IndiraLightfoot

Yeah, there's that. Computer games have that inherent Las Vegas strip bedazzlement quality, so when certain individuals with the wrong predesposition peruse them, they aren't just mesmerized by the neon lights; They are taken in by grinning Willy Wonkas hook, line and sinker.

What a surprise! It never ceases to baffle me that this needs to be researched. I mean, for tens of thousands of years, adults have been telling their children super-violent myths and stories, ripe with war, torture and all kinds of assaults and molestation, still the same bell-curve of human decency has repeated itself. Sick individuals are sick individuals regardless, just as the real-life horrors of war and rape are the real-life horrors of war and rape. If anything, humanity as a whole is almost-hardwired to make these kinds of differentations, Homo Religiosus or not. I recall the same idiotic debate in the '80s, regarding RPGs and violence.

I love when game devs add options like that. That was how I ended my tediously long Prey playthrough. I just stole my father's private escape pod and willingly ended it all, instead of doing the last bit. I just had enough of it all.

My little D3 pet review I've played D3 season 16 quite a bit, and apart from the pets I already had due to preordering, DLCs, one or two earlier seasons years ago, and a few Blizzcons (I'm a sucker/collector for Hearthstone, don't judge me too harshly), I had only found one pet before this season: the Mimic. But this season I acquired The Butcher and the Cow from the Darkening of Tristam event, and then The Bumble and thereafter Lady Sheep with a sword, Ghom's little cousin, the Voodoo Doll, as well as the Malfeasant ghost, via Menagerie goblins. What I've done is that I've taken all of these pets on a ride through rifts and bounties, and after this wear and tear, I have my own little list on which of these I like or dislike, and a few reasons why. Without further ado, here goes nothing: I start from the bottom and work my way to the top… The cow: -Cute idea, but it's head is always bent down as if grazing - It's stiff, as are its legs -And it can't run, it's trotting clunkily and irritatingly in an endless vibrating loop -Gets stuck with its weird hitbox everywhere Asmodan: -A lot of legs, and they all stutter as he has a hard time running fast and keeping up. Annoying when you play. -Pretty creepy, an eyesore -Hard to make out due to colour and appearance against most backgrounds and among many enemy types The Voodoo Doll: -Just a small beige egg-shaped mass wiggling frenetically wherever you go -Boring appearance in-game. Hard to see and make out what it's supposed to be Butcher: -Tough colours against most backgrounds -Janky movements and twitchy running -Butt-ugly, bad polygons The Mimic: -Basically, just a treasure chest stuttering along -It gets caught a lot, it's hard to see -Like most of the worst pets, it's at its best when you're in town, and it does its idle animations The Malfeasant Ghost: -It moves in a disturbing wave motion, like a fish swimming sideways, and that's all. Very simple model -Difficult to see in many cases, even in my Options menu or Main Menu -At least it's reasonably quick and a cool concept ALL PETS FROM HERE ON OUT HAVEN*T GOT ANY SUPER-ANNOYING RUNNING ANIMATION OR MOVEMENT The glowing skeleton dog: -Pretty decent running animation -Behaves like a dog -But a bit hard to make out during battles -And its glowing effect sometimes leaves its skeletal frame, especially the ribs, jutting out from them The Halfmade Golem: -Surprisingly, it has a pretty neat running animation, like a galloping slomo meat tortoise -Fugly sack of Frankenstein butcher cuts -Not very easy to see in the D3 turmoil The Starcraft Spaceship: -Fast and smooth flying animation -And it's indeed quick and expedient, hardly ever getting snagged with its hitbox -But the downside is no fun deal at all: I rarely ever make it out when moving and fighting demons. Once, I played with a DH, and his turrets and this spaceship looked as if they were like the same kind of mechanical contraption Lady Sheep: -She moves almost like an NPC in my party. Nice pace -She even charges with her sword against enemies -She's rather easy to make out against most backgrounds Frost Mongrel: -Pretty great running animation, nice pace -Easy to make out in most situations in-game -Otherwise somewhat bland Ghom: -Surprisingly nice! Moves pretty good despite being small in a wobbly-smooth manner -Hardly ever gets caught with its hitbox, picks up stuff with no problems -A bit hard to notice on many maps Murkgoblin: -This one also moves like an NPC in your party. It has its heavy goodie bag on its back, and it shows in its movements. -For some bizarre reason, I usually have some crazy luck when I play with this pet, perhaps because it's a goblin itself, hehe -The Blizzcon ticket is too prominent and tall, and this goblin is too greenish dark, which makes it a bit hard to see The Hell Horse Pierce: -This one gallops beautifully. I never get tired of watching it running along. It looks natural -It's a really beautiful mini horse -Against some bluish backgrounds, it can disappear a bit, but otherwise it's big enough and easy to see The Bumble -Sure, the movement is a bit shoulder-janky, but it's the biggest pet I have, so it fits the bill -Super-easy to see and appreciate. Despite its bulky size, it rarely ever gets caught in other hitboxes -You can never go wrong with this one, except perhaps in the Barbarian territories The Murkomancer -It's very easy to see, despite its small stature and size (My pictures don't do it justice. It is easier to see than this, I promise) -Its movements are still natural and super-cute, just like its eyes and Murloc-fins (When it runs, it's like one of the cartoon figures in animated Snoopy) -It picks up loot like no other pet (perhaps bar the Starship) -It's my winner so far

