What are you playing?

[GasBandit]

Been playing a lot of Gnomoria, obviously. My last game got trashed when I dug through down into an underground cavern and found it full of about 5000 beetles, who then just systematically chewed their way up through every level of my fortress and killed every gnome. Buh bye!

So this time, I got the idea to turn my Great Hall into a sort of "panic room." It's got the food stockpile and an adjacent-linked dormitory. And it turns out it was a good idea, because came a point when I had a 10 gnome military mostly still in bronze that I got a goblin attack led by a goblin soldier in all steel - and steel cuts through bronze like it's not even there. So I sounded the invasion alarm and got as many gnomes into the great hall as I could, then flipped the switch on the steam engine which raised the mechanical wall, sealing off this section of the fortress from the rest. Since the main stockpiles are all still accessible, I shouldn't have to deal with any tunneling goblins (yes, they do that if you wall yourself in completely so that the "raider" goblins can't get to your loot), and it will prevent the lone surviving supergoblin from killing the last 16 or so of my gnomes, until he gets hungry and thirsty enough to go home... and the rebuilding can start.

 

[AshburnerX]

Been playing a lot of Gnomoria, obviously. My last game got trashed when I dug through down into an underground cavern and found it full of about 5000 beetles, who then just systematically chewed their way up through every level of my fortress and killed every gnome. Buh bye!

Kinda of like this?



Goodbye, Beni.

 

[GasBandit]

Kinda of like this?


Goodbye, Beni.

More or less, only without them being afraid of torches, not being sealed underground, and being about 3 feet long instead of inches. Anyone who stumbles into the ruin is liable to share Benny's fate, unless they bring about 20 expert warriors clad in full steel, and even then I expect casualties

 

[Hailey Knight]

Mega Man Zero: Beat it tonight. Good game--I actually liked this more than Mega Man X. It was harder early on, but I think some of that had to do with me getting paranoid by others (not @CynicismKills but Gamefaqs forum stuff) that I was only going to have a handful of continues for the whole game and that I should save cyber elves ... so I ended up restarting levels more often than I needed to, and not getting an extra health bar/sub tanks until almost the end of the game. I think this made me better at the game though, as I made it through the boss gauntlet in one life and only died once in the final boss fight.

Spoiler

The climax/ending dialogue was interesting. Zero pretty much put the X copy in his place, and the real X showing up from the program at the end was cool.

I know I'm missing a lot from the X series plot. X2 and X3 are on Wii U, X4 and X5 are going to be on PSN in September, so hopefully I'll get caught up.

Having the dash on the L button--I really should've mapped the controls that way for Mega Man X.

 

[bhamv3]

Been playing a lot of Gnomoria, obviously. My last game got trashed when I dug through down into an underground cavern and found it full of about 5000 beetles, who then just systematically chewed their way up through every level of my fortress and killed every gnome. Buh bye!

So this time, I got the idea to turn my Great Hall into a sort of "panic room." It's got the food stockpile and an adjacent-linked dormitory. And it turns out it was a good idea, because came a point when I had a 10 gnome military mostly still in bronze that I got a goblin attack led by a goblin soldier in all steel - and steel cuts through bronze like it's not even there. So I sounded the invasion alarm and got as many gnomes into the great hall as I could, then flipped the switch on the steam engine which raised the mechanical wall, sealing off this section of the fortress from the rest. Since the main stockpiles are all still accessible, I shouldn't have to deal with any tunneling goblins (yes, they do that if you wall yourself in completely so that the "raider" goblins can't get to your loot), and it will prevent the lone surviving supergoblin from killing the last 16 or so of my gnomes, until he gets hungry and thirsty enough to go home... and the rebuilding can start.

This is probably the Dwarf Fortress player in me talking, but could you set up your panic room so that you can activate a trap (or multiple traps) to kill invaders outside your panic room? For example, when I used a panic room strategy in Dwarf Fortress, I'd try to couple it with a magma pump setup to flood the main entryway with magma. Didn't work as well as I'd've hoped (hard to get invaders to stand exactly where you want them to) but I liked it better than just sitting there twiddling my thumbs and waiting for invaders to leave.

