Since I don't know anything about the game I'm just here to watch.
I kind of like the Dalish. The polling thing is indeed blocked for me, so there's my vote.
20 minutes an episode, huh? Now I see why these games are so popular. You really need to commit.
A couple, allegedly, but I've never had the chance to try them. Enemies do seem more likely to "chain" their abilities on Nightmare, though I'm not sure if that's by design or just chance.
A couple, allegedly, but I've never had the chance to try them. Enemies do seem more likely to "chain" their abilities on Nightmare, though I'm not sure if that's by design or just chance.
Then I vote for one of them, if you'd consider it.
I made the polls work now so don't double-count my vote! Male/Nightmare.
A couple, allegedly, but I've never had the chance to try them. Enemies do seem more likely to "chain" their abilities on Nightmare, though I'm not sure if that's by design or just chance.
Then I vote for one of them, if you'd consider it.
Well, I'd rather not mod it extensively, so if others wanted to use it for their own playthroughs they wouldnt have unrealistic expectations. Plus, untested mods and all that. Mind if I count it as a vote for Nightmare?
And just one more question...when commentating, do you want me to read out the character's answer before selecting it? No voice actor voices the main character in this game, as you'll notice. And while on the topic, do you want the Codex entries reading out? Some of the lore is quite interesting, and certain adds to the feeling of the game, but there is a fair bit of it as well. It's up to you guys.
So, firstly, I've done a nice little custom thumbnail for the playthrough in question:
(http://i.imgur.com/st1aMEN.jpg)
Obviously, there will actually be a number next to each #, for the episode in question.
I've decided I will do Golems of Amgarrak, but on Normal difficulty. I've already achieved "Grim Reaper (http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/The_Reaper%27s_Cudgel_%28Origins%29)", I've got nothing to prove. Besides, the story is kinda cool.
I've sent off to EA to request permission for monetization. Surprisingly, despite their reputation, EA are apparently mostly cool with monetization. However, they like to grant it on a "case by case" basis so they still have a legal recourse if monetization is abused in some way.
So now it's a waiting game.
Just to be clear - this doesn't work without viewer participation.
If people aren't going to vote, I can't proceed.
Just to be clear - this doesn't work without viewer participation.
If people aren't going to vote, I can't proceed.
I'd like to, but I have firewall issues. I don't have much time after work these days, but I'll try.
Part 4 is up
http://youtu.be/l1P81TW07gc
Not much happening today, I'm afraid. It's mostly lore, characters and an entirely unnecessary murder.
I'm way too much of a pedant to hear "Let's get started" in the middle of a battle and not roll my eyes.
Also, in regard to the voices, it could be worse. One of the male human voicesets loops around to saying "Can I get you a ladder so you'll get off my back?" EVERY SINGLE TIME you click on him. People have abandoned entire playthroughs due to that.Oh god, the female character I just played would not shut up with that. *Maybe* it wasn't every time, but it was a good 90-95% of her statements. It barely even makes any sense. I get it, but it's just so stupid, especially after thousandth time.
In regards to the later loot, most of it isn't that special, it's mostly stuff taken from the leveled items list...however, there is one staff you get which has something like a 5% chance to stun an enemy. It's not end-game tier...but it'll do until you pick up something that is.
I think it is designed for higher level characters though. Like, level 15 or so? Also, there is some equipment there which is very good, but the tier of the material is based on your level when you start, so it can be better to start it later. On my playthrough I'll be looking to do it at around level 16, before the Deep Roads.
Also part 7 is up. You can finally see why the Joining is so super secret
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtvMmYtwwjU&feature=youtu.be
I still have and use the CD-ROMs, because I'm old school like that. Also not willing to pay twice for a game I already own.
Also, I'm falling behind on these, but that's because I had the Writing Week From Hell, Plus Job Stuff, Plus More Writing. I should be able to do a fair amount of recordings tomorrow, for this and Dishonored.
And as a bonus, we get to look at Morrigan some more.
And as a bonus, we get to look at Morrigan some more.
And as a bonus, we get to look at Morrigan some more.
Morrigan Disapproves </3 -20
And as a bonus, we get to look at Morrigan some more.
You'll probably be interested to find out that Morrigan looks a lot like her voice actress, Claudia Black.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/ClaudiaBlack (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/ClaudiaBlack)
I'm going with Alistair. The merchant's full of shit, and the way you've played Neria so far, I think that'd piss her off more than the price gouging. This protagonist seems to like brutal honesty, and half-assed justifications like the ones the merchant's spewing won't fly.
Also a fair conclusion. Brutal honesty is definitely a good way to piss people off.
My favourite actress! She is several shades of awesome.And as a bonus, we get to look at Morrigan some more.
You'll probably be interested to find out that Morrigan looks a lot like her voice actress, Claudia Black.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/ClaudiaBlack (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/ClaudiaBlack)
I believe the word I'm looking for is "yowza".
And Morrigan is slated to have a role in the new DA:I game this fall...though most people believe she won't be able to join your party.
(http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/featured/electronic-arts2013/dragonageinquisition/morrigan/daionlinescreen_morrigan_610_W.jpg)
Unfortunately, I've been experimenting with Skyrim mods, looking for other paying writing gigs and doing background research this week, which means I have been lax on recording. I'm going to do a marathon session tomorrow, but it may not get uploaded until Saturday at the earliest, and Wednesday at the latest (night shifts Friday and Sunday, followed by tutorials Monday and Tuesday mean my sleep patterns are going to be extremely out of whack for the upcoming week).
However, I'm hoping to get to, at the very least, the end of the Stone Prisoner DLC, which will allow us to recruit Ferelden's foremost hater of pigeons and give us another game choice.
Then I herd entire villages into corners with Unrelenting Force and shout at them until they're all dead.
Unrelenting Force involves screaming at people so loud that they are hurled backwards. You can use this to become a street sweeper, and amass piles of villagers who didn't understand the curfew.
:lulz:
Both at the description, and at the lengths console peasants must go to in order to exploit glitches to make the game more fun.
Also, Roger http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T44Am7JoYuY
If you want to get fancy, you can use a shout that slows time, then use Unrelenting Force, then while they're flying through they air you chase them and punch them a bit before they hit the ground.
But just screaming people off cliffs is a classic.
Yeah, and if any guards come over to insist that you stop, you tell them to go away and they find themselves strangely compelled to obey. Obey all the way off a cliff.
Yeah, not so sure about consoles, sorry.
New episode up http://youtu.be/XC5p7dEImRo
In this episode, we recruit Sten, an apparently murderous Qunari soldier.
For sake of reference, the Qunari are a religion, not a race, but many members of the Qunari are of a race different to the others in Thedas (the lore says they're called "kossith"). The Qunari fought the entire of Westeros to a standstill during the New Exalted Marches 300 years previously, using advanced weapons such as gunpowder and armored ships.
David Gaider said, in terms of how the Chantry and people in the rest of Thedas view them, the Qunari are a sort of militant Islamic Borg. Which isn't entirely unfair. The Qunari view society as a kind of unified body. Everyone has a role, which they cannot deviate from, not without becoming a heretic. For example, "Sten" is not Sten's actual name. It is his rank, and other Stens are encountered in DA2. But his rank, role and identity are so closely intertwined as to be virtually inseperable, because that is what the Qun demands.
Oh, and Leliana tries to flirt with Morrigan, under the guise of fashion advice.
You say that now....all I'm gonna say is, wait until the final sequences of the game. And Dragon Age II. And probably Inquisition. That's all I'm saying.
http://youtu.be/aIUvGSmz0DY
Stone Prisoner DLC, part 1
There's no way he wont be in Inquisition. Remember at the end of DA2, Bodahn mentions going to Val Royeaux.
I would actually prefer to see Herren and Wade again. Theory has it Wade is meant to represent Bioware - the master craftsman, an eye to detail and working on bespoke pieces, living in poverty as a result - and Herren as Electronic Arts - the suave businessman, eye always on the bottom line.
Which may be why they didn't make it into DA2.
No, it's defintely worth knowing these things. I'll start paying more attention to post-production again...I have been getting kinda lazy on that front.
Part 15 is up http://youtu.be/9rm5wONy2Es Poll is whether we let "Kitty" use the girl as a meatsuit, or we turn it into a pair of gloves. Poll will run for a week to let people catch up and, more importantly, because I'll be too busy writing to record anything.
let it use meatsuit. check yr privilege, corporeals.
Cain, if you want, I'll split this once the TDS creep finishes his shit.
at the risk of digging myself deeper (because you'll think I'm playing dumb to further troll), what the fuck are you talking about? I voted. and made what I thought was a funny joke.
are y'all frequently trolled by people using this pattern?
I'm pretty sure the companions in DA2 are actively designed to piss you off. I can really only stand Varric, Carver and Isabella...and even Carver's a whiny prick for a whole Act.
Which is probably why Varric's the only returning, recruitable character for DA:I.
I know a lot of people didn't like the change in Ander's personality at all, but I felt it was justified (heh) plotwise, even if I also preferred the old Anders. And Carver is pretty annoying, but assuming you make the right choices in Act 1, he gets his act together. A sense of purpose does wonders for the lad.
And noted. I'll be recording tomorrow.
Though in DA2, a tank is basically pointless if you play a Shadow or Force Mage. And if you don't play a Shadow or Force Mage, WAYSA?
Of course, a lot of problems with DA2 are due to a, IIRC, 9 month production cycle. I mean, ridiculously rushed doesn't even begin to describe it. When you compare the 5 years they had for Origins, well...you can see why their plans kinda fell apart. From what I heard, DA2 was actually a repurposed plot for an "inbetween game" that would bridge the events of Origin to Inquisition....in other words, DA:I was intended to be the second main title.
