What Are you Playing Now: Living the Good Life

[Malcador]

On 3/27/2021 at 10:56 AM, melkathi said:

My Steam activity feed shows people buying and playing Subverse for the first time. They probably got it for the articles...

You mean your activity feed.  Going to wishlist that, though. 

The AA adventure games having a button to click to hear what your current task is, is handy when you take a break for a while.  Was expecting the bit in Marrakesh in Lost Horizon to be a lot harder than it actually was, though. 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Malcador

[Keyrock]

I killed Moder, the 4th boss in Valheim. This is a grueling experience all around.

First off, just summoning him is quite the chore. You need 3 dragon eggs which weigh 200 each, so even if you have the girdle that increases your carrying capacity from 300 to 450, you can't carry all 3 eggs by yourself at once. His summoning altar is quite far from my main base and it was quite the journey on my ship, especially with the wind not cooperating and me having to tack yo sail against it. I built a summoning portal near the altar once I reached it. Unfortunately, you can't take dragon eggs through a portal (still worth building it, though), so I had to make the last leg of the trip from shore and up the mountain side multiple times. I felt like freakin' Odysseus after all that.

After dropping the eggs near the altar, I ported back home, rested, got all my food and supplies ready, then ported back and performed the summoning ritual.

Moder has ice attacks, so frost resistance is a must. My wolf armor and lox cape all have frost resistance, but I drank ftost resistance mead for good measure and used Bonemass' power for physical resistance. I mainly used my Draugr Fang bow with poison arrows. He's a massive bullet sponge, so this took FOREVER, but I was never in critical danger so long as I didn't try to melee him when he landed. His bite attack does stoopid damage.

[BruceVC]

1 minute ago, Keyrock said:

I killed Moder, the 4th boss in Valheim. This is a grueling experience all around.

First off, just summoning him is quite the chore. You need 3 dragon eggs which weigh 200 each, so even if you have the girdle that increases your carrying capacity from 300 to 450, you can't carry all 3 eggs by yourself at once. His summoning altar is quite far from my main base and it was quite the journey on my ship, especially with the wind not cooperating and me having to tack yo sail against it. I built a summoning portal near the altar once I reached it. Unfortunately, you can't take dragon eggs through a portal (still worth building it, though), so I had to make the last leg of the trip from shore and up the mountain side multiple times. I felt like freakin' Odysseus after all that.

After dropping the eggs near the altar, I ported back home, rested, got all my food and supplies ready, then ported back and performed the summoning ritual.

Moder has ice attacks, so frost resistance is a must. My wolf armor and lox cape all have frost resistance, but I drank ftost resistance mead for good measure and used Bonemass' power for physical resistance. I mainly used my Draugr Fang bow with poison arrows. He's a massive bullet sponge, so this took FOREVER, but I was never in critical danger so long as I didn't try to melee him when he landed. His bite attack does stoopid damage.

Did you kill him by yourself or with other players helping?

Some  of my brothers and their gaming friends are playing this game and they sometimes do things together. I dont know all the details because I havent played it yet 

[Oner]

13 minutes ago, Keyrock said:

I killed Moder, the 4th boss in Valheim. This is a grueling experience all around.

First off, just summoning him is quite the chore. You need 3 dragon eggs which weigh 200 each, so even if you have the girdle that increases your carrying capacity from 300 to 450, you can't carry all 3 eggs by yourself at once. His summoning altar is quite far from my main base and it was quite the journey on my ship, especially with the wind not cooperating and me having to tack yo sail against it. I built a summoning portal near the altar once I reached it. Unfortunately, you can't take dragon eggs through a portal (still worth building it, though), so I had to make the last leg of the trip from shore and up the mountain side multiple times. I felt like freakin' Odysseus after all that.

After dropping the eggs near the altar, I ported back home, rested, got all my food and supplies ready, then ported back and performed the summoning ritual.

Moder has ice attacks, so frost resistance is a must. My wolf armor and lox cape all have frost resistance, but I drank ftost resistance mead for good measure and used Bonemass' power for physical resistance. I mainly used my Draugr Fang bow with poison arrows. He's a massive bullet sponge, so this took FOREVER, but I was never in critical danger so long as I didn't try to melee him when he landed. His bite attack does stoopid damage.

If he's a frosty guy, maybe you should've used fire arrows? My dinky level 4 wood club did double the damage to Bonemass compared to my +2 iron axe.

8 minutes ago, BruceVC said:

Did you kill him by yourself or with other players helping?