 

[GasBandit]

This is probably the Dwarf Fortress player in me talking, but could you set up your panic room so that you can activate a trap (or multiple traps) to kill invaders outside your panic room? For example, when I used a panic room strategy in Dwarf Fortress, I'd try to couple it with a magma pump setup to flood the main entryway with magma. Didn't work as well as I'd've hoped (hard to get invaders to stand exactly where you want them to) but I liked it better than just sitting there twiddling my thumbs and waiting for invaders to leave.

You have to dig down stupid deep to get magma in Gnomoria, and pumps will only raise them 2 levels at a time. Blade and Spike traps are unlikely to penetrate steel armor, and have to be individually reset to fire again. Right now the only sure-fire instant kill traps are pitfalls and crushers, and I didn't have anything set up for it yet. Usually I rig the entrance to my walled-off area with a fancy pit-trap that kills anything unauthorized trying to get in, but I found that once I've done that, the game is pretty much "beaten" and there's nothing left to do but go around upgrading my floors and walls to solid steel to maximize its value, thus bringing in the maximum gnome population. So, the last few times I've been running games without using entrance traps as sort of a personal challenge.

 

[figmentPez]

In Brutal Legend I've now played two of the battles that let you fly to lead your troops, and I am terrible at these controls. I won the fights really easily (on Normal difficulty) but the whole time I never felt like I really knew how to order my troops around. The system feels unintuitive and clunky. In fact, I really wish it would let me pause the action, direct my troops, and then fight alongside them as they carry out my orders. Seems like that would solve a lot of the games issues.

Still, I'm having fun. It just feels like the combat is dumbed down to make up for the inherent clunkiness of the hybrid system. Maybe as the difficulty ramps up, or if I'd chosen a harder difficulty level, it'll start feeling more natural. Honestly, I'm not sure I want to learn how to use this system, because it feels like I'm fighting it as much as I'm fighting the enemies.

 

[Bowielee]

I think a lot of that has to do with the game being developed originally for consoles. There's a reason there haven't been any really good RTS games on consoles.

I'm even the "Controllers Good" guy when it comes to PC gaming, but it's really hard to implement a good RTS with that control style.

The only game that pulled it off what Brutal Legend tried to was Sacrifice, which was designed for PC and being able to hotkey a bunch of troops is pretty essential.

 

[Ravenpoe]

There's a reason there haven't been any really good RTS games on consoles.

Well, ok... this is more a good RTS that was made shit on consoles.

 

[figmentPez]

Overlord had a lot of problems, too, despite being fun. The biggest problems is how squishy your minions were in that. Near the end of the game I'd upgraded my weapon and armor so much that I just left my troops behind in a lot of cases, and just killed stuff myself.

At least it seems to be easier to get more well equipped troops in Brutal Legend. So I don't have to worry so much if my minions die.

 

[Bowielee]

I never considered Overlord to be even close to an RTS. I love those games, BTW. I saw them more as a puzzle game, but I guess it can kind of fall in that category some what.

Well, ok... this is more a good RTS that was made shit on consoles.

Starcraft is arguably one of the greatest games ever made. Starcraft 64 is a festering pile of dog vomit.

 

[GasBandit]

Any you mugs ever play Herzog Zwei?

 

[AshburnerX]

Halo Wars wasn't too bad ether.

 

[Hailey Knight]

Played more Bravely Default, to a point, and as it dawned on me what's going on and how many more hours it would take to do ... I gave up. Watched the rest on a Let's Play.

When I tried to do this for Persona 4, all it did was make me want to play the game (hell, even watching the show makes me want to play the game and waste hours grinding). In this case, I'm glad I didn't put myself through the rest of Bravely Default. The story gets really interesting for a bit, but not something I'd want to play through. Then when the truth is revealed for the final chapter ... interest dies. I was hoping for something more unique.

