RANDOM VIDEO GAME NEWS

[Ganrich]

To me, and maybe it is just me, but it kind of reminds me of crazy christians playing vinyl records backwards to reveal "messages of Satan" in rock/metal music. Not that it's a one to one, but it seems a similar mentality to that kind of witch hunting.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

I actually found that article really interesting.

Me too. Although I also agree that CKII would have been even more interesting.

[Zoraptor]

That is the thing, really, a game like CK2 would have been a far better choice. Even something like Stardew Valley would have been better, though not as good as CK2. There's nothing wrong with examining the way relationships work in games; they are game systems so analysis of them is essentially the same as examining the combat system or resource economy.

 

The choice made was an utterly gutless one though, and -imo at least- an actively capricious one too. It's a single dev game, in alpha, with bugs and is thus both 'safe' to attack and has systems that are very obviously subject to frequent, substantial changes and also frequent, substantial deviation from what is intended. Do the same article on CK2 and it's a look at a mature game with mature systems, from a decent sized studio, well(ish) known etc. But of course do it in the same style and you're far more likely to get a negative response from Paradox that might have actual repercussions. The whole article assumes a... malice, for want of a better word, on behalf of the developer that cannot be justified. Malice on behalf of the article writer, otoh, can be suspected with a fair bit of evidence- the disclaimer about the dev wanting 'editorial control' of the interview is distinctly misleading as he wanted a lack of editing from anyone, not without justification given the end result.

 

Overall; the analysis is the worst sort of trivial because it's of an early access/ alpha game, the target is picked to maximise clicks not to provide meaningful analysis, it appears to be at best accidentally malicious (frankly, I think it's deliberately so) and it could have very serious consequences for that single developer by whipping up a righteousness storm. I'd object to it less if there weren't potentially an interesting article there.

[Rosbjerg]

The developer's reply (on reddit)

https://m.reddit.com/r/RimWorld/comments/5ax9a9/some_notes_on_recent_controversies/

 

"The way this is modeled in the code is just the quickest way I could think of to get the system working on that night I wrote it seven months ago. And it did work just fine, for those whole seven months. It's only an uninformed reading of the code, inferring hidden emotions from data structures (instead of reading them as the probability functions they are), that could lead to this conclusion."

[Mamoulian War]

The developer's reply (on reddit)

https://m.reddit.com/r/RimWorld/comments/5ax9a9/some_notes_on_recent_controversies/

 

"The way this is modeled in the code is just the quickest way I could think of to get the system working on that night I wrote it seven months ago. And it did work just fine, for those whole seven months. It's only an uninformed reading of the code, inferring hidden emotions from data structures (instead of reading them as the probability functions they are), that could lead to this conclusion."

Actually this is the most interesting thingie on his reddit from what I have read:

 

"Also note that the original article presented this as a "code comment" which made it look like it came directly from my code. Decompiled code does not include comments. The blogger wrote that comment (and all the others) herself. She also restructured the code and added names of variables and such (decompiled code doesn't include local variable names). It's better regarded as her pseudocode interpretation of my code, not anything I actually wrote."

 

So in current age, it is actually allowed to practically decompile a code and then turn it into your own, which does not represent the real code, and blame the original author for what you have created on your own?

[Raithe]

For those who might have missed the joyously 80's cheese action fest that is Far Cry Blood Dragon;

 

 

If you missed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, then you are in luck as Ubisoft are giving the game away for free throughout November!

From Wednesday the 9th you will be able to pick up the PC version of the game for free. All you need is a Ubisoft Uplay account in order to download it from the Ubisoft Club website.

If you don’t know already Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a stand alone DLC which is bathed in 80’s nostalgia. You play as Rex Power Colt (voiced by the epic Michael Biehn), a Mark VI Cyber-Commando who has been awoken to stop the end of the world. The game is a perfect homage to all things 80’s, it even includes a generous helping of neon visuals and cringe worthy one liners.

The game is being given away for free to celebrate Ubisoft’s 30th anniversary, so make sure you snap it up quick before the offer ends.

[sorophx]

wow, I kept missing the sales with this game but really wanted to play it. luckily for me... :D

[Keyrock]

RPS making wild leaps of logic, using creative interpretation, and altering information to serve their narrative? Why I never!

[Chilloutman]

For those who might have missed the joyously 80's cheese action fest that is Far Cry Blood Dragon;

 

 

If you missed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, then you are in luck as Ubisoft are giving the game away for free throughout November!

From Wednesday the 9th you will be able to pick up the PC version of the game for free. All you need is a Ubisoft Uplay account in order to download it from the Ubisoft Club website.

If you don’t know already Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a stand alone DLC which is bathed in 80’s nostalgia. You play as Rex Power Colt (voiced by the epic Michael Biehn), a Mark VI Cyber-Commando who has been awoken to stop the end of the world. The game is a perfect homage to all things 80’s, it even includes a generous helping of neon visuals and cringe worthy one liners.

