What are you playing right now?

[ShadySands]

CK2 becauses E:V on GOG is now two patches behind Steam and I can't get any further until the bug plaguing me is fixed

[marelooke]

The Phoenix Point kickstarter reminded me that I hadn't completed XCOM 2 yet. Two missions later I get one of those annoying DLC "ruler"  aliens in a "Very Difficult" mission and get squaddies killed. Alt+F4. Yeah, now I remember why I stopped playing that (it' s the 3rd and final one, so yeah, I know they can be beaten, they're just not fun, at all).

Edited May 4, 2017 by marelooke

[Tale]

I guess I'm playing Learn Japanese To Survive: Hiragana Battle!

 

I'm not surprised that this is clearly an RPG maker game, I'm just surprised at how low effort the game is. Still, edutainment is edutainment. And it's helping shore up the learning from my phone app teaching Hiragana.

 

Came out with a sequel for Katakana last week. Looks promising and has good reviews. I just hope they've improved the art and writing. It looks like they have from the store page, with visual novel style full screen CGs. The base concept is absurd and I don't mind that, but the dialogue is clunky and most characters are a bit too cliche. Shoring that up would be fantastic.

[SonicMage117]

Gauntlet for about 45 minutes tonight.

 

Sometimes it's nice to play a game and not worry about story, inventory, etc. Ya know?

[Raithe]

Got about 40 minutes or so of Prey in.

 

I have to admit, it's that definite vibe mash up of Bioshock / System Shock / Deus Ex so far. Does have that slow start if you get into the exploring things rather than running through the opening.

[Fenixp]

Does have that slow start if you get into the exploring things rather than running through the opening.

I already started writing down all the areas I can't access due to too low hacking/lifting/whatever skills. Played like 3 hours of it, incidentally. There's definitely a lot more System Shock to it than anything, including the original games's "We'll give you a bigass space station and you're free to toy around in it". Combat is a bit clumsy, but I get a feeling that's purposeful - the game seems to prefer players figuring out more creative ways of defeating opponents than just gunning them down. I'm rather pleasantly surprised by the fact that there's a -lot- you can explore completely outside the critical path, which is nice.

 

Speaking of, enemy designs are all fairly clever thus far, it's not just the mimics that the internet keeps yapping on about (who are, incidentally, not nearly as scary as the internet would have you believe)

 

I'm reasonably impressed so far. We'll see if that remains.

 

Edit: I also recycled myself. It wasn't the smartest thing I've done.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Fenixp

[Raithe]

The one thing that grates on me so far in Prey... is the Hacking system. 

 

Guiding a floaty ball around a maze where every time you hit a wall the countdown timer loses extra time.. Then having a random key to press when you make it to a glowing circle. Then depending on the level of difficulty, having another glowing circle appear on the other side of the map to get your floaty ball across to...

[Wrath of Dagon]

Can you at least save before you attempt the hack? I know if this was Ubisoft you wouldn't be able to.

[SonicMage117]

 

Does have that slow start if you get into the exploring things rather than running through the opening.

 

I already started writing down all the areas I can't access due to too low hacking/lifting/whatever skills. Played like 3 hours of it, incidentally. There's definitely a lot more System Shock to it than anything, including the original games's "We'll give you a bigass space station and you're free to toy around in it". Combat is a bit clumsy, but I get a feeling that's purposeful - the game seems to prefer players figuring out more creative ways of defeating opponents than just gunning them down. I'm rather pleasantly surprised by the fact that there's a -lot- you can explore completely outside the critical path, which is nice.

 

Speaking of, enemy designs are all fairly clever thus far, it's not just the mimics that the internet keeps yapping on about (who are, incidentally, not nearly as scary as the internet would have you believe)

 

I'm reasonably impressed so far. We'll see if that remains.

 

Edit: I also recycled myself. It wasn't the smartest thing I've done.

Is it anything like Alien Isolation?

