Hawke64

Not disagreeing with the main point, but Steam does provide hosting, (end-user-unfriendly) update management, and some social fluff (like 5-33%* from any TF2 hats-like items sold and also forums). No idea about the operating costs, but I agree that the 30% fee seems too much. Then again, I think, it comes from the time of physical distribution. Epic went with a lower cut (12%?), Itch.io allows to choose. *Can't be less than 1 of the smallest type of the currency used for the publisher and Valve.

Pumpkin Jack Quite a few of objectives were "Find N of X". The battle ended at the same time I died. The cut-scene still played. An easter egg, I assume. The most irritating mini-game. The final boss. The Outer Worlds Edgewater. The Roseway area has a few quests where the NPC tell the directions somewhat clearly. In this case, there were no road to the storage facility, but it technically was to the left from the old lab when heading out through the south gate.

Finished Pumpkin Jack. Not recommended. Review: --- Started Unsighted. It looks like a post-apocalyptic Souls-like in the pixel art style. Slightly reminds of Hyper Light Drifter. --- The Shrine was reasonably good with the unique longbow, which was somewhere in the castle (I think, shortly before Nashandra's portrait). Poison arrows helped against the sturdier foes.

The Outer Worlds. Reached the Groundbreaker and was getting a very immersive experience, considering the weather. Looking for recommendation of games where 1. The human NPC AI reacts differently to the player's actions depending on whether the NPC is armed or where it is located, e.g. when attacked by the PC, a NPC civilian tries to run or alert other NPCs instead of fighting to the death with their bare fists. 2. The non-human/animal NPC AI does not try to kill itself against the player if there is obviously no chance to win, unlike the infamous wolves in TESIV. Pumpkin Jack. There are more variations of racing gameplay sequences with fixed camera angles. The one with the Witch currently holds the highest number of deaths due to me running into the walls heads-on (I clipped through one of them, which turned out to be the correct action). The boss itself and the boss in the following chapter took 2 attempts each. I suppose, I could say that each area is very distinct and the gameplay is reasonably challenging.

The link is SFW (and leads to an article about a dating sim) and the books (just started them*) might be. *found out that I do have several short stories from Humble Bundle. Definitely NSFW and definitely very optimistic - "I have found the love of my live and my family does not hate me" or "I have recovered from a traumatic experience". I still don't understand how a unicorn with hooves for hands can ride a bike, but I can live with the "it's magic" explanation.

https://www.fanatical.com/en/bundle/lost-solace-sci-fi-novels-bundle Got the book bundle and started the Lost Solace book (which should be the first one). Somewhat reminds of Dead Space and Echo (haven't finished). --- Discovered Chuck Tingle (SFW). Did not think that the books were real, definitely going to read. 2 are available on Google Play but, judging by the titles, they seem to be less surreal than the short stories.

I remember there being a Pursuer in Smelter Demon's arena afterwards. I think, the mini-boss dropped a ring (of Thorns?), but might be mistaken. The Outer Worlds. Found Eugene's golden teeth. The thing had no quest marker and I had very fuzzy memory of NPCs' mentioning it (accidentally gave it to Silas, instead of Abernathy Conrad, and reloaded). It is very nice that there is a lot of dialogue to discuss the item, though it feels odd that it was not marked on the map, unlike many other quest-related things, and the highlight/outline was hard to see on the white cloth. I've also got the Junior Deputy badge from Rayes and was able to ask why.

Pumpkin Jack. An action-adventure. I did not expect the game to be so arcade-y, like the movie-based games in the 00's. Can't say that I get the humour, but the story about a rogue being resurrected and sent to slay the chosen one is fine. The Outer Worlds. Close to finishing the Emerald Vale. Somehow, I am still inclined to support the Botanical Lab, rather than helping Adelaide to become the leader of the town, but I also would like to go to the best ending. I think, the Gorgon DLC interferes with the skill checks and I could not uninstall it, while reinstalling the whole game is undesirable (GOG installers go through the OS drive, which does not have enough space at the moment). Somewhat unhappy that the PC by default is closer to disapproving of recycling the corpses to improve the soil, while using the already dead fish for food, instead of killing the living, is shown as negative. I have also tried sequence-breaking, but Reed (his access code and the card, in particular) seems to be unavoidable. Might look more into it.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/final-update-to-morrowind-like-rpg-dread-delusion-adds-a-big-nautilus-with-a-town-built-inside-its-shell --- I hope that they will succeed and the VA and mo-cap will remain contained to the AAA games. As is, they offer only higher system requirements (thus, decreasing the availability and making the preservation more challenging), while increasing the development costs and time (PoEII), which in turn limit the player's agency (it harder to make more choices or implement changes to the story, when the VA needs to be re-recorded). So, the less of it, the better. --- https://steamcommunity.com/games/2302080/announcements/detail/4252042698999312624 The previous update included a randomiser mode.

