What are you Playing Now? - Right Now at the moment edition

[Hawke64]

12 hours ago, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

So I'm looking at sales and right now I'm thinking I'll finally given Elden Ring a go. But will I need a gamepad? @Bartimaeus @majestic I think both of yall are into souls games, so i'd appreciate anything you could help me with here.

Also looking at Skald: Against the Black Priory and open to any other recs.

 

10 hours ago, uuuhhii said:

have to remap a lot on a keyboard

the default key binding is insane

Elden Ring is perfectly playable and comfortable with keyboard and mouse (5-button mice are supported; no idea how the gamepad users shoot bows or turn the camera during boss battles with larger foes), but I would suggest to start with Dark Souls: Remaster. ER has significantly faster (and worse) combat, while the location and world design is poorer and there are a lot of the same bosses (which was less irritating in DS2). Another note on the bosses specifically, the experience was rather unpleasant solo (long attack combos with delayed hits), while the NPC summons (Ashes) altered the usual combat style quite a lot.

---

Started Cookie Cutter. It seems to be a cyberpunk Metroidvania. Not sure about the animations and the narrator NPC, but the cartoonish artstyle is good and the controls are rebindable, though I was not able to change Esc from "Do you want to close the game?".
After reaching the first boss, I was repeatedly killed within 10 seconds after the combat started.

Edited July 9 by Hawke64

[Malcador]

Bought FM24. Good God was that a mistake, the UI is just hideous.

[Humanoid]

30 minutes ago, Malcador said:

Bought FM24. Good God was that a mistake, the UI is just hideous.

I'm expecting FM25 to be a car crash because of the switch to Unity from their 15 year old homebrew, so waiting would likely have been a case of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Personally FM21 remains the final version I'll play until they reintroduce FM Touch. I just can't deal with the feature bloat anymore.

[Lexx]

6 hours ago, Humanoid said:

The prospect isn't all that enticing at the moment since it resulted in me rage-quitting, so we'll see if I give it another shot once I cool down.

tbh sounds like skill issue It really wasn't that hard?

[Humanoid]

1 hour ago, Lexx said:

tbh sounds like skill issue It really wasn't that hard?

Well, not hard at all once I turned the difficulty to easy (after around half a dozen deaths). Not the point though - that simply being that I don't want to play a spectacle shooter because I don't enjoy that kind of gameplay. Same reason I don't play FPSes at all, or watch Michael Bay movies, etc.

Obviously CDPR can make their game however they like, and it was never promised that a full stealth style was going to be viable. However, I was really enjoying the Deus Ex / Dishonored type gameplay, so to be pulled violently out of that style is pretty jarring. The only major incident like that in the base game I remember was

 

the Oda fight at the end of the parade float section. That's ignoring the Johnny flashbacks of course, but I'm not roleplaying V then so it's slightly more palatable, even if I'd rather those sequences be skippable.

Edited July 9 by Humanoid

[Bartimaeus]

@PK htiw klaw eriF None of the PC Souls games were ever technically unplayable with a M+KB: it's just that it was way more finicky and the learning curve was much higher, which naturally results in players having a worse time and there being a higher likelihood of quitting early on. But I knew people who played even Dark Souls 1, the game that easily had the worst PC controls, with M+KB at a high level. I only played about two hours of Elden Ring before I quit and uninstalled it forever because I pretty much categorically disliked or hated every change in gameplay compared to Dark Souls, so I never tried it with a M+KB, but I would still recommend gamepad, especially because it's my impression that the Souls games got increasingly faster-paced, more difficult and complicated, and just generally more unfair towards the player as FromSoftware went along, so jumping into Elden Ring as your first FromSoftware Souls game seems like it might not be the smartest idea even at the best of times, i.e. before you throw in trying to play with M+KB. If you need recommendations on a specific model, I might be of assistance there...unless you want a Playstation-like controller, because I don't do those. A decent Xbox-like controller will run you probably anywhere between 40 and 60 dollars...cheaper than that and you're likely to get something that feels bad.

@Humanoid Is Cyberpunk 2077 actually mostly playable without fast-paced shooting and stabbing? I played just a little bit of it but it seemed like the focus on how it wanted me to handle encounters was all wrong and I wasn't into it at all, but maybe I should've tried sticking with it a little longer.

