FTL: Faster Than Light
Randomly got in the mood to play this again.
I was quickly reminded of how stupidly hard the game was.
Randomly got in the mood to play this again.
I was quickly reminded of how stupidly hard the game was.
Confession time: this past week I went back to Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin. For the third time. Since in condemnation I deleted my last save, I had to start over, but I'm past where I was already. I think I finally get what people meant by it still being good if not taken as a sequel to Dark Souls.
The first time I tried it, I thought they meant expectations, so I lowered them and didn't have a good time anyway.
The second time, I thought they meant I should lower my standards, but that didn't help because there's still a lot of poor design choices.
But now, I get it--I had to changenot just my perception, but my approach. Even when not looking at it as one of the Soulsborne games, I was still treating it like one, acting as if every avenue, enemy, nook and cranny were things worth my time and effort, and that's just not what Dark Souls 2 is. So this time, I've taken the game less seriously, and my cleric Vicar She-Hulk has been plowing through, going after what I want and ignoring what I don't. I remember spending hours in the Shaded Woods before trying to get every item, but you know what? It's just not worth it! So I skipped ahead to the boss and kicked the shit out of it, then moved on.
That approach is working out pretty well. I've actually gotten into the PVP a little, which is cool (Bell Keepers--now I can be the kind of griefer I hated on my first attempt), and since I've just looked up the items I wanted, I've gotten 10 Estus Flask Shards. I also skipped the worthless Doors of Pharos, which really only exists to cater to Rat King trolls. I appreciate that while there is a troll covenant, it only affects two completely optional and unrewarding areas, therefore only punishing the new or uninformed.
All that's left for the what I'm told inferior half of the game is the Iron Keep. Then I can get to, again from what I'm told, the part of the game that the makers actually cared about. At some point I'll tackle the DLC content to, which I'm told is actually pretty Dark Souls-y. Not sure if I'll get through all that before Dark Souls 3, upon which's release I'll be pausing all progress for this title, but for now I'm digging it as long as I play this way.
The first time I tried it, I thought they meant expectations, so I lowered them and didn't have a good time anyway.
The second time, I thought they meant I should lower my standards, but that didn't help because there's still a lot of poor design choices.
But now, I get it--I had to changenot just my perception, but my approach. Even when not looking at it as one of the Soulsborne games, I was still treating it like one, acting as if every avenue, enemy, nook and cranny were things worth my time and effort, and that's just not what Dark Souls 2 is. So this time, I've taken the game less seriously, and my cleric Vicar She-Hulk has been plowing through, going after what I want and ignoring what I don't. I remember spending hours in the Shaded Woods before trying to get every item, but you know what? It's just not worth it! So I skipped ahead to the boss and kicked the shit out of it, then moved on.
That approach is working out pretty well. I've actually gotten into the PVP a little, which is cool (Bell Keepers--now I can be the kind of griefer I hated on my first attempt), and since I've just looked up the items I wanted, I've gotten 10 Estus Flask Shards. I also skipped the worthless Doors of Pharos, which really only exists to cater to Rat King trolls. I appreciate that while there is a troll covenant, it only affects two completely optional and unrewarding areas, therefore only punishing the new or uninformed.
All that's left for the what I'm told inferior half of the game is the Iron Keep. Then I can get to, again from what I'm told, the part of the game that the makers actually cared about. At some point I'll tackle the DLC content to, which I'm told is actually pretty Dark Souls-y. Not sure if I'll get through all that before Dark Souls 3, upon which's release I'll be pausing all progress for this title, but for now I'm digging it as long as I play this way.
I have been playing a fair bit of The Division over the last week or so.
I have been level 30/30 for a few days now and frankly at this point i'm not sure why I would keep playing aside for the purpose of grinding out better gear.
But gear for what purpose?
The end game content doesn't seem terribly interesting. I suppose the only reason to put the effort in would be for the PvP, but that just isn't interesting enough to be worth it.
I feel like they have the base of a good game here but they really needed to develop it a lot more.
I have been level 30/30 for a few days now and frankly at this point i'm not sure why I would keep playing aside for the purpose of grinding out better gear.
But gear for what purpose?
The end game content doesn't seem terribly interesting. I suppose the only reason to put the effort in would be for the PvP, but that just isn't interesting enough to be worth it.
I feel like they have the base of a good game here but they really needed to develop it a lot more.
Ehh... there are items in Doors of Pharos worth getting, like Santier's Spear if you like double blades, Twisted Barricade if you like Hexes, and a Dragon Charm which is one of the better healing items. You also need the boss soul to make Acid Surge, which is a great pyromancery for PVP, especially combined with stuff like Poison Mist.
Let me rephrase: nothing worth getting for my build. When I went there in my first attempt, I had a hard time choosing usage of lockstones because I thought the play was mostly treasure, some traps, but it's really the other way around to accommodate the troll guild.
That Dragon Charm is probably useful later, but there are enemies who drop them and I don't think I've ever had 1500 max HP in any of these games.
