Wasteland 2

[Lexx]

The game needs a good GPU. Processor power is not *that* important, as far as I can tell.

[Marceror]

My Radeon HD 7990 6GB Dual GPU seems to be cutting the mustard then.

[Marceror]

Patch 2 was just released!

 

 

Wasteland 2 Patch 2 (58154) Release Notes

by sea » October 13th, 2014, 12:58 pm

Patch 2 is here! This update brings over 4300 words' worth of changes and improvements, but we expect most of you will want the most important bits, so here they are!

Highlights

- Large amount of memory optimizations, particularly with audio, to improve performance and stability on lower-spec systems and 32-bit operating systems.
- Fixed enemy “unlimited AP” movement bug that allowed them to sometimes move much farther than intended.
- Extensive improvements and fixes to California questlines, particularly in Hollywood and Griffith Park. May require you to load an older save file before Hollywood to fully benefit.
- Added a travel speed toggle to the world map, allowing you to zip and zoom around if you so please (doesn't affect encounters, only travel speed).
- Added a new UI when CNPCs are recruited. This lets you more easily compare their stats and choose to dismiss one when a new one offers to join.
- Custom portraits will now work correctly when Windows account username contains non-English characters.
- Added support for "Very Large" text.
- Added 50 messages to load screens containing gameplay hints and tips.
- Loading now continues when the game is tabbed out, and pauses after finishing.
- Further UI fixes and improvements, such as new and correctly used icons.
- Many localization updates and bug fixes across all languages.

For full release notes, please see: http://wastelandrpg.tumblr.com/post/999 ... ease-notes

Edited October 13, 2014 by Marceror

[Leferd]

I'm glad they fixed that annoying portrait bug on character creation.

[Bryy]

Welp, new game incoming!

[Raithe]

.. oh grarg.

Last week or so I kept getting the "couldn't synch to cloud properly" so I was assuming my saves were as normal going to my hd.

 

Then I boot up Wastelands after the patch and get a "oh, there's a difference between your cloud saves and your hd saves, which should be updated?" , thinking of all those error messages about synching, I selected for the hd saves to be the ones that were correct.  Now I seem to have lost all my saves since the infected village in Arizona

[Enoch]

Got a weird bug at the Prison.  At some point in exploring the area, I lost the ability to make save games.  If I left the area, it would make a useable autosave, but still wouldn't let me make my own save files (including quicksaves).  Turns out that the game somehow made my save folder Read-Only.  I autosaved my progress by going to the map, quit the game, changed that in Windows, launched it again, and loaded up the autosave, and everything is normal.  Strange.  Hopefully it won't recur.  

[Volourn]

Playing in California.l really need to upgrade my weapons because the uber weapons the enmies have is  annoying. L0L Not to mention the enmy seem to come in greater numbers with more hit points. Not a good combo.

[Marceror]

When you make it to Hollywood, bring lots of cash. You'll be happy you did.

[WDeranged]

 

Patch 2 was just released!

 

 

Wasteland 2 Patch 2 (58154) Release Notes

by sea » October 13th, 2014, 12:58 pm

Patch 2 is here! This update brings over 4300 words' worth of changes and improvements, but we expect most of you will want the most important bits, so here they are!

 

Highlights

 

- Large amount of memory optimizations, particularly with audio, to improve performance and stability on lower-spec systems and 32-bit operating systems.

- Fixed enemy “unlimited AP” movement bug that allowed them to sometimes move much farther than intended.

- Extensive improvements and fixes to California questlines, particularly in Hollywood and Griffith Park. May require you to load an older save file before Hollywood to fully benefit.

- Added a travel speed toggle to the world map, allowing you to zip and zoom around if you so please (doesn't affect encounters, only travel speed).

- Added a new UI when CNPCs are recruited. This lets you more easily compare their stats and choose to dismiss one when a new one offers to join.

- Custom portraits will now work correctly when Windows account username contains non-English characters.

- Added support for "Very Large" text.

- Added 50 messages to load screens containing gameplay hints and tips.

- Loading now continues when the game is tabbed out, and pauses after finishing.

- Further UI fixes and improvements, such as new and correctly used icons.

- Many localization updates and bug fixes across all languages.

 

For full release notes, please see: http://wastelandrpg.tumblr.com/post/999 ... ease-notes

 

 

I'm getting much better performance after the patch 

[Keyrock]

When you make it to Hollywood, bring lots of cash. You'll be happy you did.

I'm there right now.  There's definitely some good shoppin' to be had there. 