Which would explain a lot about DA2, including why Act III feels like it was tacked on at the end, and why despite the exceedingly rushed production schedule they nevertheless had the Exalted March expansion pack all planned out, before that project was wrapped into DA:I proper. I imagine that, if Act III were not intended as an opening act for DA:I, then Exalted March definitely was.
I've still not recorded yet. Due to working lots of nights, university work and getting a new kitchen installed (which only happens during the day, and is playing merry havoc with my sleep schedule).
With regards to the Shadow Rogue, I would've gone for the Assassin specialization first. Mark of Death and fully upgraded Assassinate turn you from a glass cannon into a goddamn crystal Predator Drone. Not to say the Shadow isn't powerful as well, you get a retardedly powerful critical damage buff, but the Assassin specialization is certainly the better of the two.
Ideally, you want a build that looks something like this http://biowarefans.com/dragon-age-2-talent-builder/#rzMYckRX1telBFsHEaVQrwuSYokRc0HtEDC
For a dual-wielder, anyway. If you're going for archery...well, all I'm going to say is that Disorientating Criticals + Glyph of Paralysis + Virulent and Corrosive Walking Bomb can clear out entire enemy spawns in one go.
Duellist isn't bad, it's just a bit boring. You get all these insane buffs and modes which add even more buffs on top of your existing ones. The only interesting ability is Throw the Guantlet, which is basically Backstab + Assassinate.
Ah, I think I see the difference here. I try to balance my game. Admittedly, vanilla Skyrim seems to be balanced somewhere around Apprentice level difficulty, and I try to balance it somewhere well above Legendary level difficulty, but there is some balance.
OK, so funny story.:lol:
If you have Insects Begone and chose to get rid of all spiders (like I did) and you chose to install Skyrim Immersive Creatures (like I did) but you forget to set the option to "Lore Friendly - No spiders", you end up getting swarmed by thousands of minature bears. Like, bears the size of small rats, rampaging around and roaring and attacking you.
Single most hilarious thing I've done in Skyrim, bar none.
Back in March you might remember a news post written by myself titled Be Careful: Trojans masquerading as popular executables. To cut a long story short, a user was uploading a malicious file to the site that, when installed, would enable the user to find out your Nexus username and password, which was then in turn used to log in to other user's accounts with the stolen login information and continue to upload the same virus to the sites.
Today we were alerted to a malicious change to SkyUI, one of the most popular files on the Nexus network, at around about 12.30pm GMT. Within 20 minutes the file was removed and we got to work investigating how the file was added and who removed the original SkyUI file and replaced it with a malicious executable (thank you to those people who reported the file and were clever enough not to install it!).
This is a port of iNeed's spoilage system adjusted to dynamically track the degradation state of weapons and armor in your inventory. Items in the world may also be found in various degradation states throughout your travels. Upon first installation you must remove then add all equipment back into your inventory. You can adjust degradation rates and other options if SkyUI is installed. Daedric/Aedric artifacts are not affected by degradation.
How odd. I was literally look at that on the nexus yesterday. Probably been pulled for some reason or other.:lol:
Just to make some progress, I'll probably drop the difficulty a touch. There's realism and then there's "You could have actually acquired a reasonable degree of personal skill in (game activity) instead of gaming". I'll be saving beforehand though, this feels like something that should eventually be accomplished if only for reasons of spite.
Generic method for losing and recovering your gear. Bandit are more interested in taking your money than your life. Bandit also have a good eye for valuable and those items are more likely to be stolen. All Item can be recovered one way or another, or you can decide to discard them. The only thing that is lost for good is gold and gold paid to recover items. This offers a new, much needed, gold sink in the game.
When defeated, the PC is typically left for dead in the vicinity, or thrown out of the current location. There are also a variety of random "Radiant" events that can occur. Adventurer will sometimes stumble on the unconscious PC and offer assistance. The downside is: Bandit will sometimes stumble on the unconscious PC as well, and offer to relieve you of your hard earned loot! A list of all the encounter is provided under the Readme Tab.
Player in werewolf or vampire lord form will revert to their human form if their HP reaches zero. This introduces an element of danger in beast form, since your attacker is now a witness to your shapeshifting abilities.
I don't see any obvious conflicts...that I know of, anyway. Did you sort the load order with BOSS or LOOT and clean all the plugins with TES5Edit?Uhm, no?
I did check for DLC requirements, and disabled the parts that do.
Heh, I'm NOT using your setup. Too depressing :PQuoteI did check for DLC requirements, and disabled the parts that do.
I'd put money on one of them requiring them but not stating it.
Good luck figuring out which one, I'd guess one with minimal info/documentation but I Cain's already covered the best fix.
You may want to try a couple of different weight fix mods, trying to recall the one that worked well with hunterborn.
Just passing level 12 of the setup i'm coming to think of as "living hell". No significant accomplishments to report beyond crossing the map. Twice. For a pittance. Not occuring again in the near future. Based out of Markarth currently raiding Forsworn camps because fuck the Forsworn. I've had to go back to heavy armour/2h sword to survive. Which is incidentally the style I ended up using for Goldenglow. They weren't impressed with my subtle approach. We're still cool though.
My personal best Requiem moment was fairly early on in my quest as well. I decided to roll a Redguard swordmaster, arriving per ship at Solitude (using Alternate Start). Stupid idea, since the north is a lot colder than the south and I have Frostfall installed. After barely clinging on to dear life in the wilderness surrounding Solitude, doing quests, crafting my own tent and stuff, I run into some bandits near a wrecked ship. I sprint, zig-zag, towards the archer - cleave his bow and wreck his face before he can draw a melee. Thank god the heavy is stuck behind a rock, because the guy with the greatsword is now swinging at my neck. I take a glancing hit (thank you, Blocking I) and impale him.
I start circling the guy stuck behind the rock. Tried an arrow, but heavy armor doesn't give a shit. Dude's got a shield and an Orcish dagger, too. He gets loose afer blocking my first blow, and a mad battle of circling, blocking, shield bashing and hacking starts. Near the end, we're both within one good blow from death and I'm all out of potions and stamina.
I swing, he blocks, he swings, I block - I get disarmed. I don't even realize it because I'm already trying to swing again. Punched the sucker right in his face. He goes down on one knee while I'm still staring at the raised fists, wondering where my weapon went. I see it lying on the floor, think: "Oh yeah. You can get disarmed. Neat, I guess." Pick it up, shove it through his neck.
Felt like a right baller.
So my sneaky Bosmer archer explored Shroud Hearth Barrow today and engaged Requiem's walking dead for the first time (she's been to Bleak Falls but gave up on it for the time being after narrowly surviving the giant spider), thinking herself well-equipped at level 16 with 120 silver arrows in her quiver, a silver katana and her friend Gorr watching her back. It was really, really scary, with ELFX making everything so dark that I needed a torch in many places while at the same time often hesitating to light one for fear of being spotted, Sounds of Skyrim creeping me out with its weird draugr cries in the most (in)appropriate moments, and knowing that I was dead if they ever got close to me (managed to kill a few weak ones in melee though by blocking and bashing with a torch). In one narrow place with one of those accursed swingdoor traps I died about ten times, either to the trap or the draugr behind it, until I found out how to draw them into the trap without getting smashed myself. Got past a deathlord archer (not named thus in Requiem, but you still know them by the horns) by peeping around the door, shooting an arrow at him to get his attention and letting him trigger a blade trap, enjoyed listening to him getting cut into slices. The final fight in that big chamber with the many tombs went well enough until Gorr went down and the endboss came for me. I had run out of stamina potions by then, so in my despair I gulped a bottle of skooma and, suddenly feeling invincible, cut him to pieces; it was well worth the side effects (which TBH weren't as terrible as I'd expected, but I suppose the stamina regen penalty could be devastating under the wrong circumstances; anyway, I adore what you've done with skooma!. Scariest and most satisfying dungeon crawl in a long time.
I'm not too sure how 'exciting' this is, but I am curious to how other players dealt with this...
So the character I am playing right now is a Dark Elf spellsword named Vedas Fadrale. His primary skills are Light Armor, One-Handed, Enchant, Destruction and a bit into Archery.
After hitting level 18 I decided I want to try some of the Dawnguard content, so I spoke to Isren for the first time. This time however, after learning how dangerous vampires are in Pinemoon Cave (a small vampire lair near Solitude, to the west, I think) I decided to make some new armor... I used an Elven Gilded Cuirass I picked off of a Thalmor agent and gave it a Rigidity II enchantment, which buffed my health and claimed to make me 'immune to most magic draining effects'.
This was probably the most prudent decision I made (outside of enchanting an elven longsword with fire, I suppose), because I was basically able to torch all of the vampires in Dimhollow Crypt rather easily, while they helplessly tried to drain my life. Mind you, their attacks were still very dangerous (and I died a few times, especially to the mage vampires) but was able to clear the cave pretty easily. That is, of course, I got to Lokil.
This is where the 'epic' goes downhill, as I quickly realized engaging him in a fair fight was out of the question. His powerful lightning bolt spell and frost cloak was almost an instant kill for me, but luckily I found a way of beating him. By closing the gate to the room you start in, I was able to dual-cast fire rune outside of the barred windows and slowly widdle down his health... When he got around 20% of his health bar I decided to leave (since he automatically follows you to the next room) and finish him off with Lydia, in a semi-fair fight. Hilariously, he still almost killed me (I think I only had like 20 hp left after the ordeal) but we beat him down. Now Lydia has a full suit of Ebony Armor and I have a near full suit of Glass Armor from his vampire cohort. (which disappointingly only has a 10 point AC lead on Elven Gilded gear, I think it needs a bit of a buff)
So how did you guys beat Lokil? I think he's supposed to be like level 100, has a full suit of enchanted ebony armor and lots of mean spells. If anyone's beaten him legitly (without a cheesy strategy, I mean) I'd like to hear the story.