Some  of my brothers and their gaming friends are playing this game and they sometimes do things together. I dont know all the details because I havent played it yet 

Enemies scale with player numbers, though I'm not sure if or how dynamically.

[Raithe]

I have to admit, I'm losing the will with Valheim at the moment.

About the only reason I log into it is because my friends have their own server and it's that kind of social get-together.

But I'm finding it too much of a "grind to get tools to grind to get tools to grind to get tools," none of which make lower level grind any quicker or smoother. With almost no-other real gaming to get into.  Experimental building is fine, but still nothing too fresh compared to other games. Combat is more of an irritant that gets in the way of sloggy grind.

Ah well.

 

[melkathi]

Losing the will to play what you are playing?

You could just play Troubleshooter.

Or wait until tomorrow and play Evil Genius 2.

[BruceVC]

9 minutes ago, Raithe said:

I have to admit, I'm losing the will with Valheim at the moment.

About the only reason I log into it is because my friends have their own server and it's that kind of social get-together.

But I'm finding it too much of a "grind to get tools to grind to get tools to grind to get tools," none of which make lower level grind any quicker or smoother. With almost no-other real gaming to get into.  Experimental building is fine, but still nothing too fresh compared to other games. Combat is more of an irritant that gets in the way of sloggy grind.

Ah well.

 

One of my brothers stopped playing it because he said it became too much of a grind despite enjoying it in the beginning 

Interesting you have a similar view 

[ComradeYellow]

Just now, BruceVC said:

One of my brothers stopped playing it because he said it became too much of a grind despite enjoying it in the beginning 

Sounds like most open world games these days.

Once you get past the presentation, it dries up fast.

Bethesda games dominating the market is mostly to blame here.

[BruceVC]

10 minutes ago, ComradeYellow said:

Sounds like most open world games these days.

Once you get past the presentation, it dries up fast.

Bethesda games dominating the market is mostly to blame here.

I know their will be different definitions of grind and boredom but in some games I dont mind grinding, I find the repetition fun in some ways

For example in RDR2 Online I still repeat hunting of animals for Collection purposes ...even though I have maxed my Naturalist role. I gain money but I have also bought everything you can buy in the online game yet I still enjoy the " grind " of hunting animals and selling the skins  

[Raithe]

I'd say it depends on the purpose for the grind.

Valheim starts off well, but it swiftly turns into that "I'm grinding materials so I can build tools, those tools I can use to grind materials which I need to build tools so I can grind other materials."

There's little extra hook to actually get into it beyond that cycle.  I mean, sure those boss fights are there, which you need to go through to unlock access to higher level materials / tools in which you need to... grind for materials to build tools to grind  for materials...

I think I need a bit more story or world engagement to stick with it for anything other than a social hangout with friends.

[Keyrock]

1 hour ago, BruceVC said:

Did you kill him by yourself or with other players helping?

Some  of my brothers and their gaming friends are playing this game and they sometimes do things together. I dont know all the details because I havent played it yet 

Solo. As Oner wrote, the game scales difficulty based on player count.

53 minutes ago, Oner said:

If he's a frosty guy, maybe you should've used fire arrows? My dinky level 4 wood club did double the damage to Bonemass compared to my +2 iron axe.

Enemies scale with player numbers, though I'm not sure if or how dynamically.

I'll try fire arrows when I fight him again to get a trophy for my wall.

As an aside, I found the altar for Yagluth, the 5th (and final?) boss just by chance while farming fulings for black metal scrap in the plains. I'm going to take a break from the game for a bit. I'm in no hurry to fight Yagluth. My next order of business is building a fortress and city, but I'm going to wait for the update and new building pieces.

[Oner]

1 hour ago, Raithe said:

I'd say it depends on the purpose for the grind.

Valheim starts off well, but it swiftly turns into that "I'm grinding materials so I can build tools, those tools I can use to grind materials which I need to build tools so I can grind other materials."

There's little extra hook to actually get into it beyond that cycle.  I mean, sure those boss fights are there, which you need to go through to unlock access to higher level materials / tools in which you need to... grind for materials to build tools to grind  for materials...

I think I need a bit more story or world engagement to stick with it for anything other than a social hangout with friends.

Adding to this, half the food our group uses is wasted on corpse runs instead of actually achieving anything. Granted, we're the idiots for going to the plains in suboptimal gear, but the hunger mechanic stops being cool when you reach the point where eating to go anywhere important becomes mandatory.