Prey is available for £2.50. I will probably (re)purchase it on 1 August. Knowing that Arkane works are preserved is good. https://www.gog.com/en/game/prey

Mail Time Can't say that I find substance abuse jokes particularly funny, but I have collected all mushroom hats. The end-game indication is very clear. Cookie Cutter Defeated Puanani. Firstly, the late-game NPCs seem to lack portraits, secondly, I do not get the humour. And the icons bugged out. The miniature versions of the previously defeated bosses are featured as regular enemies throughout the final area. Also, the larger versions of regular enemies. The insta-killing spikes became unavoidable. The game did not pause when I trapped in the dialogue, so the guard on the left continued hitting. There are random terminals with lore. Final boss and ending. Pumpkin Jack The game is surreal in the same way as the older platformers.

Finished Mail Time. The game was nice, but short and the story was linear. Review: Finished Cookie Cutter. Somewhat ambivalent about the game, will write a review later.

En Garde! Cookie Cutter A boss. The final boss, I assume. Getting the ball to the socket was slightly challenging. Not Ornstein and Smaugh, but close enough. Gore and spoilers. I struggled to see the MC here during combat. Still, I am quite happy about the absence of the contact damage. Wrong texture. A main boss and some gore. Softlocked - activating the pink thing required energy, which I did not have, while getting back was not possible either due the elevated surface. The platforming section which I discovered to be optional after spending about an hour to complete it. Mail Time The character creator was rather nice and minimalistic. The Outer Worlds

I did beat him in melee and I would not say that my reflexes are particularly good. On the successful attempt, I remember eating a brightbug (?) and him staying in the first phase until ~30%HP. --- Cookie Cutter. Spent about an hour on a platforming section with a lot insta-killing spikes only to discover that it was optional. I also think that the earlier levels did not have the collision boxes for the projectiles, rather than all projectiles passing though walls.

The comparison is justified, considering the wide adoption of the software and the encouragement of frequent and fast deployment at the cost of thorough testing (I'd like to note that in the case of the antivirus software specifically, it might be reasonable). But hey, the planes do not fall often, so it is probably will not happen under the CEO making the decision, while the profit will definitely go up. /s I have read a rather curious theory (i.e. not a fact) that the current business education leads to these issues, where the short-term profits are preferred to the long-term sustainability.

It sounds quite appealing. I stopped my Nehrim playthrough after the first battle on the ship - was not looking forward to more TES combat at the time. --- Cookie Cutter. Reached the mid-game. The wall-passing projectiles and foes became less irritating, though now insta-killing spikes appeared. I was able to defeat 1 boss on the first attempt by parrying only, then there was a pair of bosses - one was slow melee, with a parryable attack that would be one-hit kill if not for my HP upgrades, the other was a more agile shooter, with the bullets, unfortunately, not being possible to parry with bare fists (i.e. at all). So, they took quite a few attempts. I asked on the Steam forum and was told that there is only one ending, but the game is quite enjoyable as is. Also, the map is helpful for exploration, with the obstacles and collectibles marked. The hidden areas, though, require punching random walls. --- Mail Time. It is a very easy platformer about a fantasy delivery person. I like the character customisation, the graphics, and the movement, though the controls are not rebindable. The only possible challenge is figuring out how to reach some of the quest items. The game does not have combat and I don't think that it has any fail state. I've got it in a bundle on Fanatical, so my expectations were not high, but the game is quite nice.

It was morbidly fascinating to watch (I cannot say whether or not my company uses CrowdStrike or the Windows OS). The update caused a BSOD bootloop on the affected PCs (so no online updates since the system can't start and check for them), while the current workaround requires manual action and, for the BitLocker-protected devices, the BitLocker key. The alternative is to boot from a USB drive with a Linux system and remove the faulty driver, but on the corporate PCs it is usually disabled. From what I can see, it is likely to cause an increase in phishing attacks. What I am curious about is whether it is going to affect the requirements for the software (e.g. no CI/CD and no auto-deployment) and security procedures on the government level, because the NHS was among the affected organisations. Additionally, CrowdStrike has the usual "We promise nothing" in its EULA, so I would love to see these kind of EULAs to be challenged in court (though, I do not think that part worked in the EU to begin with). Overall, this kind of failures are on the C level, since it is related to the procedures, strategy, and the lack of QA, rather than the specific developer who pushed the update. It also reminds that monopoly might not be good and having a diverse fleet of PCs, software, and at least 1 IT support person available at all times improves the resilience of the system (and also makes managing it more complex and increases the number of possible points of failure). --- Also, it does not seem to be the first incident of this magnitude with a manual intervention required for the resolution under the CrowdStrike CEO. Granted, in 2010, the related software was less widely used. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/07/major-outages-at-crowdstrike-microsoft-leave-the-world-with-bsods-and-confusion/

Not counting the setting, there is 1 character (whom I remember) appearing in both games and The Technomancer sort of works with any ending for Mars: War Logs. The level design is labyrinthine and the backtracking is plentiful in both. So, you could start with the sequel.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/new-fantasy-colonial-rpg-greedfall-2-the-dying-world-gets-september-release-date I'd like to note that The Technomancer, another Spiders' game, starts before its predecessor, Mars: War Logs, and ends shortly after. Considering the lack of any save state transfer, it, unfortunately, makes sense. Overall, I found Greedfall to be quite enjoyable (replayed several times; the guns are OP), despite the typical for Spiders drama for the drama's sake ending choice.