@majestic Okay, now I've watched the hbomberguy Fallout 3 video. It was kind of funny to see him mention Moira as one of the few bright spots in the game, because I had completely blanked out her existence up until the moment he mentioned her but instantly remembered liking her a lot too. When that game came out and I played it, the overbearing internet commentary I saw on the game was that it was "Oblivion with guns", and really, I feel like that's still pretty much spot on, so I never even really questioned the fact that it had the same old terrible writing and quest/story/dialogue outcomes, or that it just vaguely painted itself over with the Fallout setting while missing all the nuanced details that made it special to fans, or the various systems around the combat not meshing well together. What I mostly remember is the fact that I had started playing S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl before Fallout 3, and so I really disliked both the open world and combat design, which is unfortunately something that I wasn't able to get over for with New Vegas, even though I knew New Vegas was much better in practically most every other way. If somebody could Stalker-ize New Vegas' combat so that your stats don't affect the damage or accuracy of weapons (outside of if you use VATS, maybe...which is not something I ever liked using in either games) and adjust the power and/or concentration enemies to match that new design philosophy, I might be able to play it. That sort of thing is a big part of why I've always stayed away from most RPG shooters that aren't Stalker.

Edited July 10 by Bartimaeus

[Humanoid]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

Is Cyberpunk 2077 actually mostly playable without fast-paced shooting and stabbing? I played just a little bit of it but it seemed like the focus on how it wanted me to handle encounters was all wrong and I wasn't into it at all, but maybe I should've tried sticking with it a little longer.

Mostly yes, you can ghost the vast majority of quests. In terms of the base game, I think it's one mandatory midgame boss fight and the endgame one. There's a series of sidequests where it's kind of nothing but hunting down mini-bosses, but for all but one of them (there are over a dozen) I found stealth takedowns still worked fine.

Occasionally you'll have minor sidequest content where you might be talking to someone and they pull a gun on you and you shoot them dead, over in a couple of seconds. Can't really call that a combat encounter, just a slight extension of killing someone via dialogue option.

[uuuhhii]

before dlc cyberpunk have the same stealth archer game play as skyrim

just look fancier

[Humanoid]

While stealth archer builds are no doubt brokenly overpowered in Skyrim, it does need a bit more setup in Cyberpunk. Less true now that throwing knives automatically respawn in your hand I suppose, which wasn't the case for the vast majority of my time with the game.

Regardless, I found myself not liking that approach in either game, I like my takedowns close and personal. In Skyrim that means stacking enough damage via perks and gear to one-shot enemies, in Cyberpunk there's no stat check involved. It's not as smooth as Dishonored's system, but it's certainly less silly than new Deus Ex's canned animations. The complexity is more down to how you use quickhacks to help set up your approach - distracting and luring enemies, temporarily depriving them of their senses, etc.

Towards the lategame you do supplement the basics with powerful spells like Power Word: Kill, with both lethal and non-lethal variants.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

14 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

If you need recommendations on a specific model, I might be of assistance there...unless you want a Playstation-like controller, because I don't do those. A decent Xbox-like controller will run you probably anywhere between 40 and 60 dollars...cheaper than that and you're likely to get something that feels bad.

I'd appreciate that, I've been m+kb or switch (only for nintendo specific games, which are imo are generally easier) for a decade now and haven't really played with other controllers.

[majestic]

58 minutes ago, PK htiw klaw eriF said:

I'd appreciate that, I've been m+kb or switch (only for nintendo specific games, which are imo are generally easier) for a decade now and haven't really played with other controllers.

The King Kong Pro 2 comes with rebindable controls, and it has the regular Nintendo layout. It costs a bit more than 50$, but it's not impossible. Unless you mean your JoyCons, in that case, uh, yeah, you would not really be able to play games requiring precise intputs with those.

[Bartimaeus]

The King Kong Pro 2 is still pretty solid, but there are now better controllers out there - with the advent of hall effect controllers, it's been a rapidly iterative marketplace. The GameSir G7 SE                                                 and the new 8Bitdo Ultimate 2.4G (not to be confused with any other cheaper previous generation Ultimates! I hate it when companies release different models with the same name and expect the consumer to just figure it out...) are both good mid-end options - if you're always going to want to use the controller wired, I'd probably go with the GameSir G7 SE, otherwise the 8Bitdo. The GameSir G7 SE also has older-styled membrane buttons, which some people prefer but others think feel bad ever since mechanical buttons became a thing: if you end up trying it and don't like it, I'd return it and try the other one. If you don't have much experience with either, it may not matter; I don't mind either way personally, but I do generally prefer membrane gamepads for playing retro games.

