What Are You Playing Now: The Other, Other Thread

[ComradeYellow]

Just Cause 4

I never played the others, but as soon as I got into this I quickly became hooked by its sheer size, content, and plot.  It was easy to fall spell to to open world, the the personal gadgets you can use to cleverly navigate through the world and dispatch your enemies, the idea of conquering territories and liberating people from corporate tyranny, the vast array of vehicles and weapons at your disposal.

But that quickly became the problem, every single mission became repetitive, liberating areas started to feel like a redundant chore, and the world just felt emptier and emptier as you progress, like crunching out numbers, and the fact that the enemy never counterattacks once you seize a territory just adds to the tedium.

These types of games have so much potential but developers need to start finding ways to keep the world more dynamic and less static as you progress or else they risk being confined to the dustbin of history. 

[bugarup]

I'm done with Divinities again and picked up Shadowruns to cleanse the palate as people keep telling they're so good. Also people keep telling to skip "Returns" but I'm not doing that because people also also keep telling it's real short.

So far so good, I love the writing in "Returns"; I wonder if that's because it's legit good or it's my murder mystery bias  +  after "Divinities" even third grader's "How I spent my summer holidays" essay might read like high lit.

Gameplay wise, it's...well...very streamlined. And linear. Get your story bits, visit the hub to resupply and hire dudes, hit the next mission. Kind of like hybrid between a RPG and a strategy game. I'm also  unfamiliar with Shadowrun system so I'm playing it like a fantasy game -- two summoners, a mage and a big beefy dude who hits hard. Took a decker to one mission, had no idea what to do with him. And looking up stuff on the 'net mostly results in spoilers for the next two games because "Returns" seems to be the unpopular red-headed stepchild of the series. Oh well, at least now I know that the class I picked -- the shaman -- is going to be a bit OP in the next game, so that's that. 

[melkathi]

Returns is the Kickstarter that made a nice sum, but which got mismanaged (changing engine halfway through development costs money apparently) and underdelivered on promises made. The story was refreshingly nice though.

Dragonfall fleshed out the gameplay and still has a good story.

No opinion on Hong Kong - got bored and gave up on it early on.

[ComradeYellow]

1 minute ago, melkathi said:

Returns is the Kickstarter that made a nice sum, but which got mismanaged (changing engine halfway through development costs money apparently) and underdelivered on promises made. 

You'd think people would catch on to the scam of Kickstarter at this point.

[Mamoulian War]

57 minutes ago, bugarup said:

I'm done with Divinities again and picked up Shadowruns to cleanse the palate as people keep telling they're so good. Also people keep telling to skip "Returns" but I'm not doing that because people also also keep telling it's real short.

So far so good, I love the writing in "Returns"; I wonder if that's because it's legit good or it's my murder mystery bias  +  after "Divinities" even third grader's "How I spent my summer holidays" essay might read like high lit.

Gameplay wise, it's...well...very streamlined. And linear. Get your story bits, visit the hub to resupply and hire dudes, hit the next mission. Kind of like hybrid between a RPG and a strategy game. I'm also  unfamiliar with Shadowrun system so I'm playing it like a fantasy game -- two summoners, a mage and a big beefy dude who hits hard. Took a decker to one mission, had no idea what to do with him. And looking up stuff on the 'net mostly results in spoilers for the next two games because "Returns" seems to be the unpopular red-headed stepchild of the series. Oh well, at least now I know that the class I picked -- the shaman -- is going to be a bit OP in the next game, so that's that. 

Skipping Returns would be shame. Yes it is not stellar game, but it is good enough game to scratch that classic TB RPG itch

[melkathi]

Just don't play a shaman. They had no idea what to do with that class.

[LadyCrimson]

On 5/10/2020 at 10:45 AM, ComradeMaster said:

What kind of weapons do you like using?  I personally prefer Dahl because of their precision.

Look at me shilling for a weapons manufacturer in a video game ahah.

I don't really have a favorite manufacturer in BL3. Just favorite specific weapons.  I look at dps, basically. 
Like, there's this shotgun The Lob.  Fires a giant ball that is super slow moving. Normally you'd toss it thinking "useless."  But lvl 57 ones do around 11k+ elemental damage. So I put it on and charge into enemies faces and fire so they can't dodge.  Boom, often a critical and they're dead - thus I like the weapon even if initially it seems like it "sucks".

I love high elemental and splash damage. Especially in Mayhem 3+. I am a charge into the middle of a fight type, no stealth, I (mostly) gave up on snipers and any subtlety since BL2 (sniping was the bomb in BL1 tho). Hubby's still the more subtle type, using cover and trying for precise shots and the like (he takes 3x as long to do/clear anything, I swear, heh) but eh, not my style anymore. So I choose gear accordingly.

