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Unified Vidya Games thread

Started by Cain, November 21, 2013, 05:10:58 PM

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Cain

K, so I think I'm almost there

http://youtu.be/YnU-soeYzUQ

Requiem + Frostfall +iNeed + Immersive Weapons and Armour + half a dozen lesser mods + Vividian ENB preset/Realistic Lighting Overhaul/Climates of Tamriel.

I think it looks fairly pretty, anyway.

trippinprincezz13

Very cool-looking, indeed. Again, I am envious of you fancy PC gamers.
There's no sun shine coming through her ass, if you are sure of your penis.

Paranoia is a disease unto itself, and may I add, the person standing next to you, may not be who they appear to be, so take precaution.

If there is no order in your sexual life it may be difficult to stay with a whole skin.

Cain

Thanks.  And yeah - that's a fairly minor overhaul, compared to what people with top end machines and no consideration for gameplay improving mods can do (example).

I mean, I could probably install fancy depth of field applying effects, ambient occlusion something or other, 4k Super HD grass textures and all the rest...but I'd rather have something worth playing and not quite as pretty, ya know?

Eater of Clowns

After all the talk I've heard over the last year about it, I finally picked up Dark Souls II during the Steam sale. All everyone tells you is about how difficult it is, how punishing, etc. And that's true, it really is absolutely merciless. The worldwide death counter for the PC version, which is still pretty new, is in the 249 million range. I love that it's a game that doesn't coddle you. There are no handy little shining INTERACT WITH ME objects or lengthy, out of place NPC expositions, and I think that's the real appeal to me.

The challenge of the game is its selling point, and what everyone talks about, but that's just a gimmick. It is, though, hugely rewarding to finally get past that one spot that's been killing you over and over (fuck YOU, The Pursuer - I hope you liked that ballista shot to the tits).

What's really doing it for me is the understated nature of it. You're dropped into the gorgeous, dark world with only cryptic instruction. Everyone seems to know what's going on except for you, and you're just blindly going forward into hellish danger with barely a reference to game mechanics. Every now and then you see a blood splatter on the ground and you watch the ghost of another player die against something you can't see, and all you know is that you're fighting it next. Little scrawled notes on the ground from other players say things like "trap ahead" "weakness:  leg" "try torch" and for all their simplicity they could be an entire manual. In that overwhelming sense of danger, you finally come to the end of a tough fight and there's a little note that says "I did it!" with 100+ votes, all players who got there separately and give each other a small pat on the back, and that bit of camaraderie from people you'll never interact with is more meaningful than the cliched storylines in most modern games.

I'm barely out of the first major area right now, and maybe my attitude will change, but I think there's a lot to be said for that level of immersion. Unfortunately, I think with all the success the game has met, the lesson developers will take out of it is going to be MAKE IT HARD LOL PEOPLE LIKE HARD.
Quote from: Pippa Twiddleton on December 22, 2012, 01:06:36 AM
EoC, you are the bane of my existence.

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 07, 2014, 01:18:23 AM
EoC doesn't make creepy.

EoC makes creepy worse.

Quote
the afflicted persons get hold of and consume carrots even in socially quite unacceptable situations.

Cain

Have you played the original Dork Souls?  My personal impression was that it was a better game, despite the lack of PC porting support and the need for extensive modding.  DSII was definitely better than a good number of games out there, but it didn't quite compare to the original, IMO.

Also seriously consider installing Requiem for Skyrim if you enjoyed Dark Souls.  The combat is very comparable, especially below level 20.

Faust

I love the storytelling via visual implication, and the sheer joy that comes of beating a fucking nightmarishly hard boss, or even something as simple as finding a bonfire to rest at.

I'll have to go back and play the first one, must be a masochist or something.
Sleepless nights at the chateau

Eater of Clowns

Quote from: Cain on January 16, 2015, 02:21:08 PM
Have you played the original Dork Souls?  My personal impression was that it was a better game, despite the lack of PC porting support and the need for extensive modding.  DSII was definitely better than a good number of games out there, but it didn't quite compare to the original, IMO.

Also seriously consider installing Requiem for Skyrim if you enjoyed Dark Souls.  The combat is very comparable, especially below level 20.

No, but I've been hearing about the first one and Demon's Souls for years now, and meaning to pick them up. It'll be on my radar for the next Steam sale, though. My friends who have played both recommended not bothering with the first one, but there seems to be a bit of a divided base on which of the two is actually a better game so I'll have to try for myself.

Your Requiem posts were awesome and I've more than once considered diving in to Skyrim modding because of them. It seems like most modders I know become tinkerers, always fine tuning their load outs and dealing with bugs and such. That's been warding me off of modding for years now. It may just be time to get over that and start fucking around with them.
Quote from: Pippa Twiddleton on December 22, 2012, 01:06:36 AM
EoC, you are the bane of my existence.