I needed some quicksilver ore and moonstone to create soulgems, so I decided to take Lydia with me. Now I'm not really a great fan of followers, in fact I hate them, but the last time I took one with me is at least a year ago, so I have forgotten why. This was a simple ore retrieving mission however, so what could possibly go wrong?
I left Whiterun and headed north to Silent Moons Camp and soon realized I was missing something: Lydia's footsteps. I looked around but she was nowhere to be found. Thinking that perhaps she missed the gate somehow, I decided to go back. At that moment I saw her in the distance running towards me. She had taken the long road passed Pelagia's Farm instead of just climbing the stairs, jump over a 30cm brick wall and heading north. Apparently, heavy armor and brick walls don't go well together, or she decided to have some exercise. All those days in Breezehome doing nothing did grow a couple of pounds after all.
Reunited, we collected the moonstone and went east to the quicksilver vanes. It was there we met our first challenge, a sabre cat. We saw each at the same moment, but the cat couldn't decide whether to go for Lydia, fat like an elk in summer, but armored like a mudcrab, or me, a skinny wizard, but easy on the teeth. That gave me time to put a Fire Rune on the ground before me and poke the cat in the face with Fiery Arrow. The cat took the bolt surprisingly hard and started running towards me. I readied a Frightening Orb and released it the moment the sabre cat run through the rune. I saw a bright orange flash and heard "Unghh". The cat run away and I thought by myself, I have never heard cats making that sound before. Then I saw Lydia, on the ground, at the very precise spot of my Fire Rune, dead.
I used my powers to travel back in time and tried a new approach. No more Fire Runes anymore, but simple fire bolts and and then scaring it away. I unleashed my first bolts, prepared a Frightening Orb, aimed and ... missed! The moment I released the orb I was pushed in the back by Lydia, which shove me a meter forwards, just enough to miss the cat. The cat didn't miss me however and had a good meal. Lucky for me I already had cast a contingency spell that put me back in time...
Third attempt. This time I positioned Lydia a couple of meters away from me and beside me. Lured the cat again, prepared an Frightening Orb, released it and ... hit Lydia, who managed with great skill and accuracy to jump in the trajectory of the orb at the precise moment I released it. Lucky for me, she also hindered the cat long enough to give me time to hit the cat with a second orb. While Lydia took cover behind a rock, I started pelting the sabre cat with more Fiery Arrows. I already begun to enjoy the exercise, temporarily without a follower, when Lydia shook off her fears and, feeling she had to compensate for her previous ... mishaps, she drew her sword and started chasing the cat.
Now, if you ever had the joy of seeing a sabre cat running, and then start imagining a Nord the size of a big fat (Breezehome) wild boar, clad in heavy armor, you can very accurately estimate the chance Lydia had catching the cat this way. She did however make enough noise to aggro three wolves and a troll, and irritated a giant in the process by just running through his camp.
After a long and tedious fight involving bolts and orbs to save Lydia's life, we collected the quicksilver ore and went home. On the way back, passing Whitewatch Tower, a small group of bandits were attacking the guards. By the time we were able to help, all bandits except one, were already taken care for. The last one had climbed the stairs to the tower, cowering in fear. I released a fire bolt, to put an end to his misery. Again, Lydia performed a miracle by wrangling her belly between me and the banisters (while still in heavy armor), and catch the bolt before it could reach the bandit. What a speed, what an agility! When asking her how she was able to perform such a great act, she simply replied "I'm sworn to carry your burns".
Since my last post i'm now level 20, but most of that has been non-combat grinding. I have many unused perks due to level restrictions in the areas I wish to strengthen and my character is still fairly weak. Anyway, i'm still hanging around the Whiterun area, with the occasional visit to Riften to work on my pickpocketing etc. I'm given the 'Valtheim Towers' quest and correct me if i'm wrong, but in Vanilla (I haven't played it for a while) it's just a case of taking out 3 or 4 bandits and job done. Although i'm weak, I think my character can take it and I head off.
This is where it kicks off. I approach Valtheim Towers and suddenly, the combat music kicks in and I receive a message telling me that my objective is complete and the Bandit Leader has been killed, despite me not even drawing a weapon. Obviously, this caused a bit of a 'wtf' moment, but I wasn't going to turn back and collect my reward just yet, I came here to slay bandits and i'll be damned if I was going to anything but that. I continue my approach... and get more than I bargained for.
I can see on the bridge that there are two NPC's in combat. I couldn't work out what they were but assumed they were both bandits. I had the OBIS mod installed (amongst others) and assumed it was at work? I hadn't noticed it up until this point, and had the spawn mutliplier set to 4 ignorantly assuming it wasn't working. I have so many unfamiliar mods installed I don't really know what's what just yet.
Anyway, I proceed into the lower tower by sneaking. There are three unarmed bandits there awaiting me. I manage to put arrows in two, step back a little and take the final one with my sword. Is this it? Easy. Lets get to the top tower and see what goodies are on offer. I proceed, and take out the surviving bandit on the bridge with another arrow. Again, easy.
I proceed towards the upper tower, and then it happens. I can hear all sorts of NPC's grunting, swords, battling, even a little FPS drop (F5, F5, F5!). Up the stairs I go... carnage! Bodies everywhere, about 4 or 5 bandits alive, unarmored, light armored, heavy armored. I die, obviously.
Load game, lets try and work out what's going on. I go up, I die. After many, many tries, I conclude that as soon as I go up those steps and take a look, they are on me. I need a new plan. This time, I go up the steps, don't even take the time to look, I just turn back and sprint. As I get back to the bridge, I stop, look behind me, did they follow? Of course they did. A group of bandits run after me. I manage to shoot an unarmored one with an arrow, but the rest - no good. More death... but a plan was forming. Eventually my tactic develops into 'take the unarmored with arrow, then run again!' Due to my level I at least had an abundunce of stamina, despite the lack of perks.
I sprint out of the tower. Stamina all but gone but i've built up enough of gap to get a safe quicksave in. Three more bandits come running out after me. The closest is unarmored... happy days. One arrow takes him down. The second, light armored, and I have time to hit him with an another arrow then finish him with my sword. Then... death at the hands of the heavy armored guy. It was a problem I need to solve due to my poor quicksave timing, but after trying with the same tactic for quite a while, I managed to get the first two killed in time to just about to avoid the swing of the final enemy sword. I switch to my mace and a battle commences, in which I win by the skin of my teeth. "That was the last bandit, it must be!" I heal up, save my game and off to get my goodies I go!
I walk into the lower tower, up the stairs, onto the bridge. Combat music hits... and so does an arrow. "FFS!" Load game. I go back up, a little more expectant this time. "Lets try and find out what's going on before I get hit, shall we?" Then I see it on the bridge. Another bandit, glowing to shit and back, armored with God knows what, firing arrows at me. Apparently, it's a Bandit reaver (upon more research it turns out it's from Dragonborn, but as I never played it during Vanilla, this was my first encounter). Am I fucked? Of course I am. I die... a lot more. On that bridge, the arrows were going to hit me everytime, I had nowhere to go and wasn't even going to get close.
10000th attempt. I try sprinting across the bridge. If I can get to him before he gets a shot at me, I can take him out, easy. "It works!", I thought. I make it to him without a single arrow in me. He pulls out a knife, I pull out a mace. "Haha, the guys as good as dead", I think. I barely scratch him... he in turn knifes me to death... Never the less, i'm having fun, so i'll keep trying.
Try upon try, I then somehow sprint towards him and pass him. I'm then making my way upto the top tower, completely unaware of where he is at this point. Either way, my natural reaction... quicksave. SINGLE HANDEDLY THE WORST QUICKSAVE I HAVE EVER MADE. He's on me like a sack of shit, every load... I'm fucked. My last proper save was back in Whiterun, I have wasted the last hour or so. A few tries later, and frustration that I may have lost my efforts I run as soon as my game loads... off the tower I go, onto the cliffside, into the river. I'm free!!! He's up there... i'm down here. I swim to the other side to safety. There is no chance in hell he can disobey Skyrim's rules and copy what I did to follow me. To get to me he must travel through the entire tower.
That's it, I'm done here. Back to Whiterun I must go to collect my reward, and i'll never be going to Valtheim Towers ever again. On my way back, it comes... my lifeline... my one chance to defeat him while i'm still here. As I make my way back, I see a travelling merchant accompanied by heavy armored brutes. Any other time my thoughts would be 'can I take them on, steal their gear?' Not this time, my thoughts right now were 'please be travelling past Valtheim Towers'. I walk with them, slowly. Painfully slow in fact, but I stick with it. There's a junction on the right, if they pass that, then they must be heading towards Valtheim Towers? Sure enough, they pass it. This is the moment.
As we approach, I quicksave then go on ahead. The difficulty was going to be getting him to follow me (he didn't follow last time after all). I get onto the bridge, combat music hits, arrows are fired, but I run back down the stairs unharmed, back to my new merchant friend. The bodyguards are armed ready. The plan was working, and what I loved most about it was that it worked first time!
Sure enough, he runs out of the tower, the bodyguards run towards him and my decision now was to either get involved or to let them battle it out. Hell to that, this guy has given me grief for the last hour or so, I want to kill him! I run up behind as he is in combat and hit him a few times with my mace. He goes down as if I were fighting an elk. I've done it... I've beaten him!