"Sabotaged" might be a bit too strong. Greed and negligence are more fitting. Bethesda games notoriously encourage modding, while the update did not bring anything positive (the "next-gen" ultrawide monitor support was broken along with the mods that could provide it, the new quests were starting too early and destroying whatever balance was in the game, the new bugs were introduced as usual), it just broke the mods that were making the game more/anyhow enjoyable for the players. Fallout 4 was released 10 years ago, with a lot modders moving on to new projects and not fixing what Bethesda destroyed. Bethesda's actions made the game worse when they could have just done nothing and still get the increase in sales from the TV show. Broken mods, the new features not working (the ultrawide UI) or making the game worse (the quests and the bugs) I've got the same impression from the Steam forums. If you are installing from Steam or GOG directly, it will be the latest (next-gen) version. The mod, when released, should include the downgrader, which will download the compatible (pre-next-gen) version. There are some guides and mods on Steam and Nexus, but for Steam it requires using the console with the game's and resources' IDs, instead of "sudo apt-get install [package name]". So, it should be fine and accessible either way. To finish on something positive, I appreciate that Obsidian kept the original TOW separate from the newer version. --- https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/a-big-steam-sale-of-igf-award-winners-and-finalists-is-now-underway And so my wishlist has lengthened.

The Outer Worlds Unfortunately, no unique dialogue options so far. Cookie Cutter Well, it was gory. Well, it got more gory. None of the screenshots seems to require a spoiler tag, as the gore is not exactly realistic. And this is the sidekick. I am generally puzzled why this was chosen. The MC is chosen one. The first boss. It was one of the situation where parrying insta-kill made sense - the boss was reasonably sturdy otherwise. I had to rebind the Menu Controls first, because S or D were used there and kept resetting the bindings. Zoom In and Zoom Out are impossible to rebind. Sephonie The first boss. I think, it gave a traversal ability. And at this point I uninstalled and refunded. Somehow, seeing a burnt mutilated corpse described in detail in a chill puzzle platformer about environmentalism was unpleasant.

Probably because I played Hong Kong after SR: Returns, the pacing, choices, and combat in Hong Kong felt good, though I think I spent quite some time on the ship talking to people. I know that the hacking system changed between Dragonfall and Hong Kong, but can't quite recall how. Dragonfall felt somewhat less personal and/or impactful than Hong Kong, not counting one companion quest where I chose the unwise option and it will be haunting until I replay it (eventually). --- The Outer Worlds. Started a new game with an approximately same character. Granted, it is mostly to poke things and see if I can write a coherent essay about them. Still, Emerald Vale is gorgeous and I love the writing. On another note, for some reason I was not able to remove the DLC, so now the skill checks mid-/late-game are going to be higher.

Cookie Cutter. Defeated the first boss by parrying. Which feels like an achievement, considering the boss' speed and moveset (i.e. it took me some time to get that the jump was actually an impossible-to-parry attack). The level design seems fine so far and I like that the map is easily-readable with markers for NPCs and blocked passages. The saving system seems to be closer to Souls-likes in terms that the items gathered (including "souls") and ambushes cleared are kept on death, while the regular foes revive. I like less that there are wall-passing foes and projectiles, which push the MC away upon taking damage. The platforming controls/movement feels somewhat off - the momentum is a bit too strong. No strong feelings about the writing (not counting the narrator NPC, which appearance and name are rather repulsive, though the actual lines are fine) and the quite gory finishing moves (does not look tasteful).

You still can download the installers/archives from GOG and Itch.io, despite them being non-physical only (that is, you are the one copying the files on the external drives/cloud). It does not work for many larger publishers, but since I am not interested in most of them (EA and MS/Obsidian+inXile being the exceptions), it bothers me less (the general idea of the preservation of our culture aside). Funnily enough, the latest Larian's game is DRM-free on Steam, so having the older versions is possible as long as you have the space to back it up (~130GB total, ~90GB of textures; the bloat and the inability to remove it, while keeping the game-critical parts, annoy me greatly) and it also prevents the forced updates on Steam (granted, that's Steam's issue, not Larian's fault for releasing an unfinished game, while removing the Early Access tag). --- On a related note, I've got a GamePass key and would be happy to give it to someone who uses it. --- https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/if-you-want-to-play-that-whopping-fallout-london-mod-youll-need-to-downgrade-fallout-4s-next-gen-version Not sure if I am going to play Fallout: London, but I do have the pre-next-gen version of Fallout 4, so I can. Though, the downgrader will be included with the mod, so even the less fortunate Steam players can do so with little friction. Also, this makes me quite happy that Obsidian very reasonably and player-friendly made the More Space-Consuming edition of The Outer Worlds optional and safely separated from the original game as a different product.

Thank you. I loved that in The Outer Worlds helping an NPC or a faction was a conscious choice and not the default reaction, while ignoring them or murdering everyone was always an option and the game acknowledged it as well. Also, the companions were well-written, relatable, and sympathetic. The itemisation and enemy encounters, on the other hand, looked like there was significantly less intent and effort put into it, with the guns with levels being a strong negative.