 

Edit: My current favorite weapons are Hellshock pistol and Yellowcake. I typically need nothing else, really. I can blow through storymode/normal through all of Eden6 using a lvl 14 Hellshock.  >.>   Lydia sniper can be awesome too.  Note:  power wise, almost anything works on Mayhem 1, don't have to be picky there and you still get plenty of Legendaries in M1.  Hubby sticks to that.

Edited May 11, 2020 by LadyCrimson

[Keyrock]

5 hours ago, melkathi said:

It is a bad day to be an enemy of Keyrock.

It's only going to get worse for them from here on out. On the other hand, it's a good day to be my friend.

[Hurlshort]

Playing the Shadowrun games in order is the best bet. Returns is the classic Shadowrun story set in the classic locale of Seattle. Plus it shows how much HBS grew as a developer from the first game to the last. Going out of order will likely be frustrating in that regard, but all three have stories worthy of your time.

[ShadySands]

Unless you know Shadowrun lore then DMS, the first game, might have an interesting story to tell but in all other respects it's generally the worst of the lot. The second game I think hit the sweet spot for most people but I still prefer the third game.

Speaking of which, I'm going to fire up the high level follow on campaign right about now since KOTOR2 still doesn't work for me.

[Keyrock]

21 hours ago, melkathi said:

Just don't play a shaman. They had no idea what to do with that class.

Fun fact: I played Shammy in 2 of the 3 games, ork for all 3, naturally.  If ork(c) is a race option I always play it.

 

[bugarup]

45 minutes ago, Keyrock said:

Fun fact: I played Shammy in 2 of the 3 games, ork for all 3, naturally.  If ork(c) is a race option I always play it.

 

But their CHA stat is crippled, and shamans cast from CHA. Or does it change in Dragonfall and HK?

Also

22 hours ago, melkathi said:

Just don't play a shaman. They had no idea what to do with that class.

Why not? Summons are great (and I can raise monstrosities from, say, hospital refuse pile!!), although I have no idea what to do with barriers. Like, are they for my guys to hide behind or to build traps for enemies?

 

Edited May 12, 2020 by bugarup
Need moar quotes

[Keyrock]

7 minutes ago, bugarup said:

But their CHA stat is crippled, and shamans cast from CHA. 

 

So what? I don't care about min-maxing.

[the_dog_days]

2 hours ago, bugarup said:

But their CHA stat is crippled, and shamans cast from CHA.

Orcs automatically get max charisma 'cause they're orcs. Anyone who says otherwise is a dirty elf.

[ComradeYellow]

5 hours ago, the_dog_days said:

Orcs automatically get max charisma 'cause they're orcs. Anyone who says otherwise is a dirty elf.

My Halfling barbarian whole-heartedly agrees

[ShadySands]

12 hours ago, the_dog_days said:

Orcs automatically get max charisma 'cause they're orcs. Anyone who says otherwise is a dirty elf.

Hey! I resemble that remark.

[ShadySands]

12 hours ago, Keyrock said:

So what? I don't care about min-maxing.

Yeah, I remember you took the socialite etiquette skill because it fit your character even though I'm not sure it was ever used.

 

Sorry for the double post but couldn't get it to combine satisfactorily on my phone.

[Keyrock]

^ When I was a younger man and still had hair on my head, I used to try to make the strongest character I could, then I had an epiphany; I came to the realization that many of my most enjoyable RPG experiences (pnp and vidya game) came from flawed and/or unusual characters. Since then I've almost always favored sticking to a concept over trying to get the biggest and best numbers. I create a backstory and concept in my head and then pick stats, skills, perks, etc that fit with the concept, regardless of how useful or efficient the build is.

After many long hours, I have cleared a Split sector of Xenon invaders in X4. In total, I destroyed 4 Xenon stations and 1 that was just starting to get built (nip that bud right then and there), 4 destroyers, 8 or 9 frigates, a dozen or so fighters and scouts, and countless defense drones. The only real threat to me were the destroyers. Xenon K Destroyers have massive firepower, more than my Odysseus Destroyer. However, they are slow and have really poor maneuverability, even for a capital ship. Plus, my destroyer's main guns have superior range to any of the K's weapons. So it was all about being patient and smart, outmaneuvering the K and shooting it from a safe distance while is sloooooooowly turned to face me.