The merchant and his men are on their way. I decide i'll let them live (as if I would have beaten them anyway). Now I can finally enter the top tower and see what's going on. Up there, I find the reason for all the commotion, and the reason my FPS dropped. Whiterun guards and bandit bodies surround tower floor... what the hell happened? How did it happen? Either way, it's not my concern, my job was done and I had plenty of good loot to get that is probably way above my level, but I felt I deserved it for the way I dealt with the whole 'battle'. What should have been a simple quest took a near 2 hours of my time in all, and I loved every bit of it. Only Requiem (and whatever other mods that were having an affect) caused this. It was great.
Oh, and the great irony of it all? There was a bandit note at the top of the tower that stated that all merchants that pass by should be killed and looted... As soon as I read it I saved and quit, as I thought the story must be posted here.
Markarth is especially fucked up, it may be the single most fucked up city in Skyrim. Any city that is more corrupt than Riften, more unstable than, well, Riften and is home to both Molag Bal and Namira cultists is not exactly a place you'd want to live. That said, a lot of the good quests there are higher level, under Requiem's rules. Anything daedric is basically level 20+, at least for a first time player, or so I've been led to believe. Cihdha Mine I don't know for sure about...but I would suspect a mine filled with dangerous bandits and Forsworn would be at least level 10
OK, my monitor probably wont be arriving for another week, give or take. This is annoying as hell, but it does give me some time to consider what mods I want to include. Since I'll be doing the video for you guys as much as my own entertainment, I thought I'd get some feedback.Realistic Needs and Diseases sounds good.
Requiem, Frostfall, Interesting NPCs, Inconsequential NPCs, Immersive Patrols/Weapons/Armor, miniHUD, Requiem Plus, some lighting and texture mods....all of those seem pretty obvious. But questions?
Realistic Needs and Diseases? I've watched some videos, and it seems less annoying/time consuming than I initially thought. But would you guys necessarily welcome the ever-potential possibility of my character starving to death and having to sleep every 18 hours or so?
Hunterborn? It's mostly compatible, but as skinning takes time, it can interact badly with RnD and Frostfall (ie; you starve and freeze while prepping the carcass). I could disable the time penalties and rely on it mostly as an alchemy overhaul....thoughts?
Hard Times? The Azirok patch makes the economy of Skyrim even more brutal. But since we're going to be playing a thief anyway, it doesn't seem like that is really an issue. It just means stealing is even more worthwhile than before.
The Dragonborn patch? Requiem doesn't officially cover the Dragonborn DLC...not yet anyway, and probably not until at least 2.0 (for reference, 1.8 is likely to be released in the next few days). Also, some people have reported that the patch made by Azirok puts the difficulty level somewhere up in the "insane" region, and adds an entirely new plot to the DLC, revolving around the usage of cursed Daedric armour to defeat Miraak. At the very least, it's a level 50+ area.
Character wise, I'm looking at specializing in stealth (obviously), somewhat into archery and one-handed, favouring archery more, pickpocket, lockpicking, light armour, alchemy and illusion. Quest wise, I'll be looking at the Thieves Guild, the Mages Guild (for Illusion and access to their library), the Imperials for the Civil War and the Dawnguard for that DLC, along with random dungeon delving in search of riches. Also no save-scumming on thievery, aside from actual quest jobs. So if I get caught, I'll do the time.
OK, so I have to ask this...am I the only person who was completely underwhelmed by Falskaar?I have not played it, but from what you are saying I won't even bother.
Yeah yeah yeah, new landmass, dungeons, questline, over 100 new NPCs, thousands of hours of work, blah blah blah. I wont deny, the guy clearly put a lot of effort into it.
But the storyline is so lacking, even by Skyrim's dire standards. The geography is clearly designed to add difficulty, rather than realism. And it's nowhere near lore-friendly. It's like your Skyrim character was dropped down into an alternate universe somewhere, which I find jarring as fuck.
I much prefer Wyrmstooth. A few unfinished elements aside (those fucking ingots), you have a fun questline (recruiting the mercs is enjoyable), a fairly sensible if not spectacular plot, and it's much more lore-friendly.
OK, so I have to ask this...am I the only person who was completely underwhelmed by Falskaar?
Yeah yeah yeah, new landmass, dungeons, questline, over 100 new NPCs, thousands of hours of work, blah blah blah. I wont deny, the guy clearly put a lot of effort into it.
But the storyline is so lacking, even by Skyrim's dire standards. The geography is clearly designed to add difficulty, rather than realism. And it's nowhere near lore-friendly. It's like your Skyrim character was dropped down into an alternate universe somewhere, which I find jarring as fuck.
I much prefer Wyrmstooth. A few unfinished elements aside (those fucking ingots), you have a fun questline (recruiting the mercs is enjoyable), a fairly sensible if not spectacular plot, and it's much more lore-friendly.
No problem. And I feel your pain...I'm currently downloading all 11.3 gigs of the game onto the new computer...and for some reason (namely updating Windows) its going at about 110 kb/s. So, 4 days according to Steam.
Well, I was gonna use this weekend to catch up on my writing a bit anyway...
Oh, and Requiem 1.8 dropped. But, of course, many of the patches have not been updated to take into account the changes from the new version.
So I logged onto /r/requiem today, and found 50 new topics, all on a variation of "stuff doesn't work, halp". I am amused.
I really haven't had much of a chance to experiment with it, sadly. My laptop could handle it, but it felt kinda...sluggish in places.
From what I did play though. my feeling was that it was very much like an Infinity Engine game in terms of combat and exploration. Better animations and more options, of course, but otherwise much the same. It really does feel like an updated version of Icewind Dale or BG2.
Also, I think we were talking about watch dogs a while back, what's your take on this review?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw9cwOcdqs4
(spoiler heavy).
Seems on the money, I forgot it was ubisoft and I could kind of guess the problems ahead as soon as I heard that.
Also, I know you're not a console player, but I'm hearing from people who are some very bad things about Destiny. Most of which I can confirm via watching some footage myself. Don't believe the hype. Borderlands IN SPACE with Peter Dinklage's voice telling you to kill things sounds amazing, on the face of it. It's repetitive, grindy, pretty to look at but utterly uninspired in story, gameplay or progression.
Also, I know you're not a console player, but I'm hearing from people who are some very bad things about Destiny. Most of which I can confirm via watching some footage myself. Don't believe the hype. Borderlands IN SPACE with Peter Dinklage's voice telling you to kill things sounds amazing, on the face of it. It's repetitive, grindy, pretty to look at but utterly uninspired in story, gameplay or progression.
Oh shit, really?
I loved the hell out of Diablo 2 (and 1. I am horribly old) so it's almost tempting to have another look at it. I just have very little faith left in Blizzard/Activision after the continuous bouts of dumb. Remember Real ID? No way that could have gone horribly wrong. If they drop that always online bullshit required for a single player game, I'll probably throw cash at it and hate myself accordingly. It's clearly a very different environment from the old Blizzard North days but I guess the basics of a Skinner box aren't exactly hard to replicate.
Oh shit, really?
I loved the hell out of Diablo 2 (and 1. I am horribly old) so it's almost tempting to have another look at it. I just have very little faith left in Blizzard/Activision after the continuous bouts of dumb. Remember Real ID? No way that could have gone horribly wrong. If they drop that always online bullshit required for a single player game, I'll probably throw cash at it and hate myself accordingly. It's clearly a very different environment from the old Blizzard North days but I guess the basics of a Skinner box aren't exactly hard to replicate.
Yeah, I revisit Blizzard games for nostalgia purposes only. D3 isn't as terrible as I thought. They have a trial version that allows you to take each class up to level 13, so you can get a feel for it. Pretty reminiscent of DII, but not worth the price of admission, for me anyone.
I can understand why they made that choice though - in any game where any sort of choice is available, the costs for voice-acting quickly spiral out of control, as you have to multiply the responses at the very least to match the number of options, if not more so. I also suspect Bethesda were hedging their bets on whether this would be a success or not, and once it proved to be popular, were more willing to cough up extra money for it in the DLC.
But voice-acting in RPGs is definitely a tricky one. I'm OK with not having a voiced protagonist, so long as the options to express character are there in the dialogue options (like the original Baldurs Gate, for example). But having a voice definitely helps, especially if you're taking on a character with an established history and background.
That game above, the one that is apparently set in England, that looks AMAZING awesome!
That game above, the one that is apparently set in England, that looks AMAZING awesome!
Also, did you mention a mod that gets rid of spiders? I looked in this thread and didn't see it, and searching by tags or "spider" didn't help on the mod site.
Yeah, definitely broke PerMa:
(https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10409101_965447876814794_1197770396365589527_n.jpg?oh=8be76258a6f43c0e1b2b5b8d30562cf6&oe=5486F869)
Also, had to remove Skyrim Immersive Creatures. A shame, but it was producing a 100% reproducible crashes at the Halted Stream Camp. Maybe it was the combination of that location and another mod and SIC, but either way, it was annoying the shit out of me.
OK. I've found the limits of my new machine.:lol:
Using Dawn of Riften (a great city overhaul which adds a lot of clutter and rats to Riften)
Under attack by a Master Vampire.
Followed by an attack by a Thief (which, amusingly, seems to be recognised as a bandit by OBIS and so has weapons, armour and stats from their level lists, leading to a bandit with a dwemer warhammer and iron banded armour trying to pickpocket people).
Followed by an attack by a dragon (improved by Deadly Dragons, Dragon Combat Overhaul).
Followed by an attack by 5 dragons (the dragon called for reinforcements).
On a system with close to 100 mods, including HD textures for dragons, static mesh improvements, weapon look improvements and changes to weapon stats and the combat system:
Will cause the frame rate to drop to very, very low levels, and possibly crash it. But it is a glorious clusterfuck in the meantime.