The game is being given away for free to celebrate Ubisoft’s 30th anniversary, so make sure you snap it up quick before the offer ends.

 

Only on Uplay, blah

[Fenixp]

The developer's reply (on reddit)

https://m.reddit.com/r/RimWorld/comments/5ax9a9/some_notes_on_recent_controversies/

I would argue that what developer has to say is completely irrelevant to the topic at hand. Even if he wrote that code fully wanting to point out that men and women behave differently in dating (which is truly a highly controversial opinion worthy of analysis), an unfinished code can be purposefully exaggerated or even bugged.

 

In a software I was developing some time ago, I've had to implement functionality where small additions could be automatically added to an ordered meal/drink. Purpose was to, say, automatically order sugar with tea. In early alpha tho, I only had a limited selection to work with, so I made it so sugar gets automatically added to all diabetic diets. Did I do it as a political commentary on our need to eliminate diabetic people? Nah, it was the first identifier I've seen, and thought it was kind of funny.

[Volourn]

"(which is truly a highly controversial opinion worthy of analysis),"

 

HJow can something obviously true be 'controversial'? Oh yeah. SJW Nazis.

[Wrath of Dagon]

Dungeon Rats released! http://store.steampowered.com/app/531930/

 

I had time to play about half way through in beta, and highly recommend it. Some significant features added to Age of Decadence combat, and should be quite a good challenge on the highest difficulty.

[ShadySands]

Dungeon Rats released! http://store.steampowered.com/app/531930/

 

I had time to play about half way through in beta, and highly recommend it. Some significant features added to Age of Decadence combat, and should be quite a good challenge on the highest difficulty.

Thanks

 

Picked it up on GOG

[Ganrich]

 

For those who might have missed the joyously 80's cheese action fest that is Far Cry Blood Dragon;

 

 

If you missed Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, then you are in luck as Ubisoft are giving the game away for free throughout November!

From Wednesday the 9th you will be able to pick up the PC version of the game for free. All you need is a Ubisoft Uplay account in order to download it from the Ubisoft Club website.

If you don’t know already Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is a stand alone DLC which is bathed in 80’s nostalgia. You play as Rex Power Colt (voiced by the epic Michael Biehn), a Mark VI Cyber-Commando who has been awoken to stop the end of the world. The game is a perfect homage to all things 80’s, it even includes a generous helping of neon visuals and cringe worthy one liners.

The game is being given away for free to celebrate Ubisoft’s 30th anniversary, so make sure you snap it up quick before the offer ends.

Only on Uplay, blah

Even if you bought it elsewhere (like Steam) you would be forced to open uplay to play it, iirc. It's worth dealing with uplay, IMHO. This is coming from someone that hates uplay with a fury. I'd pick any other platform over uplay.

 

It's the best thing ubisoft has made since beyond good and evil, IMHO. It's a good game.

[Azdeus]

RPS making wild leaps of logic, using creative interpretation, and altering information to serve their narrative? Why I never!

 

That said, the comments on RPS is one of the few things that make me quesiton my stance on corporal punishment. Rule of Thumb people, rule of thumb...

Edited November 4, 2016 by Azdeus

[Malcador]

[Katphood]

Yup, best time to reinstall Diablo 3 since the new patch is free and I never finished the original Diablo(*shame*): http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-11-04-blizzard-recreating-diablo-1-in-diablo-3-reveals-premium-necromancer-class

Edited November 6, 2016 by Katphood

[Oner]

How 'free' are we talking about?

[Blarghagh]

Pretty sure they said it wasn't free. It was a sold "class pack" or something, wasn't it?

[Labadal]

The necromancer isn't free. The other content is.

[Oner]

I understood it as Diablo 3 becoming free. Would've been weird.

[Katphood]

I was talking about the original Diablo campaign that is supposed to be added as a patch?

 

 

 

Diablo 1 will be recreated in Diablo 3 courtesy of an anniversary patch that's arriving on the Public Test Realm next week. The patch, Darkening of Tristram, will take you back into the cathedral and down into 16 levels of monster-filled dungeons that will include the four main bosses from the first DIablo game.

[Labadal]

 

I was talking about the original Diablo campaign that is supposed to be added as a patch?

 

 

 

Diablo 1 will be recreated in Diablo 3 courtesy of an anniversary patch that's arriving on the Public Test Realm next week. The patch, Darkening of Tristram, will take you back into the cathedral and down into 16 levels of monster-filled dungeons that will include the four main bosses from the first DIablo game.

 

Yes, that's free.

[Fighter]

I might buy Diablo 3 for this.

[IndiraLightfoot]

I loooooved the necromancer class in D2, so this is a no-brainer for me. Day 1 buy, I don't mind paying for it, that's for sure. I was hoping for an expansion, but a few new areas are at least better than nothing, and the entire D1 periodically once a year, yum!