What are you Playing Now? - Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock-n-roll

[Wormerine]

11 hours ago, Lexx said:

Ok, just finished The Forgotten Sanctum. Not that bad either. By now I've disabled the level scaling, because I couldn't bear it anymore. Didn't made the combat ridiculously easy, but it was a lot less tedious for sure.

This dlc kinda proves again that Deadfire probably would have benefited of less, but bigger / more condensed islands. Spending more time in a location gives it a lot more character, makes it feel alive, and not like a random recycled mini-dungon.

Ha, no shame in that. Personally, I abused the hell out of Ancestor's Memory/Salvation of Time combo to get through DLCs harder content. I generally really enjoy the challenge presented in them, but it is a bit too much when rushing a playthrough for Avowed.

Yeah, I still thing PoE1 and PoE2 DLCs are a glimpse at what Pillars game could be. White March is still my favourite bit of PoE content (though it's been a while since I played through it).

[Lexx]

Did a short break from Deadfire and went into Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. It's probably the best Life is Strange type game in years. Though I'm not sure if it's really a game or rather an experience. 

Chapter 2 is supposed to release in April... sux.

[Hurlshort]

Avowed has a much better inventory system than previous Obsidian games. The crafting is also pretty decent. I don't know who handled that, but they deserve accolades.

[Wormerine]

8 hours ago, Hurlshort said:

Avowed has a much better inventory system than previous Obsidian games. The crafting is also pretty decent. I don't know who handled that, but they deserve accolades.

Obsidian's UI has been overall solid for a while now, no? Both PoEs were excellent and I can't recall having issues with Outer Worlds either.

I can't think of anything specific Avowed does UI does, that other games don't, but I think it benefits from restrain when it comes to loot. Influx of stuff isn't as extreme as in Bethesda game, and itemisation is straightforward so it doesn't take much effort to figure out what you get and what you want to do with it - qualty system is just easier to judge at a glance, than pick up a weapon and compare minor difference in damage done.

I wouldn't say Avowed has crafting - you have food recipies and occasional granades recipies. One one hand I like how items for recipies are interchangable (like any mean/veggie etc. will do) though it makes transfering collected items into more powerful versions a bit tedius - yes you can create 7 Mariner's Porridge but because all those recipies will use different items you will have to confirm and cook each one seperately.

[Lexx]

Hah, so after my 14 cheap days with microsoft game pass were over, I canceled the subscription. Now since I'm (almost) done with Deadfire, I figured it's time to give Avowed a try... and now it turns out, I could get that $1 game pass deal a second time. So now I can play Avowed for $1 for 14 days. Unless the game starts to suck hard, I should have finished it by then.

My initial impression is... damn, visually this looks damn great. The performance is really good as well. No stuttering, no texture issues, no nothing.

[majestic]

It Takes Two, with my nephew. Game's kinda fun, the story is... uh... yeah, somehow I doubt having to coop through a magical episode of a weird book with a Spanish accent is going to save any marriages, but I guess stranger things have happened. Co-oping isn't so bad because it's been pretty easy so far. Some sections drag on a bit too long, and some puzzles are more fun than others, I guess, but overall, it's a co-op game I play with a 12-year-old and it is not making me want to pull my hair out, which is quite an achievement.

[Zoraptor]

Been replaying Kingdom Come Deliverance (1) on hardcore difficulty. Not quite what I was hoping for- which was equivalent to top level difficulty on Stalker where it's more difficult for everyone, not just you- but nicely unforgiving and it's still a top tier experience overall. It is a bit janky for a low save game though, so far I've got stuck on terrain twice, had two ctds and two cutscenes that looped perpetually.

Also, I find it hard to believe that c15th Bohemia didn't have compasses. No automap doesn't matter to me but using the sun for orientation is tiresome- since half the time I go the exact wrong direction, as the sun 'points' north in the southern hemisphere not south. Have a fight in the woods at night though, no chance of working out which direction you're facing at the end of it half the time.

[Sven_]

2 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

 

Also, I find it hard to believe that c15th Bohemia didn't have compasses. No automap doesn't matter to me but using the sun for orientation is tiresome- since half the time I go the exact wrong direction, as the sun 'points' north in the southern hemisphere not south. Have a fight in the woods at night though, no chance of working out which direction you're facing at the end of it half the time.