With the new Call of Duty being released today the game's lead developer Michael Condrey told Newsbeat: "I certainly wouldn't characterise the community of fans I know and had the pleasure to engage with as toxic or misogynistic.
"The community as a whole is very healthy, engaged and thoughtful and probably like anything anywhere well outside of gaming.
Gamergaters
Can of Worms Status Update: opened.Ay, If the harassment crowd could be dropped into an oubliette, you'd get a clear portrait of valid gripes, where pretty much all large gaming media sites are a pay for positive review for whatever iterative shit comes out. Of course these gripes are and remain Indistinguishable from the ethics in movie reporting via large media outlets.
As far as I can see, there are two Gamergates. One is about ethics in gaming journalism (srsly). The other is about harassing women (srsly).
Sometimes those two groups overlap. Sometimes they fail to denounce the actions of so-called "allies" hard enough. But sometimes they don't.
Personally, my feeling is that it's been obvious for a long time that gaming journalism is corrupt as fuck, and the Zoe Quinn saga, while pretty blatant, is nothing especially new. The outlets most responsible for such things are quite happy to highlight the (actually horrific) harassment of female developers and game commentators, if only to avoid responsibility for their own actions.
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.
: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?
: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.
Finished first run of Pillars of Eternity.How long did it take? (please avoid spoilers, I just started)
Not bad. Not bad at all. Ending went a little sideways but that may be me.
I'm only just downloading it today (been busy with...life). From what I'm hearing though, it's a combination of the best of BG2, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment.I've got 14 hours in it now.
Finished first run of Pillars of Eternity.How long did it take? (please avoid spoilers, I just started)
Not bad. Not bad at all. Ending went a little sideways but that may be me.
I don't get the lack of respect mages get in this game, they can do insane amounts of damage. Granted, I usually hit one of my own as well but once i get some fireresistance gear for my frontline characters there won't be a problem.
Bethesda and Valve finally realised how badly they fucked up, and have backed down. No more paid mods.Good!
Yeah, lets wait until E3 and Bethesda's "big announcement" before we get too excited.This is going to be Starcraft 2 all over again, isn't it?
Fallout IV or TES VI will be unveiled there, I'm 99% certain (and pretty certain its the former). Having learnt from this event, Bethesda will likely try to rig things from the start next time, instead of come in much later and try to take over. We will have to see how the next game goes.
Bethesda and Valve finally realised how badly they fucked up, and have backed down. No more paid mods.
http://www.pog.com/games/tonight_miley_cyrus
HAIL ERIS
So I made a mod
http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/66376/?
It's nothing fancy, and more to deal with my own arachnophobia than anything else, but someone here might like it, I dunno.
If you're going to play modded Skyrim...it will eat all of your free time.
Especially if you install those mods I linked to there. That's an extra 50 hours of gameplay, right there.
GIVE UP YOUR DEGREE AND PLAY MODDED SKYRIM FOR A LIVING.
It's called twitch.tv
Then it would be work.
If you're going to play modded Skyrim...it will eat all of your free time.
Especially if you install those mods I linked to there. That's an extra 50 hours of gameplay, right there.
Things I've learned from the response to the Fallout 4 launch:
1) Any sequel to anything which has mod support will forever more just be 'that last game but with mods!'
2) Having a character who has a family is something Bethesda should be ashamed of because it means they can't be gay.
3) Including tongue-in-cheek references to McCarthyism in a game set in a stylized 1950s world is worth getting angry about.
4) The Witcher 3 has rendered Fallout obsolete because there were more models on the screen.
5) Including the ability for NPCs to use 1000 pre-selected names in spoken dialogue is awful because they won't include names like 'Jemimah' or 'Epiphany' or 'Sir General Fuckwad 97'
6) Programmers shouldn't be allowed to appear to have rehearsed their presentation - that makes it too 'Corporate'
7) Crafting systems are literally the devil.
8) Lack of mention for modders mean there is no respect at bethesda for modders.
9) Fallout is now officially 'just another FPS'.
10) I fucking hate internet comments.
I picked that up in the Steam sale, but still have yet to play it :(The combat is great, the tactical element in battles is damn good though some mods really help the UI.
Everyone likes Morrowind.That sounds very good, I might have to start playing again.
Though I'll admit I'm waiting for Skywind to be released, because it has dated quite badly in terms of playability and UI.
Morrowloot basically delevels loot like Morrowind, so instead of upon getting to level 45 everyone has ebony weapons and you're finding daedric loot in every boss chest, items are handplaced into the world space regardless of level. So bandits will only rarely carry anything above steel, and nothing above orcish/scale (for bandit bosses). Elven and dwarven weapons and armour are only available on Thalmor patrols or in dwemer ruins, as well as on occasional bandit chiefs or in boss chests. Glass and Ebony items are all handplaced in the world and will only be found on major faction leaders or bosses. Orcs have Orcish armour. Dunmer wear Chitin, Bonemold or Glass. Daedric items are truly legendary, with only a single set existing in game, unless you craft it yourself (and additional restrictions are placed on that. Namely, night time, Skyforge and completion of a certain quest). Basically, if you want better tier material, you're going to have to go into (logically) dangerous places and fight things for it.
This iteration of Morrowloot is a bit better than previous ones, because it also delevels the encounter zones, meaning you can face very tough enemies early on. It also nerfs smithing improvements and gives additional damage to higher tier weapons, so you wont feel gimped when you find an ebony blade but can improve a steel weapon to do the same damage. Armour is similarly improved. Potions cannot be spammed, each one overwrites the effect of the previous one, and they have an effect over time. And this mod was made with compatibility in mind...it's easy to ruin Morrowloot's sense of balance by installing something like Immersive Weapons or Armour which will reintroduce levelled loot.
Oh and it reintroduces some specific items from earlier games. So far I've only found the Sanguine Amulet of Smithing, but the entire Sanguine set from Morrowind is around...somewhere.
"Fate leads him who follows it, and drags him who resist." -Plutarch
Though Sarevok is dead and his plan for war averted, peace eludes the citizens of Baldur's Gate. A crusade marches from the north, seizing supplies, forcing locals into military service, and disrupting trade along the Sword Coast. A charismatic warrior known as the Shining Lady leads this army, her background shrouded in mystery. Can the rumors be true—is she, like you, the child of a god?
The closer you get to the Shining Lady, the more you realize your father, the dead Lord of Murder still casts a long shadow upon your path. Baldur's Gate has put its faith in you, but you must determine whose interests you truly serve before you face the Shining Lady among the ruins of Dragonspear Castle...
Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear adds a new chapter to the Bhaalspawn saga. The events occurring between Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II are at last revealed in this 25-hour expansion pack for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition.
I just finished Metal Gear V (for real this time as opposed to the first two fake outs) and it was a complete headfuck, as metal gear dramatic twists go its actually pretty downplayed, still not sure what to make of it.
It'd be easier if there were other games on this POS. Hm.
TO THE INTARWEBS
Despite the yoga pants/bath towel sections, I have to say, if you're a fan of horror, that Until Dawn is pretty good.
I really can't say too much without spoiling the plot, but it's very story driven, multiple branching choices, QTEs for action. But the story...it's a pretty good story, more than good enough to make up for the uninspired gameplay aspects. Maybe pushing credibility in a couple of places, but taken in all together...yeah, I approve.
Those remakes were a goddamn mess. My old ps2 silent hill 2 copy still gets a play through once every year or so. Its still one of my favourite games of all time.
Yeah, true.
Then again, I probably don't need to mod it in order to drink 100 bottles of Skooma and transcend timespace, which was my original plan.
Yeah, true.
Then again, I probably don't need to mod it in order to drink 100 bottles of Skooma and transcend timespace, which was my original plan.
:lulz:
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I'll give them a look.
Also, FUCK YOU CIVILIZATION. I WANNA PLAY THE MONGOLS IN A 4 COUNTRY GAME.
Good thing Civ 5 is on sale on Amazon. 15 doll hairs, HELL YES.
You assume I have a portable machine to play with. Or internet.
I'll just be over here, playing Angry Birds.
No.
Play League of Legends, the userbase is super welcoming and friendly.
You assume I have a portable machine to play with. Or internet.
ENJOY YOUR BASIC ASS GAME
OK, just want some feedback on visual quality here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmSDS3Rt6EM&feature=youtu.be). For some reason, I cannot use OBS to do recordings, and Shadowplay, as wonderful as it is, uses a variable framerate which desyncs the audio. So I'm trying out recording with fraps as the alternative.
I actually have the elder scrolls online (on xbox one).
I am gonna reinstall it and give it another go. If anyone has it and wants to team up, let me know.
For the first time in years, I have a gaming rig. Skyrim is downloaded, modding best practice is being researched.
For the first time in years, I have a gaming rig. Skyrim is downloaded, modding best practice is being researched.
I am dying so often. It is awesome.
I am dying so often. It is awesome.
That does sound like Requiem at work. Mage = arrow to the face experience. Warrior = magic to the face experience. Rogue = all your sneak attacks failing because ROBOTS AND UNDEAD AND ALIENS DON'T HAVE DISCERNIBLE ANATOMY and then getting rekt experience.
Bears in Requiem do have a warning distance (they had one in vanilla too, but it was never properly implemented). So long as you don't threaten it by drawing a weapon or moving closer in its threat zone, it should just stroll on by.
Sabre cats, now...that's a different story. They will be actively stalking you through all that grass. They have a delightful knockdown attack, btw.
Rust is getting slightly more fun as I figure it out. Still not sure if it's for me, though.
Rust is getting slightly more fun as I figure it out. Still not sure if it's for me, though.
Have you tried 'the Stanley parable' (it may be called something similar)
In an unrelated note, cities skylines is about the best simcity type game I've ever encountered. Strongly recommended.