Spoiler

After all the interesting stuff of time loops and parallel worlds, the suspense of Airy's wings counting down to Something Bad, all of Ringabel's memories returning, giving the player enough to put pieces together themselves, too, in the end, what is the villain's big plan?

Destroy everything, recreate it in his own image.

... after all this time, we're still back at Kefka. You know, I don't mind doing the same villain stuff, but when you keep it secret until the very end, one gets expectations that something unique will be the reason behind it all. Square has three standard tropes for main villain end game stuff:

1. Gain power
2. Take over the world
3. Destroy the world (something recreate it too)

I think this is why I've come to enjoy stories in the Shin Megami Tensei games more. In the event that the villain's goal involves one of the above, it tends to be a side effect of what they really want. The stories are sometimes smaller in scale, and when you can come down from SAVE THE WORLD, you get into more diverse possibilities. In the same sense that a noire film can show the worst of humanity simply in two characters having an affair, in SMT games, an antagonist wanting to hurt someone's feelings after thousands of years, or destroy a town because of their religion, can have just as much gravity, if not more, than SAVE THE WORLD. And sometimes you do have to save the world, but it feels like a small thing compared to what's personally going on for the characters. They don't abandon who they are for the sake of SAVE THE WORLD plot. In fact, their personalities sometimes veer them towards an antagonist's goals.

And it isn't like Square's never done this. Look at Final Fantasy VIII. I don't care for that game much, but Ultimecia was unique. She did try to destroy, true, but it was part of a selfish, desperate gamble to save her own life. That was really interesting and different for Square, and for a villain who isn't shown until the very end of the game, it lent an air of tragedy to her, like she had no way out, which made the ending after you beat her gain some emotional traction (more so than I ever felt for Squall). Or from a protagonist standpoint, look at Final Fantasy Tactics, far and away my favorite Final Fantasy game. Sure, SAVE THE WORLD is in the cards, but Ramza doesn't give a shit. He's at one point willing to give the antagonists everything they need to win, in exchange for his sister Alma. He does everything for his sister.

Had the villain intent in Bravely Default been blatant knowledge early on, if Ouroboros was ever mentioned earlier, it might've not had so much build-up to what was a standard Square villain plan. But they crafted an intriguing mystery once you get past Chapter 4, only for it to end in the same tired stuff they've done so many times before. I didn't even play to that point, just watched, and I couldn't help but feel let down, like "that's it? I thought you were going to give me a short order, something different, but instead you just want the #3 meal with extra large fries and a toy."

The world-eating function in the final battle was cool, and how it tied into Streetpass was clever. I was just expecting to be wow'd and I wish I'd known not to get my expectations up.

As for gameplay, though I did get the hang of how to do combat, it just didn't keep my interest. I kind of hope they make a Bravely Default Tactics, because I would play the shit out of that. I got tired of this. And knowing what I'd have to do ... it just wasn't worth the time for me. I think I'm done with this kind of Square game. Ten years ago, I would've eaten this up, but I'm not getting into it like I used to, and any nostalgia feel I've gotten better from a friggin rhythm game than playing this. I'm just not that gamer anymore. I'm an Atlus guy now.

 

[bhamv3]

Sometimes it feels like I'm the only person in the world who's never played Starcraft.

 

[fade]

I played it but didn't like it. I don't like strategy games. They feel like a job and the last thing I want during video game time is a second job.

 

[GasBandit]

My dad was bonkers for starcraft for a long time.

 

[DarkAudit]

All I ever have time for anymore is Quest for Stuff or Tapped Out if I'm lucky.

 

[CynicismKills]

Sometimes it feels like I'm the only person in the world who's never played Starcraft.

I think they can kick you out of Asia for that.

 

[PatrThom]

I played it but didn't like it. I don't like strategy games. They feel like a job and the last thing I want during video game time is a second job.

I played it and like it, but the difficulty difference between the one-dimensional A.I. and online competition is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo vaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast.