The night sky in KC:D : r/kingdomcome  Then again, there's at least one or two Operation Flashpoint veterans at Warhorse, one of the most immersive games I've ever played (back in 2001 it was mind blowing). That had a mission where you were deep behind enemy lines, hunted, and had nothing but the night sky as orientation as well. I wish I'd played KCD1 on hardcore back in the day. After completing it once, you naturally know all the locations.


Btw. , I think this is also one of the parts where they made KCD2 more accessible without compromising the core experience (really, devs "dumbing down" their games should take a closer look at this in general.) The first region has Trosky Castle reigning strong. You can see it from almost everywhere. (It also looks so damn pretty). Trosky meanwhile is just North of your starting position into the open world, where there's vendors, a place to make camp and rest, etc.  Without mods, your position so far is shown on the map anyway, as hardcore mode is only offered with a later patch. But as to orientation, visual landmarks are KEY.

Edited Sunday at 11:39 PM by Sven_

[Zoraptor]

For someone in the southern hemisphere the northern night sky is basically useless for navigation unfortunately- the northern constellations are inverted so Orion is standing on his head and you cannot physically see Polaris; so there's no recognition. I could find ~Celestial South OK using Crux, but much as you can't see Polaris from here you cannot see Crux from Bohemia.

Can also do moon navigation since its light side always faces the sun but neither is feasible under forest cover or if the moon isn't out.

Compasses were invented a few centuries before the game's timeframe, no real reason they would not be available though probably quite pricey.

Edited Sunday at 11:57 PM by Zoraptor

[Mamoulian War]

After some longer break, I have finally started the NG2+ in DS2:SotFS. So far finished up Dragonrider, Flexile Sentry, The Rotten and Najka. All on first try, despite some ****ups diring the fights The goal is to finish all 4 great “adversaries” which are dropping DS1 souls to be able to make the final weapon crafts and then to Drangleic Castle purchasing last few spells for last two trophies. After that, we’ll see if i go for Nashandra again, to craft last spell catalyst, which I am missing, or just quit the game and go for DS3  

Well, I should go and finish Star Ocean 5 on hardest difficulty as well, but not sure, if I should go before or after DS3

[Bartimaeus]

7 hours ago, majestic said:

It Takes Two, with my nephew. Game's kinda fun, the story is... uh... yeah, somehow I doubt having to coop through a magical episode of a weird book with a Spanish accent is going to save any marriages, but I guess stranger things have happened. Co-oping isn't so bad because it's been pretty easy so far. Some sections drag on a bit too long, and some puzzles are more fun than others, I guess, but overall, it's a co-op game I play with a 12-year-old and it is not making me want to pull my hair out, which is quite an achievement.

Played a few hours of it, we thought "yeah, that was fun", proceeded to completely forget it ever existed and never picked it up again. Whoops. I think if the characters and story had been less grating, would've been more compelled to keep playing.

[Humanoid]

I kinda liked that the protagonists of It Takes Two are actually terrible, extraordinarily selfish people if you give it any thought. It was my game of the year. I liked A Way Out too, and will be travelling to Melbourne next month in order to play Split Fiction co-op in person with my sister.

[Lexx]

Was thinking more about Avowed last night It's weird. On the one hand I can't wait to continue playing it, but on the other hand I'm a little put off by how much a "checklist" my playstyle has been yesterday. Like, I just ran up and down the map to collect items from chests while destroying some awfully generic mobs that were conveniently placed in obvious locations. This kinda makes the world feel... unalive? Hope that this will improve later, but I somewhat feel like this is what the game is.

On the plus side, I got my first unique pistol, which is really cool.
Also the Arquebus is super cool-- but the reload looks dorky, with my hands flying like a magician it's like I have 3 hands.

 

Edited Monday at 08:18 AM by Lexx

[Humanoid]

On a related note, I can't figure out a way to fast travel to a camp site without camping, and that kind of takes me out of it.

I also got annoyed by the WoW-esque "collect 5 Defias bandit masks" type quest, except that unlike WoW, the game doesn't even tell you how many you need. Apparently I missed looting one of the five, and then the quest item simply spawned at a fast travel point. Seriously?

Still generally positive about the game mind you, and while the stealth approach has been disappointing, I don't dislike combat as much as I expected to. It's like the opposite of Cyberpunk, where I really like the stealth but hate the combat.

 

P.S. Every NPC's eyebrows look kind of weird in this engine.

Edited Monday at 08:28 AM by Humanoid

[MrBrown]

2 hours ago, Humanoid said:

I also got annoyed by the WoW-esque "collect 5 Defias bandit masks" type quest, except that unlike WoW, the game doesn't even tell you how many you need. Apparently I missed looting one of the five, and then the quest item simply spawned at a fast travel point. Seriously?