[Volourn]

Didn't have to wait that long. Did one small area and got radioed back to base. Some nice equipment including power armour. L0L

[Keyrock]

The first battle or two in California, whether a random encounter or at a location, is a bit of a shock since you're likely facing a group significantly better equipped than you, but you get geared up quickly, either by looting corpses or buying gear (likely a bit of both).  Hollywood had some rally good stuff to buy and find around the area, once you get access to it.  I currently have 2 snipers, both with .50 anti-material rifles, which is just kinda unfair. 

[Marceror]

The first battle or two in California, whether a random encounter or at a location, is a bit of a shock since you're likely facing a group significantly better equipped than you, but you get geared up quickly, either by looting corpses or buying gear (likely a bit of both).  Hollywood had some rally good stuff to buy and find around the area, once you get access to it.  I currently have 2 snipers, both with .50 anti-material rifles, which is just kinda unfair. 

Yes, especially when you consider that your AR characters with top tier rifles will be even more deadly than your snipers!

 

And wait till your shot gunner (assuming you have one) gets access to a jackhammer!

 

Though I expect these weapons aren't going to feel nearly as impressive when I get to them in Supreme Jerk Mode.

[Keyrock]

I've had the Jackhammer for a while, it's great but it doesn't get particularly large amounts of use since few enemies ever make it close enough to be within range, especially since the anti-material rifles, with mods, have a range well beyond 50m, which translates to about as far as my characters can see in game terms.  That's the best part about the anti-material rifles, I can hit targets from crazy distances.  Assault rifle ranges aren't that much shorter (about 10m, I think), but it's still nice to be able to initiate the battle from that much further away.  Also, anti-material rifles have a staggering 10 armor penetration.  I don't have the top tier AR yet, I'm still using a AK-97, but I'm guessing top tier ARs have armor penetration around 7.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Keyrock

[Marceror]

Yes, I believe 7 is the max AP for an Assault Rifle. That, said nothing seemed to slow down my assault rifle guys doing a 3 round burst headshot. Those put out utterly obscene damage on Ranger difficulty, and even the anti-material rifle couldn't nearly keep up I found. Mostly because they couldn't get out as much lead.

 

It seemed like I was lucky to do 150 damage on a crit with the anti-material. I was sometimes getting closer to 300, or more, with the assault rifle. Sure, it was 2 additional bullets, but who cares by that point. You've got the cash for bullets in the late game.

[Hiro Protagonist II]

So what's people's strategies that make a hard fight easier? I'm finding I immediately go to any cover I can find not for the evasion but for the 10% extra to hit. And I'm finding that extra 10% is great. I also use the ambush quite a bit as well. If I'm not happy with the percentage to hit, I'll just hit ambush on some characters and wait for the enemy to walk into a barrage of bullets.

 

I posted a screen shot earlier in the thread (shown below) where I massacred everything before they even got to me. And you'll notice I'm around the cars except for one guy. They just tore through everything and if I do find myself with enemies right on top of me, I usually go ring a round-a-rosey around the cover or along a wall but still stick on it for the extra % to hit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Marceror]

Yep, finding cover is a good first step. And if no cover is available, crouching is the next best thing.

 

Always try to draw enemies into your gauntlet of death. Even if that means shorter range characters won't do anything for a given turn... and generally those characters should be in ambush mode in the event the enemy comes into range (be careful putting your shotgunner into ambush mode, by the way). It's far better in most cases to keep your party in a good defensive position and have longer range snipers (with sniper rifles and/or assault rifles) softening the foes as they get in close. Later in the game certain energy weapons can also join in that game.

 

Then when the enemy gets in close, add your shotguns, SMGs, heavy weapons and the like into the action, always going to ambush when a target is not immediately in range. When and if it makes sense, send any melee gods to suck up some attacks and dish out some punishment. Keep an eye on injuries, and use your surgeons/field medics to keep your teammates in the fight. Keep it up until the enemy is beggin' for mercy, or no longer able to beg.

 

What's more fun though is when the enemy forces you out of your comfy position, and/or surrounds you. That's when you have to really go balls to the wall, and hope someone up there is looking out for you. Most fun on Supreme Jerk! Unfortunately there aren't enough of these sort of fights yet, but when they happen, the entire battle dynamic changes.

 

EDIT - Oh, and don't forget about your grenades and RPGs when the going gets rough. They can turn a really bad fight in your favor. And of course, they can really put the hurt on your team... so target enemies with these sorts of weapons first.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Marceror

[Enoch]

What's more fun though is when the enemy forces you out of your comfy position, and/or surrounds you. That's when you have to really go balls to the wall, and hope someone up there is looking out for you. Most fun on Supreme Jerk! Unfortunately there aren't enough of these sort of fights yet, but when they happen, the entire battle dynamic changes.