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 07, 2014, 01:18:23 AM
EoC doesn't make creepy.

EoC makes creepy worse.

Quote
the afflicted persons get hold of and consume carrots even in socially quite unacceptable situations.

Cain

I've not played Demon Souls myself, but I've heard from people who have played all three that it's either that or DS1 which is probably the best in the series.  Not to say DSII is bad...its just not quite as good.

And yeah, that is the problem with modding.  Fortunately, Requiem kinda gets around that, because there is so little out there that is compatible with it.  There's like three or four dedicated modders, churning out compatability patches, but really there aren't many.  Immersive Weapons/Armour, Dragon Combat Overhaul, Weapon and Armor Fixes Remade/Clothing and Clutter Fixes/Complete Crafting Overhaul, Frostfall/Realistic Needs and Diseases/Hunterborn (there is a patch which combines for all three of those, and it is awesome).  Oh, and Revenge of the Enemies, for some fucking reason.  I mean, vampires and dragon priests are already scary in Requiem, end game style bosses, they don't need nearly endless magicka pools, armour, HP and multiple summoning spells.

Cainad (dec.)

I definitely consider Dark Souls 1 to be the more polished experience, in terms of level design and story. DS2, however, has VASTLY improved multiplayer and a few gameplay adjustments that I quite enjoyed (dual-weilding, etc).

The three DLCs for DS2 are very good, I would say just about as good as the DLC "Artorias of the Abyss" was for DS1. DS2 is slated for a sort of re-release this year, "Scholar of the First Sin," which will add, among other things, more lore (about time).


Eater of Clowns

 :lulz:

Pretty disturbing, not still not as bad as naming a dagger after every NPC in the game and then soultrapping them in it. Who was that, Paes?
Quote from: Pippa Twiddleton on December 22, 2012, 01:06:36 AM
EoC, you are the bane of my existence.

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 07, 2014, 01:18:23 AM
EoC doesn't make creepy.

EoC makes creepy worse.

Quote
the afflicted persons get hold of and consume carrots even in socially quite unacceptable situations.

Pæs

Quote from: Eater of Clowns on January 19, 2015, 11:16:27 PM
:lulz:

Pretty disturbing, not still not as bad as naming a dagger after every NPC in the game and then soultrapping them in it. Who was that, Paes?

YOU SHUT UP. BOLTHAR THE COLLECTOR WILL RESERVE A SPECIAL PLACE FOR YOU.

Eater of Clowns

Quote from: Pæs on January 20, 2015, 02:49:37 AM
Quote from: Eater of Clowns on January 19, 2015, 11:16:27 PM
:lulz:

Pretty disturbing, not still not as bad as naming a dagger after every NPC in the game and then soultrapping them in it. Who was that, Paes?

YOU SHUT UP. BOLTHAR THE COLLECTOR WILL RESERVE A SPECIAL PLACE FOR YOU.

:eek:
Quote from: Pippa Twiddleton on December 22, 2012, 01:06:36 AM
EoC, you are the bane of my existence.

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on March 07, 2014, 01:18:23 AM
EoC doesn't make creepy.

EoC makes creepy worse.

Quote
the afflicted persons get hold of and consume carrots even in socially quite unacceptable situations.

Demolition Squid

I picked up Elite: Dangerous the weekend before last but didn't really have time to start playing it at the time.

It has served as the perfect distraction. Combat is fun, but very engaging. Right now, I don't really want anything  I have to think about. I want something I can turn on and switch my brain off to. Trading fits that perfectly. There's just something fun about jumping around an insanely huge galaxy, playing a space trucker.

There are, broadly speaking, three professionals. Combat pilot, trader, and explorer. Since there's no classes you can mingle a bit depending on ship loadout, and it breaks down a bit further between bounty hunting/piracy and bulk goods/specialist goods/rare goods/smuggling. Right now, it seems like the general consensus is that explorers and fighters need more ways to earn money to pay for the very top end ships, but traders can get there very quickly.

There's 400 billion stars, and the galaxy is shared between players (though not necessarily at the same time; you choose whether to play in 'open' mode or 'solo', though everyone shares the same galaxy as trading/missions etc change the factions in it - requiring a permanent internet connection). It is also utterly beautiful, with a vast array of different types of stars and stations.

I don't know if it is great as a game? It feels very simple to me right now, and I've no idea if I'll be playing it in six months time... but it is a great way of feeling like you're achieving something without actually... achieving anything.

And I get to pretend I'm playing Boardwalk Empire in Space, running liquor around to stations and trying to cause shortfalls in supply. If only I'd thought to call my pilot Nucky.
Vast and Roaring Nipplebeast from the Dawn of Soho

Cain

Well, it can't be as bad as Destiny, so that's a point in its favour.