Hoping for a firm date for mount and blade bannerlord soon. The siege mechanics look hilarious and the modding community is pretty solid. High expectations, and even if not met will be remedied by the community in short order.
I'm not sure if it got a release, but the "Museum of Simulation Technology" may be of interest to you. Puzzle game based around perspective.
Bethesda released their Creative Kills video for Dishonored 2 the other day as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrBJom2VZis
Emily's Domino skill is so damn dirty. When I saw the E3 gameplay demo, I have to say the potential of that power was pretty exciting to me. Seems like there's almost no limit to the kind of status effects you can link onto people, push, stun grenades and kills with blades all seem to work just as well.
It appears they've also revamped non-lethal to make it a bit easier and more viable. The talent trees will apparently have nonlethal options built into them.
I started the Dark Souls 3 DLC but when I'm done I'll try it out.
Tried a high chaos, stealth, Mostly Flesh and Steel run of Dishonored 2 as Emily Kaldwin. Quite a different experience of the game, without powers to solve every problem. And of course, since I was aiming for stealth (not complete ghost runs, though I got a couple of them), I couldn't just gun down problems either.
It was satisfying though, taking down witches and Clockwork Soldiers and Duke Luka Abele and Delilah without resorting to the Outsider's cheap tricks. All crossbow, grenades, stun mines and sword, all the way. And all those collected runes should set me up nicely for a NG+ (if it works that way).
And in his conquest against the blackened souls of the doomed, his prowess was shown. In his crusade, the seraphim bestowed upon him terrible power and speed, and with his might he crushed the obsidian pillars of the Blood Temples. He set forth without pity upon the beasts of the nine circles. Unbreakable, incorruptible, unyielding, the Doom Slayer sought to end the dominion of the dark realm.
I heard very good things about the new Doom. I'm not entirely surprised though, id Software are pretty damn good at what they do, and John Carmack definitely knows a thing or two about first person shooters, to put it mildly. What's more amazing to my mind is that he was at the cutting edge in the early 90s, and he's somehow stayed there right up to the present and his work with Oculus Rift. Pretty impressive, has to be said.
Isn't Nioh the game where you play a weaboo that is, ironically, made by a Japanese company?
Incidentally, my next Morrowind playthrough, in 2020 or whenever, is going to be an Argonian n'wahaboo. He's going to join House Redoran and the Temple, refuse to use non-Dunmer weapons, ignore slavery and lawfully non-cooperate with Imperial authorities.
I am hearing that the cartridge for the new Zelda game tastes bad.
Why this particular trait was tested, I do not know.
I am hearing that the cartridge for the new Zelda game tastes bad.
Why this particular trait was tested, I do not know.
Keep dogs from chewing it up?
As far as I know, a bittering agent was added specifically so that tiny children (and presumably pets as well) would not be so quick to use their incredible powers of putting literally everything that isn't food into their mouths.
This has resulted in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of grown-ass adults tasting pieces of plastic.
Jesus fucking Christ I forgot how much of a pain in the arse modding Skyrim is. Someone remind me in like, 2 weeks time, to make a backup of my Mod Organiser folder, so I never have to do this bullshit again.
On the plus side, this does mean I have successfully weeded out a bunch of legacy mods that were proving increasingly difficult to patch for. But still...urgh.
Nigel, you should see if you can do a PhD on Zelda. Then it's research.
Jesus fucking Christ I forgot how much of a pain in the arse modding Skyrim is. Someone remind me in like, 2 weeks time, to make a backup of my Mod Organiser folder, so I never have to do this bullshit again.
On the plus side, this does mean I have successfully weeded out a bunch of legacy mods that were proving increasingly difficult to patch for. But still...urgh.
Nigel, you should see if you can do a PhD on Zelda. Then it's research.
There was a two year period of my life where I beat games in this order:
Dark souls 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, bloodborne, bloodborne, 1, 3, 3
GOD I LOVE THEM SO MUCH
-snip-
I'm looking for a good PS4 tower defense game. I've played Defense Grid 2, it was awesome. Any suggestions?
Jesus fucking Christ I forgot how much of a pain in the arse modding Skyrim is. Someone remind me in like, 2 weeks time, to make a backup of my Mod Organiser folder, so I never have to do this bullshit again.
On the plus side, this does mean I have successfully weeded out a bunch of legacy mods that were proving increasingly difficult to patch for. But still...urgh.
Nigel, you should see if you can do a PhD on Zelda. Then it's research.
And that is why I stopped playing Skyrim. I'll stop playing and then decide I should start play again but all the mods are broken for some reason and HOURS of work and fuck it I'll just go wander around in Dark Souls.
Jesus fucking Christ I forgot how much of a pain in the arse modding Skyrim is. Someone remind me in like, 2 weeks time, to make a backup of my Mod Organiser folder, so I never have to do this bullshit again.
On the plus side, this does mean I have successfully weeded out a bunch of legacy mods that were proving increasingly difficult to patch for. But still...urgh.
Nigel, you should see if you can do a PhD on Zelda. Then it's research.
And that is why I stopped playing Skyrim. I'll stop playing and then decide I should start play again but all the mods are broken for some reason and HOURS of work and fuck it I'll just go wander around in Dark Souls.
Last year it was discovered that a lot of "stable" mods...are not. ugridstoload, Duel....a shit ton of others I can't recall. And then USLEEP was released and while most modders changed their dependencies to account for it, old mods like SkyRe have not been.
I will say if you want a simple plug and play approach to mods, Enai Sinaon's stuff is great. Ordinator (perks) plus Imperious (races) plus Apocalypse (spells) plus Thunderchild (shouts) plus Sacrosanct (vampires) plus Aurora (standing stones) open up so many different playstyles, are stable, have low script-load and requires virtually no patching. Throw in USLEEP, Campfire/Frostfall, Immersive Weapons/Armours, Interesting NPCs/Inigo/Arissa and a combat mod of your choice and you're good to go. Plus he deserves some respect, the amount of bullshit nonsense he has to put up with from people who took a perk and complain that the perk did exactly what it said it did is unbelievable.
I'm currently trying to work on the Requiem overhaul, which is a bit trickier because it requires patches for a lot of stuff. Not everything, not as bad as it used to be, and lots of stuff is incompatible anyway. But it requires a bit more attention to detail.
And yeah, sometimes I just say "fuck this shit" and boot up Inquisition. Throw on Walk Softly and it might as well be a Souls game, "defeat the mage with infinite barrier who spams Fade Cloak to become invulnerable every 2 seconds...in your first fight outside of the opening sequence."
This is how it starts. This time next month you'll be deep into a Boku no Pico marathon session while ordering waifu pillow slips from eBay, with no end in sight.
This is how it starts. This time next month you'll be deep into a Boku no Pico marathon session while ordering waifu pillow slips from eBay, with no end in sight.
This is how it starts. This time next month you'll be deep into a Boku no Pico marathon session while ordering waifu pillow slips from eBay, with no end in sight.
I've immunized myself by applying steady doses of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
This is how it starts. This time next month you'll be deep into a Boku no Pico marathon session while ordering waifu pillow slips from eBay, with no end in sight.
I've immunized myself by applying steady doses of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Nani the fuck did you just fucking iimasu about watashi, you chiisai bitch desuka? Watashi’ll have anata know that watashi graduated top of my class in Nihongo 3, and watashi’ve been involved in iroirona Nihongo tutoring sessions, and watashi have over sanbyaku perfect test scores. Watashi am trained in kanji, and watashi is the top letter writer in all of southern California. Anata are nothing to watashi but just another weaboo. Watashi will korosu anata the fuck out with vocabulary the likes of which has never been mimasu’d before on this continent, mark watashino fucking words. Anata thinks anata can get away with hanashimasing that kuso to watashi over the intaaneto? Omou again, fucker. As we hanashimasu, watashi am contacting watashino secret netto of otakus across the USA, and anatano IP is being traced right now so you better junbishimasu for the ame, ujimushi. The ame that korosu’s the pathetic chiisai thing anata calls anatano life. You’re fucking shinimashita’d, akachan.
Just saw the Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer trailer. Looks promising. As I'm sure you all know, I played the shit out of Mass Effect 3's multiplayer (over 2000 hours), and while it was simple, in comparison to say Battlefield or CoD, it had a certain amount of variety in weapons and characters that made it very replayable. It looks like they've applied the same formula to Andromeda. 4 player co-op, shared XP, 10 waves of increasingly difficult battles against enemies, extra objectives on certain waves. Also 25 characters, 5 maps and all the base weapons on launch (which appear to be the majority of weapons in Mass Effect 3...so possibly 40+ guns).
Once I get my hands on the demo tomorrow, I'll play the shit out of the MP and give further impressions.
Just saw the Mass Effect: Andromeda multiplayer trailer. Looks promising. As I'm sure you all know, I played the shit out of Mass Effect 3's multiplayer (over 2000 hours), and while it was simple, in comparison to say Battlefield or CoD, it had a certain amount of variety in weapons and characters that made it very replayable. It looks like they've applied the same formula to Andromeda. 4 player co-op, shared XP, 10 waves of increasingly difficult battles against enemies, extra objectives on certain waves. Also 25 characters, 5 maps and all the base weapons on launch (which appear to be the majority of weapons in Mass Effect 3...so possibly 40+ guns).
Once I get my hands on the demo tomorrow, I'll play the shit out of the MP and give further impressions.
Me3 was different... just the fact that you were cooperating with random internet strangers instead of blowing them up.. it was a whole different culture. Really smart design.
(http://i.imgur.com/xCb4mpk.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/xCb4mpk.png)
Reports from the multiplayer front:
1) Pugs are just as terrible as expected. I've played about 15 matches tonight, and been on maybe 3 good teams, possibly another two I'd class as competent.