(e): Why is there a giant empty spot after the first link? Wasn't there when I posted, but it is now: thanks, forum.

Edited July 10 by Bartimaeus

[Hurlshort]

V Rising - I was hesitant to buy it because of the combat, but I am loving the base building and crafting. It's a very fun survival game. The was you can move your castle to a new place is also pretty inspired.

[MrBrown]

About 80% through V Rising. It's a bit repetitive. Constantly challenging, but it's mostly because everything is gated through the various bosses. So you're always with just about the same gear you fight a boss. There's various difficulties, so depending on how much you like the combat you should find a suitable difficulty.

In settings, I checked the options that I keep my weapons and armor if I die, and that metals etc won't prevent teleporting.

[Tale]

Finished Shadow of the Erdtree and trying to figure out what to play next.

The First Descendent? A story so offensively stupid I couldn't go on. And gameplay that just feels like waiting to die.

 

I kind of own both Dying Light games. Maybe I should at least try them.

[LadyCrimson]

Me with 7 Days to Die:

--*create several RWG maps*
--*some hours/same evening later* - "This seems like a good map, and this base I made is awesome. I'm digging it.  But I wonder" 
--*fiddles with .xml files*
--*create several RWG maps*

Repeat forever. I don't think I've played a save of 7 Days for more than 4-5 hours in years.

...wouldn't mind if Manor Lords had a big patch soon. But I think they're upgrading from UE4 to 5 (because Xbox won't take UE4 anymore, I hear), so it might be a while. >.>

[melkathi]

Finished Necromunda: Hired Gun.

The game is a fun fast paced shooter I guess (it isn't my genre, so I do not know what the criteria are).

They put in a lot of effort to craft the maps.

The voice acting exists. I found some npcs to not talk loud enough.

The story also exists. I am not sure it should. It requires the audience to care about a very specific Necromunda character and to have read the novels and comics. Even then, it still is pointless.

[ShadySands]

I wanted to like Cyberpunk with all my little black heart but it's not at all what I wanted. I keep hovering over the buy button for the Idris pack but something stops me from pulling the trigger. 

Anyways, I just finished a replay of Dragonfall and Hong kong. What I wouldn't do for more good Shadowrun games.

[Bokishi]

Made the most busted thorns sorcerer build in the elden ring dlc, and I'm 1 or 2 shotting many bosses who are vulnerable to bleed

[MrBrown]

On 7/10/2024 at 11:51 PM, MrBrown said:

About 80% through V Rising. It's a bit repetitive. Constantly challenging, but it's mostly because everything is gated through the various bosses. So you're always with just about the same gear you fight a boss. There's various difficulties, so depending on how much you like the combat you should find a suitable difficulty.

In settings, I checked the options that I keep my weapons and armor if I die, and that metals etc won't prevent teleporting.

I'll have to retract a bit on this, the last few bosses are really tough. So either be good, or grind lots. Turns into more of a diablo-like arpg at that point.

[Mamoulian War]

18 hours ago, ShadySands said:

I wanted to like Cyberpunk with all my little black heart but it's not at all what I wanted. I keep hovering over the buy button for the Idris pack but something stops me from pulling the trigger. 

Anyways, I just finished a replay of Dragonfall and Hong kong. What I wouldn't do for more good Shadowrun games.

I am with you on this one. The three Shadowrun games were exactly what I was itching for, when I have played them. They had some flaws for sure, but I still consider them brilliant masterpieces

[Lexx]

You just reminded me that I never finished Hong Kong. For some reason this did not click with me at all. Loved Dragonfall tho.

[Hawke64]

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).

[Humanoid]

51 minutes ago, Lexx said:

You just reminded me that I never finished Hong Kong. For some reason this did not click with me at all. Loved Dragonfall tho.

You just reminded me that I never finished Dragonfall. Don't recall why, maybe I lost my saves during a computer upgrade or somesuch. I did finish the original campaign and it was a fine enough introduction to Shadowrun, which I'd no experience in beforehand.

I probably need to do something else post-Cyberpunk before going back to something that hits the same notes again. Maybe after Avowed?

Edited July 13 by Humanoid

[Wormerine]

4 hours ago, Lexx said:

You just reminded me that I never finished Hong Kong. For some reason this did not click with me at all. Loved Dragonfall though

yeah, same here. I thought Dragonfall was brilliant, but I just found myself bored by Hong Kong. I felt the pacing was really off.