I'm playing Path of Exile for a bit tonight. It's fun but it crashes a ton which I'm not loving.
Never had any crashing problems with it, so dunno what you're running into.
It's been a really, really long time since I've picked up PoE. Still remember my password, though.
Rest of the family keeps pestering me to join them in a multiplayer of Torchlight II, we will probably do that once I get my paperwork done.
--Patrick
Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin: I stand by my judgment that the first half of this game is a poorly-designed mess and there are problems that linger even past that, but looking back over it, it would be very easy to skip quickly through once you know your way.
Things felt like they were taking a turn for the better once Aldia's big ugly head popped out of the last Primal bonfire. Now the plot's getting into my narrative, there's an interesting castle to explore with branching pathways, interesting new mechanics. I'm really getting into this now, even if the bosses are still piss-easy compared to other Soulsborne games.
One boss that really surprised me was the Executioner's Chariot. Never heard of this boss, and once I figured him out he was easy, but holy shit was the fight a memorable experience. Between that and the Looking Glass Knight, I'm impressed.
And though the Old Iron King is a lame boss in a ridiculous setting, lore-wise he speaks volumes for what went on in this land, what's still going on, and the events that connect past and present. Trying to figure out when I should start the DLC.
Things felt like they were taking a turn for the better once Aldia's big ugly head popped out of the last Primal bonfire. Now the plot's getting into my narrative, there's an interesting castle to explore with branching pathways, interesting new mechanics. I'm really getting into this now, even if the bosses are still piss-easy compared to other Soulsborne games.
One boss that really surprised me was the Executioner's Chariot. Never heard of this boss, and once I figured him out he was easy, but holy shit was the fight a memorable experience. Between that and the Looking Glass Knight, I'm impressed.
And though the Old Iron King is a lame boss in a ridiculous setting, lore-wise he speaks volumes for what went on in this land, what's still going on, and the events that connect past and present. Trying to figure out when I should start the DLC.
I picked up Xenoblade X. The battle system is similar to Xenoblade Wii, but the addition of classes for the MC to swap between and the various side-characters classes allows a bit more customization in terms of damage styles and support abilities, which is really nice. Exploring the game's world, finding new locales and combat is pretty satisfying, and I've spent almost all my playtime doing sidequests and just exploring the planet. Quick travel makes the large continents easier to deal with, and finding new QT spots is rewarding.
The story and character designs/animations are a huge step down from XC Wii, though. I mean HUGE. The MC only vocalizes in combat, and dialogue is handled through multiple choice in conversations. Otherwise, he/she is silent, which is an old, outdated self-insert tactic of RPGs that should have died out long ago. Thanks to that the side-characters have to carry the game's personality, and they tend to fail pretty hard at that. Part of this is the hit-or-miss VA work, but I blame most of the lack of charm on the abysmal character animations. Everyone moves like they're underwater, slowly and heavily. Facial animations are practically nonexistent save for blinking and lip-flapping, and there's no real body reactions to show emotion. In XC Wii I was drawn to the characters almost instantly, everyone had a personality and they grew as characters over the course of the game. I don't get that feeling here, and it's pretty disappointing.
All in all I'm having fun with the game, and I can see myself dropping a lot of free time into it. Unfortunately, unlike XC Wii, I don't care about the characters or story much at all, and will probably end up burning out on the game before I actually complete it.[DOUBLEPOST=1459322334,1459321982][/DOUBLEPOST]I picked a XC Wii cutscene at random, and even though this guy is obviously emulating (Wii textures never looked that clean), it really sells every bit of the story played out.
Now here's a XC X cutscene, also introducing a boss.
The story and character designs/animations are a huge step down from XC Wii, though. I mean HUGE. The MC only vocalizes in combat, and dialogue is handled through multiple choice in conversations. Otherwise, he/she is silent, which is an old, outdated self-insert tactic of RPGs that should have died out long ago. Thanks to that the side-characters have to carry the game's personality, and they tend to fail pretty hard at that. Part of this is the hit-or-miss VA work, but I blame most of the lack of charm on the abysmal character animations. Everyone moves like they're underwater, slowly and heavily. Facial animations are practically nonexistent save for blinking and lip-flapping, and there's no real body reactions to show emotion. In XC Wii I was drawn to the characters almost instantly, everyone had a personality and they grew as characters over the course of the game. I don't get that feeling here, and it's pretty disappointing.
All in all I'm having fun with the game, and I can see myself dropping a lot of free time into it. Unfortunately, unlike XC Wii, I don't care about the characters or story much at all, and will probably end up burning out on the game before I actually complete it.[DOUBLEPOST=1459322334,1459321982][/DOUBLEPOST]I picked a XC Wii cutscene at random, and even though this guy is obviously emulating (Wii textures never looked that clean), it really sells every bit of the story played out.
Now here's a XC X cutscene, also introducing a boss.