[Keyrock]

I have a stockpile of sausage, grilled lox meat, and turnip stew at home. Good thing food never spoils in the game. In my head canon, the chest with all the food is a refrigerator. 

[Oner]

Just now, Keyrock said:

I have a stockpile of sausage, grilled lox meat, and turnip stew at home. Good thing food never spoils in the game. In my head canon, the chest with all the food is a refrigerator. 

The 40 sausages I make every time evaporate fast when it's 4-5 people scarfing them down. We never have berries either because the queen's jam doesn't even have time to cool in the chest and I'm not even eating it. >.>

[Keyrock]

8 minutes ago, Oner said:

The 40 sausages I make every time evaporate fast when it's 4-5 people scarfing them down. We never have berries either because the queen's jam doesn't even have time to cool in the chest and I'm not even eating it. >.>

You're like an Italian mother feeding a large household full of kids and aunts and uncles.

Edited March 29, 2021 by Keyrock

[Hurlshort]

12 minutes ago, Keyrock said:

I have a stockpile of sausage, grilled lox meat, and turnip stew at home. Good thing food never spoils in the game. In my head canon, the chest with all the food is a refrigerator. 

Hey, it is pretty cold in the Viking afterlife.

[Raithe]

6 minutes ago, Hurlsnot said:

Hey, it is pretty cold in the Viking afterlife.

Then it would be Niflheim, the land of the dead that's all cold. Valhalla was all large feasting halls full of warm hearthfires, mead and buxom serving wenches.

Valheim is somewhere in the middle...

[Oner]

Just now, Raithe said:

Then it would be Niflheim, the land of the dead that's all cold. Valhalla was all large feasting halls full of warm hearthfires, mead and buxom serving wenches.

Valheim is somewhere in the middle...

Waffleheim?

[Keyrock]

4 minutes ago, Oner said:

Waffleheim?

Its competitor is International Scandinavian House of Pancakes.

[marelooke]

Put some more time into Warframe now that you can hire crew for your Railjack. It's better now, at least as you don't have to babysit the bloody thing quite as much anymore.

While doing that I made it to Mastery Rank 29. Go me!

[Raithe]

Put in NWN 2 Complete from Gog.

Seeing how the memories hold up...

[melkathi]

So first impression of Evil Genius 2 is not overwhelmingly positive. As the review @Wormerine posted said, minions sent to the world map go poof. They are a resource to be spent. You can't choose who gets sent, so the super effective worker may rush off instead of the lazy one. That in turn makes the whole personality trait thing moot. As you can't use it, why pay attention to it?

 

The UI is a little bit too big and too intrusive. Especially with the tutorial idiot npc. The tutorial is a bit too spammy. Instead of telling you to build a room and wait for you to finish construction or telling you to build "these three rooms", it asks you to build one, then the next, then the next. Shut up tutorial.

 

There may still be a good game underneath it, but it definitely could have used some honest feedback for the first 10 minutes of gameplay.

I can also see that reviewers, who do not have time to spend loads of hours to get a pre-release review in, will not be praising the game. 40 minutes in I made this post after all.

Edited March 30, 2021 by melkathi

[Malcador]

Somehow ended up in Gold tier on Overwatch, which is too good for me.  Is notable how everyone always rages against the tier they are in and says they are unjustly in it, no matter bronze, gold or silver in my experience.  Also keep ending up with people who seem to be streaming based on their never shutting up. 

Should start throwing, I long for silver's toxicity.

[melkathi]

Restarting Evil Genius 2 without the tutorial. See if I get fewer pop ups and spam.

Regretting the pre-order. Not for any of the gameplay reasons reviews commented on, but quality of life issues.

A scientist researching at my whiteboard goes to eat. As he steps away from the whiteboard, with another waiting to take up his position right away, research is interrupted for 1 second. I get a voice message "Research has stopped". Seriously? I have 60 minions and I get voice messages for what they do? SHUT UP game.

If I have an alert, let me click it to see what it is. Just having a generic alert marker pinging up because something may or may not have happened, is not useful.

You can rotate the camera with Q and E or by holding the mouse wheel. Unless in build mode, then Q and E stop working. I hate using the mouse to rotate though...

 

Second first impression is: don't wait for sale. Just get Troubleshooter instead.

[Wormerine]

20 minutes ago, melkathi said:

Just get Troubleshooter instead.

I am kinda tempted by Narita Boy. But comeon, I just started my 2nd Outer Worlds playthrough, not to mention 10 other unfinished games :-)