2) Pugs love to broadcast the sound of themselves eating, or the sounds coming out of their speakers. Thankfully, Bioware has implemented a mute option.
That belief is preferable to the reality. Later tonight I'll put up some gameplay from a couple of matches.
That belief is preferable to the reality. Later tonight I'll put up some gameplay from a couple of matches.
Excellent. I hope that I am able to maintain my preferred illusion throughout watching them.
You should see the videos of the matches I never posted. Like the guy who had his mic next to a fan and his speakers, ensuring all I could hear was the constant sound of the game coming back at me from 2 seconds ago, and a lot of static.
This is why player mute is such a godsend.
And that's without going into the ME3MP matches I've had. I've been in games where I have scored 90K by round 6, with everyone else not even scoring 10K. 90K can easily be an end of game score, and none of that was because I was great - they were just that bad. I've revived people 15 times before round 3 is over. I've soloed half the entire match because people died that fast and didn't bring medigel to revive.
There's a reason I said pugland was the truest test of your mettle.
This is how it starts. This time next month you'll be deep into a Boku no Pico marathon session while ordering waifu pillow slips from eBay, with no end in sight.
I've immunized myself by applying steady doses of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Nani the fuck did you just fucking iimasu about watashi, you chiisai bitch desuka? Watashi’ll have anata know that watashi graduated top of my class in Nihongo 3, and watashi’ve been involved in iroirona Nihongo tutoring sessions, and watashi have over sanbyaku perfect test scores. Watashi am trained in kanji, and watashi is the top letter writer in all of southern California. Anata are nothing to watashi but just another weaboo. Watashi will korosu anata the fuck out with vocabulary the likes of which has never been mimasu’d before on this continent, mark watashino fucking words. Anata thinks anata can get away with hanashimasing that kuso to watashi over the intaaneto? Omou again, fucker. As we hanashimasu, watashi am contacting watashino secret netto of otakus across the USA, and anatano IP is being traced right now so you better junbishimasu for the ame, ujimushi. The ame that korosu’s the pathetic chiisai thing anata calls anatano life. You’re fucking shinimashita’d, akachan.
(http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/094/464/da0.jpg)
I thought I was having a stroke. Then I realized the truth was so much worse.
How's Ingress these days? I haven't touched it since a year post beta. Are they still releasing those awful-acting-and-writing plot videos? those are something else
Speaking of complex modding, I'm attempting to mod Oblivion. Nothing fancy, just a bajillion bugfixes, crash fixes, a new levelling system, a new UI and up to date graphics.
Should be a piece of cake
:lulz:
Finally made my way through Andromeda.
Meh.
7 patches later, and the game is mostly as it should have been when it was shipped, though the multiplayer is still an unholy mess of bad netcode and grind designed to lure you into microtransactions.
With the exception of maybe Drack, who is basically Wrex 2.0, and Reyes Vidal (voiced by the always excellent Nicholas Boulton), none of the characters stand out, except perhaps to piss you off. It's not clear that any of your actions have any impact, at least in this game. The "story-rich" side quests seem designed to actively piss you off...I actually took a break from the game after doing the now infamous "Contagion" questline (which makes you backtrack over what feels like the entire cluster for very little payoff in terms of story or anything else).
Ironically, some of the best content may be the stuff we never see, or is only alluded to. The "Ryder family secrets" and fate of the Quarian Ark, while obvious sequel bait, have a lot more potential than anything else we see in the entire game.
The combat is also pretty fun. I've been doing a Insanity difficulty vanguard run, mostly to show up the whiners who are all "you have to sniper on the higher difficulties" weenies. You can effectively chain invincibility frames from biotic charge, nova and the (asari sword) melee which, along with the saving barrier upgrade and vanguard profile siphoning strikes makes you unkillable.
But yeah, if you're going to play it, just do the main quest, which is mostly OK, though nothing amazing, and the companion quests. Everything else just isn't worth it.
I think I picked up Witcher 3 for like, £5 on Steam a while back. Should actually give it a try, since my GPU can now probably handle it.
It's just odd that this is the tipping point for gamer outrage, like hey it's okay to throw us over a barrel with loot boxes, half finished games, rushed AAA titles, main game content withheld as DLC, dishonest gameplay trailers and promises - but don't withhold Darth Vader.
If it were a legitimate push to be smarter consumers I'd be all for it. By all means let's stop pre-ordering everything and quit buying games just because that's what everybody else is playing. But the demand here seems to be to have our hype based game grabs fulfilled without condition.
This is why I only play single player games that are 2-5 years old and I buy on sale. Witcher 3 is going great, everyone, really loving the Blood and Wine expansion.
Vidya Gaem shit I am paying attention to:
Dark Souls 1 is getting a remaster. Now maybe we can have a proper PC port that doesn't require a mod to run adequately.
Oh, and we also killed a Dragon Priest. I wanted the Krosis mask, for more empowered alchemy cheese, so I went up to Shearpoint Peak, and when Krosis popped out I frenzied him and went invisible. This led to the dragon perched on the Word Wall attacking him and while it didn't kill Krosis, it brought him down to about 1/3rd health before Krosis' staff of fireballs finally killed it. I finished him off by casting Rout on him and making him run into a pack of ice wraiths who, after being frenzied, happily killed him off.
But honestly I have no idea, as I've not played Fortnite.
I did play Dragon Age Origins for the first time in forever, after discovering that half my profile achievements had been wiped. Breaking news: Golems of Amgarrak is still the hardest fight in the series (Gurd Harofsen in Jaws of Hakkon being a close second). I had to turn the difficulty down to Hard to complete it, because I didn't go in properly prepared :(
It is, and yes, I'm not sure how well Bethesda will handle that. ESO did give us some new Khajiti lore which wasn't entirely terrible, and could figure into a game plot quite easily...but I'm not sure how well Bethesda will handle a non-human, non-mer centered game. Personally I think Valenwood would've been boring, possibly after spending hours grinding my way through those zones in ESO and wanting to die every step of the way, but between the well established lore, the lack of VA issues and the potential for a Thalmor-Empire proxy war, it seemed like an obvious option. Same for Hammerfell, only even more so.
It's also possible I'm completely wrong. I shied away from it being Summerset Isle because of the mountains and arid landscape, but a lot can change in a thousand years, and Summerset was hit hard by the Oblivion Crisis. Equally, it could be the coast of Valenwood...but I think if it were they would focus far more heavily on the forest theme. I mean, the game's Valenwood, so gotta show the woods themselves, right? Hammerfell...eh, if it was the Craglorn region, maybe, as there are some quite fertile areas around there, it does actually strongly remind me of the region around Dragonstar, but it's landlocked. Doesn't look at all like High Rock, I very much doubt they'd go back to Morrowind...it could maybe be Black Marsh, as we don't really see the coastal regions of it in ESO, only the northern region of Stormhold, on the Morrowind border.
Or maybe they're actually going to break with tradition and do something genuinely new with TESVI. Yokuda, Atmora, Thras...Akavir? I highly doubt it, but anything's possible.
So yeah, my guesses in order of preference are Elseweyr, Black Marsh and Valenwood. One thing they did say is that they were waiting for the technology to make certain things possible that they wanted to do with TESVI, which I think had everyone thinking Valenwood (walking tree cities). But maybe they wanted it for something else.
I'll be interested to see how In Your Heart Shall Burn plays out.
funny you should mention it, I just started a new Dual Weapon rogue in Inquisition. What do you think are the go-to perks I should take?
Purchased Pathfinder: Kingmaker.
Looks like it could be what NWN was originally promised to be, before Bioware decided having a "plot" or "engaging characters" or "workable tools for controlling a party" was too much work and just decided to hawk the Aurora Toolset. Well, with Pathfinder rules instead of 3rd ed., but we all know Pathfinder is D&D 3.75 Edition. Also with kingdom management, for those Civilization fans out there.
Anyway, give me some OP Pathfinder builds. By all accounts the game hews very closely to the PnP version, so I assume meta builds in PnP would work fine in the game, for the most part.
But we're shinobis now, and we live a life of pain and piss.And running along the tops of walls.
I'm pre-horny for Elden Ring, the From Soft + George R R Martin project.
Ah I never played those other Larian games, though I know they generally have a good rep, but I also know that turn-based gameplay is a big point of contention with the BG community.I'm pre-horny for Elden Ring, the From Soft + George R R Martin project.
Same. I remember there were rumours, but everyone kinda brushed them off and said "nah".
The thing is, when people say "Obsidian" they actually just mean "Josh Sawyer" anyway, who will probably end up with a freelance consulting gig on the game, much like he did for Pathfinder: Kingmaker.
Alkosh. The Dragon King. The Highmane. He was granted rule over the myriad kingdoms of Akha along the Many Paths. In time, the children of Akha overthrew him and scattered his body on the West Wind. It is said that when Khenarthi learned this, she flew across the Many Paths and put Alkosh back together. In doing so, she saw all the things Akha had wrought, including those that should not be. Now, Alkosh and Khenarthi safeguard the Many Paths from the wayward children of Akha. Pray to Alkosh not for his strength or his mighty roar, but for his sense of duty and purpose.
Alkhan. The Scaled Prince. Firstborn of Akha, who bred with a demon of fire and shadow. He can devour the souls of those he kills to grow to an immense size. The songs tell us Alkhan was slain by Lorkhaj and his companions, but as an immortal Son of Akha he will return from the Many Paths in time. He is the enemy of Alkosh, Khenarthi, and Lorkhaj, and ever hungers for his crown.