I made a ****ton of money and rep for my heroic deeds (no brave NPCs ran interference for me this time, it was all me). I even sniped a few passing Xenon fighters on my way to the Zyarth Patriarchy shipyard after it was done. I swapped out all the turrets on the destroyer for split models. Same type of weapon, same damage, but Split turrets, while less armored, have significantly faster turn speed, which helps them track fighters better. While there I contemplated buying a Split Rattlesnake Destroyer, I had just enough to afford one with minimal equip. Ultimately, I resisted temptation and invested in some station module blueprints and decided to expand my HQ, investing for future profitssss.

My HQ previously had a solar power plant (this should be your first production module on any station, energy cells are used in almost everything) and a Teladianium (Teladi alloy) foundry which used ore (collected by a mining ship I bought from the conveniently placed asteroid field near my HQ) and energy cells. I'm currently adding a silicon refinery (I'll add a second miner if the one I already have can't keep up on mining both silicon and ore),  a refined metals forge (non-Teladi specific alloys), a smart chip factory (uses silicon wafers and energy cells), and a scanning arrays factory (silicon wafers, refined metals, energy cells). That will give me a self-sufficient production facility that produces 2 intermediate wares to sell (Teladianium and Smart Chips) and one high-tech ware to sell (Scanning Arrays). It will take a while to recoup the investment, but it will be worth it in the long run. 

Edited May 13, 2020 by Keyrock

[Hurlshort]

Yeah, I'd rather drop the difficulty down and play an interesting character than worry about min/maxing stats. That just seems like a trick to make us do math.

[Tale]

Trying out Breathedge. And I love it. It's a good chuckle from the very start. Only complaint I have is the low amount of air you have, so you constantly have to run back. The only place I know to expand requires me to set up two oxygen stations  just to reach.

[Hurlshort]

I recently bought a new computer and gave my son my old one, which opened up an entire world of new games for him. Basically he can now play anything in my massive Steam library, whereas his previous hand me down PC was pretty limited. He is almost 10, and it's been fun watching him discover all these PC games that I've played over the years. His first two that he got into were Baman: Arkham Asylum and Assassin's Creed 2. He doesn't have a controller yet (possible birthday gift) so I've been impressed by his ability to work the keyboard on these game sthat play better with a controller. I was worried AssCreed might be too violent, but I figure it also give me a chance to lecture him about the Duomo di Santa Maria Del Fiore and Da Vinci.

The other game he wanted to play was Lord of the Rings Online. I've played this off and on for 13 years. I hadn't been back in awhile, so it didn't take much to convince me we should team up and play together. I let him use my old account with all the perks and content and started from scratch. I even set us up on Discord, since the computers are not in the same room. I was surprised how hooked I am again. They added two new races. One is a High Elf, basically a really old elf that fought in the big battle against Sauron back in the day, but has been in a coma since the 2nd age. Bleh, not an elf fan.

The Stout Axe Dwarves are the other new race, and they are fantastic. You start out as a slave in Mordor, and escape around the same time Gollum does. It's a great way to work you into the whole Fellowship story. So far I'm really enjoying just exploring the beginner areas. They look graphically much better than they did over a decade ago when I first played, and the attention to story details in this game has always been its strong suit.

[Hawke64]

Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan. I reached the bridge (I forgot how it was called) on Kah-Wangaa (the third island). Boss battles finally became challenging - being caught in the boss' combo means death (not necessarily a restart, thanks to the revival items).

[Mamoulian War]

After 2 and half year long break, I've went back to Final Fantasy Type-0 on my PS4. I quit the game somewhere in the middle, because I got tired of the gameplay system, and it got to me very fast again. Some of the quests were mildly of annoying, some of them very nice, but for me, the mildly annoying were more common. Despite that, I found enough fun in the later half of the game to finish it, and grind little bit for all the trophies the game had to offer. The game was made for multiple playthroughs, but for now, I do not think, that I will get back to it anytime soon.

[Lexx]

Heh, I started playing Final Fantasy XIV yesterday (the free thing). Just wanted to check it out, because boredom, but now I'm kinda starting to dig it. 

Main issue right now are all the fetch quests, though. Kill this, kill that, walk here, walk there,... However, the main quest seems interesting, so I've decided to follow it some more and ignore all the boring filler.

[Tale]

Halo 2 Anniversary. It runs much better than I expected a current gen title to run on my computer. Just have to set it for performance and turn V-sync off. Looks kind of like a 360 title as a result. Or maybe that's just how it always looked.

I also just bought a new computer, should arrive at the end of next month. Found like $250 in discounts on one I'd been eyeing, so I snatched it up. Come September I'll be able to play Cyberpunk 2077 with mouse and keyboard.