 

I haven't played the first System Shock to compare in my mind lol

[Raithe]

You can save before you hack, but that isn't an issue. At least so far all that happens if you fail a hack is the security systems zap you for a small amount of health damage, then 3 seconds later you can re-attempt the hack.

[Fenixp]

SPAAACE! With 6 degrees of freedom movement! Okay, now this is impressive.

 

Can you at least save before you attempt the hack? I know if this was Ubisoft you wouldn't be able to.

There's quick-saves and proper save slots.

 

Is it anything like Alien Isolation?

It's nothing like Alien: Isolation. It's not really a horror game per se - just a game with some horror elements and nice atmosphere. There's no real gore or gloomy interiors in it either - the entire space station is designed to look like there were actual people living in it, which is rather neat. Yes, there are toilets.

 

And from what I've played thus far, it would appear that the whole game revolves around this huge space station, parts of which you progressively unlock as you proceed through the game, other parts via unlocking new skills. I'd probably compare it to something like Dark Souls, Resident Evil 1 or 7, or the original System Shock. Alien: Isolation too to some extent actually. It would appear that as you unlock the individual bits, you can freely return to and explore previously visited areas too - especially since you'll get more advanced hacking/lifting/repair skills by then, so you'll get to visit previously locked places.

[melkathi]

I have been playing quite a bit of multiplayer Armello lately. Or at least quite a bit compared to the basically not at all I usually play.

 

The multiplayer has one problem: teams. It is designed as a 4-player free-for-all board game. A lot of the time you end up in a game with two players or three players in a pre-made teams, with no way to tell until they start playing as a team. Then you have two or three players ganging up on you. The two player thing could be less of a problem if a lot of people didn't just quit the moment they realized there is a team. If they would stick around you could turn it into a 2 vs 2 - still handicapped as the others have chat, but it would even the playing field considerably.

 

The funny thing is, the pre-made teams seem a lot of the time to also be terrible players. They have gotten their PvP ranks by ganging up, not by learning the game. So in the end, a lot of the time the matches are extremely close. One dice that didn't come up as it should, one unlucky card draw. And then there are those games when you beat a three man team and they end up struggling to try and stop you.

 

The game has become such an ego boost

[Fenixp]

Okay, now I have played Prey for over 6 months (In other words, it's suddenly 1 AM and I should probably go get some rest.) So some additional stuff that I've noticed:

 

- I knocked combat difficulty down to Normal, because the combat is incredibly finnicky and gets annoying when you also take insane amounts of damage from enemy attacks. I'm enjoying it a good deal more now, but I'd still not call it great (then again, I'm yet to gain powers. 6 hours in. Slow burning indeed.) The way it works is basically you can approach an enemy and shoot said enemy until it dies, but this way usually proves to be extremely exhausting one one's resources, if not rightdown deadly. So you're looking for hazards, turrets or better positioning that'd help you. Which sounds fun in principle, until you realize than on higher difficulties, you kinda have to do that for majority of encounters. Then it just gets old. At any rate, Arkane went from power fantasy that was Dishonored to resource management survival-ish ... Thing, which is a pleasant change.

 

- The way gating works in this game is rather ... Interesting. It's gated both via skill checks (you need hacking lvl x to open door, lifting lvl x to move this aside etc.), but there are also 'soft' checks along the way. Basically, if you meet an enemy that looks too tough for you, it probably is and you should probably return later. Now here's where it gets interesting - there are no levels in the game. The way you'll come back to defeat or overcome said enemy later on won't be with superior stats (even tho that too to an extent), it'll be better equipment and skill gained while playing the game. I do quite like that actually, it's a fairly oldschool approach that actually lets you get your arse kicked repeatedly if that's what you wish. It can also be a bit frustrating when you incorrectly gauge your enemy.

 

- Storyline is getting from straightforward to kinda mid****y. I wasn't particularly interested in it before - I'm coming around now.