Speaking of which, I stumbled into an "abandoned railyard" or somesuch just south of the Prison last night.  That was something.  "Hey that's a neat looking big robot over there.  And it has more hitpoints than anything else I've seen in the game-- this could get interesting.  [initiates combat]  Hey, why does it show up three different times in the queue at the top of the screen?  Oh, I see, there are two more of them just around the corner.  Eek!"

 

Slicer-Dicers don't mess around.  Amazingly, my Brawler was the only character who went down in the fight, although several other characters were very close.  He missed out on the XP because Rose was too busy healing herself and my backup Surgeon is also my best damage-dealer.  It was a lot of fun, but, yeah, fights like that don't happen often enough. 

 

 

Party is somewhere in the area of level 16, with a Brawler, an AR gunner, a "leader" character with a low investment in both SMGs and Energy Weapons, a skillmonkey with a Sniper Rifle, Rose (trained into Snipers), Ralphy (trained into ARs), and Pizepi. 

Edited October 16, 2014 by Enoch

[Keyrock]

Yeah, the first time I stumbled into the Abandoned Railyard I had the same experience, I think I was around lev 12 or 13 or so.  After initiating that fight and the massacre that ensued, I was like

 

 

I went back there much later at around lev 20 and did the battle then.  My favorite battle so far has been

the ambush at Whittier.  The first time trying it I got ruthlessly massacred.  I went to a couple more places, went up another level, went back there, stripped all my party members butt nekkid (armor-wise) and got through it.  It was still a pretty intense battle, though.

 

 

Edit:  Another piece of combat strategy advice is pick and choose your targets.  It's usually better to kill an already wounded target than wound another one, except when both targets are close enough together and your shotgunner is coming up soon in the queue that you feel you can kill them both at the same time with the shotgun.  If melee enemies are far enough away from you that you feel confident they won't be able to charge you and still attack on their next turn, you may want to leave them be and shoot ranged enemies first.  Also, I almost always try to kill lobbers first.  While I do try to space my party out so that they're not all cluster****ed together, usually, because of available cover and/or space restrictions, I'll have 2 or 3 characters close enough together to get hit with a single grenade.  If you can kill a lobber before they have a chance to toss any grenades at you that will save you a bunch of damage.  And lastly, if you're in an area where you know you're close to a doctor (particularly one that will heal you for free), you may want to forgo shooting enemies, saving you ammo, and let your melee characters finish the battle, if you're confident you can survive.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Keyrock

[Raithe]

I have to admit, getting 3 guys with Assault Rifles with Long Barrels, and one or two guys with Heavy Weapons, cuts most things down swiftly...

[Keyrock]

So I'm thinking about this for my second playthrough (I haven't quite finished my first yet):

 

• Supreme Jerk Difficulty (up from 1st playthrough Ranger difficulty)
• No Angela Deth
• All melee focused characters (the ones I make, companions may be ranged focused)

 

I think that would be pretty brutally difficult, especially early on before I pick up some ranged weapon companions.  Anyway, I have time still to mull it over.

[Marceror]

So I'm thinking about this for my second playthrough (I haven't quite finished my first yet):

 

• Supreme Jerk Difficulty (up from 1st playthrough Ranger difficulty)
• No Angela Deth
• All melee focused characters (the ones I make, companions may be ranged focused)

 

I think that would be pretty brutally difficult, especially early on before I pick up some ranged weapon companions.  Anyway, I have time still to mull it over.

If your goal is to make the game extremely difficult, go all melee focused. I'm not even sure how that would work out, but the fact that you'd have to get up close and personal in basically all your battles sounds like a huge strategic and tactical disadvantage. Would be particularly hairy going against enemies that explode when you kill them, with all of that damage increased by 50% due to being on supreme jerk.

 

Brawlers become extremely powerful late game... and are probably 2nd most OP weapon choice behind assault rifles. Use or avoid as you see fit.

[Keyrock]

Yeah, the idea is to make my 2nd playthrough punishingly difficult.  On the bright side, I'll save a boatload on ammo...  On the other hand I'll likely spend everything I save (and then some) on first aid kits and surgical equipment. 

[Volourn]

People say the game is not 'hard' enough... trying playing with only 4 like me. You REALLY have to be careful and plan things out. And, don't be afraid to use explosive as they make what seems an 'impossible' fight into a 'very doable' one.  I think I'll reach the max level as I'm already level 30 and I haven't even reached Hollywood yet.