Boethra. The Warrior of the East and West. She is the mate of Mafala, who did not forget her love for Boethra after Ahnurr sent her into exile for her rebellious nature. Boethra walked the Many Paths in exile, and she returned. It was she who pried the eye from Magrus, and this is why Khajiit value swords as well as claws. There is no need for a True Cat to pray to Boethra, as you honor this spirit merely by walking the Path, and only hiding in order to pounce. It is forbidden to say her name on nights of the Ghost Moon, as during these phases Boethra dons the death-shroud of Lorkhaj and wages war beyond the Lattice.
Mafala. The Teaching Mother. Elder Spirit and the Keeper of the Ancient Secrets of Fadomai. These were the secrets her children only needed in the beginning, and it was Mafala that carried them down. She watches over Eight of the Many Paths, each of which a Khajiit must walk in time. Mafala aids the Clan Mothers in guiding the Khajiiti people along the Path and protecting our secrets from Others. She is an ally of Azurah, Boethra, and Lorkhaj. Her numbers are Eight and Sixteen, and these are two of her keys.
Lorkhaj. The Moon Beast. Born of the dark heart of Lorkhaj, which overcame him after he suffered a great betrayal. In his wisdom, Lorkhaj sought his sister Azurah, who tore the darkness from him before it consumed him and cast it into the Void. We know this shade of Lorkhaj as the first of the Dro-m'Athra, who serve the Ur-Dra Namiira, our enemy. The Moon Beast prowls the edges of the Lattice and pounces on Khajiit who stray too far off the Path. Know that on nights of the Ghost Moon, Azurah has opened the Void Gate and the Moon Beast will challenge mortals until banished. We accept this burden as part of the Path, and for the sake of our Lost Kin.
So, having played Dragonhold, I have to revise my theory. Khajiit are secret Akaviri confirmed. At one point in the main questline, a (somewhat) friendly dragon refers to a historical Khajiit warrior with Alkosh's blessing as a toshrahka.
Tosh Raka is the emperor of Ka Po' Tun Akaviri in the Third Era, who planned to become a dragon and conquer the rest of Akavir and then Tamriel.
Also worth noting that the main enemy of the whole Year of the Dragon plotline, Kaalgrontid, intended to overthrow Akatosh through infusing aetherial energy in crystals in order to ascend. How does Tosh Raka intend to become a dragon? No idea, but the Nu-Manti intercept refers to "dracochrysalis" which involves "keeping elder magic bound before it could change into something lesser".
Oh also apparently Azura, Boethiah and Mephala are holding Ebonarm hostage. And Ebonarm might also be the HoonDing.
Despite most things Bethseda being a shitshow, the lore is consistently decently.
I dread the day you have to open a lootbox to learn more.
I sometimes have to gauge the probability that you're completely making this shit up and seeing if anyone pays attention.
Honestly, the "HoonDing"?
A spirit of vengeance. It has no will of its own, as it was born from Azurah's grief after the death of Fadomai and Lorkhaj. None can summon this spirit save Azurah, Boethra, and Mafala, for only they know its true name. It sometimes appears in songs as a black panther, a warrior in ebony armor, or as a hidden sword.
I've been on a terrible Bloodstained jag... it's created by the guy who made Symphony of the Night, and is kind of a love letter to that game. I think I've beaten SotN like seven times, so I HAD to get Bloodstained as soon as it was on sale. Love that metroidvania genre.
I've been on a terrible Bloodstained jag... it's created by the guy who made Symphony of the Night, and is kind of a love letter to that game. I think I've beaten SotN like seven times, so I HAD to get Bloodstained as soon as it was on sale. Love that metroidvania genre.
I thought I had posted this already...
I hope you played Blasphemous. If you like that whole SotN thing, you need to play it. Also it wipes its blood soaked, caned and lashed ass with Bloodstained, and I say this with all love for Bloodstained.
Igarashi just doesn’t have the derangement to do the shit that the Blasphemous devs did. Plain and simple.
People will tell you it’s a “Souls like.” Those people are idiots. It’s Symphony of the Night style gameplay and (for lack of a better example) Metroid Fusion style world layout but with Super Metroid progression and more early game freedom of direction than any non-open world game I have ever played — gifted with rabies and a bad attitude entirely separate from the rabies. And one-of-a-kind worldbuilding and art direction. And surprisingly quality voice work for an indie pixel game.
I would /murder/ for a sequel
Play it.
I ripped a drinking fountain off the wall with my mind and killed someone with it.
I ripped a drinking fountain off the wall with my mind and killed someone with it.
This is the only back of the box quote Control needs.
I still eagerly await you beating the Ashtray Maze, my friend.
Witcher III seems good too, I haven't played nearly as much of it. Does the TV show spoil the video game or vice versa? I've watched one episode of the TV show and it was pretty good but (being unfamilliar with the franchise) I can't really tell if it crosses the same material.
Bloodborne is officially awesome. Never before has a videogame made me to do dishes to feel like somewhat capable being.
Splurging at the end of the PS4 holiday sale, I picked up Divinity II and Witcher III. Haven't played any of the games in the serieseses leading up to these.
Divinity II feels like a spiritual successor of Baldur's Gate (which is nice, cause it's made by the company making BGIII). My friend suggested it to me, saying, "Hey, you like RPGs with a fucking shitload of stuff in them, right?" and jesus christ, he's right -- the combat is more complicated than D&D. It's a turn-based system where a lot of the abilities affect the terrain around you. One spell throws a boulder and leaves a 5 meter wide oil slick on the ground. Use your next action to hit a guy with a flaming dagger, and BOOM, the whole slick lights up, setting a portion of the battlefield on fire. Oh but if your other mage is a water-and-ice based spellcaster, that's a bad synergy, because being on fire makes people WARM, which buffs them against ICE damage, and the hailstorm spell will put out the fire. So there's a lot of things to think about, a lot of different strategies and plans you can come up with. Very tactical, very customizable. Every problem has 3 different ways of solving it. Lots of dialog options, and all the text is voice acted.
Witcher III seems good too, I haven't played nearly as much of it. Does the TV show spoil the video game or vice versa? I've watched one episode of the TV show and it was pretty good but (being unfamilliar with the franchise) I can't really tell if it crosses the same material.
Nice place you got there. Be a shame if somebody snuck in and rummaged through that basket.
Eater of clowns breaking into cains room at night, placing a pot over his head, eating his apples
You should see the Baldur's Gate forum on Reddit freaking out about this.
I'm reserving judgement - some of it could just be the artistic differences, which I will get over. Other stuff, including turn-based only action and some weirdly stilted dialogue, give me more pause. But it's pre-alpha footage at this moment, and so by definition not worth freaking out about.
Khajiit lore was great. But now we've moved on to pretending to care about Nord lore, while really caring about vampire lore. For some stupid reason.
Don't get me wrong, the Gray Host stuff is really cool and I'm glad someone dug that out of the archives to give it another look. And the implications of what the Host are doing is...interesting, to say the least. But at the same time, there's only so many variations we can have on vampires and I honestly cannot take a gothic castle in Blackreach even the tiniest bit seriously. Did the landscaping devs do a wonderful job on it? Absolutely, they always kill it and I bet it was a blast to work on. But fuck me, it's so fucking stupid conceptually.
Even worse, the ending of the DLC suggests two things. 1, they're going to the Reach with the Q4 DLC. And two, it's still going to be focused on vampires. This means less time spent on the Reachmen, which means almost invariably more "herp-a-derp Reachmen are evil don't overthink it" writing. There's literally one non-evil Reachman in the entire game, and that's done entirely to emotionally manipulate you when faced with the choice of killing him or a Nord soldier to advance the storyline.
Perhaps I'll be wrong. But given the importance of the Reach to the overall plotline of ESO (their conquest of Cyrodiil set many of the chain of events into motion, not to mention they are primary enemies in at least four major zones and two DLC dungeons), they really deserve an entire chapter devoted to them, at the very least to give them the chance to tell their side of the story. But they won't get one, if Q4 is the Reach and not Whiterun/The Pale/Winterhold.
So I have basically been out-of-my-mind obsessed with the Pathologic series by Ice-Pick Lodge. I picked up the original game on Steam for like $1.29, about a month before HBomerguy's video (https://youtu.be/JsNm2YLrk30) came out.
Imagine my feelings when I got SUPER hooked on the much-improved sequel, Pathologic 2, in the glorious year 2020. :lulz:
The games are very Russian, and center around twelve disastrous days in a village in the remote Steppe (easily understood as Russian though not explicitly stated, and the time period is likewise vague). There are three healers, a Bachelor of Medicine, a Haruspex, and a strange faith-healer girl, who all arrive on the first day in one way or another. Things are tense from the word go, as two prominent members of the community have died grisly, mysterious deaths. By Day 2, the disease is spreading.
In Pathologic 1, you could pick any of the three healers and experience the twelve days from their perspective. In Pathologic 2, they only were able to complete the Haruspex's campaign, but it's incredibly improved as a game overall.
Loss, failure, the relentless and cruel march of time, senseless and unavoidable death, avoidable deaths that are your fault, and the inability of your mortal body to keep up with the demands of the crisis (hunger, exhaustion, and infection will likely catch you before anyone else does). Rampant death and misery, and eventually a suggestion that perhaps you never had any real choices at all, despite all you've done, good or bad. Fun!
(https://res.cloudinary.com/lmn/image/upload/c_limit,h_360,w_640/e_sharpen:100/f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/v1/gameskinnyc/r/e/v/reviewcov-a4eff.jpg)
So yeah these games rule, 10/10 on the videosgame scale.
| (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/453372770257076236/725773042831196190/unknown.png) | (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/453372770257076236/725772898601533540/unknown.png) |
To convey why this is worth your time, please enjoy these screenshots of a Twitter bot that responds to people with random snippets of game dialogue.