I disagree about getting rid of silent protagonist in all games, because sometimes it's fine, but for this game it was not. I never played the first XC, but considering everyone who did seemed to love the story, I could tell this was a step down. The way the story points play so apathetically in this one doesn't help.
Burning out before I finished it is what happened to me. They really dick you around on what you need to do to get your giant robot license, but even getting that doesn't feel all that rewarding because the damn thing is pretty weak. Being not invested in the story is the right move, but if you burn out before you finish it, I wouldn't recommend watching it on Youtube. I did, and I was not prepared for just how stupid it turned out to be.
I agree with ZE about silent protagonists: they can be fine, and even allow far more roleplaying than a voiced protagonist. Not just because of self-insert, simply because keeping it silent vastly reduces the required budget - voicing every line means a whole lot of superficially-similar lines will be rolled into one. I prefer having more options than "no", "yes" and "snarky yes".
I mean, it's worked in other RPGs. Earthbound and Chrono Trigger are great examples of that, and it definitely doesn't matter much in D&D-type RPGs like Pillars of Eternity and the like. In a game series like this, though, where every Xeno-game has relied so intently on a large-scale story to draw the player in, it was a big mistake. So yeah, maybe it doesn't need to die out completely, but using it here was a poor choice.
Also yeah I don't even care about fighting in the mechs, I just want to be able to get to those hard-to-reach places so I can keep exploring. From what I understand there's only like 12 or so chapters to the main story, but having the requirements to start them (levels, % explored of continents, etc) pads out the game quite a bit, even if you try to skip side-quests.
The Fallout 4 trio.
Half-Life(PS2)
Must...crowbar...EVERYTHING!
Must...crowbar...EVERYTHING!
I had at least four full crashes to where I had to log in again. It's an interesting game, but if it keeps crashing like that after a few more sessions, I will uninstall it.
like the weird little scraps I trade in my gear for?
Trading between players is weird and a pain, too. It's a lot like Diablo 2, where one or two items basically have become currency, and you need to farm those in order to get the really amazing items people are trying to unload.
I've only finished Act 1 in normal so I have no idea what's what yet 
Only that I keep getting awesome dex gear that I'm saving for an alt.
Only that I keep getting awesome dex gear that I'm saving for an alt.
I'm going to try Torchlight 2 as well. I'll be in rough shape tomorrow after my procedure for a few days so I need some distraction
The big thing to keep in mind is to have an idea what weapon and spell type you want to use with that character. That way, you can use your skill tree points well and keep playing the character you like.I've only finished Act 1 in normal so I have no idea what's what yet
Only that I keep getting awesome dex gear that I'm saving for an alt.
Or you could join us on the US servers 
We could get you to 70 and well beyond in an evening
We could get you to 70 and well beyond in an evening I'll happily join you for some time on the EU servers once I can play again.Not if you're playing PoE and Torchlight II
And PatrThom already leveled me to...55 I think? a few days ago
--Patrick
Just send me a message here when you want to play
Aww, I get a cat in Torchlight 2!
Cucpake the Outlander is heading out on her adventure with Puddington the cat! Will they survive? Will they find amazing loot? Will they graduate from the demo to the full game?
Cucpake the Outlander is heading out on her adventure with Puddington the cat! Will they survive? Will they find amazing loot? Will they graduate from the demo to the full game?
I'm fairly sure Paddington will survive ;-)
And demo? Really? I'll have to look, but I used to have a gift copy of the full game lying around somewhere....
You can't get to some of those places without mechs, unfortunately. And yeah, they pad it out with as much mundane shit as possible. The day I gave up on the game, I ran around as much of the last two continents as I could just to see them. It's a nice world to explore, but they really dropped the ball on a lot of other elements.
Finally started up Cities: Skylines.
I don't know whether or not I'm in the mood for a city builder right now, and it seems to still completely miss any sort of tutorial, and there's a lot going on.
That said, I do absolutely see what people mean when they say this is what the next SimCity should have been. It feels completely right. There's obviously a couple of annoyances, but I'm fairly sure I could mod all of those out if i wanted to (though i'm sticking to just plain vanilla/after dark right now. Quick question: why the F*** are there separate day and night budget sliders? What do they even mean? Do I need to give the cops more money at night and the schools less? Isn't budgeting across the dat, y'know, their job? And no, I'm not watching hours of video to understand how a game works.
I don't know whether or not I'm in the mood for a city builder right now, and it seems to still completely miss any sort of tutorial, and there's a lot going on.
That said, I do absolutely see what people mean when they say this is what the next SimCity should have been. It feels completely right. There's obviously a couple of annoyances, but I'm fairly sure I could mod all of those out if i wanted to (though i'm sticking to just plain vanilla/after dark right now. Quick question: why the F*** are there separate day and night budget sliders? What do they even mean? Do I need to give the cops more money at night and the schools less? Isn't budgeting across the dat, y'know, their job? And no, I'm not watching hours of video to understand how a game works.