Edited May 5, 2017 by Fenixp

[Chilloutman]

btw if someone is interested in playing Stellaris multiplayer let me know!

[Keyrock]

After 30 hours, I finally reached The Bloom in TToN.  One thing that really irks me, and TToN hasn't done this consistently, very seldom, in fact, is when a game puts you into a very long, drawn out sequence during which you have no option to save your game so that you can stop and pick up play at a later time.  This particular sequence went on for well over an hour before I finally had a chance to save.  I planned to play for 30-40 minutes because I had other things to do later but the sequence just kept going on and on and on and on and if I turned off the game I would have to do all of it over again.  For ****s sake, devs, sometimes I don't have a consecutive freakin' hour and change to play the game.  You want to do a long sequence, fine, but give me an opportunity part way through to save my game if I want to take a break.  No game should ever go longer than 20 minutes without a save opportunity.

[IndiraLightfoot]

I'm playing Prey too. I'd forgotten that it would be released yesterday, but as soon as I realized that I went ahead (going in blind - reading no reviews) and bought myself a copy (Hey, I mean, it's Arkane Studios, the makers of my beloved Dishonored). I'm like 3h into the game, and I'm having a blast. There's a lot of explorative freedom, and it has a nice twisted atmosphere. My daughter's really into zombie games and such, so we're playing it together, taking turns at the helm, as it were. It's almost old school, a throwback to 80's and 90's space exploration games. She's great at garnering clues too, btw, and cracked a safe code early on pretty easily (my eyesight sucks). We're enjoying it quite a lot. It's not Dishonored quality, but Prey's decently entertaining, no less.

 

3.8 out of 5 in overall marks from me.

Edited May 6, 2017 by IndiraLightfoot

[Malcador]

Can fly in Legion at last. So leveling alts is less painful. Less exposure to ganking as well, always cracks me up to hear "pvp" folk whine about that as if they seek a worthwhile fight.

[Hurlshort]

I am trying to resist the urge to buy Prey, since I have a backlog, it is expensive, and I am still a bit sore they dropped the previous themes. :/

[Keyrock]

I scooped up Star Wars: Dark Forces for the price of value menu bacon cheeseburger.  I LOVED the game when I played it some 20 years ago.  I wonder how it will hold up now?

[Belle Sorciere]

I scooped up Star Wars: Dark Forces for the price of value menu bacon cheeseburger.  I LOVED the game when I played it some 20 years ago.  I wonder how it will hold up now?

 

Did you buy it on GoG?

 

Did it run?

 

I've had it on Steam but could never get it to run, but GoG seems better about that.

[Keyrock]

 

I scooped up Star Wars: Dark Forces for the price of value menu bacon cheeseburger.  I LOVED the game when I played it some 20 years ago.  I wonder how it will hold up now?

 

Did you buy it on GoG?

 

Did it run?

 

I've had it on Steam but could never get it to run, but GoG seems better about that.

 

Yes I bought it on GOG, but dosbox segfaults when it tries to load the mission.  I'll look into solving the issue later when I have some time.

[Malcador]

I scooped up Star Wars: Dark Forces for the price of value menu bacon cheeseburger. I LOVED the game when I played it some 20 years ago. I wonder how it will hold up now?

Depends, are you a wussy modern fps gamer?

Edited May 6, 2017 by Malcador

[majestic]

Odd, GOG's version worked out of the box for me.

 

You might want to try DarkXL. Works pretty well in my experience and adding mouselook is a nice extra bonus.

[Keyrock]

Odd, GOG's version worked out of the box for me.

 

You might want to try DarkXL. Works pretty well in my experience and adding mouselook is a nice extra bonus.

No Linux version yet, though it's on the todo list.

 

I can try dosemu instead of dosbox.

Edited May 6, 2017 by Keyrock

[Malcador]

btw if someone is interested in playing Stellaris multiplayer let me know!

I should give that a go in multiplayer, 4X games are a lot more fun in MP - even with logistical headaches as a result