I see what you mean. Instead of the "choose the wrong door and die" concept of those good old FF books, or the dreaded (1 on a d20) fumble in D&D, you wish that more computer games let you fail, but where the blows aren't so harsh (start over in one way or another, or you didn't pass this obstacle, so you can't continue), but rather, you're allowed to stumble on and make yourself your own unique playthrough.

Yeah, I agree and that's also another thing I completely missed out on - leaving such cases to "luck". "Luck" is a terrible variable to determine the outcome of a fight, because it's nowhere as rewarding as the player's choices, mechanics or intuition being the factor to victory, and because it feels way more frustrating and unfair when it determines a loss. An insta-death on a dice roll is often pretty terrible... But I think it can be made to work provided the way in which it's approached. Recently I saw a Matthew Colville video where he spoke about gorgons in a tabletop setting, and how to manage their petrifying gaze, and I loved his approach: basically instead of petrification being the outcome of a single dice roll, he'd first roll the dice and if the player failed, they'd become slowed; next turn they'd have to roll again and if they failed again, they'd become paralyzed; a third fail would then determine if the player was turned to stone or not. This is cool not because it basically gives the player three chances to succeed and be free of the effects, but because it gives the party a way to act upon what happens and respond adequately - say by a priest casting some restoration or protection spell or something, or even boosting their chances of success through a Luck or Bless spell or whatever. At least it gives the players a chance to respond and play against that. Another interesting example he gave in another video: one of his classic "villains" would usually have this ability to turn people into undead if they fell unconscious or something. This was a one-save-only situation, if you failed the save you were pretty much gone. But he made sure to showcase this ability *before* any of the players were to be targeted by it, thus warning them of one of the character's most powerful, and possibly "unfair", moves. Hence, it all becomes par with expectation and it allows you to prepare as well (say, through a Death Ward or whatever). So, it's been a while since I last played Baldur's Gate but I cannot recall if there ever was anything that signalled the presence of basilisks in Mutamin's Garden prior to you running into them. The player could have been informed in several ways - have them witness an NPC adventurer losing a battle against one of the basilisks as soon as you accessed the area for example, to show you what the basilisks can do and so on. Have someone suggest ways to prepare, perhaps? Though that could just spell out the solution to the encounter. Regardless, *some* indication would make their presence seem less arbitrary and 'unfair'. With the spider-swarms in Pathfinder: Kingmaker, I'm at least thankful that before my first encounter with them the game explained how swarms worked (another issue I have with the game is how vaguely or poorly it explains its systems), so at the very least I knew what they were when I faced them. While correct in many ways, I am corroded after years of luckfesting at D&D tables, armed with dice, emotional flares and endless amounts of snacks and beverages: I really like luck because I hate it. I still find that many computer games determining the outcome by plenty of luck - Hearthstone, Diablo 3 or the Baldur Gate series - are the slot machines of my rollercoaster mental state that I seem to crave. Games where everything is balanced, smooth and solely skill-based - like Chess, Go and Advance Wars - will soon bore me to tears.

That intro is like a snowball on Antarctica. I'm not even done exploring the map yet, months later.

What platform are you on? I'm playing on Ps4 and my character changes from walk to run depending on how I play with my stick (per usual in a game). Same with the horse in the game. Same for me. I'm using an XBox Controller. I easily and naturally regulate walking and running using my stick.