--Patrick

 

[GasBandit]

Gnomoria -

Had to use the panic room again. I'd gotten my guards upgraded with mostly steel equipment, and was able to resist two further raids by soldier-led goblins. But finally a raid arrived again that was too much - TWO completely-steel-equipped soldiers, two 2-headed ogres, and various support and raider goblins. I sortied out my squad of guards to attack, thinking they might have a chance if they could cut through the lower goblins quickly then hold the line against the two soldiers and two DoubleOgres, but much to my consternation my vaunted steel breastplates finally started to give out under multiple axe-chops and ogre-kicks.

My gnomes took a few goblins down, but when it became clear the tide was turning against them, I sorrowfully had the civilians who had fled to the great hall throw the panic switch, sealing the only entrance. I'd already had the ambassadorial quarters moved into a new wing off the great hall, as last time they were stuck in the panic room for a couple days, the Ambassadors got a little stroppy about not having access to their private rooms. Some gnomes have no sense of priorities. In any case, they saw little change in their day-to-day routine of lounging in the hall till they got hungry, then eating till they got thirsty, then drinking til they passed out. Only difference is there were about 25 more gnomes than usual in the great hall to do so with them.

My last two guards had split up, Drogan was doing his best to hold the overwhelming horde at bay long enough for Jess to get to the infirmary and bandage up the stump that used to be her left arm, but the weight of numbers soon told the tale, and Drogan was hewn asunder. The goblins took a scant few minutes to bash down the fortress' front door, then the infirmary door, where they fell upon Jess. After that, the Raider goblins got to work taking down my warehouse door while the soldiers and ogres went outside to entertain themselves with my livestock. 17 yaks and 14 alpacas were all put to the axe, with one lone alpaca surviving simply by virtue of falling down in a hole in her frenzied flight where the goblins didn't care enough to get to her.

By this time the raiders had cracked the storeroom door, and began picking out the best of the loot. They took several of the steel helmets right off my guards' corpses, and pilfered a fair amount of sapphire jewelry my gnomes had made from gems dug up in the quarry. I think we lost 10-20% of our net worth, along with the slain guards and livestock.

Once the goblins had departed with their plunder, I ordered the panic room opened again, and the cleanup process began. The butchers had to make quick work to prevent any meat spoilage, I had to rebuild the guard squad by drafting civilians, and the smiths had to replenish our plundered armor. Fortunately two merchants came by the next day, enabling me to buy some more iron ore and coal off of them to speed that along, and a breeding pair of yaks and alpacas to begin replenishing my pastures.

Well, on the bright side, we've got plenty of sausage sandwiches for the winter now. I am, however, a little concerned that there are only 4 gnomes in the graveyard (when the guard squad was 5). Surely the butchers didn't get carried away or anything... did they? I don't think I saw any goblins carrying off any gnomes...

 

[Telephius]

I have been playing Planetary Annihilation(beta) the last few days as it launches on the 5th of September. The last time I played it months ago it didn't have alot of features and I could believe how close release was when I saw the trailer hehe.

I have yet to use a planet to blow up another planet, gonna have to try that.

 

[Necronic]

New Path of Exile league started last week. So far its pretty fun. Already lost 1 character. The Ledge will never satisfy its lust for killing my characters.

 

[Gared]

New Path of Exile league started last week. So far its pretty fun. Already lost 1 character. The Ledge will never satisfy its lust for killing my characters.

After losing 3 or 4 characters in two days, I decided to go with Rampage instead of Beyond this time around. It's fun, but after always only playing HC leagues, it feels like I'm cheating.

 

[Necronic]

Honestly this one is so much easier than Ambush, at least from what I remember. And I just can't play the SF equivalent. I tried in Ambush, because it was just too freaking difficult, but I couldn't get into it.

