finished Bad End Theater, a visual novel with the ability to replay the story from each MC's perspective and set the behaviours of the other MCs. The number of unique images is very impressive, though the playtime is rather short - 2 hours in total. Replayed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. It still holds well, though the combat, the targeting, in particular, is rather uncomfortable. At least once I was defeated in combat (was getting hit while trying to get up and the rewind was reset due to finishing off a foe) and the NPC companion died once as well (was surrounded during the final elevator ride). It is also interesting that the save points are locked behind combat encounters, some of which are skippable. Overall, PoP:TSoT proves the quality over quantity approach - it is concise, on point, and takes less than 5 hours (including the doors puzzle that requires a sheet of paper and a pencil to solve).

It was somehow low on interactions, and the ones present were rather uncomfortable, from the slow exploration to the mini-games to the very low interactivity of the story. Speaking of, the first MC becomes severely unrelatable, as a major story event happens off-screen, and (end-game spoilers):