You always have to pick up the loot left by bounties and bring them back. Makes sense, really.

Never had loot teleport anywhere. But I've had it lying around in the same place for hours, cause I forgot to pick it up.

[Humanoid]

2 hours ago, MrBrown said:

You always have to pick up the loot left by bounties and bring them back. Makes sense, really.

Never had loot teleport anywhere. But I've had it lying around in the same place for hours, cause I forgot to pick it up.

There are more than five bandits but I guess exactly five of them drop the quest item, and the only way you know you need exactly five is that that the quest log updates when you loot the fifth. It's all very gamey in an MMO sort of way. The other bounties are thankfully more straightforward - run-of-the-mill "bring me the leader's head" fare.

I believe the teleporting quest item is likely meant to be an anti-frustration feature. I had four of the items, couldn't find the fifth, went back to the questgiver anyway to see if there was any progress to be had there (which of course there wasn't). Went back to the bandit camp, nothing doing. But it turns out the item had been teleported to the floor of the destination fast travel point within the city, the first fast travel destination I had selected after wiping out the bandit camp.

[MrBrown]

I think it's just based on the number of targets described in the quest? There's definitely more than one bounty where you have to pick several heads/trophies/whatever.

But yeah, there's no game mechanical logic to it.

[MrBrown]

Here we go again. Avowed made me too nostalgic.

[Lexx]

Wish we could get the new guns from Avowed as unique weapons in PoE1 and 2. Almost makes me want to check if I can build a mod like that. I know it's possible to add new(?) items to the game, but not sure if we can add new models as well.

[Hurlshort]

Guns are crazy rewarding in Avowed for me. Both the musket and the pistol are just a blast. Plus my pistol/dagger combos are pretty great. I'm squishy, so I don't use it often, but it helps in a pinch.

[Lexx]

So far I mostly use the electro pistol (reminds me of the Thundercrack Pistol from Deadfire) + some magic dagger that I found, or the Arquebus. I've upgraded both weapons to 3rd common level now.

Kinda hate how the weapon switching is done. There also seem to be an issue with quick swapping and reloading.. sometimes it doesn't work, or my timing is off, I dunno. Also more than once already I've accidentally used my healing potion with pressing 1, even though my muscle memory just wanted to select a different weapon.

[Wormerine]

47 minutes ago, Lexx said:

So far I mostly use the electro pistol (reminds me of the Thundercrack Pistol from Deadfire) + some magic dagger that I found, or the Arquebus. I've upgraded both weapons to 3rd common level now.

Kinda hate how the weapon switching is done. There also seem to be an issue with quick swapping and reloading.. sometimes it doesn't work, or my timing is off, I dunno. Also more than once already I've accidentally used my healing potion with pressing 1, even though my muscle memory just wanted to select a different weapon.

Yeah, unfortunately, I think you need to wait till weapon is reloaded before switching. No DOOM reload skipping.

For a while I used spear and pistol - I though it complemented each other well, keeping enemy at poking and shooting distance. Switched spear for frost axe just to have more elements, though I am not in love with the axe - will look to switch it for something else later.

I kinda wish we could doublewield Grimoires.

[Hurlshort]

1 hour ago, Wormerine said:

Yeah, unfortunately, I think you need to wait till weapon is reloaded before switching. No DOOM reload skipping.

For a while I used spear and pistol - I though it complemented each other well, keeping enemy at poking and shooting distance. Switched spear for frost axe just to have more elements, though I am not in love with the axe - will look to switch it for something else later.

I kinda wish we could doublewield Grimoires.

Does the frost axe create the handy frozen platforms over water?

I've got an electro pistol and a fire dagger. I use grenades for everything else.

[Wormerine]

21 hours ago, Hurlshort said:

Does the frost axe create the handy frozen platforms over water?

I don't know, didn't try - even if it does might be tricky to use. Breaks grated just fine though.

Edit. @Hurlshort I tried it and it works great actually. You can just walk on water while swinging the axe in front of you.

Edited Tuesday at 10:17 PM by Wormerine

[LadyCrimson]

Is there some tech reason why a game/devs wouldn't include even a simple Brightness slider? Ok, $10 pixel or 2d-ish games usually don't need such, but for 3d modern graphic shadows and light engine games? Is it a big deal? No. Especially if your display has a remote.  But I don't understand why a game in this day and age wouldn't include it.

Edited Thursday at 12:16 PM by LadyCrimson