 

[Null]

Got the ending movie in Gran Turismo 4. I've only completed about 40% of the game, but I completed the Gran Turismo World Championship in the Professional Events, which is only available after winning every other beginner and professional event. For that, I earned the 2004 Ford GT LM Race Car, Spec II. Very nice indeed. I now have 4 different versions of the Ford GT: The 1969 Ford GT40 Race Car, the 2002 Ford GT LM Race Car, the 2004 Ford GT LM Race Car, Spec II, and the 2005 Ford GT.

Still have not gotten a Dodge Charger 426 Hemi Super Bee in a decent color, of which there are three: Top Banana Yellow, Plum Crazy Purple, and Hemi-Orange. Right now I have them in Bright Blue Metallic, Dark Green Metallic, Dark Tan Metallic, and Turqouise. Likewise, a Charger 440 R/T should be Plum Crazy, Go Mango, Black, or Bright Red. Enough of these muscle cars in Baby Shit Green/Brown!

 

[Dave]

Just did a 30 minute or so Twitch broadcast of my first attempt at Dark Souls II. I wish I had read a little more about it. The game itself might be brutal, but the thing is a direct port to PC from X-Box and the interface is just terrible. Like, to play it I think I'll have to hook a controller to my PC, which is just fucking stupid.

 

[Bowielee]

I've heard the mouse controls are so jerky and terrible that most people moved to controllers. Having originally played Demon's Souls on PS3, I can't really imagine that game on a mouse and keyboard.

 

[AshburnerX]

Just did a 30 minute or so Twitch broadcast of my first attempt at Dark Souls II. I wish I had read a little more about it. The game itself might be brutal, but the thing is a direct port to PC from X-Box and the interface is just terrible. Like, to play it I think I'll have to hook a controller to my PC, which is just fucking stupid.

This was an issue in the first one too.

 

[Dave]

Hooked in my son's 360 controller. Guess what? I still hate the game. No wonder everyone dies, the controls suck major ass. Wish Steam allowed us to sell our games. Because I'm probably not playing that one again. Good way to blow $40 for nothing.

 

[fade]

Yeah and back in your day, $40 only cost a nickel.

 

[CynicismKills]

Been goofing around in Rift the last couple days. I don't know why I can't stay interested in the game, as I always have fun with it, but for some reason I never stick to it for more than a month or so. I do wish I could figure out which class mechanics I enjoy the most now that they've all got every role (at least once I get the new Soul pack to fill out those last bits).

 

[Bowielee]

Hooked in my son's 360 controller. Guess what? I still hate the game. No wonder everyone dies, the controls suck major ass. Wish Steam allowed us to sell our games. Because I'm probably not playing that one again. Good way to blow $40 for nothing.

Quick question. Have you played Demon's Souls or Dark Souls prior to this?

 

[Ravenpoe]

Hooked in my son's 360 controller. Guess what? I still hate the game. No wonder everyone dies, the controls suck major ass. Wish Steam allowed us to sell our games. Because I'm probably not playing that one again. Good way to blow $40 for nothing.

Dark Souls and it's line are games that require a certain approach, and are not for everyone. The controls are actually very precise, but the way your character moves is controlled by a lot of variables. Every movement has weight, every weapon has different swing speeds, different armors cause you to move and roll differently, it's a game that requires you to approach every instance with precision. Every movement has to be one you plan to take, because to attempt to swing wildly or run into the fray like you would in most action games will kill you.

 

[Bowielee]

Dark Souls and it's line are games that require a certain approach, and are not for everyone. The controls are actually very precise, but the way your character moves is controlled by a lot of variables. Every movement has weight, every weapon has different swing speeds, different armors cause you to move and roll differently, it's a game that requires you to approach every instance with precision. Every movement has to be one you plan to take, because to attempt to swing wildly or run into the fray like you would in most action games will kill you.

Man, did I learn that the hard way. Just when I thought I was getting the swing of Dark Souls, I started getting better armor. I didn't realize that it would also make me move like molasses in January. That's another habit from other games I had to break myself of. Even with better stats, some weapons and armor will suck if it's counter to your playstyle and/or the encounter you're running against.