Imperator Rome is also available as a pre-order on GOG, if you prefer DRM free version of this Grand Strategy game. https://www.gog.com/news/preorder_imperator_rome I would strongly recommend that anyone even remotely contemplating preordering a PDX product take a look at the complete ****show that is the latest Stellaris patch/DLC combo release. They have a long-standing reputation for shoddy releases and that shows that they are not getting better at this. The recent appointment of a new CEO straight from an online gambling firm (!) isn't exactly reassuring either. I look forward to trying it out, but Paradox's dlc practices were already hideous to begin with, so this new gambing CEO will probably make that quagmire of greed deeper.

And with this kind of colour schemes.

That was all I needed to know. Thanks, marelooke! Anthem

That should make this a shampoo dispenser so I can aim it at my head every morning. The weird thing: That's a brilliant idea!

What a fantastic athlete! I love her: [Youtube]

Thank you for sharing this lovely piece of news!

@Phenomenum: ROFL over those perfect animated GIFs, so aptly selected!

An Orlan rogue, obviously, fukking with your mind (Borrowed Instinct), only to turn possibly unwanted advances into an assorted collection of pleasures: -Penetrating Visons -Pain Link -Puppet Master All locked up in one cozy Stasis Shell...

Enter Q: "I have a Masters in Asstronomy. You're obsession with quadrants merely displays a truncated knowledge of the true nature of the universe. Need I even mention the deep and far-reaching assets a supermassive black hole can provide?"

Forgotten Rectum. Butt of course! I must have subconsciously renamed it Sanctum to justify my quest to quench my ogre cleft depth thirst (perhaps "envy" is a better choice of word here?) @Frak Thanks for the tip. So, back at you. Did you know that when you're taking a dump, you'll most likely open you mouth during this dark rite of passage? Just check during your next journey down No 2 Boulevard.

Dreading getting cluster-fukked by a NO PEN message barrage? The Forgotten Sanctum? The place where the sun doesn't shine? Deadfire? The game where the hands of gods are clenched ass either bro fists or rectal Deus Ex Machina fists. Get ready to get pumped, stomach pumped, in a new way. But who knows? Maybe you'll get bummed out before that, you brown-nosed buggers!

Well, this doesn't affect you if you play Deadfire the turn-based way. Aha! [heavy irony and fake news] Surely, this must indicate what the Obsidian devs played, preferred, bug-tested and cared about. They have been busy enjoying the game they always wanted. [/heavy irony and fake news]

I haven't played AC: Origins, but from what I've read, this extensive RPG woven into the game is mostly missing, whereas in Odyssey you get a lot of important choices, and several of them affect what happens later on in the game. It's not a deep RPG, but it's surprisingly solid. IIRC, I think I wrote somewhere that all in all, given all the various NPCs you encounter and given all of the side quests, Odyssey is more a CRPG than Deadfire. Odd? Sure, but that's what it felt like to me.

It's maaagic! Enchantment!!

@marelooke: Wow times a thousand! Surreal!! Now I know where Josh got the inspiration for this area in Pillars of Eternity 1:

Nah, like LadyCrimson said in that other thread, it just takes a full evening in total, and sometimes my brain just needs this kind of click fest collecting games. In many ways, D3 and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, which I've played a lot this autumn, are rather similar. The main difference is that AC:O is a RPG lite game and overall a wonderful environment explorer game, but all the fighting is harder, at least to me, since I simply have to use my controller, while in D3, I just keep grinding away, and the way I've built my Wizard, it's pretty much no real skill involved. I can really see why that sounds horrific to lots of people, but playing D3 is like binge-watching a decent series on Netflix. Afterwards, you aren't really sure that it was worth it, but while your doing it, the rumination value is excellent. Just chilling and escaping your everyday chores. Perhaps we should start watching TV with a clicker in one hand and pretend we play D3?

Well, I'm still plugging away at D3. With a few days to spare, I finally got that Cow pet from the Darkening of Tristram event. It was very cute, and I used it for a day or so, but then, for the second time ever (Yes, I am that unlucky), I came across a pet-carrying goblin, and I managed to beat it down barely at Torment II difficulty, and the pet I got is now my favourite: The Bumble. Aside from being fugly cute, it's actually the one of all my pets that stand out on most maps, even snowy ones, since it's greyish white and pretty big. I've also just recently completed all the tasks in order to get the basic rewards of the Vyr set and those very lovely butterfly wings, so I went ahead and transmogrified a bit, and used some dyes, and here's how my wizard looks right at this moment: